Busy week for Mizzou football. Eliah Drinkwitz talks bowls, recruiting and more
While bowl games are canceling and other teams are opting out of the postseason, the Missouri Tigers are full steam ahead on the potential to play one final game this season.
MU coach Eliah Drinkwitz said he spoke with his team Sunday, affirming their position to play this postseason. Teams like Pitt, Boston College, Virginia and others have already backed out of bowls, but the Tigers aren’t doing so.
“We’re going bowling,” Drinkwitz said at his weekly news conference Tuesday. “It’s an awesome opportunity for our team to get a chance to continue this journey together and play another game. It’s an awesome opportunity for Mizzou. We didn’t get to go to a bowl game last year so for us to have that presence on national television.”
MU is 5-4 with one SEC game remaining, 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Mississippi State. While teams need to win at least six games — usually translating to a .500 record — to qualify for a bowl in non-pandemic seasons, that’s not the case this year. All teams are eligible for a bowl game, pending they’re invited.
The Tigers will have no problem getting invited after a stellar first season with Drinkwitz at the helm. Bowl selections will be decided Sunday, one day after the end of the regular season.
Drinkwitz said he had a good feeling “we’re going to get a big-time bowl game” after their surprising season. MU was picked to finish sixth in the SEC East, but are locked into third and at least a .500 record.
Most projections have Mizzou heading to Florida for an Outback Bowl appearance in Tampa. It’s not quite at the New Year’s Six level, but it’s an impressive bowl game that will pit them against solid competition. Possible opponents for that bowl would be a Big Ten team, including the likes of Iowa or Northwestern.
“We’re going to be in a great game because of the type of season we’ve had,” Drinkwitz said. “It’s a reward. Bowl games are still a reward for the season that you had. We’re going to choose to go for that and be excited about it.”
Drinkwitz said he isn’t looking ahead too far, though. MU has the early signing period Wednesday, where it’ll ink the majority of its 2021 recruiting class. They’ll figure that out while prepping for the Bulldogs.
The Tigers will be once again short-handed after a slew of injuries. Drinkwitz said they didn’t have any new COVID-19 positives from Sunday’s testing, but MU is at around 56 scholarship players. The team also has two more rounds of testing this week.
Drinkwitz said wide receiver Micah Wilson and cornerback Ish Burdine are both out. Safety Tyree Gillespie is also out; he was replaced by Jalani Williams on the depth chart at boundary safety. Drinkwitz added “the whole D-line will be questionable,” as Kobie Whiteside, Markell Utsey, Trajan Jeffcoat and Chris Turner’s statues are all uncertain.
Drinkwitz said it’s actually fortunate they’re playing the Bulldogs’ offense, which features coach Mike Leach’s “Air Raid,” pass-heavy offense. That means the defensive line won’t factor in much from a run game perspective.
“We hope to get some guys back who are maybe on the contact tracing from last week that could provide some more depth,” Drinkwitz said. “I can’t go to the waiver wire, so we got what we got.”
On a mentor
Drinkwitz started his collegiate coaching career in 2010 when then-Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzah gave him a gig. That relationship spanned the past decade as Drinkwitz went from quality control assistant to MU’s top guy.
That mentor, Malzahn, was fired by Auburn over the weekend. Drinkwitz said he was “shocked” and “stunned” his mentor was fired.
“Everybody has a right to choose who they employ or not,” Drinkwitz said. “But man, (Malzahn) did a tremendous job. Won the SEC. Played in the SEC championship twice. Played in the national championship. Won 67% of his games or something crazy like that.
“One of the only coaches in this league that’s even gone toe-to-toe with (Alabama coach Nick Saban) and actually won. But I know he’s used his influence in a positive way. I know he’s got a bright future ahead of him in whatever he chooses to do.”
Assistants interviewing
While Malzahn was fired at Auburn, it’s not the only coaching job that’s come open and filled within the past few weeks, whether it be at Vanderbilt, South Carolina or other spots. That means assistants on Drinkwitz’s staff could be poached.
Wide receivers coach Bush Hamdan and running backs coach Curtis Luper were reportedly in the running for various gigs across the country. Both served as offensive coordinators at past stops — Hamdan at Washington, Luper at TCU — that make them attractive candidates.
Drinkwitz said he asks his assistants to keep him in the loop if they’re interviewing elsewhere, though that’s difficult when it comes to agent and other outside factors.
“I have asked that everybody stays committed through Saturday,” Drinkwitz said. “You always finish what you started. Then after that, we’ll see how everything goes. And we’ll go from there. I’m confident in who we are and the vision that we have in this program.”