August 20, 2022

Photo by Aleigha Hornaday

From a crowded media room at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, one voice stands out above the rest.

“M-I-Z…”

The three-letter phrase, synonymous with Missouri, means only one thing — Eliah Drinkwitz has completed his media session at the annual Southeastern Conference Media Days July 18.

Drinkwitz enters his third season as the Missouri football head coach, posting an 11-12 record over the past two seasons with zero bowl victories and a .444 winning percentage in SEC play. The Tigers are four seasons removed from their last winning season and have yet to record a bowl victory since 2014, when most of their current roster attended elementary or middle school.

Despite the lack of regular-season success, Missouri continues to strengthen its roster through the recruiting process and transfer portal. The Tigers secured commitments from six of ESPN’s top 300 recruits — five-star wide receiver Luther Burden III (No. 5), four-star defensive lineman Marquis Gracial (No. 83), four-star defensive lineman DJ Wesolak (No. 89), four-star quarterback Sam Horn (No. 162), four-star running back Tavorus Jones (No. 174), four-star defensive back Isaac Thompson (No. 201) and four-star wide receiver Ja’Marion Wayne (No. 208).

“We signed the highest-ranked recruiting class in school history for the last two seasons, and we looked for that increased talent to increase the style of play that we’re going to have,” Drinkwitz said. “We’ve added (37 newcomers) to our program to balance our roster from people that have left, but also to increase the competition.”

Missouri’s transfer additions include North Carolina graduate defensive lineman Tyrone Hopper, Stanford senior running back Nathaniel Peat and Florida junior linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper. However, the Tigers lost redshirt junior quarterback Connor Bazelak (Indiana), senior linebacker Shawn Robinson (Kansas State) and sophomore defensive lineman Mekhi Wingo (LSU).

Losses to the roster including 2021 All-SEC First Team running back Tyler Badie and defensive back Akayleb Evans, who were selected in the NFL Draft, will make the rebuild more difficult. Kicker Harrison Mevis returns for his junior season as the only player on the roster named to an All-SEC Team.

The changes extend to the coaching staff, where Blake Baker will replace Steve Wilks as the defensive coordinator. Baker coached the linebackers at LSU last season before joining the Tigers coaching staff in January as a safeties coach. Wilks’ departure to the Carolina Panthers as their defensive passing game coordinator and secondary coach led Drinkwitz to promote Baker.

“It was really an easy decision for me,” Drinkwitz said. “Blake is an outstanding person, a man of high character, but a great defensive mind, a guy who has designed and called defense in big-time games.”

The Tigers also promoted D.J. Smith to co-defensive coordinator following Wilks’ exit, adding to his recruiting coordinator and linebackers coach duties. Wide receivers coach Jacob Peeler, edge defensive line coach Kevin Peoples and cornerbacks coach Al Pogue round out the new additions to the coaching staff.

“Although we’ve had changes in both staff and players, there is a continuity to our program,” Drinkwitz said. “There’s an understanding of what we expect on the offensive and defensive side of the ball.”

Missouri’s offensive plan featured a four-quarterback competition between redshirt freshman Tyler Macon, sophomore Brady Cook, graduate transfer Jack Abraham and Horn to begin training camp.

“The biggest question for us revolves around the quarterback,” Drinkwitz said. “We’ve got a great group of men who are competing for that job (starting quarterback) every single day. I’m excited for them to reveal to their teammates which one’s going to be the starter.”

After the first week of training camp, however, Drinkwitz made his decision, naming Cook as the starting quarterback for the Tigers season opener against Louisiana Tech. Cook started last year’s bowl game against Army, completing 27-of-34 passes for 238 yards and a touchdown while adding a career-high 53 rush yards with one rushing touchdown.

Cook will become the first Missouri starting quarterback from St. Louis to begin the season as the starter since Blaine Gabbert in 2009-10. The former graduated from Chaminade High School and will prepare to bring consistency to the Tigers after being named the fifth different starting quarterback for the opening game in the past five years for Missouri.

Outside of competitions at the running back and center positions, the rest of Missouri’s offense appears set. The wide receiver room features a talented ground led by Burden and senior Tauskie Dove, while Buffalo transfer Tyler Stephens will likely lead the young tight end corps.

Truman State transfer Cody Schrader, who racked up an NCAA Division II-leading 2,074 rushing yards last season, will compete against Peat for the starting running back position. The offensive line is set except for the center position, where redshirt freshman Connor Tollison and junior Buffalo transfer Bence Polgar appear likely to compete following All-SEC First Team Michael Maietti’s departure.

“We have got depth at [offensive line], and we’ve got experience,” Drinkwitz said. “We will have a battle for the center position, but excited about that group leading the offense.”

Defensively, Drinkwitz said the Tigers return nine players that have at least six starts in their career. The additions via the transfer portal increased Missouri’s depth at every position, giving the team an opportunity to improve upon the SEC’s second worst defensive unit in points per game.

Junior defensive back Jaylon Carlies, who led Missouri with four interceptions last season, and senior defensive back Martez Manuel will pilot the secondary. On the pass rushing side, senior defensive linemen Trajan Jeffcoat and Isaiah McGuire will try to build upon their combined 9.5 sacks and 89 tackles.

“People have been asking me, ‘What is it going to look like for us to have a successful season?’” Drinkwitz said. “Number one, we have to improve on the defensive side of the football. We are going to.”

Special teams, a strength of Missouri’s of late, will headline its own competition at the punter position between redshirt freshman punter Jack Stonehouse and graduate kicker Sean Koetting. Mevis, who was recently named to the Groza Award Watchlist for the nation’s top kicker, will handle the field goal duties for the third consecutive year.

“Our specialty group is a strength of ours,” Drinkwitz said. “Open competition at punter, but return both long snappers. We are very good at the place kicker position.”

Despite uncertainty at the quarterback position, the Tigers reloaded behind a strong recruiting and transfer class, giving them an opportunity to make noise in a loaded SEC East division. Missouri’s defense and quarterback situation will ultimately dictate whether the Tigers will roar back into SEC contention this season or face another year as a bottom dweller in the SEC.

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