WATCH: Drinkwitz previews spring football
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Missouri will open spring football on Friday. Eli Drinkwitz met with reporters to preview his second spring in Columbia on Tuesday morning.
Watch the press conference below and subscribe to our YouTube channel to follow all of our video and live streaming coverage throughout the season.
Below is a full transcript of Drinkwitz's remarks.
Opening Statement
“New year, new team, same goal: to win the SEC East. We're excited to open spring football and to really begin creating our edge for this team and this season. You know, each year, the process starts over and you have to lay a foundation, and that's really what our objectives for not only offseason workouts but spring football are. We've been working over the last couple of months through some strategic realignment. I'm excited about how we've been able to continue to push this program forward by making some strategic moves to add championship value and pedigree to our program and SEC experience. Today there was a release on a couple of new additions. I'd like to announce the addition of Ryan Russell as our executive director of athletic performance. He will oversee the critical area of player development and cultural development within our program, really being in charge of and coordinating all aspects of strength development, nutrition, equipment, athletic training. He's got a championship pedigree from his time at Auburn. I have a personal relationship with Ryan back to our days at Auburn and Arkansas State, and excited for his knowledge of this conference and what it takes to win this conference. Him and Sarah are going to be great additions to our staff. We also added Brett Whiteside as our chief recruiting officer. He will coordinate the entrance and exit of our players into our program by being the lead person in organizing and operate day to day operations of recruiting those young guys, young men into our program, as well as coordinating postgraduate career development for our program. So, really excited about the level of organization and insight that Brett has and brings to our program. Excited to add Natalie and Timothy and Brett to our program there.
“L’Damian Washington has been elevated to director of player development. Obviously L’Damian’s a former player here and a team captain who went on to have just a great career in life after football, life with football, and now we'll welcome him back to life after football. Just been impressed with the relationships that he's been able forge with our players, and just a great man of character that can really benefit our players on a day-to-day basis. He's doing a great job with character development, real world experiences, and he's helping coordinate with Brett Whiteside on our postgraduate careers. He's helped with our freshman bridge program and developing the curriculum for that. So very fired up about L’Damian being back a part of who we are at Mizzou. And then today we added Aaron Fletcher to be our defensive backs coach. Aaron has spent the past six years at Tulsa. He was on coach Montgomery’s first staff at Tulsa. He spent two years at Houston Baptist before that. He's got extensive connections in the DFW area, which is a primary recruiting ground for us, and we're excited to bring him and his wife Tanzania and their three children to our campus. And he'll be joining us by the end of this week, ready in time for spring ball. Nothing like a quick hire and getting ready to coach some football.
“So, as far as spring, we have three distinct goals for our spring football practice. Number one is individual player development. Again, our goal is for each and every single player on our team to develop this spring. To take them from where they’re at, to get them to a different place as a player and as a person, fundamentally and technique. We want to continue to increase their ability and knowledge. As we learned last year, everybody is going to have to contribute to our football team’s success, and so spring is about them developing. They’ve had about six weeks in the weight room, and now we want to transition and work really the next four weeks in football fundamentals and technique. Number two, we're going to lay the foundations of our offense, defense and special teams, and we're not going to skip any steps. We’re starting at the beginning. Although offense and special teams have a little bit of a leg up on the defense, we’re going back to the basics because we didn't get to do this last year, and look forward to starting at the groundwork and building up. Excited for coach Wilks to be able to do that with his defense, also, and really work together, compete against each other but strive together to put us in a position to compete for the SEC East. And then third, and probably the most important, is continue to work on team chemistry and camaraderie. We really need to develop leaders on our team but develop that team chemistry so we're playing for each other, playing for the man next to us on the football field and develop that camaraderie in the trenches and on the football fiel. And so we got a lot to accomplish, we got a lot to work on. We spent a lot of time evaluating, the last two months, on specific areas that we really need to improve. I've had a lot of time to really think about, you know, what are the strategic things that we need to do to continue to push this program forward? And we know right now is a critical component of that with spring football. It's not going to be as much about the scheme as it is about individual player development, fundamentals, foundations of our offensive and defensive units and special teams units, and then building team chemistry and camaraderie. So with that, I'll open it up for questions.”
Question: How big a difference is it to not only know your players and your roster a little bit more than you did 12 months ago, but that they kind of know what to expect out of you and the way you run the program going into spring?
“Yeah, I think there's obviously a familiarity there, which is going to allow them to anticipate, and obviously anticipation is a key part of growth where you can anticipate what's next and kind of be ready for it. But the one thing I've challenged everybody on is that we're not building upon next year, we're establishing a new identity, a new edge for who we are and what we're trying to create this coming season, and embrace the challenges and changes that have occurred and realize that everything starts over. Everything starts over. And nothing that we accomplished last year, other than the confidence that we have that what we’re doing will work, is going to affect what we’re wanting to do this year.”
Did last spring prove to you just how valuable spring football is?
“Yeah, I mean, I think we've always kind of known how important spring football was for individual player development, understanding your strengths and weaknesses. But you also understand that your team is still going to be evolving. You're going to be adding freshmen in this summer and there's going to be things that you don't anticipate happening. So I think there's, again, a renewed focus for us on doing those first three things we said instead of worrying about so much schematically what we're doing. Worrying about, again, the individual player development.”
I know the news about Aaron Fletcher is obviously very recent, but do you have a sense of how the coaching responsibilities will break down in the secondary with coach Harbison there and coach Wilks potentially being involved there as well?
“Yeah, congratulations on being the first to report Aaron Fletcher’s announcement, the new DBs coach, there, Mitchell. I’d like to point out a job well done. I think I gave him some grief in a podcast, so I’d like to congratulate you on competing there to try to get that. You know, I think we have a pretty good sense of how that will play out, but I want to get Aaron here first. And obviously coach Wilks has spent a long time coaching corners, and I know that he is anxious to get his hands on the corners and make sure he establishes his DNA and fingerprints on that position. I know coach Harbison has got extensive time in the safety position, and we'll figure out whether or not coach Fletcher is coaching the nickels, or if he takes time with the corners or safety, how that works. But we've got some position flexibility there with our coaching staff. Obviously coach Smith will be with the linebackers, coach Franklin will be with the d-line, and so on. But we'll see where that all ends up playing out. I do know for sure that coach Wilks is going to be the corners coach.”
I don’t think we’ve gotten to talk to you since the news of the new indoor facility. Are you happy with the placement of the facility and kind of what’s the update with that on when you guys can expect to see it start getting built?
“Well, I know that I was looking out my windows today and there was surveyors out there and they're looking at the positioning of the indoor, and I anticipate it being right outside the southeast end zone facility, which, for the sake of convenience and I think for the long term look of this southeast endzone facility, you're gonna have a beautiful indoor, you’ve got the southeast end zone facility, you’ve got the arena kind of being our focal point for the athletics department. I think it’s certainly a great position. Obviously anticipate, I think May we have another meeting to continue to move forward with that, so I don't speak for our president of the university or our board of curators. I certainly fall in line with their authority. But I'm excited about what they've improved so far, and we're going to continue to work diligently to secure fundraising and secure more donations to get this thing built. And like I've challenged people, our team, our staff, our players, and as I'll continue to challenge on fans, commitment is not a one-time act. You have to recommit yourself to pursuing a championship each and every offseason. We’ve got to continue as a fan base and as donors to continue to pursue that championship mentality. So we're going to be knocking on doors and asking for continued donations and stepping up to the plate. Nothing would excite us more. Obviously we got a taste of a championship with the Chiefs winning the Super Bowl, with the Royals several years ago winning the World Series ,the Cardinals winning the World Series. It's time for the Missouri Tigers to step up to the plate and continue to push this program, but we need everybody involved in that continued push so that we can get there.”
How do you work in the newcomers that came at semester to the program as far as spring goes? Do they have to earn reps?
“Well, again, it's all going to be about individual player development, so everybody's going to get reps and opportunities to perform and develop, and it's not going to be necessarily as much about trying to create a chemistry with a group of ones, twos or threes. It's about hey, how is this person performing? How is he getting better? And everybody's going to have an opportunity to do that. We're really excited about the 11 early enrollees or new guys that we have, and they absolutely are going to get an opportunity to perform. You know, there's really only depth charts for functionality. There's no real depth charts in the spring. Everything will be determined in fall camp. Fall camp is where you really compete for positions. This is about an opportunity for these guys to be aggressive in their development, go out, make mistakes, learn from those mistakes, come out better, continue to find out their edge and how they’re going to be best developed into a player that can help us win.”
What do you want to see out of Connor (Bazelak) this spring?
“Well the first thing we have to improve on is our ball security in the pocket. The second thing we need to improve on is our ability to throw touchdowns in the red zone and be a more productive player in the red area. And then the third thing I want to see is be aggressive. I don't want to see him be reckless, but I want us to be aggressive this spring and figure out, I can throw the ball through this window, I can put this ball here, I can back-shoulder this one, I can fit it into that tight window and make mistakes and learn from those mistakes. Obviously I don’t want him to be reckless, I don't want him to be careless or comfortable. What I want him to be is to challenge himself to continue to improve as a quarterback, and I think there's going to be — obviously you all will be out at some practices — I think there’s going to be plenty of times where we’re going to challenge him.”
Where are you at with the depth of this team after all the roster flux that has happened and been happening all over college football?
“I feel good about it. I think the thing that has really been beneficial for us is that extra year of eligibility that's been granted by the NCAA, which has allowed us a little bit of an easier, smoother transition with some of the guys moving out of the program, and allowed us to really bring some other guys into the program but still create some valuable depth. So, don't have any glaring roster holes right now that we need to fix, but feel like we've got some competitive depth, some competitive position group competitions that are really going to show up, probably not as much in spring, but show up in fall camp. And then we still have a few positions available to sign if a transfer or something comes on the market, or high school player comes on the market who we really would like.”
I’m working on a story about the protests that happened in the program in 2015. I know you weren’t a part of the group, but kind of wanted to see what your perspective was as an outsider then and now looking forward how it empowered college athletes to kind of have a voice.
“I haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about 2015. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about our team and how we can use our voice and our platform to promote change. That’s really what our Mizzou Impact initiative is about. It’s about being impactful, not just as a statement, but with action within our community and using our influence in a positive way. As far as what we’ve done recently is we’ve spent time with community service projects. We had hundreds of hours in February with community service projects with COVID, we’re a part of a group called Mizzou Impact, which is part of our care portal, which is something we do and have done once a week during the offseason and did throughout the season. We obviously did some things with backpacks, our voter registration drive. We’ll continue to find ways to utilize our voice. We’re going to be doing something unique on Friday and on Saturday to promote Black History month and our recognizing Norris Stevenson as our first African-American player to play here at Mizzou. Again, I don’t know anything specifically of 2015. All I can speak about is us finding ways to continue to promote our platform for positivity..”
I know last year was a big uncertainty with rosters and eligibility, but I think you guys got at least five starters back with the extra year of eligibility. In the end, how big a benefit for your program is using that extra year for those guys to come back?
“We’re excited about those guys coming back and compete and continue to grow. What I challenged all of those guys on was to utilize this year as an opportunity to get better. Whether or not they’re returning starters or returning players, the challenge to them is to continue to grow and continue to improve and utilize this time as an opportunity to get better.”
You mention not having any glaring holes as far as the roster goes. You’ve obviously got some leadership holes and big shoes to fill with Nick Bolton heading off to the NFL. I’m curious how you see the spring helping you figure that piece of the puzzle out.
“I think this will actually go back to Gabe’s question too. Obviously going into this past year we were really worried about our defensive line having potentially nine seniors leaving the program and trying to replace nine guys in the front. Obviously this is a trench league so to have several of those guys come back while also being able to add junior college depth and true freshman depth is going to allow us to really try to be deep and competitive at that position. That’s the goal is competitive depth so that you can play with eight to 12 guys so you can sub in the second and third team and they’re fresh, you don’t have a drop-off. As far as linebacker, obviously you’re going to lose a second-team all-American, a guy that I would consider to be a first- or second-round draft pick and I would be shocked if he gets to the second round, but a guy who was a tremendous player in this league for several years. You don’t easily replace that. That’s again why it’s about individual player development and each player finding their edge. We’re going to have a lot of guys rep at that position to see ultimately who will be that linebacker. I’m excited to see how the 4-2-5 scheme that Steve (Wilks) is going to bring in is going to amplify and allow our guys to play a little bit faster in the back…a little bit more dialed in on what their run fit is. Obviously we’re going to be adding some linebackers—really good linebackers—in the summer so none of these positions will be finalized until we can give those guys an opportunity to compete in the fall.”
I was going to ask you about Steve Wilks. Where did that connection originate and just take us through the hiring process.
“Coach Wilks is somebody that I have a tremendous amount of respect for. Obviously my time in Raleigh is when the Carolina Panthers first got to the Super Bowl and I got to know and understand who coach Steve Wilks was and his DNA and put his fingerprint on that defense was for the Carolina Panthers. Didn’t realize until I got there that he was an alumni of Appalachian State. Then when I got the head coaching job obviously we connected and reached out there. Stayed in touch with him and then when this job came open, reached out to him about if he would have interest. Obviously, he had a lot of things going on in the NFL and opportunities there. Got the opportunity to get in front of him and really sell our vision for what Mizzou is and can be and the opportunities that it could present for him and his family. Gave him the best pitch I had. He finally relented and agreed and excited about what he’s going to bring to the table.”
How did you get to the Super Bowl?
“I got on a plane and I flew down there.”
Was there a connection with a player or something?
“No. No. Just a fan. Just a fan. Got an opportunity to watch the greatest of all time versus the home town team and thought that was an opportunity of a lifetime I’d never forget. I’d never been to an NFL game before and the Super Bowl’s kind of one of those bucket list item. I’ve got about four of them from a sports perspective and that was one of them and was presented an opportunity to kind of make that dream become reality. Took advantage of it and, boy, I’m sure glad I did. Know it wasn’t the outcome we wanted for the home town team, but it was impressive to watch Tom Brady live.”
I know you’ll be excited to answer your first injury report question of the year. Are you able to clarify any guys who are going to miss time in the spring?
“Kobie Whiteside will be out for the spring. He’s recovering from a postseason surgery. Cam Wilkins will not be back. He’s still recovering from his in-season surgery. Jatorian Hansford will be out for the spring as he’s recovering from a postseason surgery. I think as of right now, I don’t have my injury report in front of me, but I think those would be the three that will be gone, or will not participate in spring. We do anticipate having JJ Hester back full speed which is exciting for us. We are excited, really excited to see Shawn Robinson transition and go through a full spring at safety and he’s ready to go full speed. Other than that I think, unless there’s somebody specific that you have, I think that’s the list.”
You mentioned Shawn Robinson. He had that interception, had that great game when he was in there. Do you see him as a guy who can be a starter at safety and be a difference maker for you like he was in that game?
“I think that’s a lot of pressure to put on Shawn. I don’t want to compare him to anybody and I don’t want to put any undue pressure on him. What we expect out of Shawn is for him to prepare himself to be the best version of himself every single day. To walk out there, compete to be better today than he was yesterday, be better tomorrow than he was today. If he does that consistently over the month of March, there’s going to good days and bad days…He’s extremely coachable and I personally think the sky’s the limit for him. I know what I saw in that last game that he played in. Obviously he’s got a lot of potential and we are sure excited about that. I don’t put any undue expectations on him. To follow up on Mitchell, it reminded me, Jalani Williams will be out this spring recovering from a postseason upper body surgery, so he will miss the spring, which will allow Shawn to take some advantage of those reps.”
Did you say the Super Bowl was the first NFL game you’d ever been to?
“Yeah, I didn’t stutter I don’t think. Just kidding. Yeah, first NFL football game to ever attend. Heck of a one to start it with, right?"
Obviously this is pretty early for spring ball and you’re getting done before spring break. Was there any particular reason you wanted to move it earlier or is that just when you’ve done it in the past?
“I don’t want to lay on the beach worrying about spring football. I’m just kidding. There’s all kinds of reasons why. For me personally, I’ve done it before like this and I feel like it’s a really good opportunity for your guys. One, you take the six weeks that they get back from what would have been our bowl game, they get six weeks to get their body back and then you go straight into football. Once that’s done, there’s really four months of uninterrupted training that they get to change their bodies. There’s not going to be the wear and tear, whereas some programs will go eight weeks and then they’ll spread spring football over the course of six weeks and then at that time they have one week and then they’ve got the end of the semester and you really only get two months of uninterrupted training. We’re trying to maximize that time with four months uninterrupted training, give our guys a chance, if there’s something unfortunate, injury or tweaked ankle or something like that during spring, they have four months to really get back to full speed. Again, we want to try to create as little contact but as long recovery as we can to really enhance player safety. I think it gives a lot of flexibility to your staff. Then I personally have never liked the idea, I’ve never really enjoyed where you go practice for seven, eight practices, then you break and then you come back. If we’re gonna get out there, let’s get our mind on our business, let’s go four weeks, let’s make sure we’re improving every day. It’s going to be a grind, but when it’s over we can all drink mai-tais on the beach and have a good time.”
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