Mizzou Tigers football announces Al Davis and Kevin Peoples as defensive line coaches
.JPG "Missouri Tigers football coach Eliah Drinkwitz figures to be missing some key players on Saturday against Vanderbilt in Nashville.")
Missouri Tigers football coach Eliah Drinkwitz announced changes to his staff for the 2022 season on Friday afternoon.
Al Davis, who stepped in as defensive line coach midway through last season, will be in charge of the interior defensive line. Kevin Peoples, who served as Indiana’s defensive line coach for the past two seasons, joins Mizzou as an assistant coach for the edge defensive line.
“Al Davis and Kevin Peoples are strong coaches and leaders to work with our defensive line,” Drinkwitz said. “They’re experienced individually but also together with their relationship. We made good progress at the line as the season progressed. Our defensive linemen will learn a lot from Al and Kevin.”
Peoples has nearly 30 years of experience working with the defensive line and has coached the position at programs such as Tulane (2016-19), Georgia Southern (2014-15), UAB (2013), Arkansas (2011-12), among several others. While at Arkansas, Peoples coached Davis.
Under Peoples’ leadership, Indiana led the Big Ten in sacks for the first time in program history in 2020. He mentored Jerome Johnson, who earned first team conference honors from the media that season.
“I’m excited to be part of the culture that Coach Drinkwitz is building here at the University of Missouri,” Peoples said. “Being back in the SEC and working with this group of coaches and staff, including one of my former players, is a strong motivation. I look forward to meeting and working with our student-athletes.”
Davis took over the Tigers’ defensive line in October after Jethro Franklin was fired and helped improve one of the worst run defenses in the country. Davis coached defensive tackles at Illinois in 2020 and spent three seasons at Hutchinson Community College before that, during which he was named associate head coach and co-defensive coordinator.
Davis was a defensive graduate assistant coach at Arkansas from 2014-16, and he played there from 2009-12.
Drinwkitz announced earlier this week that safeties coach Charlie Harbison will be stepping down as an assistant position coach “to allow him more flexibility in handling personal family matters in North Carolina.” He will remain on staff.
Mizzou is still in need of a tight ends coach for next season. Casey Woods, who coached the position and also served as recruiting coordinator, left the program in December to take over as offensive coordinator at SMU.
