Notebook: Mizzou needs clean game to hang with 'Bama

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In one sense, things are starting to finally starting to feel normal for the Missouri football team. After an unprecedented offseason that featured a coaching change, social justice demonstrations, and, of course, the coronavirus pandemic that curtailed spring practices and delayed the start of the 2020 season, the team has finally made it back to the familiar routines of game week.

But the challenge that awaits the Tigers Saturday is anything but routine. Eliah Drinkwitz and his new offense will make their debut against Nick Saban and Alabama. The perennial national title contenders have opened the past eight seasons against Power Five competition and won all eight of those games — by an average of more than 27 points per game. Speaking with local media Tuesday, Drinkwitz said the Crimson Tide are ranked too low. They clocked in at No. 2 in the AP and coaches’ polls.

Welcome to the SEC, coach.

“Obviously a tremendous football team,” Drinkwitz said of Alabama. “I think it's one of the most talented football teams that coach Saban has had in the last three to four or five years. A lot of experience on both sides of the ball.”

This year’s iteration of Alabama features two returning all-Americans and seven players on the preseason all-conference first team, as selected by the league’s coaches. But the Missouri players say they’re not afraid of the challenge. Senior running back Larry Rountree III said these are the type of opponents you expect to play in the SEC. Several others said they’re embracing the opportunity.

“We look forward to this,” said graduate transfer receiver Keke Chism. “We’re not going to be scared of the ‘Alabama’ on their chest or the big A on their helmet. We’re just going to be prepared and go out and execute at a high level, and let the chips fall where they may.”

The players are saying what you’d expect. Actually hanging with the Tide, of course, will be a bit more difficult. Drinkwitz said the recipe for doing so will be beating Alabama at its own game. Even with a new offense that Saban and his massive staff haven’t seen play and an unnamed starting quarterback, Drinkwitz doesn’t expect to win with scheme or gimmicks.

“You're not going to trick them,” he said. “You're not gonna get lucky against them. You're gonna have to go out there and you have to execute at a high level, you have to play fundamentally sound and you have to protect the football. And that's a challenge that we've actually been working towards all fall camp. I mean that's the challenge everyday practice is that you go out there and you execute, you practice fundamentally sound, you take care of the football. Those are the things that we do every single day.”

Drinkwitz noted that Alabama finished third in the nation last season in turnover margin and forced 28 takeaways, tied for fourth-most nationally. Ball-security will be a must. Facing skill players like running back Najee Harris and receivers De’Vonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle, all of whom have the ability to turn a routine play into a score, tackling will be paramount, as well. The team’s margin for error almost certainly won’t be enough to allow for many penalties or other fundamental mishaps.

While those aspects may have been an everyday emphasis for Missouri during fall camp, they’ve also been common issues for teams around college football after the unusual offseason. Drinkwitz said multiple times during camp that the biggest challenge facing the staff wasn’t installing a new offense, it was execution — getting players enough reps that they’re comfortable in the new scheme.

“I think when you watch college football you can tell the teams that haven't played yet — the inexperience, the lack of tackling, the turnovers, the poor handling of clock management, penalties,” Drinkwitz said. “That’s something we've tried to really focus on and make sure that we can clean up as best we can.”

The players, though, are confident they can play a clean game. Rountree said the best thing the offense can do to keep itself out of troublesome situations, which often lead to mistakes, will be establishing a ground attack with he and fellow running back Tyler Badie.

“Go out there and start with the run game and execute the run game as much as possible,” Rountree said. “And from there, we do the things we’ve been doing this whole quarantine.”

Missouri released its first depth chart of the Drinkwitz era Tuesday, and while it didn’t answer who would start behind center for the Tigers against Alabama (no surprise), it revealed the winners of a few other position battles. Perhaps the most notable was freshman Ennis Rakestraw, who will start opposite Jarvis Ware at cornerback.

It’s noteworthy that Rakestraw not only earns a starting spot as a true freshman, but that his debut will come against Alabama. Rakestraw memorably picked Missouri over Alabama and Texas on National Signing Day, sending Drinkwitz into a celebration that went viral. Ware

“He’s an excellent off-man player. Technique is excellent. And he’s going to be physical with you, despite his size.”

More than anything else, Ware raved about Rakestraw’s confidence. He said confidence is a must for cornerbacks, who spend the bulk of their time matched up against receivers one-on-one. And Rakestraw has backed that confidence up with his play on the field. That self-assurance will certainly come in handy this week against Smith and Waddle, both of whom are considered likely first-round NFL Draft picks.

“Sometimes guys, they’ll be talking all the talk, but then when it comes time to go to the field, they ain’t backing it up,” Ware said. “But with Ennis, he talks the talk, but he also walks the walk. He’s out there, he’s catching interceptions, he’s locking people up, and that’s what I like to see.”

The biggest point of concern for Missouri’s offense in recent weeks has been the offensive line. The Tigers not only lost three multi-year starters from a unit that struggled a season ago, they’ve been hit hard by injuries and COVID-19 quarantines up front since the start of camp. Junior Case Cook described the turnover as a “Rolodex of guys.”

Drinkwitz announced two more season-long losses Tuesday, to go along with Mitchell Walters and Angel Matute. Junior Hyrin White, who was expected to compete for the starting left tackle spot, recently underwent season-ending surgery on his shoulder, while sophomore Thalen Robinson opted out of the season due to concerns about the coronavirus. As a result, there is still one starting spot up for grabs on the offensive line. Redshirt sophomore Bobby Lawrence and junior Zeke Powell, who joined the team in August after transferring from Coffeyville Community College, are listed as co-starters for the left tackle position vacated by White.

Other than that, however, reports about the line seemed as rosy as they’ve been since the start of camp. Drinkwitz praised redshirt sophomore Xavier Delgado, who has been named the starter at left tackle, and reiterated his confidence in the right side of the line, which will be manned by Cook and right tackle Larry Borom. Cook said he actually thinks forcing so many different players into action during fall camp will give the unit better depth during the season.

“I’m confident in the guys,” Cook said. “We’ve done a great job of preparation thus far. We’ve had a solid camp, and I think the fact that we’ve kind of had to shift around things and all that kind of stuff, I think it’s ended up making us better and having a little more depth for us. So I’m glad that we had that opportunity.”

Most of the roster update provided by Drinkwitz at the outset of his press conference centered on players leaving the roster, either due to opt-out or injury, but he also revealed that Missouri has added a familiar face. Defensive end Trajan Jeffcoat has been re-admitted to the university and rejoined the football roster, according to Drinkwitz.

Jeffcoat, a member of the 2018 recruiting class, played in all 13 games as a true freshman, recording six tackles and a sack. He missed the first few weeks of last season due to an elbow injury suffered on the first day of fall camp, and before he returned to the field, he was dismissed to the team for an unspecified reason. Drinkwitz said that Jeffcoat re-enrolled in classes in August, and after meeting with Jeffcoat and the team leadership, he permitted Jeffcoat to rejoin the roster.

“Trajan’s re-acclimated himself,” Drinkwitz said. “He’s worked out on his own, is in good shape and he’s ready to compete.”

The addition should provide needed depth at defensive end. Drinkwitz announced Tuesday that junior Jatorian Hansford will miss the entire season with a shoulder injury suffered during the summer. Senior Sci Martin will miss Saturday’s game due to a knee injury, although Drinkwitz is hopeful that he will return to the roster “in the next two weeks.”