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Everything Eli Drinkwitz said on Tuesday heading into Week 10 vs. Kentucky

Missouri (4-4) will be looking to defeat Kentucky (5-3) in week 10 to get over the .500 mark for the first time since week three. Mizzou head coach Eli Drinkwitz met with local media on Tuesday afternoon in advance of that game. Here is a full transcript of the press conference.

Opening statement

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It’s going to be a great opportunity this weekend. Excited about the game here. Obviously, we’ve had really good fan support this season and really excited for our players and our team to come back for that.

It's a couple of things we're celebrating Military Appreciation this weekend and our thank you to those who lay their life on the line for us to have the freedoms that we do. I think it's appropriate to celebrate Military Appreciation the week before you get to vote. And that's really the expression of our freedom is our ability to vote and to give our direction for what we believe the future of our country should be about which again goes back to when we first started here in 2020, in Mizzou for change and our push to register our team to vote and use their voices in a positive way.

There's also an ag Ag Day, which for our state, and obviously our university is so important. I know I spend a lot of time celebrating and talking about St. Louis and Kansas City but it's not my intention to neglect what I consider to be the spirit of Missouri, the rural farmers and ranchers the people, this great state who work hard every day to provide 一 I think about Curtis Gregory, obviously a former football player who still serves in the House of Representatives as a full-time farmer. My father-in-law was a farmer until recently when he retired, but those guys go to work every single day and provide for us. So, it's going to be a good weekend. I know we've got limited tickets available and so excited about that. The last thing I would like to recognize is on Monday, so maybe it's Friday, our board recognized our former student curator member Remington Williams, who was a personal friend of mine who had I had a lot of support and interaction with and a young man who had a really bright future in front of him. This past June, tragically passed due to the actions of a drunk driver and our board recognize and has created an Outstanding Student Leader of the Year award. Three students from the University of Missouri Columbia will be awarded that and so in also in honor of him this weekend, our coaching staff will be wearing a bracelet honoring Remington Williams and so that's what you'll see from our coaching staff this weekend.

Eli, what did you see out of EJ Ndoma-Ogar the last few weeks that prompted that change? And I mean, how much did that contribute to what looked like one of your offensive lines' better efforts this season?

Yeah, I mean, EJ is a guy who has been working hard and has had some inconsistencies in performance, but we just felt like last year he started versus South Carolina, so we kind of go back and watch that taken care held up, combined with the fact that we felt like we weren't performing as well as we needed to the last two games. If you do the same thing over and over again expecting different results that's the definition of insanity. So at some point, you have to create some change and you have to evaluate whether or not it repeats the process and do it better or you need to give somebody else an opportunity to help us. It felt like EJ did that. After watching the tape, there are a lot of things that we got to do better. The result was great at the end. But it was not by far our cleanest game or best game. That was our cleanest game from a complimentary football and no turnovers (standpoint) but there are a lot of things that all 11 of us and coaches need to improve this week.

You talked after the game that kind of embracing your identity, figuring out who you are and when the defense is playing figuring out what you need from the offense. Ideally, I guess you don’t want that to take eight weeks. But is it sort of better late than never and do you have a good idea of who this team is now?

No, no, I mean, quite honestly, if you look at the three games we lost, I think we were playing that way we turned the ball over in critical situations. I think it's more of we've just embraced it more like this is what we have to do.

Everybody wants to be the star, right? But sometimes you just got to understand and recognize that on this team and this brotherhood our defense puts us in the best chance to win. So, offensively and on special teams we have to support that. We got to continue to improve and I thought offensively, we set the tone in that game when we went 94 yards on the first drive and then they got to stop and we went down and scored again. So, I think we're holding up our end of the bargain. But we got to understand that we can't put the ball into jeopardy.

Eli, 11 a.m. kicks. Do you guys care or do you just take the time and do what you got to do?

Yeah, I love 11 a.m. I love 3 p.m., 6 p.m. I played at 8:30 p.m. at night. We love playing a game we work our butt off. You could argue that these guys work 320-325 days a year for this opportunity 一 for 12 opportunities. I don't think anybody cares about what time that opportunity is.

It's a challenge for our fan base. It's hard to get loosened up that early in the morning. You don't probably want to crack your first beer here until after 10:30 a.m. I get that. But, you know, everybody's got to make sacrifices. It takes what it takes to get a win. And we're going to need the fans really going. Again, I felt like in the last two games our home crowd was the best advantage. Our third downs right now 一 the emotion when we get our defense on the third down is incredible. And we're going to need our fan base to really come alive and be there for us. And our team will be ready to roll at 11. But I don't believe that any of us care what time the game is.

When you get a win on the road, how do you see that kind of build confidence in your locker room today? Do you kind of feel like the energy is infectious a little bit?

Well, I think there's a fine line between confidence and arrogance. Confidence is something that you've earned through your preparation each week. Arrogance is feeling like you can skip steps because you've done something previously. I think the caution for our team is there's confidence in your ability to prepare each week and recreate that process which I think for the last four weeks we’ve done that we just didn't see the result. So, instead of giving up they just kept doing it a little bit better. And I think what you have to do is just understand that what you play, you're gonna get out and you can't skip that step. And if you do that's considered arrogance. Football always finds a way to humble people. That's one of the reasons I love this game so much is you're only as good as your next performance and your next performance is only going to be as good as the amount of energy and effort and preparation you put in.

How have you seen your pass rush improve throughout the season and what were you impressed with against South Carolina?

Obviously, I think one of the things about our football team is everybody's continually getting better. I think when you watch the tape in South Carolina versus week two, week three, week four, you're seeing the players play with better technique and fundamentals. That's a tribute to the coaching staff and to the players. I think what you're seeing is the ability to win one on ones. Isaiah (McGuire) and DJ Coleman, I think we've done a really good job of creating pressure. I think DJ is getting used to the speed of this level. And then I think coach (Al) Davis and coach (Kevin) Peoples being on the same page, some of the pressure as a result of the games that we're playing on the inside. So, I think that and the combination of coach (Blake) Baker and coach (D.J.) Smith doing a great job on third downs giving looks to create one on one matchups and not allowing the offensive line to slide the protection. There are not a lot of double teams and if you're a defensive lineman and you can get a one-on-one you got to win in this league.

You mentioned coach Davis and coach Peoples. How have they kind of worked together to improve the defensive line this year?

Well, one, they speak the same language. They're on the same page as far as the techniques and fundamentals that we're using. And I think both of those guys are low-ego high-output individuals that are there. And I think our players responded that it's really not about them. It's about how they make their players better. So, I think it's a really good situation honestly. Isaiah McGuire was named SEC Defensive Lineman of the week and the results are coming from that group.

What are some of the things DJ Coleman does well and what are some of the things that has improved on transitioning from Jacksonville State?

I think he's a really physical player at the point of attack and then I think he's got really good twitch to create pass rush and he affects the quarterback to get the ball out, tips the ball and he makes plays. When the opportunities are presented, and I talked about this, I think after the game, the amount of quality depth that we have at the line of scrimmage on defense is really difficult for everybody because you're facing a fresh player. Whether you're an offensive lineman, every play is a one-on-one situation and that player has got some switch to get to the quarterback so that gives our players the ability to play fast and fresh and obviously put a strain on their offense.

What is Mark Stoops done well to build up that Kentucky program in the last decade?

I would say that I have the utmost respect for Mark and what he's accomplished. He took a job in this league that had not had a whole lot of success and went and built an identity and stuck with this process and you can see the identity of that team every time you watch it. Whether it's been in 2020 when we played them or this year when we play them. The identity of how they plan to win it shows up. They're very tough, very physical, and very long. The style of recruiting that he has, the style of play. I think all of those things fit together. I think the continuity and stability of his vision and philosophy. I've got a tremendous amount of respect for him. He's been able to keep a same similar style of defense by being able to keep his defensive coordinator there. Offensively, they do a really good job of playing to their players' strengths, whether it’s the quarterback, the wide receivers or the running back.

Whether or not put you put on the tape of this year or last year. You see a lot of the same styles. Last year they had Wan’Dale Robinson, this year they have the true freshman that still has that same burst and speed. Obviously, the running back is a really good player. He's back and the quarterback is one of the top quarterbacks in the country. So, you can see that even though they lose a player that kind of plugs in the next player.

It's the same thing on defense. They've got incredible length on the perimeter they play an odd structure. They don't give up explosive plays. They know when to blitz but they don't live and die by the blitz. They're really big on the inside. So, their three interior players eat up a lot of blocks. They were able to backfill some of the losses that they had on the transfer portal. Since I've been here they've had a middle linebacker taken in the first round, a defensive lineman taken in the first round. They've had a cornerback taken in the first two rounds. So, he's recruited really well, and he's developed his team.

I know it's going to change week to week based on matchups and things like that. But offensively, was there any difference in the game plan, the play calling and the approach last week or did similar things just work better last week than maybe they hadn't other times?

We’re a game plan specific offense. We have a core DNA of what we run but how we get to it's a little bit different. Every scheme presents a little bit new window. On Sunday, we watched the games. We self-scout trying to figure out what we do well we watch the games and say okay, this is how we need to attack this team. I think obviously there were some things that were a little bit unique and different for that game, which I think if you went back and watched every game there's always a little bit of unique window dressing or style of play. But it wasn't like it was a new offense. It was just a style of attack. It was a good plan those guys put together and our kids were able to execute it pretty well.

I thought Brady (Cook)'s ability to stretch the field vertically early in the game really kind of set the tone for us.

Is there anything that Blake Baker as you watch the entire season that he's doing, whether it be his approach, scheme, or whatever it is that's allowed this defense with so many returners to produce more and play better this year? Is it a vibe is it a feeling what is it?

I think there's a lot of confidence in that group. There's a lot of accountability in that group. There are a lot of experienced players in that group. We look at that defense, whether it's the transfers, we added or the players that are playing. You're talking about guys like Ennis Rakestraw and Jaylon Carlies, and Martez Manuel who’ve been playing since they were true freshmen. This is their third year. Darius Robinson, Trajan Jeffcoat and Isaiah McGuire have been playing for a long time.

The transfers that we took in the interior have all been good players. Chad Bailey's been playing a lot of college football. So, there's an experience factor, there's a confidence factor, and then there's a scheme fit.

I think Blake and the staff have done a really good job of maximizing their scheme to defend the styles of offenses that we're playing. Whether or not that's playing with five defensive linemen versus 12 personnel, 13 personnel, having run sets, whether that's playing odd front, we shift in and out of odd whether that's playing drop aid on second and long where Isaiah or Trajan are in the flats. There's that versatility there that keeps an offense off balance and you can't predict this is what we're going to have to see this week. And I think in college football, that's probably the most important thing you can do as a defensive scheme.

I also think the low ego approach of keeping the same calls from last year and getting better at that instead of just coming in and saying ‘We're taking everything we did last year and throwing it away. This is my playbook.’ We didn't do that. And I think that's helped us be able to get further faster.

Back to Kentucky. Did the game Saturday seem like an outlier that ran into a really good Tennessee team? They didn't look like a Kentucky team usually does.

Well, Tennessee has done that to everybody they play. Obviously, the turnovers are something that's not normal for a Kentucky football team. But when you watch them on defense, and you just watch the game without the scoreboard. Still, there are a couple of busted assignments which you know are uncharacteristic for their team but they played really hard. Offensively, a couple of big-time drives, explosive runs and now their running back is a really good player really tough physical runner. I think last year there was a stretch when they had 18 straight runs against us. So, we know this is going to be a tough physical matchup and the trenches.

We know that they're going to come in here and my anticipation is they're going play their best game of the year. They're going to want to atone for last week. I know they're all going to sit there and think that this is a game that they can come win and so it's going to be important for us to play our best game.

Coach back to DJ Coleman. Last week, Baker said that DJ is probably the toughest player on the team and that he would take them in an alley fight or something like that. For one. What does that say that a guy transferring from an FCS team has that impact and is also a playmaker on the field?

I don't know if Blake's met Cody Schrader or not. I Understand Blake's comparison and definitely think that DJ is a very tough-minded individual and he's got an understanding. I think some of these young men who are transferring up have confidence in themselves and they have toughness and whether or not it's Cody or DJ as the toughest guy on our team, I'm not going to argue. But I think they're both really tough and really glad that they are on our team.

Is Elijah Young a guy you can see regularly using out of the backfield and figuring in that rotation or is he a guy you'd like more of being able to move around and use different ways like you have a little bit the last couple of weeks?

Elijah had to miss four and a half weeks because of injury and so, when you miss those times, it's not one of those things where you can still be out there like he was totally out of it. So, we're trying to work him back into the plan. I think the biggest thing for him is just consistency, specifically and picking up protections and blitzes. And in this league, if you're that size and they’re a blitz-heavy football team that's going to be a matchup issue for us. So, I definitely think he's got a more expanded role and we'll continue to see that. But there are some things that other players do better and you got to play to everybody's strengths.

You mentioned Kentucky freshman Barion Brown. He's kind of leading another explosive kick-returning unit. What have you seen and why have they been so good at that? And where do you think your coverage is at right now?

Yeah, I think they're the most explosive, return team in college football probably and then South Carolina.

We're not where we need to be covering kicks. We're inconsistent at best. And I think it's a combination of inconsistent ball placement. Obviously, we kick one out of bounds, we kick one in the middle of the field. We've got to be better at that. And then our coverage, you can't rely on Sean Koetting, kicking a touchback every time. They've got to take every approach like ‘Hey, we're going to have to go tackle this inside the 20.’ So, that's kind of a point of emphasis this week. And I think you'll also see some changes to the personnel on kickoffs to continue to create competition.

I think I think Dominic caught a ball on almost half the snaps he played on Saturday. Do you anticipate going forward more attention on him or is he already been getting that and he's managing to get it open anyway?

God if they're not paying attention to him right now 一 he's a really good player. We're fortunate to have him. I think there's a lot of hype around another wide receiver on our team which probably causes not enough attention to Lovett. But then some of those catches I mean, they’re one yard in front of Brady and it has to be at least 40 of those yards. So, it's both. I thought we did a decent job in the first half of making sure that the playmakers were touching the football.

Were there some things more recently that Ryan Hoerstkamp had been doing that maybe he wasn't doing to get playing time early in the season?

I think Ryan’s been a very consistent player for us. I’m hesitant to say one way or the other because it can kind of throw shade on somebody else but you know, it was his opportunity and his time. We've given other players opportunities in the game and the results were not what they needed to be. Whether or not that person had beaten them out in fall camp which had occurred, we still have seven weeks that the players had an opportunity to get better and we needed to see it. I think Ryan did that and took advantage of his opportunity.

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