{"id":19239,"date":"2022-07-19T15:22:48","date_gmt":"2022-07-19T15:22:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/eli-drinkwitz-eschews-the-zingers-sharpens-focus-on-mizzous-raised-expectations-mizzou-sports-news\/"},"modified":"2022-07-19T15:22:48","modified_gmt":"2022-07-19T15:22:48","slug":"eli-drinkwitz-eschews-the-zingers-sharpens-focus-on-mizzous-raised-expectations-mizzou-sports-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/eli-drinkwitz-eschews-the-zingers-sharpens-focus-on-mizzous-raised-expectations-mizzou-sports-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Eli Drinkwitz eschews the zingers, sharpens focus on Mizzou&#8217;s raised expectations |  Mizzou Sports News"},"content":{"rendered":"<div itemprop=\"articleBody\" id=\"article-body\">\n<div class=\"lee-article-text first-p\">\n<p>ATLANTA \u2014 Coach Eli Drinkwitz doesn&#8217;t have to hang around the rest of the week at Southeastern Conference football media days to see what the writers and TV folks think of his Missouri Tigers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>The SEC&#8217;s preseason media poll comes out Friday, and despite a roster that Drinkwitz believes is MU&#8217;s most talented in his three seasons, outside expectations figure to be modest, at best.  Most preseason projections slot Mizzou sixth in the seven-team SEC East.  Las Vegas oddsmakers have set the over\/under betting line for the Tigers&#8217; win total at 5\u00bd.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>That&#8217;s the price you pay for uncertainty at the game&#8217;s most important position.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>Drinkwitz has upgraded the roster in multiple areas \u2014 19 transfers joined the team this offseason \u2014 but his quarterback competition will resume when preseason camp begins in a few weeks.  Whether Drinkwitz hands the offense to seventh-year transfer Jack Abraham, sophomore Brady Cook, redshirt freshman Tyler Macon or rookie Sam Horn, it&#8217;s difficult to measure this team&#8217;s potential until that position is settled.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"inline-article-recommend\" class=\"lee-article-text trinity-skip-it\">\n<div class=\"ir-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"style-title\">\n<div class=\"block-title emphasis-h3\">\n<p><h3>People are also reading\u2026<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"ir-container\">\n<ul id=\"inline-article-recommend-items\" class=\"list-unstyled chartbeat-trending-list list-popular\">\n<li style=\"display:none\">Messenger: Daughter wants justice for dad&#8217;s arrest at BJC while he was a kidney patient<\/li>\n<li style=\"display:none\">Video: Hazelwood police chief was &#8216;hammered drunk&#8217; during stop, driven home by another chief<\/li>\n<li style=\"display:none\">Man shoots, kills robbery suspect during &#8216;violent crime spree&#8217; in St.  Charles<\/li>\n<li style=\"display:none\">Fed-up Missouri caregivers walk away from disabled client, leaving mother, sheriff&#8217;s deputy scrambling<\/li>\n<li style=\"display:none\">Cardinals&#8217; bullpen does the job, but Genesis Cabrera shows some bad mound presence<\/li>\n<li style=\"display:none\">Softball team to honor Parkway West student killed in boating accident<\/li>\n<li style=\"display:none\">Missouri&#8217;s top mental health official balked at new homeless law.  The governor signed it anyway.<\/li>\n<li style=\"display:none\">Children left alone for hours with dead mother after she overdosed in St.  Charles<\/li>\n<li style=\"display:none\">After hospital stabbing, SSM DePaul nurses say they&#8217;ve long called for better security<\/li>\n<li style=\"display:none\">Nolan Arenado says test vs.  ball teams underscores Cardinals &#8216;needs&#8217;<\/li>\n<li style=\"display:none\">Blues GM Doug Armstrong on Tarasenko rumors: &#8216;I expect (to have) him&#8217;<\/li>\n<li style=\"display:none\">Cardinals two-way prospect Masyn Winn flashes his 100.5-mph heat.  From shortstop.<\/li>\n<li style=\"display:none\">BenFred: Arenado, Marmol make clear where they think bar for Cardinals should be<\/li>\n<li style=\"display:none\">Ivana Trump, first wife of former president, dies at 73<\/li>\n<li style=\"display:none\">How plucky Packy Naughton dodged LA magic, conjured outs in Cardinals&#8217; breathtaking win<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>Not that Drinkwitz is losing sleep over preseason polls.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>\u201cCollege football is great because every year there&#8217;s players who burst onto the scene.  And I think we all like what&#8217;s known and it&#8217;s easier to write or predict based off what&#8217;s known,\u201d Drinkwitz told a small group of local reporters here before making the rounds at the College Football Hall of Fame.  \u201cIt&#8217;s hard to write and predict based off the unknown. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>&#8220;But I know that we&#8217;ve got talented players at the quarterback position. And we&#8217;re just waiting for them to show the team which one&#8217;s going to be the starter. And I know we&#8217;re surrounded with really good skill, a very solid offensive line, a very stout defense with nine returning players who have six or more starts. So I feel confident that we will be where we need to be.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>Confident, yes, but the Drinkwitz who strolled through interviews here Monday in a gray suit, pink tie and one of his many pairs of signature Air Jordans didn&#8217;t come close to matching the media days bravado of 2021. Short of saying he plans to grow a mustache for preseason camp, he kept the zingers to a minimum and by day&#8217;s end said nothing nearly controversial enough to go viral on social media.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>Was this more subdued, dialed-down Drinkwitz by design?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>\u201cHe told me that he&#8217;s backing off this year,\u201d senior safety Martez Manuel said.  \u201cHe&#8217;s just gonna let our play do the talking for him.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>Finishing better than .500 would be a start. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>Over the last six seasons \u2014 four under Barry Odom, two under Drinkwitz \u2014 the Tigers are 36-37 and just 21-29 in conference play.  By any measure it&#8217;s a pivotal year for Drinkwitz, who&#8217;s 11-12 in two seasons and still chasing his first winning record \u2014 though the Tigers were 5-5 in his 2020 COVID-shortened debut year when they only played SEC opponents.  Under a normal schedule with some nonconference patsies, he surely would have produced a winning record, something no Mizzou coach has done in his first season since Warren Powers in 1978.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>Still, for the veteran players who were part of the program before Drinkwitz arrived, their college experience has been locked in neutral: 6-6 in 2019, 5-5 in 2020, 6-7 last year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>One step forward, one step back.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>Are they tired of the .500 grind?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>\u201cMan, we&#8217;re very hungry,\u201d Manuel said.  \u201cYou don&#8217;t know how many times we say that.  So don&#8217;t feel bad asking that question because we say it all the time.  And like you said, every single year I&#8217;ve been here we&#8217;ve literally been .500.  That can be very frustrating.  I feel like the biggest thing we have to figure out is just what&#8217;s that thing that takes us over the edge?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>Recruiting rankings indicate pieces to the puzzle are in place.  Drinkwitz has produced two straight top-20 classes and signed multiple high-profile targets around the state and beyond the border. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>But now&#8217;s the time for the stars to translate into production.  In two seasons, opponents have outscored Drinkwitz&#8217;s teams 763-645.  only three of his 12 losses came by single-digit margins;  six came by 21 points or more.  On Monday, he called last year&#8217;s home losses to Tennessee (by 38 points) and Texas A&#038;M (21), \u201cthe lowest moments that I&#8217;ve had so far at the University of Missouri.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>Roster and staff turnover have shaken the team&#8217;s core over the last couple years but the 2022 roster is mostly players Drinkwitz and his staff have recruited.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>\u201cI&#8217;m not shy about saying this, and I say this to our team: We&#8217;re the most talented that we&#8217;ve been since I&#8217;ve been there,\u201d Drinkwitz said.  \u201cBut we also have the most challenging schedule we&#8217;ve had since we&#8217;ve been there, too.  You combine those two things, I&#8217;m not sure what the result will be.  But I am confident in our ability to compete in this league because of the depth and because of the talent that we have.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>Other uncertainties linger.  Blake Baker is Drinkwitz&#8217;s third defensive coordinator in three seasons.  The Tigers don&#8217;t have an obvious replacement for All-SEC running back Tyler Badie.  There are intriguing young playmakers at receiver \u2014 you might have heard of five-star addition Luther Burden III \u2014 but no returning wideout has more than two career touchdown catches.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>That brings the chatter back to the quarterback competition.  Drinkwitz misfired on three Power Five transfers this offseason, then added Abraham, a former starter at Southern Mississippi.  Against a schedule that includes early games at Kansas State, Auburn and Florida, the 24-year-old&#8217;s unrivaled experience could give him the edge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>Drinkwitz said two quarterbacks will split snaps with the No.  1 offense in camp and the competition will unfold from there \u2014 with a caveat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>\u201cYou can prove you&#8217;re the starting quarterback by working with the (third unit) in earning your opportunity,\u201d he said.  \u201cIt&#8217;s not always about stats.  It&#8217;s about decision making and getting your group into the end zone.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p><span class=\"print_trim\">On Abraham, Drinkwitz said, \u201cSeeing him in meetings and seeing him run plays he&#8217;s exactly what we expected: a guy who&#8217;s got a lot of experience and is experienced in leadership and throwing the football.  You&#8217;re talking about a guy that (NFL receiver) DK Metcalf was one of his groomsmen at his wedding.  So obviously he&#8217;s been around.  He&#8217;s got a great presence about him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p><span class=\"print_trim\">Last year&#8217;s 62-24 loss to Tennessee might officially have ended the Drinkwitz honeymoon at Mizzou and provided a sobering reminder the Tigers need more than a few promising recruiting classes to compete against the SEC&#8217;s upper tier.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>As he travels around the state, Drinkwitz senses fans are every bit as hungry as his veteran players for something better than .500.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>\u201cWe&#8217;ve raised expectations, which is good,\u201d he said.  \u201cThat&#8217;s what you want to do.  You&#8217;re seeing the disappointments when (recruits) don&#8217;t commit to come to your school, which is a good thing.  That&#8217;s a good sign.  That means you&#8217;ve won a few battles.  \u2026 There&#8217;s a saying that champions are made into champions long before they&#8217;re champions.  They have a winning standard of performance.  So that&#8217;s what our fan base needs to be.  And that&#8217;s what, as a program and our players, we need to expect.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"trinity-skip-it\">\n<div id=\"pu-email-form-email-eye-on-the-tigers-article\" class=\"p402_hide hidden-print\">\n<div class=\"text-center\">\n<p class=\"email-desc\">Dave Matter brings you the latest updates from the Mizzou sports scene.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>    .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ATLANTA \u2014 Coach Eli Drinkwitz doesn&#8217;t have to hang around the rest of the week at Southeastern Conference football media days to see what the writers and TV folks think of his Missouri Tigers. The SEC&#8217;s preseason media poll comes out Friday, and despite a roster that Drinkwitz believes is MU&#8217;s most talented in his &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/eli-drinkwitz-eschews-the-zingers-sharpens-focus-on-mizzous-raised-expectations-mizzou-sports-news\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Eli Drinkwitz eschews the zingers, sharpens focus on Mizzou&#8217;s raised expectations |  Mizzou Sports News<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[6],"tags":[9169,1031,9168,2990,9165,8905,2988,9166,9167,850],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3898,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/mizzoulands-st-marys-running-back-jamal-roberts-mizzou-sports-news\/","url_meta":{"origin":19239,"position":0},"title":"Mizzoulands St.  Mary&#8217;s running back Jamal Roberts |  Mizzou Sports News","date":"July 4, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"COLUMBIA, Mo. \u2014 Jamal Roberts wasn't the biggest offensive star for St. Mary's during last fall's march to the Class 3 state championship, but he powered the Dragons' ground attack, nearly rushing for 1,000 yards. He can build on his breakout season this fall. First, though, a recruiting decision. Roberts\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18894,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/legalized-cheating-lane-kiffin-is-the-voice-of-the-sec\/","url_meta":{"origin":19239,"position":1},"title":"&#8216;Legalized cheating&#8217;: Lane Kiffin is the voice of the SEC","date":"July 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I've heard people say that Nick Saban should be the commissioner of college football. Maybe so, but without a doubt the best spokesman for this sport amid all of its current drama is Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin.In the flimflam world of college football, it's not the slick and polished\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13028,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/mizzou-lands-rivals150-forward-trent-pierce\/","url_meta":{"origin":19239,"position":2},"title":"Mizzou lands Rivals150 forward Trent Pierce","date":"July 13, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Dennis Gates added a second big piece to his 2023 recruiting class on Tuesday when Oklahoma forward Trent Pierce committed to the Tigers. Pierce made the official announcement on social media moments ago. The No. 107 overall prospect in the 2023 Rivals150 picked the Tigers over Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Minnesota,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com\/stltoday.com\/content\/tncms\/assets\/v3\/editorial\/7\/4a\/74a03dee-4a47-5d68-8098-8102bab85e09\/62d5f0c8190ba.image.jpg?crop=1763,926,0,124&resize=1200,630&order=crop,resize","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19239"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19239\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}