Eli Drinkwitz discusses work ethic of Darius Robinson, continued growth

Darius Robinson could have left for the NFL after the 2022 season but decided for a fifth season at Mizzou. Eli Drinkwitz wanted to have him back and it’s paid off for both sides. A great work ethic for Robinson has turned into growth on the football field.

There were a couple of different ways Drinkwitz was able to get Robinson to return to Columbia. The first was having trust in the Missouri staff to tap into his potential even more. Drinkwitz has not been afraid to play the defensive lineman in multiple positions either, with results recently paying off over the past few weeks.

“Darius is a very serious and mature young man,” Drinkwitz said during Thursday’s episode of Andy Staples On3. “He’s only been playing football since he was in the 11th grade. Every year, he takes another step in the process. That was part of our sell to him. ‘Come back for another year. You’ve still got so much room to grow.’ Then we’ve asked him to change positions and develop some position flexibility, which he’s done.

“Really, his best four games have been these last four games. He’s really developing into a dominant player at this level.”

In the last four games, Robinson has recorded 6.0 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. Three of those are against quality SEC opponents too, with Memphis being the lone out-of-conference foe. Robinson is really beginning to stand out on the field, working toward one goal.

“It doesn’t surprise me that he sought out Jim Nagy,” Drinkwitz said. “One of his goals is to go to the Senior Bowl. That was important to him. We still got a lot of football left and he’s got to continue to play well but he’s definitely put himself in that conversation because of his work ethic and determination.”

Robinson reached out to Nagy while at SEC Media Days, talking about wanting to make it to the Senior Bowl after this season. Nagy is certainly taking notice, praising Robinson after the Kentucky game when recently speaking on Andy Staples On3.

“They’re playing him out on the edge more. He’s like a jumbo edge player right now. He’s matched up against tight ends and he’s absolutely abusing them. This week was probably his best game. He’s always played hard, but he’s really playing with leverage right now.

“He’s getting after the quarterback and that’s what teams are gonna want to see.”