Advertisement
football Edit

Drinkwitz: Mizzou doing ‘everything in our power’ to play South Carolina

CLICK HERE TO GET $75 IN NIKE GEAR WITH YOUR NEW ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION
CLICK HERE TO GET $75 IN NIKE GEAR WITH YOUR NEW ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION

A week ago, Eli Drinkwitz spoke to local media during his weekly press conference and said that Missouri still planned to play its game against Georgia, scheduled for last Saturday. By the next morning, thanks to an additional player testing positive for COVID-19 and forcing several others into contact tracing, the game had been postponed.

As a result, when Drinkwitz spoke to reporters this Tuesday, he took a more cautious tone. Drinkwitz pledged that Missouri is “very committed to playing on Saturday,” when it is scheduled to visit South Carolina. But with the Tigers down to 56 healthy, scholarship players, he stopped short of guaranteeing the game will be played. The minimum number of scholarship players established by the SEC this season to be able to play a game is 53.

“We're committed to playing, but I can't predict the future or forecast what the future is going to be,” Drinkwitz said. “I learned my lesson the hard way last week. So, you know, I'm trying to be as open and honest with information as I can and always will be about COVID and COVID-related issues, but this is a year unlike any other.”

Eli Drinkwitz and Missouri are flirting with having a third 2020 football game postponed or canceled due to the coronavirus.
Eli Drinkwitz and Missouri are flirting with having a third 2020 football game postponed or canceled due to the coronavirus. (USA Today)
Advertisement

Last week, Missouri got hit particularly hard by quarantines on its defensive line, which prevented the Tigers from taking the field. As of Wednesday, the team only had two players test positive for COVID-19, but that put enough defensive linemen, characterized as high-risk contacts, into quarantine that Missouri dipped below the SEC minimum of four scholarship defensive linemen.

Due to the mandatory quarantine period of 14 days for close contacts, Missouri will still be shorthanded on the defensive line against South Carolina. Drinkwitz said junior Jatorian Hansford, who at one point was ruled out for the season after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery and who has played just 10 snaps all year, will likely start at defensive end. True freshman Drake Heismeyer, listed as the backup center on the team’s depth chart, has been practicing on the interior of the defensive line this week.

But additional positive COVID-19 tests, combined with injuries, have also put Missouri in danger of falling beneath the 53-player roster minimum. Drinkwitz said Tuesday that the team has had “a couple more positives and subsequent contact tracing” since Wednesday, when he had last spoken publicly. As a result, Missouri is down to 56 healthy scholarship players, which includes four players who are questionable and one player suspended for the first half of the game due to his role in the halftime brawl against Florida.

The Tigers had three players receive half-game suspensions: left guard Dylan Spencer, nose tackle Markell Utsey and backup linebacker Chad Bailey. Drinkwitz clarified that two will be unavailable against South Carolina, but didn’t specify which. As for Injuries, Drinkwitz characterized right tackle Larry Borom as questionable for Saturday's game, left guard Xavier Delgado as "questionable to doubtful," nose tackle Kobie Whiteside as "questionable at best" and tight end Daniel Parker Jr. as doubtful.

Drinkwitz also noted that Missouri still has to undergo two more rounds of COVID-19 testing this week, which will come Tuesday afternoon and Thursday. One more player testing positive would likely all but doom the team’s chances of traveling to South Carolina. If the game is unable to be played this weekend, it likely wouldn’t be played at all this season, since Missouri is already scheduled to make up games against Vanderbilt and Georgia on Dec. 12 and Dec. 19.

“The way I have it, we’re at 56 scholarship players, with one of those being suspended in the first half, and we still have two tests to go,” Drinkwitz said. “So I don’t know what our final roster or number will look like, but we are committed to playing this week.”

Drinkwitz didn’t specify which players have tested positive for COVID-19 or which position groups have been impacted outside of the defensive line. But his comments suggested the secondary might be shorthanded. In addition to practicing Heismeyer with the defensive line this week, the coaching staff has cross-trained a few wide receivers to bolster depth in the defensive backfield.

“We are cross-training some of our wide receivers at the DB position just to make sure that we have enough depth,” Drinkwitz said. “Again, we’re trying to do everything possible for us to have the ability to play.”


Get 25% off your first year and a $75 Nike or adidas gift card with our holiday specials

Talk about this story and more in The Tigers' Lair

Make sure you're caught up on all the Tiger news and headlines

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for video and live streaming coverage

Follow our entire staff on Twitter

Advertisement