9/26/2023 football Edit

What Eli Drinkwitz said on Media Day ahead of Week 5 and what it means

Jarod Hamilton • PowerMizzou

Staff Writer

Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz met with the media on Tuesday to give injury updates, the team's struggles on defense and more.

Here's a look at some interesting things Drinkwitz said with some insight to determine what it means.

Injury updates to various players:

Drinkwitz's quote: "Darius Robinson is going to be questionable this week from an injury in the game. We'll see how that goes. Mekhi Miller will be out this week. And Luther (Burden) and Brady (Cook) are both questionable as of today (Tuesday). Both will be limited at practice and even if they are available, we'll see."

What it means: Robinson has been dealing with a calf issue dating back to at least Week 3, but probably longer. He recorded two tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss before re-aggravating the calf in the first quarter versus Memphis.

On the depth chart, Nyles Gaddy is listed as the second-string EDGE behind Robinson, although it will likely still be a by-committee approach with Gaddy, Joe Moore and Austin Firestone, who got his first reps last week.

Cook has been dealing with the hyperextended knee since Week 3 and took a couple of massive hits last week. He will probably play, but he's definitely one to watch for.

Burden's injury is a mystery. The guess would be that he plays too, but when Drinkwitz was later asked about who would play if Burden joins Miller on the inactive list, and Drinkwitz basically said he's confident that the rest of the wide receiver room could step up.

Miller was dealing with a hand laceration that required 11 stitches after the Middle Tennessee State game. It's unclear if that's still plaguing him or if it's something new, but whatever it is has him already sidelined for Week 5.

Later in the presser, Drinkwitz gave updates on tight end Brett Norfleet and cornerbacks Dreyden Norwood and Ennis Rakestraw.

Norfleet suffered a rib cartilage issue sometime during practice last week and missed last week's game. He's questionable. The team will monitor how he does in practice this week to see if he can go on Saturday.

Norwood, who started the game and had two pass deflections before he exited with an ankle injury in the second quarter, is questionable. He was a full participant in the team's walkthrough on Monday.

Rakestraw was a late scratch on Saturday due to an undisclosed injury, but he also participated in the team's walkthrough on Monday and will practice on Tuesday and Wednesday.

However, he's not out of the dark. He must have a strong week of practice to play on Saturday.

Finding an identity on third down:

Drinkwitz's quote: "So, the challenge for us is to figure out what our identity is going to be on third down, and stick to it and not be as much of a hodgepodge kind of pick 'em. Let's let's figure out what we're going to be good at and get good at it."

What it means: Over the last three games, the team has allowed opponents to convert on 45% (24-of-53) of its third downs. Drinkwitz said there are an assortment of issues, but most of it comes down to execution.

The defense is getting confused about what it is supposed to do. Also, he mentioned too many players trying to play hero ball, so too many guys have their eyes in the wrong place or focus on the wrong assignment, hoping to make a play.

On the defense having allowed opponents to go 12-of-12 in the red zone with eight touchdowns this season

Drinkwitz's quote: "Four of those eight touchdowns are busted assignments in man-to-man coverage. So that's not good. It's not where we want to be. And that's what we've talked to our team about. We're a long way from a perfect football team, and we've really got to improve in these areas in a hurry."

What it means: A lot of the presser was about injury updates and poor man-to-man coverage. The team hasn't been good in man-to-man, especially on the money downs (third and fourth downs) and or in the red zone.

If you read the last sentence, Drinkwitz knows this won't fly going into conference play.

Missouri's pass defense will have to improve if it wants to be a true player in the conference. The Tigers are 85th in the FBS in pass defense and have allowed opponents to average 238 yards per game.

Vanderbilt isn't a great team, but it throws the ball a lot and has a top-30 passing offense.

Its quarterback, AJ Swann, is second in the conference in passing yards, so if Mizzou doesn't get its pass defense under control when it plays Swann and what Drinkwitz alluded to as one of the best wide receiver rooms in the league, it will be a long day in Nashville for the Tigers on Saturday.