Everything Eli Drinkwitz Said to Recap Week 3 of Fall Camp

ST. CHARLES, Mo. — Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz spoke to the media Saturday after the team held a practice on Lindenwood's campus. The Tigers traveled to the nearby campus in order to simulate a road game, as Missouri won't play on the road until it faces Auburn on Oct. 18.

Drinkwitz gave updates on the quarterback competition, how the offensive and defensive lines are performing and more.

Here's a full transcript of what he had to say.

Opening statement:

"Man, what an awesome day today. Really appreciate Lindenwood letting us do this. Coach Stugart, such a generous host to allow us to utilize their facilities. What a great opportunity for us to practice a road trip, get used to the adjustments of a locker room, and the challenging of an environment. So what an awesome field, and everything was first class, so really appreciate Lindenwood.

It was good today. I know some people thought we were doing a walk-through. We got a really good scrimmage with our younger guys, let the quarterback still go, but took out a good portion of players who had played significant snaps in college football. We kind of held those guys out and let some younger guys get the work. So was really good there, and then we let the special team specialist get the punt and the field goal work. I didn't feel like offensively or special teams, we started fast at all. We had a shanked punt, we had a three-and-out, we had a three-and-out, and it just wasn't what we need to do offensively or special teams-wise, if you're going to go on the road.

I thought defense started really fast, which was good. Offense settled in, got a couple of scoring drives there. Blake was able to kick a couple of field goals just to get that work in. (The team) was on the field a little less than an hour from a football playing game, but, totally came in and did our pre-game and all that, so it was really good. Good heat exposure, fired up where we're at. So get back, dinner tonight, meetings off tomorrow, and then finish up camp. I told them next week is all about urgency. We got to have urgency to raise our level of where we're at. We can't just coast. We got to have some urgency to get going. So that's where we're at."

On what Drinkwitz wanted to see from this practice:

"I wanted to see where we were at. I wanted to see from a mentality standpoint, would we start fast? Did we have the right mindset? Did we come out ready to play? In a road game, you can't ease into it. You look at our poor performances last year, three of them on the road. We were really, really slow, and that can't happen. We have to start fast, and that's something that you can learn now and apply it instead of having to learn after you go on the road. So they knew I was disappointed with that slow start."

On what a solidified offensive line looks like:

"For us, it's all about getting the best five. And the challenge is you think you got guys slotted in positions, but, man, guys grow and develop and get better and play and play themselves into positions. And so Curtis Peagler's really played well. And so it's like, okay, well, is he playing better than the left tackle, or is Tristan Wilson playing better than the center, and so we're having those constant discussions.

I feel like we gave ourselves a chance to look at it. I like the way that looks right now. We've got a little bit of camp left, so I don't want anybody to think they're out of the fight, but I feel confident in the direction we're going.

I'll say this: I have a ton of confidence in Brandon Jones. What he did with our offensive line the last two years that he's been here has earned him the ability to be flexible with how he does it. And so all the worry about, 'Oh, man, we're moving...,' man, that's ridiculous. Don't worry about it. I promise you, we know what we're doing with that. We'll be just fine if that's the direction we go.

Cayden's been an unbelievable team player. Slid out there. He's played left tackle; that's what he's always been, and he looks like a natural at it to me. So I think we'll be fine. But no final decisions yet."

On what Drinkwitz saw from Beau Pribula and Sam Horn:

"Yeah, it was a struggle for them because they were going against, or didn't have necessarily, the same group that they've been working with. So that was good. Got to see them work through some difficulties, some slow starts, and bounce back. So, it was good.

Big thing for me again was to see their mindset, mentality coming out, and how do they respond to this situation. Nobody knew who wasn't playing. Everybody thought we were coming out here, and everybody was going, and then we went back in the locker room, and I just took people's helmets and I told them, 'Hey, when you go on the road, you always face adversity. You never know. Somebody's got to step up, and so these guys that don't have helmets aren't playing today, and go figure it out.' Was trying to create some adversity. I thought I did a good job with that."

On Curtis Peagler and Tristan Wilson:

"Yeah, just the way Curtis Peagler and Tristan Wilson have been playing and performing. What happened was Connor [Tollison] got dinged up, and so we had to move Tristan to center. And in order to get the twos the reps we wanted, we moved Dom to the number two center, which gave Curtis a real shot to play at the one right guard position. He played really well. And it's like one of those things, like, 'Okay, well, alright, if he's playing one of the best five, how do we get our best five on the field?' And whether it happens in camp, I think there's a misnomer that at the offensive line position, you just play one position. You learn techniques, that's what the outside zone helps us do. You take reps all across the line, and position flexibility is the name of the game. That's why you got to be able to have your best five on the field. And so Tristan and Curtis are competing at the right guard position, and Jayven is competing at the left tackle position. And competition is a great thing."

On how the quarterback competition is bringing out the best in Beau Pribula and Sam Horn:

"I think both of them are really straining. I think when one guy has a big day, the other one knows they have to respond.

My challenge for them, they were both, we voted captains yesterday, and both of them were voted captains on the offensive side of the ball along with Connor Tollison and Cayden Green. My challenge for them is to lead when you're not the quarterback. Don't be in the back just watching the plays. Go lead. Go be on the sideline. Go provide energy, because that's really the next step. It's who really rallies the team. And it was awesome to see both of them get votes.

On the defensive side of the ball, Zion Young, Daylan Carnell, Jalen Catalon and Khalil Jacobs were voted, and then Logan Muckey was voted the special teams captain. So, a lot of guys voted captain- nine. I've never had that many, but it's one of those things where I knew this class had strong leadership and guys believed in them, so excited about that."

On which faces are emerging as impressive members on the defensive side of the ball:

"Yeah, I'll tell you what, man, Caleb Flagg has had an outstanding fall camp. Santana Banner has been really, really good. Mose Phillips has been good. I think we know exactly where we're at with the three corners. We got six defensive ends that continue to pop for us. I feel really good about the way Marquis Gracial has grown up and developed and and the size and dominance that he can play with on the interior. We've got four really good linebackers, so I think we're really close to that.

The good news is the rest of these guys, like the Brian Huffs of the world, man, they've really shined on special teams. Length and speed and can really run, and that's been exciting. Jeremiah Beasley is a guy that's really popped, both playing and playing special teams. So it gives Coach Link a deep bench to really get guys on the field."

On what Drinkwitz needs to see next week to make a decision about the starting quarterback:

"Yeah, I don't have a timeline yet on the decision. Everybody else is pressed about week one. I'm not really pressed about it. I'm pressed on who's going to reveal themselves as the starting quarterback. I think they're both playing really well from a statistical standpoint, from a touchdown-interception ratio, from a completion percentage, from a third-down percentage. I broke it all down yesterday in our off day, and it's remarkable how close it is.

For me, it's about being a transformational leader at this point, and who's going to lean into the team and really get the most out of those guys, and they're going to have to kind of separate themselves from the quarterback battle and really get the most out of the guys they're playing with."

On expanding the CFP to 24/28 teams:

"Yeah, my thoughts are, it's hot as crap out there.

I'm really focused on- how do we start faster? We didn't start fast enough today. How do we make sure our punter is ready to punt? On the ride home, I'll look at Pete Thamel’s tweets, and I'll process that. But right now, I'm too hot to think about it."

On whether or not game reps could influence the quarterback situation:

"Yeah, it could. Yeah, absolutely, it could. If we feel like there's no clear-cut decision, I'm not going to force the decision.

And that means that they would both play in the first game. We'll evaluate those reps, but I don't feel the pressure like, 'Oh, I've got to make a decision. We got to move on and solidify it,' like, that's not the case with this football team. This team's growing there. All of us need urgency to raise our level, because, again, we didn't start fast enough today. So there's got to be urgency when you show up to play, but that doesn't mean I need urgency to make a decision and force the wrong thing to happen, right? Be quick, but don't hurry. Be quick, but don't hurry."

On whether or not the depth of the team has lived up to Drinkwitz's expectations:

"Yeah, probably more so than I expected, specifically on the defensive side of the ball. But even with the offensive line, like I didn't know that we were going to have two young guys really develop into solid, I think, SEC offensive linemen with Tristan Wilson and Curtis Peagler. Those guys have kind of been penciled in as maybe quality backups. I'm telling you right now, those guys can play at a high level in this league, and that has been really something to watch. So that gives you more flexibility with what you want to do. Watching Marquis Gracial and Jalen Marshall really push, Elias Williams get up to 270 pounds, the defensive ends with, I mean, D Hop again, he was dominant out here again today. So that's been really, really exciting."

On how Dominick Giudice has been performing at left guard:

"So the thing about Dom is he is like the glue that holds that whole group together. I think the way he has asserted himself as the leader of the offensive line- it's been remarkable to me because Connor was out, and so we needed somebody else to kind of be the guy like, hey, they're going to get extra, they're showing up on Saturday. He's been the one leading. We're watching tape, and it's been remarkable. And man, that guy puts the team first in everything he does. He can play center, he can play right guard, he can play left guard, he can play them all at a really, really high level.

I would say right now, if something happened to Connor, we would start Tristan at center, and Dom would stay at guard. I said there's times right now where I get mad at Connor, and I'm just like, hey, put Tristan in because he's playing really well. So we got no problems on sliding that in. And I think people assume that flexibility means that we were struggling. We're not struggling."

On Cayden Green at left tackle:

"Our players work all the time on their craft, right? And so, I think you're right. You get to see a small portion, right? And that portion you saw, ‘Wow, he's moving at left tackle. Oh my gosh, they're pulling the rip cord, something's wrong.’ Now, it's something that he's been doing all summer. It's something that he's worked towards. It's something that when he first got here, he did. He wasn't as comfortable, so we moved him into left guard, played really, really high level, but now he's more comfortable and confident as a player. So it gives us the freedom to slide him out and say, 'Are you still comfortable and confident as the left tackle,' because it's a little bit further from the ball, a little bit more in space, a little bit more isolation. And guess what? He's pretty confident. He's pretty comfortable. And so that's a good sign. So I feel pretty good about it."

On which aspects of the game Tristan and Curtis have grown and developed in:

"I think physicality, but also footwork, fundamentals, understanding pad leverage. They had an entire off-season with Coach Russ, so their movement skills are so much different. Curtis Peagler's body has changed. He's a big guy, powerful, but if he uses his feet right, gets his hands on you, that's a tough out. And so, yeah, it's good."

On which freshmen caught Drinkwitz's eye at Lindenwood:

“Yeah, Jason Dowell had a sack, D Hop had a sack, Javion Hilson had a sack, a lot of sacks. Shaun Terry had a big-time third-down catch. Donovan Olugbode always shows up. Marquise Davis and Haygood both had big-time runs. So yeah, just right off the top there, top rope with that."

On how good the wide receivers have been top-to-bottom:

“Yeah, been really consistent, right? Kevin, Flash, Josh, I think Josh has had the most consistent camp. Daniel Blood. Those guys have played a lot of football. And they know what it looks like in this league. They know how to get open. They know how to go up and get catches. So that's been really, really good to watch.

And then you’ve got Xavier Loyd, who's played a lot of ball, so he's come in and fit in nicely, and you got the young guys competing now too.”

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