Less than 24 hours from the first practice of fall camp, Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz talked about coaching changes, injury updates, the mindset he wants to establish entering camp and more. Offensive coordinator Kirby Moore, defensive coordinator Corey Batoon and special teams coordinator Erik Link spoke to reporters too.
Drinkwitz began his press conference by revealing the new coaches who are a part of his staff and some of the changes made as a result of the new NCAA rule allowing all staff members to have on field coaching duties.
Here is Missouri's coaching staff for the 2024 season:
Eli Drinkwitz, head coach
Kirby Moore, Offensive coordinator, quarterbacks
Jacob Peeler, Wide receivers and recruiting coordinator
Derham Cato, Tight end
Brandon Jones, Offensive Line
Curtis Luper, Running backs
Corey Batoon, Defensive coordinator
Erik Link, Special Teams Coordinator
Al Pogue, Assistant head coach, cornerbacks
DJ Smith, Linebackers
Brian Early, EDGE
Al Davis, Defensive line
David Blackwell, Defensive tackles
Jake Yoro, Safeties
Chris Ball, Defensive Assistant, linebackers
Sean Gleeson, Offensive Assistant, quarterbacks
Jack Abercrombie, Offensive Assistant, offensive line
Andrew Belluomini, Offensive Assistant
Brandon Boylan, Offensive Assistant
Brandon Lewis, Defensive Assistant
Brian Hamilton, Defensive Assistant
Brock Olivo, Special Teams Assistant
Keyan Williams, Offensive Grad Assistant
Cooper Williams, Offensive Grad Assistant
Bo Els, Defensive Grad Assistant
Devin Coleman, Defensive Grad Assistant
The most notable change is Link, who has doubled as the special teams coordinator and tight ends coach the last two seasons, transitioning back to being only the special teams coordinator like he was in his first two seasons with the team.
"I think with the new rule change it allowed us to reevaluate how we operate and how can we improve and make us better," Link said. "I think through that process Coach Drinkwitz and our staff identified that this can help us. Obviously, I've done it before where I've just coordinated special teams and not had a position group with it.
"When you're coordinating all of the special teams, that's a full-time job in itself. So, just a great opportunity for us as a team to improve, get better and streamline our efficiency process with what we're doing. So, I'm super excited about it."
Derham Cato was promoted to tight ends coach after being listed as a Senior Offensive Analyst since he joined the program in April 2023. He was the tight ends coach for Washington from 2020-21 and for Maine for one month before joining Mizzou.
The other significant change to the coaching staff is Jacob Yoro taking over as the safeties coach. Batoon assumed the role of safeties coach when he was hired earlier this year while Yoro was originally hired as a defensive analyst.
For the first week of practice, Drinkwitz said he wants to establish three things about how camp will go to set the tone for the next 17 practices under the fall camp umbrella and the 25 total practices from Monday to the team's season-opener on Aug. 29 versus Murray State.
"We want to create adversity in fall camp," Drinkwitz said. "That's why we moved into the residence halls for the first week to force these guys into a mindset that it's just about football and eliminate distractions. Number two is to embrace their role. Everybody is going to have a role on this football team that helps us win and lose football games and we need everybody to embrace that role. Not everybody's going to be the star. Not everybody is going to be a starter but everybody has a role in order to help us win. The last one is to develop unity among the team, a just us mentality."
This fall camp is a little different from the previous four under Drinkwitz. His first fall camp was in 2020 during the COVID-19 season. Then, the last three camps came after .500 seasons. This one comes after the best season in 10 years and Drinkwitz and Co. recognize they have people's attention more now than they have had at any point during his tenure.
'This one's uniquely its own just because of the opportunities that lie ahead of us within our football team. The amount of returning starters that we have, the amount of experience that this team has 一 I think the biggest challenge for us is in the past we had to ignore the noise and the naysayers," Drinkwitz said. "Now, we kind of got to ignore the noise and the praise givers and focus on just what we need to do which is to try to be the very best that we can be today and then build on that tomorrow."
Drinkwitz only had two injuries to report for camp saying that walk-on running back Chris Kreh and safety Isaac Thompson would be medically redshirting but staying around the program in coach-like capacities.
Thompson, a four-star signee in the class of 2022, tore his ACL last summer and missed all of 2023. Meanwhile, Kreh played 28 straight games as a special teams contributor.
Missouri's offense flourished in its first year under Moore. The Tigers had the 28th-ranked offense at 434.3 yards per game and the 28th-ranked scoring offense at 32.5 points per game. They even finished third in red zone offense, converting on 56-of-58 (96%) of their drives in the red zone but 20 of the scores were field goals.
However, Drinkwitz believes that turning those field goals into touchdowns is part of how this offense can reach the next level.
"You get what you emphasize. You encourage what you tolerate. So obviously, we needed to emphasize the red zone," Drinkwitz said. ... "We've spent the better part of six weeks really refining this install and what plays we wanted to get specifically read.
Missouri plans to start at least its first day of practice in the red zone with Drinkwitz saying it'll be less scripted to simulate a real game. So, it'll be first and ten and then after that play the offense and defense will call plays based on the situation.
"I think it's really good," Moore said. "We have to practice like it's a game and you look at where college football is at with the headsets and the communication for the coaches 一 you've got iPads on the sideline, making those adjustments when needed. So, just all those different factors, I think it's super beneficial for the players and the coaches to have those call periods. Because it's real-time, right? It's real-time it's going to be trial and error."
In addition to better red zone success, Moore said one of the bigger changes he wants the offense to do is "go further faster." Having, what he believes is, a deep roster helps with that because it gives the team a chance to try new things instead of pigeonholing itself.
"I think we've got a really good amount of competitive depth at several positions," Moore said. "(In 2023) the offense was able to evolve with the personnel and that's a continuous process. We just talked about running back (and) receiver (and) how that plays out. (For the) offensive line, figuring out who are our best five and what those guys do really well.
"So, that's going to be something that we're working through. The offense isn't in a box. It's got to be constantly evolving with what our guys do well. If something's not going well, we've got to get away from it in a hurry and go to something else."
Something else Moore and the offense have been figuring out is the use of helmet communication.
In April, the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved the use of optional helmet communication between coaches and one player similar to how it is in the NFL. The player with helmet communication will be marked with a green dot on their helmets, and communication from coach to player will be turned off when there are 15 seconds left on the play clock or when the ball is snapped, whichever happens first.
Moore, who will be the coach talking to quarterback Brady Cook, said they started using the technology through the spring and will continue to do so as much as they can during fall camp.
"We went through it during spring ball. So, we've got repetitions there. We've made a few adjustments, and again, we're going to work through that during fall camp," Moore said. "Things come up, we'll adjust. I think that's really important just to make sure we got clear, concise, repetitive communication, whether that's me or him."
Despite Batoon being credited as a "situational master" by Kristian Williams and being called very detailed by multiple players and coaches regarding scheming and planning his defense, Batoon's main focus to start camp is establishing a mindset as Drinkwitz said.
He even gave a math analogy as to why it's important to focus on that before the X's and O's to start camp.
"It's totally a mindset about how can I individually get better each day," Batoon said. "It goes back to that. Camp is where you can peel back all that other stuff and it goes about fundamentals and technique. And we go back and we strip all that stuff away and (we) really focus on the things that win or lose you games.
"Am I false-stepping? Are my eyes in the right place? It's like math. If I missed algebra for the first three weeks and I came in mid-semester, I can't figure anything out. So, if we're not fundamentally sound in terms of our alignments, assignments and the techniques being sound regarding where my eyes are and my communication then the other stuff doesn't happen, right?"
Over the next couple of weeks, Batoon must make a lot of decisions about the Tigers' defense.
He needs to name a new starting free safety. Even though Batoon will no longer directly look over the safeties so he can roam free during practice he's likely to pay a little more attention to the safety room.
Marvin Burks and Tre'Vez Johnson seem to be the primary candidates with Drinkwitz pointing out how Burks did some "outstanding things" as a freshman in 2023.
Burks recorded 16 tackles, a tackle for loss, a sack and threat fumble recovery in 13 games, and 46% of his snaps came at free safety.
Johnson played 45% of his snaps at the position last year and recorded 43 tackles and a tackle for loss in 13 games.
It's unclear who will get first-team reps but Batoon said the team has a mindful way of splitting up the reps and that multiple players will play multiple safety spots so they're learning how to do more than one role.
"We have a mechanism where we break up our reps so that we're mindful of getting the scheme in place but also making sure that the pieces are getting those reps. ... It's not just each position but we got guys that are going to play multiple positions," Batoon said. "Guys have got to learn and overlap. So, we're pretty specific in regards to, 'Hey, these are the reps that you're getting,' and creating those opportunities for each individual to get better."
In addition to that, Batoon and Co. will have to name starters at several other positions, decide where three-star ATH signees Austyn Dendy and Jude James go positionally, implement the helmet communication system and down the line, decide where he will call the defense from. The stands or the press box.
"We're still working through the details of how we're going to do that. We've visited a bunch of different places and there's a bunch of different ways to do it. But invariably, when we finalize how we're doing it, it'll be what's specific for us.
"I've done both (called games on the field and in the press box). Kind of just as it plays out, you know? We've always kind of made that decision pretty late."
Every phase of the ball has something it is focusing on when the team hits the practice field on Monday morning. The offense wants to get better at scoring touchdowns in the red zone. Batoon wants his defense to be locked in on the mindset of trying to get better each day, and Link wants his special teams units to master the fundamentals.
"The emphasis for fall camp is really recreating the process and building our team, building our units, building our depth chart, taking nothing for granted (and) evaluating personnel," Link said. "We got a sneak peek at some guys in the spring, ... identifying guys that can help us and make a difference.
"Also for us in general, from a special team standpoint, right? We're focusing on what are some ways that we can win the hidden yardage battle. What are some ways that we can create momentum plays and game-changing play opportunities and try to maximize those opportunities when we get them."
Link also has several decisions to make regarding the team's special team specialists.
He named Jamal Roberts, Joshua Manning, Marquis "Speedy" Johnson, Marvin Burks and Tre'Vez Johnson as the candidates for kickoff returns, and Luther Burden III, Theo Wease, Daniel Blood, freshmen Courtney Crutchfield and James Madison and Speedy as punt return candidates.
Roberts, who got a handful of snaps last season as a freshman, is a player the team is intrigued to use on special teams because of his 5-foot-11, 197-pound frame and athletic ability. Link believes he can be a four-core special teamer.
Drinkwitz said Manning had "one of the best offseasons of anybody from any metric standpoint we had."
Speedy was the team's leading kick returner in 2023 with an average of 20.9 yards on seven attempts.
Burks had four returns for an average of 18.5 yards per return while Tre'Vez had one return for 20 yards.
Wease and Blood worked as punt returners during spring ball while Crutchfield and Madison have experience doing it at the high school level.
Burden had a punt return for a touchdown in 2022 versus Abilene Christian and is the only active player who returned a punt in 2023. He returned eight for an average of 8.8 yards. At SEC Media Days, he mentioned wanting to stay on special teams if it'll help the team win despite being one of college football's premier players.
"What it tells me and what I've already known is Luther is a team guy," Link said. "If there are ways he can help our football team and impact the game positively, he's more than willing to do it and wants to do it. I think that's any great competitor. Anybody that wants to impact the game, right? With the ball in their hands 一 they're going to want to do it in any way they can. Offense, defense or special teams."
Blake Craig (for now) seems to be penciled in as the starting kicker but Drinkwitz said Craig will have to earn the right to be named the starter by making some pressure kicks in fall camp.
Craig sat behind Harrison Mevis, the school's all-time leading scorer, last season but Link said Craig has a full year of practice experience. So, that helps, but he knows it's time for Craig to do it for real this time.
"I think Blake is super talented or else, he wouldn't be here," Link said. "I think he's had a very solid practice volume since he's been here. ... But the reality is, he's got to compete every day in fall camp to continue to get better and improve and put himself in a position hopefully to perform at a high level."
The team also has a position battle at punter between Luke Bauer and Orion Phillips.
Riley Williams started last season as the starting punter before losing it to Bauer midway through the season and regaining the starting job back at the Cotton Bowl.
Link said the way to improve the punt return defense starts with the punter, and the player who wins the position battle will need to demonstrate that he can match hangtime and distance with punting the ball where they want it to go consistently.
"For all specialists, it'll be those who can perform consistently at a high level at the standard of performance that we've defined," Link said. "That seems very broad and may be easy to some people, but at the end of the day, there are a lot of details that go in hand with that and it's very challenging."
Missouri was 43rd in punt return defense at 6.3 yards per return, 75th in punt returns with an average of 7.89 yards, 56th in kickoff return defense and 81st in kickoff returns at 19.15 yards per return.
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