Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz held his weekly press conference with the media Tuesday as the team reflects on it’s win against UMass and prepares to host Auburn for Homecoming.
I picked a few of Drinkwitz’s quotes that I thought were most telling.
On rotations on the offensive line
What Drinkwitz said: “I think we’re going to see more of Mitch Walters throughout. You know, we just feel like, from an offensive line standpoint, we got to create competition to get the best. I mean, Cayden (Green) rotated and ended up grading the highest and was named offensive lineman of the game. So he responded well to the challenge. But you know, Mitch can really play three positions for us. He can play right guard and rotates with Cam (Johnson), play left guard, and he can play right tackle. And so, you know, he provides really a lot of position flexibility.”
What was unsaid: EXPECT MORE MITCH WALTERS. The coaches know the offensive line hasn’t been up to the standard it needs to play at. Drinkwitz spent a lot of that answer talking up Walters. He’s not going to put down any of the starters and I think talking about the positional flexibility has the added benefit of not tipping where to expect Walters, especially with the addition of Green grading well Saturday. He’s played most of his snaps this season at right guard, but 79 of his 83 there came against Buffalo. He’s played more than 20 snaps at right tackle in two games, against Murray State and Saturday, plus the 10 snaps he played at left guard Saturday, that’s all he’s played there this season. I expect the coaching staff to mess around with the rotation on the offensive line and get Walter into the mix. He did add in another quote that he doesn’t expect another player to work into the rotation at this time.
On getting Josh Manning more snaps at receiver
What Drinkwitz said: “I think he’s played a lot. We rotate a lot of wide receivers and we get criticized for playing too many wide receivers because Luther (Burden) isn’t on the field. Now, we’re wanting other guys to get more shots. You know, I can’t make everybody happy on that, but I would say Josh has earned what he’s got. He does a great job with this opportunity and I think the only people concerned with that stuff are outside the building.”
What was unsaid: Sounds like Drinkwitz has heard the questions of why Luther was off the field on important downs against Texas A&M. Manning has played well against some of the lesser competition the Tigers have faced this year. And right before I started that quote, Drinkwitz was talking about how Manning was supposed to be the opening kick returner against Texas A&M, but only played five snaps because of hamstring tightness the day of the game. But in the receiving game, he has eight catches on 11 targets, entirely coming in four games, the four non-conference games. I think the main thing to take away here is just that the Mizzou receiving room is very good and it’s hard to break into regularly. Though I could see Manning working in as the third receiver option at some point here soon.
On Auburn's main offensive threats
What Drinkwitz said: “Jarquez Hunter is as good a running back as we’ve gone against. I remember playing against him several years ago down there. I think he’s dynamic, has good speed, he’s hard to bring down in the hole … I think he’s proven he’s a really, really good player with really good vision … KeAndre Lambert-Smith, the transfer from Penn State, talented player, really excels in the jump ball, excels in the back shoulder, which has been areas that we’ve struggled with in the DB position. So that’s a point of emphasis for us. And obviously he’s a guy that the quarterback, Peyton Thorn, really feels confident in throwing to.”
What was unsaid: Auburn’s stats aren’t great overall, but they have some serious athletes that can cause issues for defenses. There was another response early about how the defensive backs didn’t do a great job handling RPOs against UMass, which is a big part of Auburn’s offense, too. Once again, we’re talking about how the secondary HAS to do a better job of keying on receivers, especially in another matchup where there is one who is the main target like last week. The Tigers didn’t do a great job containing the one major receiving threat last week, if they have trouble again this week, Lambert-Smith could have a big day through the air, which will open up opportunities for Hunter on the ground.
Head on over to the Tiger Walk to discuss the press conference, this story and so much more.
