Eli Drinkwitz shares how he pulled off Star Wars stunt in press conference
If you saw Missoui coach Eli Drinkwitz’s Star Wars troll Saturday, you’re probably asking one question: Where did that lightsaber come from? Well, thanks to some digging from hard-hitting journalists, we finally have an answer.
Drinkwitz explained the setup for the stunt Monday.
“That’s the only reason I went for two for the win was so that I could pull that off at the end,” he said. “I’ve got to give a shout out to my recruiting department, they kind of had that set up, and I told them I’m not worried about that, and then in the locker room after the game, they said, ‘hey coach, we’re going to put this underneath your podium. I said, ‘alright, let’s go for it, let’s see how this plays out.’”
Missouri escaped Florida in overtime, 24-23 thanks to a two-point conversion pass from Connor Bazelak to Daniel Parker Jr. The Tigers became bowl eligible with the win, improving to 6-5. It will be their first postseason appearance in the Drinkwitz era.
To celebrate, Drinkwitz had some fun with Gators coach Dan Mullen. At the conclusion of his postgame press conference, the Mizzou coach flipped up his hood, pulled a lightsaber out of nowhere and declared, “May the force be with you.”
He then turned without saying another word and exited the room.
The Star Wars stunt was a callback to when Dan Mullen showed up to last year’s press conference following a win against Eli Drinkwitz and the Tigers dressed as Darth Vader. That happened after an on-field brawl between the two teams, though Mullen claimed it was simply a pre-planned Halloween costume.
The loss dropped the Gators to 5-6 and marked the fourth in the past five games. The program announced Sunday that it had fired Mullen before the conclusion of his fourth season. Florida still has a chance to become bowl eligible with a win against Florida State on Saturday.
Missouri closes its season in the Battle Line Rivalry against No. 25 Arkansas at 3:30 p.m. on Friday in Fayetteville.