Missouri took the field for the first of 25 fall camp practices Friday morning, marking the unofficial end of the offseason. During the seven-and-a-half months since the Tigers last took the field, fan excitement has steadily mounted for the second season under head coach Eli Drinkwitz. The Tigers managed a 5-5 record last season despite playing an all-SEC schedule and dealing with constant COVID-19 interruptions.
Speaking to reporters after practice, Drinkwitz acknowledged that this offseason feels more like normal. But he also sought to slow the hype train down a bit, at least within his own locker room.
“We got a lot of work to do,” Drinkwitz said. “I don’t know that we need to crown anybody anything right now. I mean, we’re a 5-5 football team with a lot of guys coming back. Unless we make a lot of improvements, we’re a 5-5 football team. So we got a lot of work to do. Didn’t really like the energy today. I don’t know if they expected me to carry the day with my energy, but we didn’t have it. And we gotta improve.”
As usual, the first practice of camp focused more on position drills than team-wide scrimmaging. Players didn’t wear pads, and Drinkwitz said the offense took only about 20 snaps with the entire unit on the field.
Still, Drinkwitz said he had a stern message for the team after practice about taking advantage of the remaining days before Missouri kicks off the season against Central Michigan on Sept. 4.
“You cannot waste days,” he said. “Cannot waste days. They’re not pushing back the season. We only got a few practices left.”
The one player who didn’t seem to draw Drinkwitz’s ire was his starting quarterback, Connor Bazelak. Drinkwitz has taken just about every opportunity during the offseason to confirm that Bazelak, who started the final eight games a season ago, will be the man behind center this season. He’s also been open about wanting to see Bazelak get a bit more aggressive with downfield throws and fitting passes into tight windows, and said Friday Bazelak showed a good balance of aggression and prudence.
“We just want him to be a smart, disciplined decision-maker,” Drinkwitz said. “Smart, not conservative. When the play is there, make it, when it’s not there, take your check-down. I think he did a nice job today in the pocket. Didn’t force anything but put some throws where he needed to. So there was some growth there.”
While the fact that fall camp started on time and local media were allowed to view part of the practice and speak to players in person illustrates that college football is returning to normal, avoiding COVID-19 cases remains a priority. At SEC Media Days last month, conference commissioner Greg Sankey said that any team that falls below the league roster minimums due to COVID contact tracing will likely have to forfeit games.
The best way to avoid that fate will be to get players vaccinated, something Drinkwitz passionately endorsed at media days. In Hoover, Drinkwitz said he expected Missouri to have more than 85 percent of its players fully vaccinated by the start of fall camp — the threshold to avoid contact tracing when a player or staffer tests positive. Asked Friday, Drinkwitz suggested the team has not yet reached that number.
“We’ll be there,” he said.
Shearin, White return to the field
Missouri took the field Friday with two players who missed all of fall camp a season ago. Defensive back Chris Shearin and offensive lineman Hyrin White are both back in action after missing all of last season. Shearin opted out due to concerns about COVID-19, while White underwent surgery for a shoulder injury last summer that ended his season. Both expressed gratitude to be back on the field this season.
“It feels good to be back out here with my team, grinding,” White said. “I’m just thankful for everything I’ve been through, and I’m ready to get out here and compete.”
Both Shearin and White could earn significant playing time over the next three weeks. Shearin will compete to replace Joshuah Bledsoe as the starting nickel corner, while White appears to be the most likely candidate to fill in for Larry Borom at right tackle, although he said Friday he will play “wherever coach needs me.”
Shearin was the only player who opted out a season ago to return to Missouri’s roster, but he said there was never a doubt about whether he’d be back in a Tiger uniform this season. Getting back into football shape represented a bit of an adjustment during spring practices, but he hasn’t struggled to learn the new defensive scheme introduced by Steve Wilks.
“It’s a different scheme, new coaching staff, so obviously coaches teach things differently, but I’m just excited to go,” Shearin said.
Even though he sat out all of last season, Shearin still represents one of Missouri’s most experienced cornerbacks. Only one player at the position, Ishmael Burdine, has spent more than one season in a Tiger uniform. Redshirt freshman Kris Abrams-Draine pointed to Shearin as one of the leaders of the group.
“I’m just trying to communicate with my team, jell together and just put my team in the best position to win,” Shearin said.
Wilkins enters transfer portal
One noteworthy absence from the practice field was linebacker Cameron Wilkins. It didn’t take long to figure out why Wilkins wasn’t present; midway through practice, he tweeted that he had officially entered the transfer portal.
Wilkins, who came to Missouri as a member of the 2018 recruiting class, recorded 40 tackles and an interception in three seasons. He started two games at middle linebacker during the 2019 season after Cale Garrett suffered a season-ending injury. Wilkins eventually ceded the starting spot to Devin Nicholson. He recorded seven tackles in two games a season ago before his season was ended by injury.
Nicholson is still expected to start at middle linebacker this season. Prior to his departure, Wilkins was part of a logjam at the position. Missouri still has seven scholarship players listed on its roster as linebackers.
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