Everything Eliah Drinkwitz said Tuesday: Adding physicality on the O-line and more
Mizzou coach Eliah Drinkwitz met with the media Tuesday ahead of the Tigers’ top 15 matchup with the Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday. Here is a video and transcript of everything he said.
Opening statement
Drinkwitz: “Yeah, great to be here. Really excited for this week’s opportunity. Recap our win versus Auburn. You know, I thought our team was very tough, very resilient, tough minded, but as coaches, you know, we got to do better. There’s a lot of things that we have to clean up from that game. O-line, tight ends must, they got to play way more physical.
“Quarterbacks got to continue to improve take care of the football in critical situation, unnecessary sacks. Defense, too many explosive runs, penalties that were undisciplined. And then coaching strategy, I got to do a better job at the end of the game, making sure we get an opportunity to kick the field goal with the ball at the 30. So, plenty of things for us to own as a group and focus on getting better.
“Vanderbilt, awesome opportunity, great week. Obviously, I think (Vanderbilt coach) Clark (Lea’s) done an outstanding job. His team is very tough, very physical. They’re a complete team. They work together, that, you can tell they’re very complimentary. He’s built, built it with veteran players, great schemes, fundamentals, and obviously the quarterback works in sync with that.
“It’s going to be a great environment, sold out crowd. GameDay is going to be there. So really fun opportunity for us. You know, our team needs to work this week to improve. Get better. We have to play with better pad level, we got to play with better footwork on the offensive line and tight ends to stay square. We have to be better with our second step, we have to be more accurate in our throws, we have to be better in pass protection. At the running back position. Our defense has to take better tracking angles. We can’t commit penalties that lead to extended drives. So, with that, I’ll open it up for questions.”
Question: I wonder if we could get your thoughts on Zion (Young’s) enthusiasm at the beginning of overtime and in the way he went out and backed it up?
Drinkwitz: “Yeah. Great, positive, contagious energy. Love who Zion is as a competitor. I love who he is as a teammate. Love who he is as a captain. And you know, there’s, there’s benefits and negatives to having microphones everywhere. Like, this game is about people being ready to play. And he was obviously ready to play, and our guys fed off of it. And if you don’t like it, don’t listen.”
Question: Obviously, Vandy was a tough out last year. In what ways have they gotten better from that group you saw in 2024?
Drinkwitz: “They’ve been a tough out every year we played them, except for my first year. 2021 was a one-possession game. 2022 was a one-possession game. We needed a fourth and one stop by (Darius Robinson) to seal the game. 23 was a 10-point game. They cut it to one possession in the fourth quarter. Last year was a double-overtime game, so it’s always been a competitive one-score game.
“You know, how have they improved? Obviously, I think the quarterbacks one year better. They do a lot with him in the pass game. I think they’re tight end (Eli) Stowers is an excellent player who’s just gotten better. More chemistry. Their offensive line is physical. They brought in some transfers. Their size is better. Their running backs are improved. Defensively, they’re very physical and aggressive. You know, I think No. 2, the nickel player, is as good as anybody we’ve played against. I think he does an excellent job.
“You know, the D-end (Miles) Capers is really good. Martel Hight at corner is an elite corner in this league. So, they’ve got players with great experience coming back, but they’re a veteran team. I mean, most of the transfers they took out of the portal had played a lot of reps, and so, you know, they’re on the upper end. I think 75 percent of their team is either graduate player or a senior.”
Question: Beau (Pribula) was talking after the game about the difficulty of defending the cover zero and Auburn bringing zero after the game. What is the counter to that?
Drinkwitz: “Execution. I mean, you know, they’re zero, you got one of two options. You know, we checked protections. We had a protection bust on one in the third quarter that should have been easily picked up, and you’re going to have to throw off of somebody. But we didn’t do it.
“We executed a couple of times on that last drive. We executed it on the last third-down conversion, but got to do a better job in protection. Making sure all seven people are on the same page and then quarterbacks and wide receivers have to execute, throws have got to be accurate. You know, the interception in the third quarter or in the second quarter really led to us not being able to extend the game the way we needed to. And that’s an accuracy throw ball can’t be left inside.”
Question: In regards to Zion, when you guys were first looking at him and seeing him in recruiting, what did you see kind of in his wiring and how much does that account for everything that goes with the physical attributes?
Drinkwitz: “Yeah, it depends which time you’re talking about. You know, we recruited him out of high school, and he committed to us and then signed with Michigan State. So that was, that was fun. And then, obviously out of the transfer portal, young man’s always had great energy. Always was great to be around. (Strength) coach (Ryan) Russ(ell) tells a great story this first day here, when he got cleared. He literally got cleared from that physical stuff, like four minutes before he started. Before that, his group started the workout, so he got changed, went in there, puked three times during the workout.
“Every time he puked, he just came back and kept working, and you just knew he was going to be the right fit for our culture. And I think his leadership has grown. You know, last year, I remember when we lost the (Texas) A&M game, and I was worried about the locker room, and I pulled aside, and he said, ‘Coach, I haven’t won four games my college career. Like, we’re fine, we’ll be good, you know, like, I love this stuff.’
“And so, he’s always just been really positive. And, yeah, I mean, he’s a great, great young man and you know, he’s got a side to him that’s, you know, the way he plays.”
Question: With that intensity, is it sometimes hard to find that line within the balance? Feeling that like with the penalty in the previous game?
Drinkwitz: “No, I mean, Bill Parcells said it best if you’re going to live with, if you’re going to play with an edge, you’re probably going to live with an edge. And he’s got an edge. And, I mean, you know, I’m so tired of hearing about that penalty cost us the game. That was the second play of the game. It didn’t cost us anything. Is it something that we got to correct? Absolutely. Is it a self-inflicted wound? 100 percent. But that narrative needs to go in the trash can, because that didn’t cost us jack squat.”
Question: With Diego (Pavia) what makes his running style unique to defend and obviously him as a thrower, kind of be a little smarter this year?
Drinkwitz: “I don’t know if he’s smarter. I think he’s just improved his accuracy. He’s got a lot of weapons. He’s another year into the system with the cohesion of that group. You know, he’s very headsy runner. He knows how to attack angles, he knows how to utilize pump fakes with the quarterback position. He knows how to eliminate angles. Which is really just a savviness. He can get skinny and he can lower his shoulder. I mean, he’s got all the trades you want of a really tough, physical runner.”
Question: I was curious what your reaction was rewatching film, especially on that last play, just watching (Josiah) Trotter hop the running back and then also just what he’s brought to the program?
Drinkwitz: “Yeah, obviously, that last play was extremely impressive. Not only by him, Damon Wilson, obviously was held and makes the sack. Trot leaps the running back. You know, I showed that to the group of guys or to the team as an outstanding play. I think Trot’s getting better and better. His blitz path, you know, there was about one against Kansas where he could have been a free hitter, and he kind of slowed up. And I think (linebackers coach) (Derek Nicholson’s) just been really continuing to work with him on his blitz path, and running through people and he’s a big, physical player who’s been awesome, another guy who very, very pleased that he’s on our team.”
Drinkwitz: You’ve gotten a lot of opportunity for Santana Banner the last couple of weeks, what have you see from his development throughout the season and especially these last two games with the bigger role that he’s taken on?
Drinkwitz: “Yeah, he plays in on our sub packages and then rotates, obviously, with the safety group. Does a really good job of man-to-man coverage, which is going to be something that has to continue to evolve when we bring pressure. But he’s an instinctual player, physical player, that’s got great size, length and can run and will hit.”
Question: The run game slowed down against Auburn, how are you guys looking to get that back?
Drinkwitz: “Well, if you’re going to win on the road, you need to be able to run football. Like I said, I think we have to be better at pad level. I didn’t think our pad level was right. I didn’t think our footwork was very good. We were, we weren’t staying square, we were crossing over and, you know, so our second step wasn’t where it needed to be. Our hands weren’t in the right placements.
“We looked timid, like we weren’t sure what we were, or why we were running certain plays. You know, the plays we came downhill. I thought our counter scheme popped for us. For whatever reason, we didn’t get back to it enough. So, I think it’s a combination of making sure that we come back to plays that work, and it’s a combination of making sure that our offensive line and tight ends are playing aggressive and they aren’t overthinking it and playing with better fundamentals. And that’s on our coaching staff to get corrected.”
Question: Even going back to spring, you mentioned you needed a jump out of Marquis Gracial this year. And obviously he made two pretty flash plays against Auburn and on the broadcast, they talked a little bit about his evolution off the field. Just wondering if you could talk about his development in both areas?
Drinkwitz: “Yeah, Big Grizz, that’s my nickname for him. You know, I think, you know, we had a chance to spend some time together in Harmons, Jamaica, on a work site. And I think it was great for me to get a chance to just spend some quality time. And I think it was great for him just to be around me in a different way, instead of always calling him into the office and, you know, challenging him on grades or challenging him on effort. It was just two dudes, you know, being in a foreign country, working their butt off, wishing we had a cold shower or a hot shower at some point or a hot meal.
“But, you know, I think also it kind of shifted his perspective, I think, and he can speak more about it, but he got up and shared with the whole group, about how his perspective changed, instead of a woe is me attitude to more of an attitude of gratitude about the blessings that he does have in his life and the blessings of being able to play college football. And I think you know when you’re when your mindset shifts from blame to gratitude, it can change a lot of things.
“And you know, mindset’s the No. 1 indicator of success. and so, for him, I think you know being able to change that perspective, perspective and shift that perspective, has been able to help him grow as a football player. Takes coaching better, takes challenges better, and it’s been awesome to see. I think he’s established a new standard for himself that now it’s our job to continue to reinforce and make sure he lives up to that standard continually.”
Question: You talked about him a little bit after the game, but big picture when (Donovan Olugbode’s) in some of these contested catch scenarios, what makes him so capable?
Drinkwitz: Olugbode? That’s a great meme on Twitter. Yeah. I mean, I think he’s just got really good ball skills. He is a natural hand catcher, and so he has great hand-eye coordination, and he’s a very good route runner. He does a really good job re-stemming, creating separation at the top of his routes, and then Beau has a lot of confidence in who he is as a pass catcher, so he’s unafraid to give him opportunities.”
Question: Vanderbilt’s tight ends, what is it about them the way they use them that makes it so difficult to defend them?
Drinkwitz: “Well, I think one is their size. They both have great length and size and speed and can run. And then obviously they get you in a lot of 12 P or Heavy 12, run the football, you know, and you try to stop it man-to-man, and then you’re putting your linebackers in conflict. Your safety’s in conflict. Are you fitting the C area, or are you playing man?
“So, you know, that’s a, that’s a challenge. They do a really good job with it. I think they’re offensive coordinator’s as good as anybody in the country at creating opportunities to get 6 yards, 6 yards, 6 yards, and staying ahead of the chains. And he’s really good.”
Question: College GameDay is coming to a Mizzou game for the first time in 11 years. They’ve only covered Mizzou six times. I’m curious, does that amplify the stage itself at all or does that change anything in preparation or make the game even bigger?
Drinkwitz: “Is it in First Bank Stadium? Then it doesn’t mean anything for us, we’re the road team. So, we’ll show up, we’ll go to visitors’ locker room, we’ll walk out on the field and play the game. Whatever else they got for their fans, that’s up to them, but doesn’t affect us. I don’t think they even want to talk to us.”
Question: You talk about the significance of minset, I wonder if you might be able to elaborate what goes into Mindset Monday and what the significance of that is in building your week?
Drinkwitz: “I think Mindset Monday is when you have an opportunity to come in and you get to learn and grow from the previous game. The mistakes, the successes, you learn from it, and then set your jaw on what lies ahead. And every week’s got a unique challenge and we talked very specifically about what our plan to win is, and that goes into Monday. And so, you got to start planning it. You got to start visualizing it, you have to start understanding what lies ahead for each and every day, moving forward.
“You know, for us, we got to really improve. And the only way we’re going to improve in stopping the run or running football is to have a great Toughness Tuesday, starting an inside drill and then moving on to dirty show. And so, you got to set your jaw on Monday, knowing, all right, we got to improve. Coaches clearly pointed out these are the areas that we were deficient on the road, and if we don’t get those fixed, then we’re destined to live in the past, and that’s a great recipe for failure.
“So you know, you have a choice, just like Marquis, you have an attitude that you get to choose. Do you try to improve, or do you think you’ve already arrived? So, you know, there’s a lot of great things about winning, but winning either, football teams either continue to get better each week, or they get stagnant. You know, there’s a great Sean McVay quote about the best teams aren’t the best at everything they got to be the best at what they do.
“And so, the challenge for us is figuring out what exactly we feel like we’re really good at, keep improving at it, and set that mindset on Monday.”
Question: You talked about Diego’s running ability and you know well his ability to create out of structure. Having played a couple of quarterbacks already from Kansas and South Carolina, just how does Diego compare in his ability to create out of structure compared to the others?
Drinkwitz: “Yeah, I mean, I do think that’s kind of a theme for college football right now, and specifically for the quarterbacks that we’ve played. You know, you speak about (Jalon) Daniels and (LaNorris) Sellers and even Jackson Arnold, I thought, did a nice job scrambling. And so, our guys have some experience. I don’t know that any of them are as good at the improvisation as Diego. I think he is, I mean, there’s a third-down play where LSU has everybody taken away. They have a D-end with a free runner on him, and he’s able to make him miss with a three move in the backfield, and then throw it to the tailback who’s not even in the play.
“I mean, he’s literally not even an option, but he’s eligible, and he found him. So, I mean, that kind of stuff, it’s hard to replicate. And again, I think he’s the best that I’ve seen doing that. He’s a magician back there. I mean, there are plays like that against us last year, you know. So, we got to be really disciplined in how we tackle. You got to be disciplined in our angles. And it’ll, it’ll be a real challenge. But so far, he’s, he’s the best that we’ve seen. And those other two guys are really, really good players, but his ability is the best.”
Question: Similarly to the question about Zion, when you were looking at Keagan Trost in the transfer portal, what made him desirable for you to bring him in and how have you seen that manifest?
Drinkwitz: “Yeah, I mean, Keagan’s probably been, he was the offensive lineman of the game this last week. He’s been our most consistent offensive lineman. To be able to fill in at the right tackle position behind the No. 7, you know, to fill in for the No. 7 pick in the draft and really not have us fall off at all, has been very impressive.
“You know, I think, I think the thing that held him back from the portal was that the style play that he was in in the previous year. You weren’t sure how that would translate, but for us, we saw his athleticism. We knew some of the people who he worked with in the past and felt good about who he was.
“I think the Brotherhood you know, Keagan has been at four different schools in four years, and so I think it took us a while to break down those walls, but now that he’s totally invested in the Brotherhood. He’s another great story from the missions trip, in being a part of the team, I think he’s really grown. I think that group of five is really, there’s really about eight of them that hang out all the time, has really gelled, and he’s been impressive.
“He’s done an excellent job, you know, we went into the matchup, and obviously they got some pressure on us, you know, they did some good stuff, but I thought we held up against their defensive ends pretty well. And I thought Keagan and Cayden (Green) did an excellent job with those guys. So, it forced them to bring pressures. So, we got to do a better job, you know, picking those pressures up.”
Question: You talked about the line and pad level and hands. I feel like that’s an everyday thing. So how does that kind of get away from guys?
Drinkwitz: “Yeah, that I think it’s actually, we call it Every Damn Day Drills, right? And you have to do those drills every damn day. The reality of it is, it’s how you do those drills that matter. Like I can go every day and read a book, but if I’m not in tune to trying to read and grow and get better, then, if I’m not intentional about the work, and I think we have to be more intentional about the work.
“And then obviously, as a coaching staff, we have to take the gray out so that we can play faster. I think when you watch there’s some timidness, like we’re not firing off the ball, confident and this is our target, this is our landmark. We’re resetting a new line of scrimmage. We were like, timid on what they were going to do. We had to eliminate that gray. And then we have to do a better job of coming back to plays that are working and not getting away from it.
“When you hit the counter for 8 yards and you don’t call it again, that ain’t good, period. And that’s on me. Hell, I knew it was a good call. I got to reinforce that. We got to get back to it. So, you know, that’s everybody, and I think more than anything, I’m taking ownership of it’s got to improve.
“And it’s not fair, I think, as coaches, to get up here and illustrate and push all the blame to the players. At the end of the day, it’s my job and it’s our coaches job. We get paid a hell of a lot of money to put these guys in the right positions, and we got to do it.”
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