Eli Drinkwitz on how Mizzou RB Malae Fonoti's Injury Relates to Sport-Wide Problem

Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz told local reporters Thursday that transfer tailback Malae Fonoti suffered a non-contact ACL injury and will miss the remainder of the 2026 season. Fonoti, a first-year transfer who spent the first two seasons of his career at Montana, seemed to be the Tigers' second-string running back, based on the depth chart and order of appearance in Week 1. He rushed for 18 yards on three carries in his Tiger debut.

Fonoti's injury, along with All-American running back Ahmad Hardy's unknown return timeline, puts Missouri's backfield a bit shorthanded.

"That's probably the biggest point of concern we have right now with the depth chart," Drinkwitz said.

The seventh-year MU coach took the opportunity to explain how Fonoti's injury — and Mizzou's inability to replace him and the investment put into him this season — ties back to one of the overarching problems of college football.

"You build a roster in January, and unforeseen things happen, like, you know, players get hurt in game, players get hurt in accidents, and you're kind of stuck," Drinkwitz said. "And I think this is just goes back to a broader question of what is the NCAA, or college football's, management for creating some sort of parity throughout the course of a of a season. And I think we're going to continue to get more and more of these questions in this NIL day and age of how you can create competitive equity amongst the college football teams so that you can continue to keep fanbases engaged, and that a single significant injury doesn't derail a season, and all of this money that we've invested, the fans have invested in, now becomes null and void because of an injury that you have no way to to replace."

Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz addresses the media Thursday in the Hyatt Regency during SEC Media Days in Hoover, Ala. Sec Media Days Missouri | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Contrary to what occurred in the 2025-26 college basketball season, college football teams cannot add players to the roster midseason. Teams must submit rosters 24 hours before their first game. Missouri, now down Fonoti and awaiting the return of Hardy, has just four scholarship tailbacks healthy on the roster — two of which are freshman and one of which is a transfer from the FCS level. And like Drinkwitz said, there's nothing he or the program can do to replenish the production lost.

"So again, there's a whole lot of questions in college football that at some point need to get answered by somebody in charge instead of just saying, 'Well, we'll play the games.' But that's a whole other question," Drinkwitz said. "So in the running back room, yeah, I don't feel great. But, you know, it is what it is. We'll do the best we can."

How Mizzou's Running Back Room Currently Sits

Jamal Roberts remains the lone starter on the Week 2 depth chart handed out to media Tuesday. Fonoti is still listed as the second-string tailback alongside Xai'Shaun Edwards but won't be suiting up. After Edwards, it'd be some sort of combination of true freshmen Maxwell Warner and Preston Hatfield, along with fifth-year back Anthony Favrow, all three of which received a carry against UAPB — Hatfield scored a touchdown.

Roberts led the pack with 47 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, followed by Edwards at 45 yards on seven carries, then Hatfield with 34 on four, Favrow with 26 on six and Warner with seven on two.

Sep 3, 2026; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers running back Preston Hatfield (28) celebrates after a touchdown against the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions during the second half at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“They played really well," Roberts said of his backups. "They ran the ball good, making good cuts and decisions. Even just picking up pass pro as well by Anthony Favrow and (Edwards), and so I feel like they can step up and fill in the shoes, like I said for Malai, and help us in the good run game and pass protection."

Missouri got off to a relatively slow start on the ground against Pine Bluff, rushing for 22 yards on its first 11 carries.

"We weren't running the ball effectively, especially on the inside zones, because we didn't handle the movement or the game calls, which occurred on not only the sack but also on the third one on the second drive," Drinkwitz said. “I thought, for sure, in the second quarter we had a couple more where we handled their I-front a little differently. We made an adjustment on sideline and how we wanted to to handle that insert the the surge and it worked out pretty good for us."

Starting off efficient on the ground will be key for the Tigers against Kansas this week, generating a steady, safe flow of offense in an expected hostile environment. Missouri is set to take on Kansas at 7 p.m. Friday in Lawrence, Kansas, for the last chapter of the Border War until 2031.

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