Eli Drinkwitz Recaps Mizzou's Scrimmage to Close Fall Camp

The media did not observe Mizzou football's scrimmage Saturday evening, but head coach Eli Drinkwitz was descriptive of events in the scrimmage in a press conference shortly after.

The scrimmage was separated into four quarters and "mixed up some of the different groups going against each other." A positive sign: the offense came out hot, scoring two opening-drive touchdowns.

At least one of the offense's touchdowns was a deep ball from starting quarterback Austin Simmons to speedy transfer wideout Caleb Goodie. Another from Simmons to sophomore standout Donovan Olugbode.

"The first drive, I think he was no incompletions and threw about a 35-, maybe a 40-yard touchdown to Caleb Goodie down the middle of the field, which was awesome," Drinkwitz said. "Came back next drive, threw a back shoulder to Donovan (Olugbode) for a touchdown, which was really good."

Goodie is set to make his debut with the Tigers after back-to-back seasons with 400 or more yards — 436 yards with Colorado State in 2024 and 484 yards with Cincinatti in 2025. Goodie's one of the fastest receivers in the nation, logging a speed of 22.4 mph by Telemetry Sport in 2024.

Olugbode is entering his second year of college football, fresh off a freshman season in which he made highlight-reel grab after highlight-reel grab. He finished the season as Mizzou's second-leading receiver with 401 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

The deep ball seems to be very much alive, as alongside Goodie's touchdown, Drinkwitz highlighted starting tight end Brett Norfleet's catch from Saturday's scrimmage and an earlier scrimmage.

"I think Brett had about a 45-yard catch tonight that was really good to see, and had a 50-yarder last week on the scrimmage game. So it's good to see the ball in the air a little bit further down the field," Drinkwitz said. "Tonight was a was a seam ball that had to get elevated. He went up, made a big-time catch with his catch radius and elevated over a safety that was down cover three."

Drinkwitz has previously said he wants the tight ends to get more involved in the downfield attack, so Norfleet's deep receptions seem like a positive sign for the new-look offense.

As for the defense, Drinkwitz said the unit had a few takeaways — specifically, interceptions from three transfers: Chris Graves, Jahlil Florence and Kensley Louidor-Faustin. Florence logged an interception in both the 2022 and 23 seasons, and Louidor-Faustin snagged one in 2025.

Earlier in camp, one defensive player mentioned Louidor-Faustin had a takeaway, higlighting the safety's ball-hawking abilities. Graves detailed how the safety earned the interception in Saturday's scrimmage.

"He's on the smarter side, but he has elite athletic ability," Graves said. "He had a cover-two drop and he jumped probably like 10 feet in the air to get it."

Louidor-Faustin has taken snaps with the first unit at the STAR position throughout camp. So has Michigan transfer Elijah Dotson. As for Florence, the Oregon transfer has been highlighted for his speed at corner by teammates throughout camp. He, too, has taken reps with the first team in drills throughout fall camp.

Missouri's defense as a whole logged seven interceptions last season, so adding more defensive playmaking to the mix could help the Tigers' field positioning and ability to change momentum of games quicker.

Starting kicker Blake Craig, who Drinkwitz said Aug. 14 that Mizzou needed "consistency" out of, nailed four of his five kicks. The lone miss was a 53-yarder and each attempt was from further than 35 yards out. Craig is now recovered from a torn ACL suffered against Central Arkansas in Week 1 last season.

Missouri's took a large step down in Craig's abscense last season, so with the former starter now fully healthy, the unit could return to success.

Missouri's season begins at 7 p.m. Sept. 3 with a home game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

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