Drinkwitz Lists Mizzou's Standout Freshmen in Week 2 of Fall Camp

At the end of Week 1 of Missouri's fall camp, head coach Eli Drinkwitz wasn't thrilled with the performances of members from his highly touted 2025 freshmen class.

"At the end of the day, these freshmen, you gotta learn how to practice," Drinkwitz said. "Every rep is full speed. Two-line finish means two-line finish."

At the end of Week 2 on Saturday, the Tigers went through their second scrimmage of the week. This time around, Drinkwitz was much more impressed with the outings from his true freshman. Now, it's becoming clear that many of them could carve out roles.

"I've been really pleased with the response," Drinkwitz said Saturday. "So I've been very impressed with the progress over the last week.

One of those guys was defensive end Daeden Hopkins, a 6-foot-6 pass rusher from Hermann, Missouri. Hopkins was all over the field, according to Drinkwitz, and is starting to catch the attention of the coaching staff.

"Daeden Hopkins, the way he played today, he's gonna play himself into a role real quick," Drinkwitz said. "That was impressive stuff today."

Hopkins was an elite pass-rusher in high school, using his rare height for his position to find ways around opposing tackles. Those same tools are already benefitting him now as he molds into an SEC-caliber edge.

"Daeden felt like he was in our backfield pretty much all day with his group reps," Drinkwitz said.

The pair of running backs also impressed Saturday. Four-star Texas native Brendon Haygood caught a few eyes in today's scrimmage, as did Marquise Davis.

"Not all of them are there, but Brendon Haygood, I thought, had some really good stuff today," Drinkwitz said.

Davis received a direct callout from Drinkwitz last week for "not running fast enough." Drinkwitz even went as far as changing his practice jersey number from 7 to 77 to motivate him.

The former-four star flipped the script this time around and left Drinkwitz pleased. The Tigers opted to hold star running back Ahmad Hardy out, giving players like Davis and Haygood an opportunity to shine.

"Marquise [Davis], I thought, stole the show with his effectiveness running the football today," Drinkwitz said.

Hopkins, Davis and Haygood weren't the only ones to make a mark on Saturday's scrimmage. Multiple players on both sides of the ball did things that managed to impress Drinkwitz for a variety of reasons, showing that they're capable of competing at a level that the coaching staff desires.

"You got to give it to Keiton Jones. I think he's been doing some really good things," Drinkwitz said. "Matt's (Zollers) figuring it out. Dante McClellan is a guy that we're going to be able to count on at linebacker."

On offense, former four-star wide receiver Donovan Olugbode also stood out, according to Drinkwitz.

One name that hasn't been discussed much at all throughout the offseason is three-star defensive tackle Jason Dowell. In a defensive tackle room that has plenty of questions about its depth, Dowell could be a player who sneaks into the rotation.

"Jason Dowell's a guy we're going to be able to count on at the line," Drinkwitz said. "So I've been very impressed with the progress over the last week."

The next week of practice will be a crucial one for every player on the team, not just the freshmen. Execution week, as Drinkwitz calls it, will be a good test for everyone.

After a group of freshmen proved themselves and stepped up, execution week will be even more crucial for them. It'll be a great test in terms of small mistakes, like penalties, footwork and discipline.

"We got another week, execution week, I think is really going to be important for everybody, because now we find out who's going to be consistent, who's going to be able to stick to it," Drinkwitz said. "This is kind of rigor, getting ready for the SEC."

Entering this season, Drinkwitz made it clear that he believed there was a select group of first-year youngsters who could make an impact for the Tigers. Now that two weeks are out of the way, along with some of those growing pains of adapting to practice, expectations and praise are beginning to increase.

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