11/22/2022 football Edit

Mizzou Football Notebook: Transfer portal, progress, playcalling, injuries

Jarod Hamilton • PowerMizzou

Staff Writer

Missouri will look to take back the Battle Line trophy when it faces Arkansas (6-5) on Friday in week 13 on a short week. It will no doubt be more of a hectic week than most weeks considering the six-day turnaround from week 12 and Thanksgiving, but it's only a small sample size for what's to come in the next few weeks.

Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz was intent that the only thing on his mind is defeating Arkansas and bringing back home the Battle Line trophy, but there are a number of things that will be happening in the near future.

The FBS transfer portal opens on Dec. 5, early Signing Day for high school recruits is on Dec. 16, Missouri will potentially have a bowl game, players will declare for the NFL Draft and there's the possibility of coaching changes.

"So, there's a big challenge there," Drinkwitz said. "And we will step up to the challenge. Whatever that may be, whatever that may look like."

The thing that probably sticks out the most in that to-do list for Missouri that isn't directly related to play on the football field is the transfer portal.

Essentially, the free agency of college football and Drinkwitz said that he expects chaos when that day arrives for a number of reasons.

"It’s going to be a madhouse," Drinkwitz said. "The FCS portal opened up and it's completely crazy. I don't think there's any reason that it’s going to be different. Be careful what you wish for. I just worry there are going to be players who leave our program, and I love them dearly, but maybe they're not excited about their role or they're frustrated because they don't feel like they're being utilized the right way. Sometimes you just got to grow and sometimes the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Sometimes you're just trading one set of problems for another. ... Then you're going to have the other factor that people want to negotiate a better deal because of NIL and that other stuff."

Last year, 14 different players left Missouri for the transfer portal, and this year the Tigers have already had Davion Sistrunk and LJ Hewitt announce their intentions to transfer. There is a second window in early May, so players don't necessarily have to declare in the opening 45-day window. Players who have already graduated can enter the portal at any time.

“There are some guys that want to go test the waters and see if the grass is greener and you know, there's no bars on the window, Missouri defensive coordinator Blake Baker said. “There's no locks on the door. Obviously, we don't want anybody to leave. But if people are unhappy here, you know, that's kind of the beauty of the 85 for 85.”

What does progress look like at Mizzou to Drinkwitz?

After back-to-back .500 regular seasons, Mizzou will be heading into the final game of the regular season with the chance to go .500 again or fall below that marrk for the first time in Drinkwitz's tenure.

Drinkwitz said that even if the record may not necessarily reflect an improvement, he believes there is still tangible evidence of improvement.

"I think the things that we have done well is we have been to back-to-back bowl games, which only two other coaches in school history have done," Drinkwitz said. "We've recruited at one of the highest levels that this program has ever seen. We've drawn fan attendance back to one of the highest levels that it's been since pre-2015. We’ve built a brand new indoor facility and raised money at a high level. You're seeing progress on the defensive side of the ball, which had not been where we wanted it to be the previous season."

On that point, Drinkwitz is irrefutably right. The defense has improved tremendously from where it was a year ago under Steve Wilks, to where it is now under Baker.

Last season, the Tigers ranked 113th in total defense at 434.6 yards per game, 113th in scoring defense at 33.8 points per game, 29th in pass defense at 206.8 yards per game and 127th in run defense at 227.4 yards per game.

The Tigers enter week 13 as the 31st-ranked total defense, 54th in scoring defense at 24.8 points per game, 45th in pass defense at 209.7 yards per game and 36th in run defense at 128.5 yards per game.

The offense has had a number of things that has prevented it from matching or even nearing the production of the defense, but Drinkwitz said that the young players on that side of the ball will need to and are currently improving.

"Offensively, we are not where we want to be as far as the number of yards and points but we are dealing with a pretty young football team when you're starting a redshirt freshman center," Drinkwitz said. Your starting quarterback hadn't played a whole lot, maybe your best two offensive weapons are a true sophomore and a true freshman. So, the future to me is really bright. We're starting a true freshman right tackle. We had a redshirt freshman make his first career touchdown catch at tight end. So, I see a lot of growth and see a lot of things to be excited about."

Drinkwitz said amidst all of the events and changes that are coming in the near future he said two things won't be changing.

"The direction and vision of this program," Drinkwitz said. "I think the biggest thing that I've tried to make sure that our administration and hopefully our fans know is that stability and discipline in an uncertain environment is a recipe for success."

Who is calling the plays on offense?

The Tigers started the season averaging 23.1 points per game through their first nine games and 15 points per game in their first six Power 5 games. After Missouri's 66-24 loss to Tennessee in week 11, Drinkwitz told PowerMizzou that he made the decision to let quarterback coach Bush Hamdan call plays beginning with that game.

Drinkwitz said despite the change, it's still a collective effort by all offensive coaches to help out with the game plan.

"I think there's a lot of talk about playcalling and all that stuff," Drinkwitz said. "I mean, we have offensive staff that puts everything together and we go through all the situations and then you know, whoever is dialing up the plays at that time 一 it’s a collective effort anyway, so don't get caught up in too many sources and all that different stuff. So, I think it's a little bit overblown, but I appreciate Bush and his leadership. Absolutely. Honestly, I felt like maybe that was something that would spark us."

The 24 points versus Tennessee were Missouri's most points against a Power 5 opponent Since Hamdan has taken over the primary responsibilities, the Tigers are averaging 34.5 points per game and quarterback Brady Cook has completed 39 of 60 (65%) passes for 472 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. Before that, Cook completed 162 of 247 (65%) for 1,792 yards, six touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Injury update

Wide receiver Barrett Banister, cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine, defensive end Isaiah McGuire, linebacker Xavier Simmons and safety Joseph Charleston all left the week 12 matchup versus New Mexico State at some point and didn't return to the contest. Defensive end Tyrone Hopper didn't play after an injury he suffered at Tennessee.

Drinkwitz didn't have much of an update on most of them, but he did have an update on Simmons, who got hurt on his first special team snap of the season in week 12.

"Simmons had a non-contact knee injury on the kickoff team and he'll miss the remainder of the season," Drinkwitz said. "I really hate that for him as we were playing him in one of his four games. He had a Lisfranc injury when we first got him on campus and it took him all the way until August to get back and he really made some progress. I was excited for him to get his opportunity. But he's going to be out for the rest of the year."

At practice on Monday, Abrams-Draine and McGuire participated (with a non-contact jersey), Charleston and Hopper were in street clothes and Banister was not seen. Baker said Hopper has been ruled out for week 13 with a shoulder injury.