8/15/2023 football Edit

Missouri Football Notebook: Position battle won, update on QBs, TEs, & more

Jarod Hamilton • PowerMizzou

Staff Writer

A little more than two weeks away from the Tigers' season opener versus South Dakota on Aug. 31 and things are slowly but surely coming along for Mizzou.

The Tigers have determined who their starting center is, Harrison Mevis is looking to put 2022 behind him and head coach Eli Drinkwitz talks quarterbacks, tight ends and punters.

Center position battle comes to a close

The first offensive position battle of fall camp has been determined.

Center Connor Tollison retained his starting spot by beating out Houston transfer guard/center Cam'Ron Johnson.

But internally, this doesn't seem to be new news for the Tigers, who moved Johnson back to guard a week ago to presumably compete with Xavier Delgado and EJ Ndoma-Ogar for the starting spot to the left of Tollison.

"We've moved him up to the guards today 一 well we actually did for the last four days," Drinkwitz said on Saturday. "He's still snapping after practice to be ready, but right now, Connor has done such a nice job that it's time to let us solidify that job and see if there's another competition available."

It's shaping to be the start of an incredible turnaround for Tollison who was among one of the worst starting offensive linemen in the SEC in 2022.

He's had issues snapping the ball, blocking and gaining weight but it seems like he's getting better at all of those things and then some.

"I've been really really proud of Connor Tollison," Drinkwitz said as he knocked on his wooden podium. "His gas meter has gone through the roof and he's really taken ownership of that offensive line from calling it being dedicated, snapping the ball, gaining weight. So, I've been proud of him and I think that is what naturally happens when the game means something to you and there's an opportunity to be put on the bench."

This brings the Tigers to four positions on the offensive line that are largely solidified with Javon Foster at left tackle, Tollison at center, Armand Membou at right guard and at the moment Marcellus Johnson at right tackle.

Right tackle hasn't officially gone to Marcellus yet, but he's been running with the first team for all of camp and has gotten positive reviews from players and coaches including Drinkwitz.

The only spot left is the aforementioned left guard spot which will not be an easy position battle to win.

Delgado has started 32 games at left guard over the last three seasons, Ndoma-Ogar played well at right guard last season before getting injured and Johnson was an All-American Athletic Conference first-team selection in 2022.

"Thiccer Kicker" looking to bounce back

It's been a bit slightly different offseason for Harrison Mevis because for the first time in his career he made less than 85% of his field goal attempts and actually struggled in multiple games forcing him to go back to the drawing board.

After a season of highs and lows, the third-year kicker decided to make some changes.

“One of the things that I’ve focused on is being more explosive,” Mevis said. “This offseason I kind of worked on my body a little bit and got more explosive. I think I’m utilizing my frame a lot better. I wouldn’t say I can kick further. I’d say 一 75 (yards) and in I can make. But let’s be realistic we’re not going to have a kick that far in a game. If it comes up, then I’m going to do my job to the best of my ability.”

Mevis made 85% of his field goals in 2020 and 92% of his field goals in 2021 en route to a first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection.

Entering last season, Mevis was a preseason All-SEC first-team selection but it wasn't too far into the season before he started struggling.

He missed two field goals for the first time in his career in the 34-17 win over Abilene Christian in week three before infamously missing a 26-yard attempt at Auburn that would’ve won Mizzou the game at the end of regulation. Of course, Missouri would go on to lose that game 17-14 in overtime, but Mevis has put it in his rearview mirror.

"So, different situations happened last year, and I can use that to bring more experience into this next season (and) help the younger guys out in certain situations," Mevis said. "But really my mindset is set on the next kick. It's not worried about stats or anything like that I'm just worried about helping the team win."

It wouldn't take too long for him to bounce back with him making all five of his field goal attempts in a near-upset versus Georgia en route to taking home SEC Special Teams Player of the Week honors.

He would only miss three more kicks in the team's final eight games, but 2022 is a distant memory for Mevis, who is focused on fall camp which he said is good at preparing him for the pressure moments he faces.

And as good or bad as those moments are for Mevis individually, they’re also moments for him to help his snapper and holder, who he believes is just as much a part of those big moments as he is.

“Training camp is meant to be hard, Mevis said. “So, we get out into a mayday script. It’s tough to go 4-of-4 on these but that’s what makes game days really easy. We go into game days and it’s like clockwork.

“It just comes down to consistency and doing the same thing week in and week out. … So, really how can I make my holder and snapper better. What can I bring to the table for them? And really just being me and being smooth.”

From Drinkwitz’s perspective, he believes the biggest thing for Mevis this offseason has been and will continue to be strengthening his mental conditioning. And while Drinkwitz acknowledges Mevis needing to be at a weight he can handle, he also joked that he wouldn’t want Mevis to lose NIL if he lost too much weight.

“I just know we’ve been working on mental prep 一 consistent mental performance and we’ve been talking about trying to be at a weight that he can consistently play with and keep it under control," Drinkwtz said. "We don’t want him to lose any NIL value by not being the 'Thiccer Kicker' so it’s a fine line."

Mevis was voted to the preseason All-SEC second team in July and is on the Lou Groza Award watchlist.

Updates on quarterbacks, tight ends and punters

Two weeks into fall camp and Brady Cook, Sam Horn and Jake Garcia still seem to be neck and neck (and neck), for the most part.

The quarterbacks are all lacking one thing or another for Drinkwitz at the moment, but the common denominator as of Saturday after the team's second scrimmage has been decision-making.

"At quarterback, it's all about being a smart, disciplined decision-maker and knowing when to go for it and when to take what the defense gives you," Drinkwitz said. "I think there's been a lot of ups and downs in that. We've still got a lot of work to do to figure that out."

For the first week of camp, Drinkwitz was a little more player-specific with his critiques and what each quarterback could work on. Whether it was Cook's first-down decision-making, Garcia's footwork and or Horn's pre-snap adjustments, there's something for all three of them to work on.

While the Tigers are still figuring out what to do at the helm, a position that was at the bottom of the totem pole a season ago has made vast improvements during camp.

"I've been very pleased with how (tight ends) Brett Norfleet and Jordon Harris have played in the run game," Drinkwitz said. "I think those guys' physical nature surprised me and really the rest of the guys about how well they play. They've been physical and consistent catching the football."

The two freshmen still have to increase their knowledge of the playbook, so they're still limited in how much they will see the field. But it's looking more and more like the pair will see time on the field.

Meaning the tight ends will have much more volume than the trio of Tyler Stephens, Kibet Chepyator and Ryan Hoerstkamp from a season ago.

Speaking of Stephens, Drinkwitz said he had his best day of practice during the team's scrimmage on Saturday because of the consistency he showed in run blocking and catching.

Four tight ends will likely feature in this offense when you add Max Whisner, but the order of the depth chart is what is in question.

The punting battle between Riley Williams and Luke Bauer has actually been one of the better position battles of camp with neither one letting their foot off the gas.

They did, however, have somewhat of a mediocre day on Saturday.

"Honestly, it's all going to come down to consistency and performance," Drinkwitz said. "Like, they do a really good job in individual and team when it's just kind of like, 'Oh, we're going to get four punts in a row.' But today we went one versus one, two versus two, three versus three and we had a couple of ducks punted out there. So, we've got to as a staff find ways to create pressure on those guys so they respond."

One has to imagine if the punting battle stays as close as it's been then it's possible both punters get looks in the first couple of games of the season like the quarterbacks.