Speaking to local reporters via Zoom on Wednesday, Missouri head coach Eliah Drinkwitz covered a lot of ground. Not much of it had to do with football. Drinkwitz made waves for imploring fans to wear masks amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, for using the term “coronabros” and for making a joke about President Donald Trump referring to Alabama head coach Nick Saban as Lou Saban during a recent conference call.
Similar storylines have dominated the headlines across the country. The usual offseason discussions about who will start at quarterback or whether the secondary can hold up have, rightfully, taken a backseat to reports of positive tests and workouts being suspended, to speculation about conference-only schedules or a spring season. It’s difficult to preview games that, as of now, look like a coin flip (at best) to be played.
All that being said, late in his press conference, Drinkwitz did get around to discussing what he’s seen from his new players on the field. As voluntary strength and conditioning workouts gave way to mandatory practices on Monday, Drinkwitz and his staff got their first opportunity since March to work with players in football-related activities. His early impression of one position group should have Missouri fans excited about Drinkwitz’s debut season, whenever that may come.
Asked about rebuilding a Missouri offense that limped through the latter half of last season, Drinkwitz started his answer not by addressing the Tigers’ two proven tailbacks, as some might have expected, or junior tight end Daniel Parker Jr., or even the quarterback position. He initially brought up the wide receivers, and in particular two players the new coaching staff added to the position group during the offseason: graduate transfers Keke Chism and Damon Hazelton Jr.
“The fact that nobody asked about Keke Chism on this phone call blows my mind, because that dude's an absolute freakin’ stud and a steal, and couldn't be more excited about this young man transferring into our program and being just an unbelievable person, great character, former high school quarterback that's really developed himself into a tremendous player and potential NFL player,” Drinkwitz said. “To be able to add him with a young man like Damon Hazleton on the outside, I mean, our quarterbacks, whoever our quarterback is, has added two tremendous weapons that are going to be tremendous.”
It would be fair to question just how much Drinkwitz has been able to learn about Chism, from Division-II Angelo State, and Hazelton, who spent the past two seasons at Virginia Tech, based on a handful of practices without pads. The point of this story is not to anoint them as saviors for Missouri’s offense. However, if the transfer tandem can become the type of consistent downfield playmakers the Tiger offense lacked last season, the entire team would benefit.
While Drinkwitz went on to mention several returning receivers and incoming freshmen after praising Chism and Hazelton, the fact that he and his staff immediately added two experienced wideouts to the roster serves as a pretty good indication of what Missouri had returning at the position. No group was immune from blame for the Tigers’ struggles during the second-half of last season, when the offense mustered just 11.8 points per game, but the wideouts certainly didn’t help.
A few numbers to consider: Only one receiver, Jonathan Nance, caught a touchdown during the second half of the season. On the year, the wideouts combined to catch just six scores. Nance, who has since graduated, caught four of them. As a team, Missouri completed just six passes that traveled more than 20 yards in the air across the final six games of the season. The Tigers ranked No. 92 nationally in explosive passing plays, or plays that gain more than 20 yards, on the season. Connecting on deep balls wasn’t the only problem, either; the wide receivers and tight ends combined for 27 drops.
Departures only made matters worse. In addition to Nance, starting slot receiver Johnathon Johnson also graduated. Tight end Albert Okwuegbunam and his team-high six receiving scores declared for the NFL Draft. When Drinkwitz took over, Jalen Knox was the only wide receiver or tight end on the roster to have eclipsed 300 yards last season, and only he and Barrett Banister caught a touchdown, each scoring one.
Luckily for Missouri, catching touchdowns has been a specialty of both Chism and Hazelton at their previous stops. Both stand 6-foot-2 or taller and have shown a penchant for making contested catches. Hazelton led Virginia Tech with eight touchdown receptions each of the past two seasons, despite missing a few games due to injury last year. He caught 51 passes for 802 yards as a sophomore in 2018. Chism recorded 959 yards and six touchdowns in 2018, then 878 yards and six scores last season. Any of those three seasons would have led Missouri in catches, yardage and touchdowns in 2019.
By the end of last season, opposing defenses often crowded the line of scrimmage and dared Missouri to make plays through the air. The offense’s inability to do so had a lot to do with the scoring struggles that resulted in Barry Odom being fired and the offensive assistants replaced. When they return to the field, the Tigers will need more than just the receivers to step up, but getting a consistent downfield threat would go a long way toward opening things up for the rest of the attack.
Drinkwitz already believes Chism and Hazelton will provide just that.
“One of these days y'all might actually get to see them in person,” Drinkwitz said, “and you'll realize I've spoken so highly of the way those guys look.”
