Everything Eliah Drinkwitz said ahead of the Border War
Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz met with the media Tuesday ahead of the revival of the Border War on Saturday.
Here is the full press conference video.
And if you’re unable to watch, here is a transcript of everything he said.
His opening statement
Drinkwitz: “First, I just want to acknowledge the passing of a friend and Mizzou, I don’t know the accurate words to describe Ben (Arnet). But you know, Thursday, after the game, received that news that was difficult to move on in the press conference because of how much Ben meant to so many people, including myself, and he was a great man, a great, true son, and somebody that I know everybody in this room will miss greatly, and it seems inappropriate to just move on. But Ben would know there’s a story to tell. The story’s not finished yet, so we’ll keep his family in prayers, our family, friends in our thoughts and prayers continue to tell the story of Mizzou just like he would.
“You know, want to recap our performance Thursday night. You know, the first thing I want to say is how much I appreciate our fans, what an awesome way to sell out to start the season. The environment was tremendous. The students were loud, they were early, and that student section was rocking. Can’t thank the administration enough with the new lights, I think the new lights and the ability to create an atmosphere was tremendous. I think the construction workers stole the show from their seats in the new suites and made people jealous. Which was awesome, and I think the construction is just a continued sign of our commitment to growing and developing as a program.
“I know there were some hiccups there with the concourse and all that stuff. I know our athletic department is working really, really hard to fix it moving forward, but look forward to having another Saturday in Fuarot and continuing the things that our fan base has built.
“You know, on tape I liked a lot. There was a lot of things to be proud of, but more importantly, there was so much to correct and so many things that we have to improve, starting with myself and our coaching staff, and then trickling down to our players top to bottom. And that’s really the name of the game, is improvement. You know, it doesn’t matter how good you are right now, it’s how much better can you be, and can you close that gap? And that’s really what we’re looking for this week, is to close that gap of becoming the best team that we can be. So there’s a lot of things to improve.
“You know, offensively, at the line of scrimmage, ball security in the pocket, blocking on the perimeter, protection with the tailbacks. Defensively, tackling in space, setting edges, not getting washed. In the interior movement game, having better spacing and coverage in the secondary. On special teams, being more at the physical point of attack, having fewer penalties that set us back. So tons of stuff to improve on, and that’s really what we’re focused on this week.
“From an injury standpoint, you love the game of football and you hate it. You absolutely hate injuries. And wish there was a way that they were not part of it, but they are. Sam (Horn) has an injury that’s going to keep him out for an extended period of time. I’m not going to get into specifics, but he will be out. Don’t know how long yet, but he will miss an extended period of time. Blake (Craig). Blake, tore his ACL. He had repair surgery this morning. There was a slight hope that it wasn’t quite as bad, but he has a full tear. Repaired this morning, and he’s on his way to recovery will miss the remainder of the season.
“What that means moving forward is we actually have added Ryder Goodwin to our football team and roster. He was a junior college transfer, so he joined us yesterday. Fully cleared, practiced with the team yesterday, we also added Brett Brown. Brett was a former walk-on quarterback. Actually played the spring game as the second quarterback two years ago. Brett is back. He practiced with the team yesterday. So, fortunate for us that we had the space within our 105 and made the corrections that we needed to make, and had the ability to get these guys onto our team, and did that so.
“Field goals as of right now will be Robbie Myers place kick will be Oliver Robbins, and Ryder will compete to see where he is at as quickly as possible, But he did kick with our unit yesterday, we’re excited we were able to get him.
“On to this week’s game. Obviously, it’s an important game to a lot of people, and our team fully is aware of the importance of this game to our fans and state and what it represents nationally and what it represents, you know, in a historical significance, we’ve embraced it, we understand it, we’ve taught about it, we’ve made sure our team knows about it. We’ve had guest speakers. And I will say this, I have a lot of respect for Coach (Lance) Leipold, what he’s done and the job that he’s done. He’s a national championship coach. He’s, He’s went to two other previous programs and transformed them into a winning program, and you can see what he’s done in a short amount of time at Kansas.
“What a terrific coach he is. His entire staff. So, they’ve got some really good players. They did an excellent job rebuilding the roster from last year. I think their quarterback is a terrific player. He’s back to his former self, two, I think two years ago, going into preseason, he was two in the Heisman preseason Heisman rankings, and he’s returned to that form. In my opinion. He’s got some weapons to really use, Emmanual Henderson and the transfer wide receiver Cam Pickett I think both of those guys are elite wide receivers.
“Henderson has got great speed. Catches the ball, really difficult to tackle. Former high school running back. Pickett, they use him a lot of different ways. I think he’s got three touchdowns in two games, so definitely know how to get him the ball. Defensively, Dean Miller, Justice Finkley, Trey Lathan, (Lyrik) Rawls, DJ Withers, all these guys are disruptives. I think their D-line is their strength of their football team, between Dean Miller, Justice Finkley and DJ Withers. I think they do as good a job as anybody rushing the passer. They got great length. They chase the ball. Trey Lathan is a transfer from West Virginia. He does a really good job playing linebacker. He’s a guy that we looked at in the portal. He’s a physical player. Can run really well.
“Lyrik Rawls is a safety. Got the interception versus Fresno, really good. I mean, does a lot for them. They do a lot with their defensive scheme. They have, they have four-down, they have odd, they have three-safety, they have bear, they have a six-man front. So they’re very disruptive.
“I think the team is very well coached, very disciplined in how they play. It certainly would be a challenge for our program and our team because of what they do. So, we got our hands full between understanding the rivalry and the intensity of the game and understanding the game is played on the field. We got a lot of work to do so with that I’ll open to questions.”
Question: “Eliah, what did you understand about this rivalry before you took the job and how long did it take you to gain an understanding of what it is?”
Drinkwitz: “Well, I mean, I obviously understood the rivalry. You know, you go back to probably the two biggest games, not biggest, but two of the big games, you know, were both ‘07, ‘08, right? And, you know, I remember watching those games on TV. I was, I wasn’t in college coaching, I was a high school coach. So, you know, remember Coach (Mark) Mangino, his ability to turn that boat around? Obviously had tremendous amount of respect for Coach (Gary) Pinkel because of, at that time, Ashton Glaser being on the roster. So I was aware of what this was all about, so taking the job, I understand, understood its importance, you know, and I’ve been to as many of the home basketball games that we’ve hosted KU. So understand it, you know, our team and guys understand the importance.
Question: “Coach, you mentioned previously that you brought in guest speakers. Have talked to the team about this game. What were some of the key points that they mentioned? I know Andy Hill was one of them. What were some of the key points that he and the others told the team about it?”
Drinkwitz: “Yeah, I mean, we did a lot of different things talking about it. We talked about the historical significance and context of the game. We talked about, you know, what, what it was for him, both as a player and coach, but really, those things need to be, I didn’t ask him if he was okay with me sharing what he said to the team. So, you know, it just needs to be known that we understand what it’s about.”
Question: “Eliah, what do you want to make sure that the players understand about the rivalry the most as you get ready for this week?”
Drinkwitz: “It means a lot to a lot of people. It’s a privilege to wear the Mizzou on your chest. And when you wear Mizzou, you represent 6 million people in this state. And that’s just current. Past and present, I think we’re Team 136 there are some people that felt like, there’s just a lot of importance, and this is our chance to write our part of the story. The game’s not, you know, we’re going to continue to play this game. So this is just one part of the story, but it’s an important part. You get a chance to be a part of it.”
Question: “You’ve certainly have your own rivalries within the SEC and otherwise. But when you think about a game with this history, is it part of the fabric of what makes college sports what it is? Do you see it that way?”
Drinkwitz: “Yeah, I think anything that stirs the passion of your fan base is important. Especially when you’re asking fans to do so much. You know, we ask our fans to do so much from a financial contribution, from time contribution from an engagement contribution. So anytime you get a chance to stir their passion for bragging rights and whatever other rights that might be on the line with this game, I think it’s important that your team’s ready to play.”
Question: “Coach you mentioned the importance of this rivalry, but who have you leaned on and what have you learned about what it’s going to be like to coach in this game?”
Drinkwitz: “Yeah, you know, I would just say the biggest thing that I’m telling our team is you got to understand it. But once the ball is kicked, you got to play the game. You got to play the game with execution of fundamentals, of technique, and the most important thing for us right now is to improve from last week’s performance. Both technically, fundamentally and execution wise. And so going back to, like, have I asked about coaching in this game? We’ve coached in some rivalry games before, we’ve been a part of some rivalry games before, so I think we have an understanding of what the intensity is going to be. There’s been no, like, you know, is there a certain schematic? Because it’s a rivalry game, it’s just you gotta stay calm, stay present, coach the game.”
Question: Is there anything you do differently in the rest of this weak or on game day to help players deal with the intensity?
Drinkwitz: “No, we’ve done all that. Now it’s about execution. I think there’s a fine line between over hyping and getting so emotional that you don’t have poison control. You want to have the energy, you don’t want to be emotional. And we want to have great, positive energy, and be excited to play. And I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. I think our players are going to be excited about Faurot Field being sold out. I think they’re going to be excited about playing a quality opponent and testing where they’re at as a team.
“And I don’t know that on game day, like I tell the team all the time, ‘The pre game speeches don’t execute in the fourth quarter.’ So like, you know it’s all good for SEC Now, and to put it out there. The mini movie’s gonna capture it. But at the end of the day, man, in a two-minute drive, or on swing eight or money downs, or ain’t nobody thinking about ‘Coach Drink said this,’ or ‘This guest speaker said this.’”
Question: “I know on Thursday night, you weren’t quite ready to talk about Matt (Zollers) being the backup quarterback. But how do you feel about his readiness and what you’ve seen out of him the last seven, eight months?”
Drinkwtiz: “I feel a lot of confidence in Matt (Zollers), especially after him being able to go in and perform the way he did. I thought he handled it pretty well. I think from a stacking standpoint, you know, I think our staff has done a really good job of growing Matt, while also allowing Beau (Pribula) and Sam to compete for the job.
“We really didn’t hinder his reps or performance while we were doing that. We were actually very cognizant in fall camp and summer walk throughs and during spring to make sure he was growing and developing reps. Because, make no mistake about it, Matt Zollers Is the future for us at the quarterback position here. And so we knew that he needed to continue to grow and develop. And so I think the maturity question, that’s what I actually spoke to him about maybe a week ago, and then brought him in and talked to him about it this week.
“Just, there’s just got to be a maturity and growth, now he’s no longer a freshman who’s just having a good time and going out. Of course, he wouldn’t have gone out to Harpos because he’s under age, but there’s no, now he’s, he’s focused on what he’s got to do in order to be prepared, because at any point he could go in the game.”
Question: “Coach, Beau was talking about after the game his running style and how he’s always been one to embrace contact as runner. With Sam being out for an extended period of time now, do you think that style has to change?”
Drinkwitz: “No. Beau’s gonna be Beau. So I don’t need Beau to change anything. You can’t control injuries, can’t be afraid of them. You got to play your game. And whatever makes Beau the best quarterback he can be is what Beau’s got to be. That’s what he’s going to do. So, I mean, if he’s going to have an opportunity to get out of bounds, sure, will we love him to do that. Absolutely. Will we ask him to? Great. But Beau’s going to be Beau, and I don’t want him thinking, I want him doing, I want him playing.”
Question: “Eliah with Robert, just what stood about, out about him as a prospect, and just what are the challenges for a true freshman kicker to be able to step in there?
Drinkwitz: “Yeah, I think it’s, you know, probably, one. he’s got a great leg. It’s just confidence and understand conditions, right? He’s always been able to kick so, you know, he’s just got to confidence he can do it in front of sold out crowds, which is always, you know, a nervous thing to do. And then, you know, conditions change, so being able to adjust and adapt to wind, cold, humidity, dampness, all those things that a kicker affects the ball flight. So those will be things that he has to adjust to as we continue to practice.”
Question: “I’m curious to know throughout the game how did you think your offensive line progressed, especially with the new kind of assemble that unit?”
Drinkwitz: “First drive, obviously, was really good. And I don’t remember if it was the second or third drive, we had a couple of issues. One was a communication issue on the slide. We thought we were on the slide side but we weren’t. And then one, we just got beat. And, you know, look, first time to ever play, you know, left tackle here, that’s going to be part of the growth process.
“I was more concerned with the interior movement that we weren’t able to get there was a fourth down that we didn’t get the movement that we needed to in the ‘A’ gap, you know. And we weren’t able to secure the back side of the outside zone the way we need to in order for that play to be effective. That was more concerning to me than the pass pro.
“I vividly remember two years ago, Middle Tennessee, Javon Foster giving up a sack on a third down that was pretty poor. He’s a dadgum good player and a draft pick that with the Bengals now. So like that, that’s, that’s part of it. We’ll get better, we’ll grow. We’ll develop there. And, like I started with this statement, like, the entire focus of Week 1 to Week 2 is improvement. It’s identifying mistakes and weaknesses, knowing where you’re actually at versus true competition, and figuring out how much better you got to be, and that’s, that’s the name of the game.”
Question: I know you don’t want to elaborate about anything any of those speakers might have specifically said but might you be able to share with us a few of the other speakers or how many other speakers you had talk about the rivalry?
Drinkwitz: “We had several. I don’t think it’s necessarily important. Again, I didn’t necessarily ask those guys, you know, if that was for me to put out. You know that they were here and spoke about it. But again, the point of it is not what they said. The point is to make sure that our fan base and our players understand that we know the significance historically, we understand the importance. We’re not overlooking or undervaluing this game. We know it’s an important thing to our team.
“But during the week is not the point that you get it going. During the week, you have to focus on execution of your assignments, because you don’t want to be emotional. You want to execute. And so we got all that out the way. We understand. We know there’s a trophy for it at the end of the game one of our goals every year is to win our trophy games. This is a week that we got a trophy on the line. You have a tangible thing that you’re playing for. In college football, you don’t always have that after a game, sometimes you just gotta ‘Attaboy.’ There’s no attaboy after this one. There’s a dadgum war drum and several other stuff out there.
“And you win it, you get it, if you don’t, you don’t. And I don’t care who you are, if you’re a competitor, there’s something on the line, I don’t care if you’re playing against a buddy at home and 1-on-1, if there’s a Diet Coke on the line, you want to stinking win, because it’s painful if you don’t. So our guys understand it. That ain’t the issue. The issue is, are we gonna be able to execute? Are we gonna be so focused on the crowd doing this and we forget, it ain’t about that.
“It’s about hands inside, it’s about executing your assignments, it’s about having eyes on your keys. It’s about communicating formation adjustments, it’s about offensively making sure that we’re all on the same page on our identifying the fronts that they’re going to be in. That’s going to be way more important than whether we had a guest speaker tell us about 19, or 1854, or 1960 they played an ineligible player. Okay, great, perfect. Let’s make sure we got a rippen list call.”
Question: “On the kicking game, how does the offensive, maybe the playcalling have to change?”
Drinkwitz: “It doesn’t. It doesn’t change. Nope. We’ll play the game, Robbie can kick. You know, I’m not going into it thinking he’s not going to be able to do something that I know he can do and he’s shown in practice. Now, do we have to adjust after we see things? We’ll figure that out. But not putting limitations on players going into it, he’s practiced, he’s performed, he’s kicked in big moments in fall camp.
“Like, again, I hate injuries. They stink. I hate that. But there’s a lot of players on our team that are all scholarship players that have opportunities to come in here and perform, and that’s why they’re here. So it’s not like, you know, we’re having open tryouts. Because we don’t have anybody else on the roster that’s ever kicked. Se just went and signed somebody out of JUCO, but we ain’t having open tryouts.”
Question: On the opposition a little bit. What’s the respect you have to show Jalon Daniels as a passer and trying to get pressure on him?”
Drinkwitz: “Yeah, I mean, that’s the, that’s, that’s the conundrum that you’re put in with him. You know, again, he’s played a lot of football. He’s seen a lot of different things, so there’s not a whole lot of things that you’re going to do that, that confuses him. He’s an excellent thrower of the football. They do a really good job of moving the pocket, which I think is very subtle, but really helps him, because he’s already moving. Now, if he decides to take off running he’s already got momentum.
“You know, when he’s in the pocket, you’re going to have to really work to constrict the pocket, but you got to stay in your rush lanes. I think we’ve played several of these styles of quarterbacks before, you know, in the SEC that’s becoming more and more popular, but we’ve never played anyone like him. Or as you know, maybe as good as him, he is a really, really dynamic, good player. And I think, you know, the toughest thing about a quarterback is a quarterback with maturity and experience, because they don’t get rattled. You know, if you look around college football this past weekend, it’s, it’s guys who maybe haven’t seen it before that have a little bit more growth.
“I mean, this guy’s been through the highs and lows of college football. Like, he’s not going to be distraught about going on the road. He’s done that several times. He’s not going to be distraught about playing a good defense, he’s played SEC defenses before. We’re just going to have to do a really good job of tackling. We’re going to do a great job of covering. Because at the end of the day, if wide receivers are open, he’s going to throw it to them.”
Question: “Coach what does your offensive line need to do to stop guys like Dean Miller and DJ Withers?”
Drinkwitz: “We’ve got to focus on our technique and fundamentals. At the end of the day, we have to focus on our technique and fundamentals. Those guys, I think, obviously, Dean Miller is really tall. He’s got burst off the edge. His length is a problem because in his one-arm stab, he’s able to get on you before you can punch. And if he’s able to get that one-arm stab going, now he’s got counter moves off of it.
“I think DJ Withers is very explosive, twitchy. Got a little bit more bullrush, in my opinion, to him. He’s excellent at pursuing the football. Even if you are able to sit down his bullrush, his secondary move, I think is really good, you know. So our guys are going to have to understand it’s not just a one-punch fight. You know, you’re going to have to stay in a good, proper position. You’re going to have to work to a counter move. And you’re going to have to make sure you have great balance. So it’s going to be a challenge, for sure, those guys can play.”
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