GET THE INSIDE SCOOP EVERY DAY WITH YOUR PREMIUM SCRIPT!
The Missouri football team took another step toward the start of their first season under head coach Eliah Drinkwitz on Monday, held his first practice of fall camp. Like almost everything else in the offseasons of 2020, it looked different than any other camp in recent memory.
Media members were not allowed to see the Tigers’ first official practice since March 11, when the team’s spring practices were abruptly halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Interviews were conducted in person via Zoom then on the side of the practice field, in person. Still, we could win a little over where Missouri stays 40 days from opening its season at home against Alabama.
When talking to Drinkwitz, a clear theme came to the fore. After a discounted offseason, the tendency may be to try to make up for lost time and quickly install the new offensive schedule. But Drinkwitz made it clear that this is not an option. He sees this fall camp as the basis for not only this season, but his entire service to Missouri. In his words, “you have to lay the foundation right – if you have a crack there, you have to break the whole thing down and do it again.”
“You can not worry about all the time you’ve lost, you just have to deal with the time you have, and you have to make sure you do it right,” Drinkwitz said. ‘Go slowly and put it piece by piece. This is a long term play for the Tigers. I mean, of course we will do everything we can to be as successful this year as you can, but this is a long term play for me and for us and for our culture, for our team. ”
What did the foundation’s situation look like on Monday? Drinkwitz said the crime was aimed at installing packages to be used in the red zone, both because that is the most important area of the field and because it did keep receivers and defensive backs not too far away. run because they adapt to the football form. From there, it will work offensively on plays for the ‘open field’, then third downs and, ultimately, specific situations.
Unfortunately, Drinkwitz did not give many details about what the unit looked like with those red zone drills, but he did say that the timing between the quarterbacks and the wide receivers was a bit off. As Drinkwitz said, with Missouri entering the relegation zone with an open quarterback league for the first time since at least 2011, “that was to be expected.” TCU transfer Shawn Robinson, redshirt junior Taylor Powell and redshirt freshman Connor Bazelak all figures to have a shot at the starting command.
Drinkwitz was tougher on the receivers’ performances than he was the quarterbacks, saying the group “did not play football today.”
“We have to step up widows and make a catch when the ball is a little behind them, and quarterbacks have to move that ball from behind them to the front,” he said. “That we have a lot of work to do.”
Drinkwitz did not sound discouraged. That work, he said, is the ‘fun part’. And while it can be tempting to rush to name a starting quarterback so he can have more time to develop chemistry with the starting receivers, or jump ahead in the installation process to where most teams are at the start of the relegation battle would be, Drinkwitz will let the offensive move forward only if it shows mastery of each step.
“If you skip steps, you will be burned at some point,” he said. ‘And it’s just not worth it. That, we can not microwave it. I wish we could. I wish we had instant oatmeal and just added a little hot water and the starter was ready to rock and roll, but that’s not how it will go. ”
Praise remains piled up for Chism
Before you even get a sweater number, Keke Chism has been transformed from a relatively anonymous, Division II football player into one of the most hyped members of the Missouri team. The graduate wide receiver received praise from Drinkwitz during a press conference last month, which called him “an absolute freakin ‘stud and a stealer.”
Like all newcomers and quarterbacks, Chism was not allowed to speak to reporters on Monday, but several of his teammates fought their voices to the hype, saying they were impressed with what they’ve seen since Chism arrived on campus in July. Asked which player on the roster fans can surprise this season, receiver Jalen Knox and runs back Tyler Badie both singled out Chism. During his three seasons at Angelo State, Chism hit 2,221 receiving yards.
“Just to see this man, he’s massive,” Badie said. ‘That he will become a big goal, become a good player for the quarterbacks. In the red zone, all over the field, I just feel like he’s going to be a good player for this crime. ”
Knox said the additions of both Chism and extensive transmission from colleagues Damon Hazelton have not only provided necessary play opportunities in the reception room, they have set an example that has made him better as well.
“Taking her five years of experience just took me to another level,” Knox said. “It let me figure out some things, really need to come down and hone like how they used to work.”
A few other players have also earned nominations as candidates to surprise fans this season as well. Close Daniel Parker Jr. pointed to real newcomer cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr. and second security Martez Manuel as “physical, talented young children.” Meanwhile Larry Borom nominated sophomore Thalen Robinson on the offensive line.
Rountree is not going anywhere
Missouri has yet to select players for the 2020 season due to concerns about coronavirus, which allows the SEC to do so without losing its stock market. The only player asked Monday if he had considered opting, senior starts running back Larry Rountree III, said the thought has never crossed his mind.
Rountree said the reasoning for his decision was twofold. For one, he acknowledged that he is not exactly a sure-fire, early NFL Draft pick, as are many of the players who choose to bet this season. Second, he felt he owed it to the program to end his college career strongly.
“I owe it to my teammates and class to play and end on a good note. Do you know what I’m saying?” Rountree said. “I do not try to take it down. My mom says that no matter what the circumstances are, when you start something, you have to finish it. ”
Rountree, who represents Missouri on the SEC Football Leadership Council, also notes that he is comfortable with the protocols the league has put in place to protect players against COVID-19. He is happy that the conference still has plans to play despite the decisions of the Big Ten and Pac-12 last week to postpone the football season until the spring of 2021.
“The SEC really feels like they’re too prepared for this situation, this COVID situation,” Rountree said. ‘That I feel the SEC is doing a great job right now with us as players communicating what they are doing, how tests will go, how the season will go. And for me personally I would say that it is good that they are communicating with us and letting us know what things they are trying to do and what things they want to try to do and see how it goes. ”
Depth chart tidbits
Fallkamp usually brings the first depth card of the season for Missouri fans. Do not expect that soon. Noting that he now had just four practices to see the team, Drinkwitz said he “has no idea” who would be on the two-depth right now.
“(The players) determine who is on the depth map,” he said. ‘They will determine who the starters are. Football is still a meritocracy. You get what you deserve. It does not matter to me if your parents write a letter to whom. “
But Monday’s interviews included a few small nuggets that could help give an idea of what that depth chart looks like. Knox, who in his first two years on campus has posed almost exclusively as an outside receiver, said he also prepares her for playing in the locker room. The former high school running back would have to be comfortable to fully stress the formation, and it might allow him to play alongside Hazelton and Chism in the starting lineup.
Borom, meanwhile, said he was practicing exclusively on tackles. Borom started the first three games of last season at left guard before playing a particularly straightforward approach for the last nine games.
