‘Six months?’ Mizzou’s Eli Drinkwitz has this problem with freshmen in transfer portal
As the Missouri Tigers continue preparation for their upcoming Music City Bowl matchup against Iowa on Dec. 30, they’re facing some of the same hurdles as the rest of college football:
Namely, the transfer portal.
But according to head coach Eli Drinkwitz, the Tigers will be just fine.
“You learn to adjust and deal with those things,” Drinkwitz said on Wednesday. “I think the one thing I’ve come to grips with, and I’ve talked to the team about this, I’m very confident in the foundation of our program: who we are, what we’re about, the process that we’ve shown, the development that we’ve shown.
“... I’m confident in that process. I’m confident that if people choose to leave, there’ll be others that will choose to come and embrace what we’re doing here.”
The Tigers have had 13 players announce they’ll be joining the portal, including four true freshmen from the 2024 squad.
“You mean six months? That’s my reaction,” Drinkwitz said of players transferring out after one season. “I wish I could convince them that Darius Robinson had to wait, really, three years. There’s no such thing as an overnight success anymore. Doesn’t matter how highly you’re recruited or how low you’re recruited. None of that matters, man.
“Just get in there and continue to do the work, and that’s what I regret. I think everybody — when they come into college football — faces a level of adversity that they have to overcome, but I just wish they would understand there’s no such thing as an overnight success.”
Drinkwitz listed several examples of multiyear Mizzou players who needed more than six months to make a mark, including Luther Burden, Brady Cook and NFL cornerbacks Ennis Rakestraw (Lions) and Kris Abrams-Draine (Broncos).
“I just wish six months — I just think that’s a really short time period to give a program,” Drinkwitz said. “But again, everybody’s got their own journey. ... If six months was all that journey was, I know they made us better, I know they left a positive impact here with us, and I hope we did the same for them.”
The transfer portal, of course, has created some challenges for coaches in building a team culture and even solidifying their depth chart with a revolving door of roster talent.
Drinkwitz has learned how to adapt to the concept.
“I think everybody has to get rid of that mindset and understand that we’re a six-month free agency business and every six months there’s free agency. And you do the very best you can to build the roster you can with that kind of mindset or with that kind of thinking,” Drinkwitz said. “But that old style of thinking, ‘Hey, I’m going to have 85 scholarships and I’m going to recruit four deep at each position and once this guy leaves, then the next guy comes,’ that’s not really realistic anymore.”
But while Drinkwitz is aware of the culture surrounding college sports with the transfer portal, he hopes to make one thing clear when fans and programs try to find someone to be angry about: Don’t be mad at the players.
He recognized that every situation in the portal is different, especially with how a team’s needs can be “constantly evolving” throughout a player’s career.
“There’s no perfect solution to all of it,” Drinkwitz said. “The one thing I would say about this whole situation is that it’s not our players. Don’t be mad at the players. Don’t be mad at the players one bit. ... This whole situation is not their fault. Don’t hate the players, hate the game. At the end of the day, it’s the system — and there is no system.
“People will do what they need to do, so not mad at any of the players. Totally understand their perspective and wish them well.”
Drinkwitz also gave updates on opt-outs for the upcoming bowl game.
Receiver Luther Burden and offensive tackle Armand Membou were the obvious opt-outs in declaring for the 2025 NFL Draft earlier this month, and Drinkwitz noted tight end Brett Norfleet had surgery following the Tigers’ season finale against Arkansas. He also mentioned linebacker Chuck Hicks will be opting out.
