‘We got to improve’: Eliah Drinkwitz on Mizzou Tigers’ first preseason practice
The first day of college football practice is often high-energy and full of camaraderie as it’s the official kickoff to a new season. The slog of drills and exercises throughout the leadup to Week 1 can get monotonous, but the first day with the helmet back on frequently brings a lively atmosphere.
If that’s usually the case, Missouri football coach Eliah Drinkwitz certainly didn’t see it in the Tigers’ first preseason camp practice Friday. And for the 24 remaining practices leading up to the Sept. 4 opener against Central Michigan, the squad remains a work-in-progress to his standards.
“Glad you weren’t out there for the conversation afterwards,” Drinkwitz said. “We got a lot of work to do. I don’t know if we need to crown anybody anything right now. We’re a 5-5 football team with a lot of guys coming back. Unless we make a lot of improvements, we’re a 5-5 football team.
“Didn’t really like the energy today. I don’t know if they expected me to carry the day with the energy, but we didn’t have it. We got to improve.”
Sharp words. And as Drinkwitz enters year two in Columbia with a clear knowledge of when his team’s clicking and when it’s not, it could be a sharp observation, too.
The sections of practice open to the media Friday revealed little about schemes, position battles and which Tigers had made the biggest improvements, but it wasn’t as if Drinkwitz was in the mood to be complementary, anyway.
“Everybody’s got a chance to embrace their role and define their role,” Drinkwitz said. “There’s paper, which has the depth chart written in, and then there’s performance, and performance dictates who gets to play. We don’t play favorites. We don’t play stars, we don’t play seniors. We play the best 11 players that give us a chance to win against Central Michigan.”
Players echoed Drinkwitz regarding the energy levels, with many saying they got the message.
Several position groups had new coaches, potentially meaning there were growing pains to go through in the first practice with them at the helm. No holdovers from former coach Barry Odom’s staff remain as Drinkwitz hired Steve Wilks (defensive coordinator), Aaron Fletcher (secondary) and Jethro Franklin (defensive line) in the offseason.
“We know it’s gotta happen,” senior defensive lineman Jatorian Hansford said. “Everybody’s just gotta come out here and bring some juice. Just be dedicated. We’re coming out here when we’ve been busting our butt the whole summer, fall, everything. … First day, (we’re) just trying to get used to how practice is gonna go. But I feel like tomorrow is gonna be different … I feel like we’re gonna have more juice as each day goes by.”
So many changes on the defensive side of the ball means easing into new schemes to ensure everyone is on the same page.
Fifth-year senior Chris Turner has been pleased with the ways the defensive staff have broken things down, as well as when they put it to action for the first time Friday. Things are rudimentary at the moment as fundamentals take priority, but more complex parts of Wilks’ formation will shine through closer to the Central Michigan game.
“We’re pretty early in the install right now,” Turner said. “I love this defense. I really like Coach Wilks at defensive coordinator, I like Coach Franklin, too, they’re both great coaches. I feel like they’re both really smart guys, not even just them, but the whole defensive staff. I feel like they’re going to help us win a lot of games this year, in my opinion.”
Turner’s optimism is a stark contrast from Drinkwitz’s comments, though the coach did note that he thought the players were understanding the new schemes well early on.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t some serious stuff to work on, in Drinkwitz’s opinion. And even if Friday was just Day 1, it also means it’s one day closer to when the football is for real.
“They gotta bring it,” Drinkwitz said. “Energy is the key to our success and they’ve got to come out here with some enthusiasm and play football. These are the best days of their lives, to play college football. You’ve got the University of Missouri across your chest, you get to represent your name on the back and make NIL off of that. If you can’t get excited about that, something’s wrong.”