Welcome to the Morning Commute
Today we are talking about Mizzou Football!
Eli Drinkwitz and players spoke to media today following its first road victory of the season.
Despite getting the job done, and as much resilience as the Tigers
showed, Drinkwitz as per usual, is right back to work.
“I thought our team was very tough, very resilient,” the sixth year head coach said. “But as coaches, we got to do better. There’s a lot of things we have to clean up from that game.”
Whether it was the quarterbacks, lineman or coaches. Drinkwitz found the flaw, and wants to fix it.
“There’s plenty of things for us to own as a group and focus on getting better,” Drinkwitz said.
Drinkwitz then went into previewing Vanderbilt. In typical Drinkwitz fashion, high praise for the Commodores. He touched on the strength of their coaches and team but also highlighted the importance of Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia.
“Clark (Lea) has down an outstanding job,” Drinkwitz said of Vanderbilt head coach. “Their a complete team. They work together and you can tell they’re very complimentary. … and obviously the quarterback, he works with that.”
The Tigers take on the Commodores with College GameDay in attendance at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Nashville.
We have more discussion on football and basketball, diving into prospects, visits and PFF grades in the Rock M+ forums. Most recently, there’s discussion on the Billy Napier out as Florida HC.
Yesterday at Rock M and Rock M+
Mizzou’s Zion Young topped our latest MV3 following the double-overtime road win over Auburn. He put together a stat-line of five total tackles (3 s0l0), two sacks, and 2.5 TFLs.
To no one’s surprise, that earned him SEC Co-Defensive Lineman of the Week honors — the league announced on Monday.
Zion Young has been the headline of all things Mizzou football as of late, and well deserved. That hot mic was priceless.
This Mizzou team isn’t perfect, and the last two weeks, maybe against the two most talented teams the Tigers have played this year, have exposed some of those flaws. The offense probably isn’t as high-flying as we first assumed. The secondary still has issues. Beau Pribula is in a slump and Ahmad Hardy has hit the skids against some really good defenses. Old Mizzou teams would’ve crumbled.
That last part is key. Mizzou lost 34-0 to A&M when they crumbled last season, this season they haven’t done that. Exciting stuff.
But, to end this portion on a high note…Donovan Olugbode needs more playing time. Now. Find a way to get your highest success rate receiver with the best yards per target on the field! It helps you win games! I promise!
Along with Zion Young, Donovan Olugbode has been another name flying on the hype train in Columbia. Well deserved that is. Give the kid some reps.
We might be in-season mode right now, but it is also coaching carousel season. The Penn State and Florida jobs are officially open and like it or not — Eli Drinkwitz’s name has been linked to both teams. Though, that’s bound to happen with the way he’s elevated this Mizzou program. He’s a candidate at big-time schools for a reason.
There’s a bunch of conversation on this topic in the Rock M+ forums. Check this out!
It was probably safe to think Texas would land a few more impact players out of the transfer portal. But the portal haul was just okay, EvanMiya.com ranked the class 7th in the SEC. Miller did convince his best talent at Xavier to join him, in Dailyn Swain. Only the third leading scorer, Swain’s versatility and athleticism make him an intriguing talent at the next level. But he’s not a guy you run a lot of offense through. He also brought Lassina Traore, who transferred from Long Beach State to Xavier last year but never played due to an injury.
Texas is normally at the top here. Will be interesting to see the team under a new head coach.
Mizzou’s very own Kaia Tanskanen is mid-competition at the World Championships in Jakarta and qualified for the All-Around final by way of finishing 16th while competing for Finland. The top 24 competitors qualify for the all-around, which will begin at 6:30am CT on Thursday. Per the Mizzou release, she’s one of only two NCAA gymnasts to qualify for the All-Around, joining Florida’s Leanne Wong, who just exhausted her eligibility.
Aside from the nice relocation, Mizzou has a competitor in the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS right now. And she made the final for the first time ever. Pretty cool.
It’s no surprise that this team’s success/shortcomings depend on the seven transfers that Coach Harper brought in during the offseason. She referred to the portal as “speed dating”, trying to see who would be a viable fit for the team. She mentioned not only looking for talent, but for fit and attitude; looking for players that would be a good fit for the program.
The transfer portal is going to be a big part of the Coach Harper era. This season is the first test.
(Drinkwitz) On the offense’s game-tying drive in the fourth quarter: “We just gathered up the offense and we said, ‘Hey, forget about everything that’s going on. Right here, right now, this play, let’s get it done.‘ And they went right down the field and scored. That was pretty impressive.”
This is the mentality you need to win big games and this is a good sign that Beau might have it in him.
Over at Rock M+ we have more Mizzou football discussion in forums ahead of Vanderbilt, and basketball discussion ahead of the season.
Film Breakdown: T.O. Barrett
In this episode, Matt discusses T.O.’s performance from the previous season, potential for growth, and areas needing improvement. The analysis covers Barrett’s offensive skills, defensive capabilities, and expectations for the upcoming season, emphasizing the importance of his development in the context of the team’s success.
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