Eliah Drinkwitz speaks ahead of Homecoming
Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz met with local media Tuesday ahead of the Tigers’ matchup with UMass for Homecoming.
Here is the full video of Drinkwitz’s press conference.
Or here is a transcript for those who would rather read Drinkwitz’s comments.
Opening statement
“It’s the 114th Homecoming week, Call of the Commons, sorry, Call of the Columns, is the theme this year. And this is the first game ball from the first Homecoming. Chester Brewer versus Kansas, 1911 score was three to three. You can tell there’s actually a gold game ball inside of here. So pretty remarkable piece of Mizzou history, an artifact that’s really cool that I wanted to share with everybody today.
“Obviously, Homecoming is very special the University of Missouri. It was a tradition that was started here, and it’s something that we carry on and take a very great amount of pride in. And so look forward to seeing all the fans and all the alumni come back for the 114th Homecoming. Call of the Columns.
“Gutsy win by our team on Saturday. Really proud of our team’s ability to really stuff the run and run the football, which ultimately was the difference in the game, the ability to control the clock in the fourth quarter. We finally were able to go on a little bit of a run right there, offense scoring a touchdown, getting the two-point conversion. Defense going out and getting several stops in the fourth quarter, not surrendering the lead. And then special teams, Robby Meyer finishing that off with the kick.
“So really proud of the overall effort from our team. A lot of things to correct. And really the challenge for us is really to move on to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and play the University of UMass. Obviously a new staff, new team forming. I think coach (Joe) Harasymiak’s culture is really starting to take shape. You can tell they’re improving in each game. And obviously the bye week came at a great time for them.
“They played multiple quarterbacks, but I think information came out today, they’re going to start the freshman who appears to be the better player on tape. Throws the ball with great accuracy and velocity and adds a lot to their offense. They have a dynamics slot wide receiver, who I think is a tremendous player. And they do a really good job on the offensive side of the ball.
“Coach (Mike) Baajakian has coached and been a coordinator for a long time in a lot of different places in this league, in the NFL, and has done a tremendous job at each one of those stops. He knows how to get first downs and score points.
“Defensively, a few transfers, a few returners. They are a four-down front team with multiple fronts and pressures, multiple coverages, do a really good job of I believe stopping the run and creating issues for your coverage, for your quarterback in the coverage game.
“And then special teams they are very aggressive special teams. They attempt to block a good number of punts. Do a really good job on their kickoff cover. They’ve got solid return units. Their punter is a transfer from Texas A&M does a lot of really good stuff rugby wise, averages, I think about 49 yards a punt.
“So it’s a it’s a quality opponent, a good football team, and one that we have to be prepared for. I think for us, the biggest challenge for team, staff, fans, community, the University of Missouri, is not to have relief syndrome, right? To think that because we won an SEC game, we’re going to step out of conference, that you would decline in intensity or loss of focus or complacency. And that really for us is the challenge. Instead, we need to work to improve our process.
“You know, you see, when guys lose, they tweet out, ‘Back to the lab.’ We need to be back to the lab after a win, we need to be back to the process after we perform. We need to avoid any type of entitlement. We need to make sure that as a team, dress codes are where we’re supposed to be, working in class, on time, at study hall, parking in the right spots, avoiding any type of let up. And be intense about our work. Be focused on toughness Tuesday, and that really is the challenge for our staff to set the tone and for our players to embrace that. Because you’ve heard it said before, but more people die on the descent of Everest than they do on the ascent to Everest. Because there’s a lack of focus and concentration once they reach the summit.
“By no means are we at the summit. We’re just a short step, a short few steps, a few short steps into the climb right now. So that’s my thoughts on the game.
“Last thing, just on a personal level, I want to say that deeply saddened by the loss of Shawn Clark, coach at UCF, and a friend of mine. Really have a heavy bar for Janelle, Gianna and Braxton, his wife and kids. I know Shawn, I know his players loved him, I know UCF is going through it right now. I know how good of a coach he was. You know, when I first got to App State, we don’t have that type of season without Shawn Clark really being the glue that held us together, bridging our culture with the championship culture that they had already established. And really being able to bridge that together.
“We were great friends. I’ll miss the walks that we had and the phone calls we had. I’ll never sit around another fireside Bible study that we do on Wednesday night, and I think about Shawn and a double cheese for Wendy’s, that’s what we had every Wednesday night. I still have one every Wednesday night, thinking about it. So, praying for his family and the world lost a really good person and great football coach. So with that, I’ll open it up for questions.”
Question: “Sorry to follow that up with a football question. When looking back over the tape from South Carolina, what did you diagnose with some of those pass explosives allowed?”
Drinkwitz: “Yeah, there’s a couple of things. I actually think I said it maybe at halftime. The main thing is bad eyes in our zone coverage. You know, the touchdown we gave up on the third-and-15, obviously, first off, can’t jump offsides. And then you get into a reaction of playing the play. We should have been in a version of cover two that was the original call, or safety on that, on that divide where we got off left Toriano (Pride) in a vulnerable position. So that’s a, one, we can’t jump offsides on third and 15, give a team a free play. And two, we gotta play the play once it once the ball is snapped.
“The wheel route on the naked, we were in cover two. We didn’t have a holistic understanding of who was covering the sit route. so our divided safety one and two cross stems. He saw one open, so he thought he needed to cover that. Didn’t expand his vision and left the wheel route open. You know, that’s a, that’s both player and coaching responsibility. You got to understand the whole part, whole. He understood the part, but didn’t understand the whole, and that’s on teaching.
“The third-and-one long bomb, we were in a a quarterback-attacking coverage. Where, where if they were in shotgun, we were going to have a safety assigned to the quarterback in the run game. They came out under center, and we didn’t make the right adjustment to that. And then, obviously, we didn’t play the ball in the air very well. Those are the three that come to mind the top of my mind.
“You know, there was a third-and-37 or whatever, quarterback got out of the pocket. We took a bad angle with the spy. Should have been, should have been eliminated, because we really done that the rest of the game. Kahlil (Jacobs) did it right before half, Darris (Smith) had done it the previous play. And then we jumped the under instead of staying deep. So, there’s some things that we can do to clean it up.
“I think one of the challenges for us is we have a lot of volume, and we need to eliminate some volume and get good at what we do. We don’t have to be the best at everything. We have to be the best at what we do. And right now, we’re trying to be a jack of all trades and a master of none. And that’s got to be cleaned up. So, you know, good things to work on. That was the diagnosis. It’s a combination of players, coaches, making sure we’re on the same page moving forward.”
Question: “Eliah what do you feel like you know about Ahmad Hardy now that you didn’t know during recruiting or maybe its just more evidence of the same things you saw?”
Drinkwitz: “Yeah, you know, I didn’t, honestly, I didn’t, in the speed dating world of transfer portal, you don’t have a lot of time to get to know people’s real personality. And their, you hope you know what they’re going to be like in the locker room, but you’re not really sure. I didn’t really know his fun-loving personality, I didn’t know his ability to gather people around him. I didn’t realize that he was going to be such a guy that people wanted to play with and play for. Does a unique job of playing with and for the line and the tight ends and the defensive players love him.
“He’s got that good combination of trash talk and encouragement. And I think that’s been a real attribute to bringing us all together on, really, in the locker room in general. And then, you know, I, you hope some of the stuff translates. You’re never sure. But you know his yards after contact were really good at the level he was last year. We just weren’t sure, but now you’re pretty confident that’s just who he is as a
runner.
Question: And just a quick follow up, what if anything does some of the early Heisman buzz mean for the program?”
Drinkwitz: “I haven’t really seen much other than Mizzou people. The national people are still all caught up on 10 quarterbacks. So when they start actually looking into who are the best players, instead of just the quarterback stats. Because right now, national writers, no offense to yall, they just look at stats. They’re not actually watching enough games to know.
“But you know, we’ve got a lot of football left. I don’t think anybody’s won the Heisman in September. So once you get into October and November, there’s sustained excellence. We’ll figure out who the best player in college football is. Right now, it’s like the polls, the polls and the whatever, is just for clicks and podcasts.”
Question: “You guys used drop kicks five times during the game as opposed to a traditional kickoff. Just what went into the decision to do that?”
Drinkwitz: “Well, first off, we can actually drop kick. And the rule states that you can either drop kick or kick off the tee, not actually punt. So we got that figured out. But, you know, we’re still trying to figure out our kickoff situation, and obviously Oliver (Robbins) did a nice job.
“The first kickoff of the game, we kicked it. We knew in certain directions there was a little bit of wind, and Oliver might be able to get it into the end zone. But that first return, they ran a field return and really got out. It was a great play by Nick Rodriguez. So after that, with Connor (Weselman’s) ability to drop kick, we could actually line up and dictate a kick away from their return. So we knew where the return was going, and then he was able to kick it opposite, which allowed us to have a better coverage scheme.
“We knew that we weren’t going to give up a big return at that point. We might give up some leak yardage. But with him returning it from the minus, he was a yard deep, or he was nine yards in the end zone versus Vanderbilt. We just knew that unless we could, unless we were with the wind and felt confident about Oliver’s leg, we were giving ourselves a real risky chance on a big-time return.
“So we felt like the best way to negate that was to drop a kick and kick it opposite, and they wouldn’t be able to, no matter what they did, we were going to be able to kick it. They would have put Nick on the left, we were gonna drop kick to the right, so on. So it was just kind of a schematic advantage that we felt like we had, and I’d never seen anybody do it before, so there was kind of that to it, too.”
Question: “We talk a lot about Ahmad and Jamal, but what Beau’s been able to do with his legs this season as well, to have three guys you have to worry about on the ground, what has that done for your offense this season?”
Drinkwitz: “You know the thing for our quarterback position, we’ve always said it, we want to get two first downs a game off schedule. That the quarterback can create with his feet. That’s kind of a criteria we have for the quarterback position. And I thought Beau (Pribula) really did a nice job of that. There were several plays that, you know, the design of the play for whatnot just wasn’t going to work out. He was able to have the instincts to tuck it and run. And did a really nice job.
“And obviously the quarterback keeper on the outside zone in the fourth was, was a big hit. So, you know, it just adds another dimension we’re trying to be smart about when we ask you to use his legs. But he does really nice job. Don’t like the hit he took in the third quarter, but he’s done a nice job so far.”
Question: “Just a quick follow up on the drop kicks, is that something Connor came here with?”
Drinkwitz: Yeah, it’s something he said he started learning in high school. And so what happened was South Carolina showed last year versus Illinois a look, and they drop kicked it, and kind of caught Illinois by surprise. And we showed that to the team so that we could be prepared if they tried that, and Connor was like, ‘I can do that,’ and he showed us on Wednesday that he could do it, and then we practiced it in a walk through on Thursday, and then on Friday, he did it really well.
“So we just kind of had in our back pocket. And then after the first return, I didn’t feel like the way we fit it was going to be great. And just knew that if we gave that guy too many chances, I didn’t know how many times we were going to be able to just feel great that we were going to knock it down. So let’s take a bullet out of their gun, so to speak.”
Question: “Eliah, looked like in the second half, maybe Drey (Norwood) and Jalen (Catalon) weren’t out there quite as much. Are they healthy? Was that personnel changes in the second half?”
Drinkwitz: “Drey Norwood and Jalen Catalon? Yeah. Drey had a little bit of a soft tissue thing pop up for him that will be monitored this week. Doesn’t appear to be long term, but that’s what happened with him. And Catalan I think I didn’t really know, notice that he didn’t play that much. I thought he played normal, and I know he was in on the prowler and cheetah stuff. So we have a lot of really good safeties.
“I guess I do need to make a roster announcement. Caleb Flagg has elected to no longer be a part of our program and choose to redshirt the rest of the year. Wishing him the best. With that being said, we do have a lot of safeties in the back end so we get guys as many reps as we can. Develop the program. So we wish Caleb all the best moving forward.”
Question: “On the kicking situation, I know you said a few weaks ago you have the confidence in Robby from about 52 (Drinkwitz interjected to say he can hit 52, but confidence is different than can). So on the ESPN broadcast, they said that you told them that kicks from 38 and longer would be Oliver. Is that accurate and why?”
Drinkwitz: “Yeah, so during the week of practice, Robby was struggling from outside of the 20. And Oliver was doing really good. And we do a kicking segment every Tuesday with our group, in front of everybody to try to simulate pressure. Let’s just say Robby didn’t have a great week in that simulated pressure, and Oliver did. So going into the game, the plan was, and they knew the plan, that anything inside the 20 was going to be Robby, and anything outside the 20 was going to be Oliver.
“And then we got to the last kick, and we just felt like the first kick of the young man’s career cannot be for, basically, for the game-sealing kick. And so, I don’t even know if Robby knew it was the fourth quarter, so we just ran him out there and kicked it. I’m still not sure he knew what he was doing, but it went in, so that was good.”
Question: “Damon Wilson is a guy who leads your team in pressures, sacks and hurries through four games. I’m kind of curious what has made him so effect from your point of view through these first four weeks?”
Drinkwitz: “That’s why we brought him here. We knew he was an elite pass rusher. That’s why it was such an important part of our offseason process. We felt like in the portal defensively, we needed to add the ability to pressure the quarterback and then we felt like we needed to add a difference maker stopping the run, and that’s what we did with (Josiah Trotter). And those two guys are a really good combination.
“Damon’s just got a really quick first step. He’s got multiple moves and quickness, and he’s got a lot of energy. And I think the other thing that really helps him is that there’s quality players around him, I mean Zion (Young) ended up with four pressures and a sack opposite him. Chris McClellan ends up with a sack. So they were trying to chip eight. You could see that they were identifying him and trying to get the chip to him, which allowed other people to become viable pass rushers. But then there were multiple times that he would beat those chip man for a tackle.”
Question: “One other thing on Ahmad. In this era when recruiting is so sophisticated, I wonder if you might have some notion of why he seemed to be a little under recruited and maybe how his emergence reflets something that’s harder to measure?”
Drinkwitz: “Yeah, I’ll be honest, I don’t think recruiting is sophisticated. I think it’s become copycat. I think, no offense to the guys in here that have recruiting websites, but it’s a lot of, everybody tries to be really quick on diagnosing players and tries to be the first to tell you that a freshman and a sophomore are four stars and five stars. And they discount the growth process. And I think the biggest thing is that discount the senior year.
“That’s not what we’re doing moving forward. We are adamant about seeing progression in their senior year, because the amount of investment that you’re having to make into freshman players as recruits. And I think he’s probably a really good example of that. Small school in Mississippi that you know, obviously, the recruiting guys didn’t get out and see so, thank God, ULM saw him, thank God he chose us.”
Question: Eliah, kind of big picture, curious if you have any opinion or thoughts on your annual opponents that, I guess aren’t official or announced as Arkansas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma?”
Drinkwitz: “I’m just trying to beat UMass. I mean, I, there’s so much going on right now. I don’t know that there’s like, I mean, you’re going to play everybody in a two years, two-year deal. Like, you play three permanents and then play six in 26 and you play the three permanents and you play the other six in 27. So I don’t know that it matters.
“I think the SEC has just created a meat grinder that teams are going to be in. So whether you play those three permanents, I mean, you got to play everybody in the SEC every two years. It is what it is. I don’t know what anybody was hoping for. Like, there’s not like, you know, I mean, there’s not like, there’s a lot of bad teams in the SEC. I mean, it’s, everybody’s got good players, everybody’s got drafted players, everybody’s got four- and five-star recruits, everybody’s got money in the portal, everybody’s got, like, it’s. And then, without divisions, yeah, it’ll be fun.”
Question: “With all the Front 7 has been able to do, especially stopping the run, from an identity standpoint, what have you seen develop through these first four games?”
Drinkwitz: “Yeah, honestly, I think you see the hallmarks or the DNA of what we want our defensive football team to be. Stop the run and have some fun, two, confuse harass and hit the quarterback. And I think we’re able to do that at a really high level. We’ve been able to stuff the run without having to add a lot of pressures or anything like that. We’ve had a little bit of line movement. But for the most part, we’re just able to control our gaps and skate, and then play downhill with our linebackers.
“And then, you know, right now, we’re able to create pressure with, actually, Saturday was our best job of creating pressure without having to bring a lot of extra guys. And then, you know, with him as the quarterback, we had him enough speed to spy and create an issue for him to get out of the pocket and be able to bring him down. So, that’s what we want to be on defense. We want to be a team that stops the run.
“Anytime you can stop the run, you’re really never out of a game. And that’s, you know, even, you look at our two power-five games where we’ve been behind or hasn’t looked where we wanted to be, we’ve always been able to say, ‘Well, we’re going to, in the fourth we will be able to run the ball, and they will not.’ If you cannot run the ball, you cannot get the clock, you can’t run the clock out. You’re going to have to give us more chances.
“Ultimately, that for us, you look at the formula for us winning one-possession games or whatever, it’s our ability to stop the run and run the ball that gives us a chance in all these opportunities.”
Question: “Circling back to Ahmad. Early in the season, he said that everything still felt fast for him. Even though he’s having dominant performances. We’ve had a few check ins at these press conferences and again he still says it feels fast. Even though he’s playing really well, how have you seen him kind of evolve and does it look like the game is changing for him? Or what do you guys see?”
Drinkwitz: “I see a young man who’s still hungry to grow and develop. Who understands that each game’s a new opportunity to be better. I was really proud of him. He had a really good red zone blitz pickup on a corner that, to be quite honest, in fall camp he would have totally missed. But he’s getting better.
“You know, I think that’s, when he says the game is fast, I don’t think it’s fast for him with the ball in his hands. I think it’s fast for him with all the other stuff outside the ball being in his hands. You know, I think Coach (Kirby) Moore does an excellent job of utilizing the backs in the pass game. And so that requires a thought process and knowing where to line up, what the route is. You know, we were chipping every single time we were out last week to the defensive end. So that’s, that’s fast.
“They have multiple blitz pickups. Obviously it’s totally different to go from backers to corners and BPUs. So I think all those different things contribute to the game being fast. It will continually slow down. But I think he’s hungry. He’s trying to master the game, because there’s a lot more to plan running back than breaking tackles. Although that’s a big part of it, and a fun part of it. You know, being able to do the other things like protect the quarterback, be available in the pass game.
“And you know, it’s not like Kirby just lines him up in the backfield at one spot all the time. I mean, our running backs line up at wide out, they line up the tight end, they jump, they move. There’s a lot of variation of what we’re asking them to do. So that takes a little time to get comfortable in it. Obviously, he’s done a really good job doing that.”
Click here to discuss Drinkwitz’s press conference in our story thread.