Everything Eli Drinkwitz Said to Preview Arkansas

For one last time during the regular season, Missouri head football coach Eli Drinkwitz took to the media podium to discuss his football team. This came after a 17-6 loss to the No. 8 Oklahoma Sooners in Week 13 of the college football season.

Drinkwitz's Tigers did not play well on offense on the road against the Sooners, which was a topic of conversation during Drinkwitz's time with the media. He also discussed the transfer portal calendar and issues on special teams, along with a look ahead to their matchup with Arkansas.

Here's everything Drinkwitz said on Tuesday to look back on Oklahoma and look ahead to the final regular-season game of the year.

Opening statement:

“Happy Thanksgiving, everybody. Grateful for the opportunity to be the head football coach at the University of Missouri and blessed to coach with a great group of players, this staff, fans and so really appreciative this week. Hope everybody has a great holiday time with their family, friends and loved ones.

Obviously, very disappointed in the result in Norman on Saturday. Didn't play our best in all three phases. Had things that we could have done, specific things that we talked about needing to do in order to win that game, and we didn't get it done. I thought our defense played with great effort and tenacity, and kept us in the game all game, but the other two phases didn't do nearly enough to give us that chance, but we have moved on. We are onto Arkansas prep in the final game of this season, and preparing for our bowl game. We are not discouraged. We know that we're a good football team, and we know that we've got a lot to play for. Arkansas has really faced a lot of adversity this year, but they are a very dangerous team is as being able to tell through the point differential, the number of close games that they play, the style of offense that coach (Bobby) Petrino has put together. So it's going to be a real challenge, obviously, for them it’s senior night, and it's an opportunity to win a trophy, so we know we're going to get their best.

I would like to say, you know, I have a lot of respect for coach (Sam) Pittman and believe that he did a really nice job at the University of Arkansas. I believe he deserves a lot of praise for the job he did there. When he took over that job, it was in a really tough spot, and coach Pittman went in there and got some really good results. I think he was 3-0 in bowl games, and I remember specifically in 2021, him beating Texas, Texas A&M and us all in the same season. He had some highs, and obviously did not end the way he wanted it to, but I do believe he left that job in much better shape than when he found it.

I think coach Petrino has performed admirably in a very difficult situation. I think he has done a really good job holding that team together. That team fights, that team plays really hard, and they are very explosive on offense. I think their quarterback is as good a quarterback as there is in the country. I believe he leads the SEC in total yardage. I think he is a tremendous player. I think their running back is an excellent player. They did a great job in their scouting department, getting him, recruiting him, and finding him at New Mexico State. I think they've got some dangerous weapons in both the tight end and the wide receiver room. Defensively, Quincy Rhodes Jr. is a real problem. He's as good a defensive end as there is in this league. I think they do an excellent job of featuring him, utilizing him in a lot of different ways. Then on special teams, coach (Scott) Fountain does an excellent job, consistent as always in that phase. It's an opportunity to compete for the Battle Line Rivalry, something that we take very seriously around here. We look forward to traveling down to Fayetteville on Saturday and competing at 2:30.”

On if he’s gotten what he wanted out of the passing game this season:

“I think there's a lot of room for improvement in our passing game, obviously, at critical moments. During the moments in the game where we need to be able to rely on that, I don't think it's come through for us the way we wanted it to, but we still got an opportunity in the last two games to get that fixed, and so that's what we're working on. So that's something that we'll continue to push. I think there's been some highs, and then there's been some lows. I think the inconsistency and injuries of the quarterback have played some effect on that, but not consistent enough would be my response.”

On what exactly has led to passing inconsistencies:

“I'm not into reflection and all that stuff. We're into week-to-week. What do we got to do to win this week? What do we have to do to improve? Where are the things that we can improve? At the end of the season, we'll look holistically at, hey, what is it? What is the exact root cause of this, and how do we fix it? But that's not where we're at right now.”

On finding more creativity in the offense and what defenses are showing them:

“I think there's a style of defense that has been played against us the last four games that's carried over and if somebody's gonna play extra hat in the box and play man to man, and you can't figure out how to stop, get people open or create explosive plays, then that lacks what we need to do in order to be successful and ultimately, that's what I judge it on. We were able to create enough movement at the line of scrimmage versus Mississippi State to allow our running backs to get free. The first two drives of the game, we were creating enough movement for our running backs to get movement, but for whatever reason, they were able to fix that, and we really didn't have a counter punch, and ultimately, as coaches, we got to have a counter punch, and that's what we're working to make sure we have and didn't get it done.”

On issues with field goal protection:

“It's called operation time. We had some issues in field goal protection early in the season on internal pressure that was fixed, not been a problem since. We have had issues on edge protection. There's only so many people that you can have on the line of scrimmage, and then it becomes a matter of time. How much time does it take somebody to get from point A to point B?

Our timing mechanism has just not been fast enough, and that is the responsibility of everybody involved to get that fixed. We made an adjustment with a different kicker, and the timing was easily made. So that's something we got to continue to work on. It's been a point of emphasis. When you're dealing with young players in the moment and they want to make it, other things slow down and that can't happen. It's all got to work together at the right speed in order for us to be effective.”

On conversations with coaches to make the offense more creative:

“Look, everybody's disappointed with the result. Everybody's been disappointed with our inability to score specifically in that game and other games like it. So we got to do a better job of having answers, being able to create explosives in the pass game and not become one-dimensional. So that's what we're working on. It's at the end of all of the conversation about creativity, blah, blah, blah, 3-of-15 does not keep you on the field enough to call plays and develop a rhythm. So it comes down to, whether we're talking about Vanderbilt, whether we're talking about Texas A&M, whether we're talking about Alabama, we're talking about Oklahoma, third downs, that's it. You can't give Ahmad Hardy the ball enough if on third down you can't convert. Bottom line. We have to do a better job of winning situational football in order to be successful, and that's something we've done really well in the games that we win, and it's a point of issue of the games we haven’t.

On Arkansas’ offense:

“He's a really difficult test for our defense. Does an excellent job understanding the system. Two years of coach Petrino's offensive system, you always see a jump at the quarterback position. I think it's the effectiveness of which coach Petrino teaches. They start thinking like him. You know, Coach Petrino has been awesome to me. I was a high school football coach in Arkansas, got a chance to go down to Arkansas and spend time with their staff, watch practice, work camp. When he was here, we had him come speak at our clinic. I went down and spent an afternoon down there just learning. He does an unbelievable job with his offensive system. And I think when a quarterback knows the hey, if they do this, then we're going to do this. These are the plays that attack this coverage. Then the issue with with with Green is that when you play man to man, his scramble ability is as good as anybody in the country. He has a reminder of me as growing up as Arkansas fan. He reminds me a lot of Matt Jones. You know, Matt Jones was this big, could really throw it, but you always didn't know how fast he was, and then he would take off running, nobody catching that's a very similar degree.”

On Beau Pribula’s injury recovery:

“I thought he was courageous. Didn't have any issues taking off running. I thought he did a nice job of understanding the environment, the system, putting us in the right situation. We knew we needed to be in the game in the fourth quarter with a chance to win it. Ultimately, we didn't do enough in the third quarter. I thought our defense kept giving us opportunities. Didn't get any type of movement there. But we have to play the fourth down, that if that gets connected between Beau and Kevin (Coleman Jr.), then you're sitting in a situation where it's a one-score game, we have all our time outs, and I think there was six minutes left, and you're right where you need to be. So we just, we didn't make it, we didn't make that connection. Ultimately, that's on me to find that two yards, so that's what we're going to be working on. But, but I was proud of the way he played.”

On changes to the transfer portal window:

“That’s a crazy question, because I’ve been working on this all morning.

In one sense, it's going to be really good because you only have to deal with the madness and the negotiations and all that one time. In another sense, it's terrible. Nobody wants to hear coaches complain, and I totally understand that. But at some point, we have to value our input enough to figure out this calendar that makes it worthwhile for everybody, and the ability for full student athletes, fans, coaches, administration, to not be placed under all this stress at the same time. You know the issue is going to be now is we're going to have to sign an 85-man roster in a two-week window, and that's it. And so you have spring practice, somebody gets injured or dinged up, you can't replace them. Somebody you know screws up, and all of a sudden, you have to remove them from your team for whatever reason. You are dealing with young men, you can't replace them.

In the pro model, the pro system, they have free agency. They have waiver wires. You can go sign players at any point. That's why they can have a roster of 42 and then practice squad players. There's an NFL team having kicking tryouts this weekend and Harrison Mevis was hanging out getting ready to be on the sideline for the Texas A&M game, next days at the (Los Angeles) Rams. So there's all ways to replenish your roster. We don't have that and that's a long time to go, from January to August, with any inability to fix or change, or manage a roster. And I understand it. because it's progress. It's better than it was, because it was the day after your season. Now we push, sometimes you can retain your roster, but still a long, long way from perfect. Ultimately, we are still based off an academic calendar, rightfully so, but that academic calendar is really restrictive to the fundamental way that college football is being run, and whether we're talking about the playoffs being jacked up or portal or coaching transitions, all of this stuff, man. There is not a better sport in the country than college football, and for whatever reason, we just keep shooting ourselves in the foot in how we manage it. It's mind-blowing.”

On the growth in leadership from Chris McClellan:

“Man, you want to talk about a guy who's really transformed his career, even from last year to this year, being consistent in his approach, being a very reliable football player, being a guy who, we were really worried about with Kristian Williams leaving that room, who was undoubtedly the leader, who was going to replace that leadership. Chris texts everybody, makes sure they’re at weights on time. Make sure they're in the meetings on time. Pulls those young guys accountable. He's one of the reasons we bounce back so well as a football team, because he sets the tone for being consistent and really proud of him and I think he’s had a heck of a year.”

On talking to his players about sports betting:

“We have tried to educate our players as best we can about sports betting. Obviously, a couple of weeks ago, it was legal for NCAA players to bet on pro sports. That's been retracted. I hope everybody got the memo on that. But then it's opening up and legal. You know, betting has become a very important part of society, shouldn’t say important. Very prevalent part of society. In fact, I think that's become more to some fans, more important than the actual result of the game, which I think is a little bit dangerous. And I think it's got to be very conscious and careful with the purity of the game, because it's being interfered with, and probably always has at some point, you know, professional sports, but now it's creeping in college sports, and it's become a very dangerous situation for people to get caught up in. Now, with more and more money and within the system, it's going to be challenging for everybody to handle responsibly.”

On finding a successful transfer portal timeline within the academic calendar:

“The only way is for there to be a spring waiver opportunity. In the summer, there's a summer waiver opportunity. Players can work out and not attend class as long as they're in good academic standing. I think there would be a way to do that, where the transfer opportunity was from February 1 to February 15 and then there would be no academic restrictions. The issue with that right now is that some people are on quarter systems, and so there would be a advantage for people on quarter systems to get people in March. But if you had a system that said, hey, as long as you're in good academic standing, which would again promote academics, you could sit out potentially one semester for your transfer. You would have to enroll in the summer, and you'd have to make sure your hours were where they needed to be, progress towards a degree, some version of that, so that you could be in a situation.

Again, one of the things that is occurring with all the transfers is inability to get progress towards a degree for people who graduate within a four-year cycle. Again, if you had had to have this many hours, you had to have this many credits, you're in academic standing, you decided, hey, it's best for your interest to transfer. You could sit out this semester, be able to be a part of the program, get involved, participate in spring practice. You got to realize ,education isn't for us. It's chase two dreams. Education is as an important part of our process and program as anything, but it isn't at the cost of their football skills. If you can play football at an elite level in the SEC, you have a chance to go pro. And so you want to be able to go pro in two sports. NCAA, right? That's what the whole thing was in those commercials.

So there has to be some give and take, some flexibility, if it ends up being that you have to wait until the end of spring, well, you've got players sitting out an entire five-month cycle, which is not good for player development. It really inhibits their ability to maximize their potential as a player. So, there's a lot of issues. I think there could be solutions, but we get caught up in this game of telephone where coaches come up with solutions, and then they have to pass it along to the commissioners, but by way of athletic directors and presidents, and by the time you get all the different aspects, the original message is convoluted. I think there's a way to do it, but they're going to have to form a committee.”

Read more Missouri Tigers News: