Drinkwitz tells reporters his perfect headline about the QB battle, “Drinkwitz still unsure after 18 days.”
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Drinkwitz:
- On three goals heading into fall camp: “Number one: it was hard. Number two was to embrace your role, put your team first. And number three was believe in us to become a team of teams.”
- On the first goal: “Number one, by a measuring stick, this was the hardest camp that we’ve had since we’ve been here. Combination of heat, good on good periods. number of periods, number of live tackling situations. And I think our guys responded really, really well. Very impressed with the energy they got. Those guys had that effort they had, and so really proud of them for that.”
- On the second goal: “Two was embrace your role, put the team first. The last couple of days, we’ve made some adjustments. Started using some show teams. Guys had to get used to it. I thought the efforts been extremely well on both sides. I think our show teams are going to give us a great advantage because of the way guys are playing with great effort, the talent they have on both of those. And this is the deepest team we’ve had. You know we’ve got a lot of talent and a lot of depth, and so, I’m excited about that. We’ve got to continue to embrace it.”
- On the third goal: “And last ones, believe in us, believe in our potential unity over self, and it’s not about anybody else but the people in this building in this room, believing in what we can do and what we want to accomplish this year. So by all intents and purposes, we accomplish those goals.”
- On his comfortability heading into the season: “The goal of training camp is to get yourself prepared for what’s next, and I feel really comfortable with us being prepared for the season that lies ahead, and that starts with our preparation for UCA tomorrow.”
- On Beau Pribula and Sam Horn’s fall camp: “You know, it’s been something that’s kept me up every night and wakes me up in the morning. I think those guys have played really good, both of them, really well. In fact, the two minute, four minute just kind of sealed it in my mind, like, my gosh, these guys both can play at a high level. So what that move means moving forward? I don’t know yet. I just got off the field today, but we’ll start UCA prep tomorrow. We’ll have a decision and talk to both those guys here in the next 24 hours about what we’re going to do and make sure the team’s comfortable with the plan moving forward.”
- On if that’s naming a starter for game one or the season: “We’ll know in 24 hours what we’re going to do. We’ll come back to it, but we don’t really need to read any more into it, and we’ll make a decision in 24 hours and we’ll let everybody know.”
- On if there are other spots on the field that are not 100% locked in for the opener: “No, I think we’re very confident in the plans we got. There’s some positions that three or four people are going to take, you know a linebacker could be a 60/40 split. There’s so many good players, maybe 50/50 there’s going to be packages where, hey, this guy’s getting more reps, the tackles are going to rotate through. It may be 50/50 so, I don’t think we’re settling down 22 total players. I think we know exactly where we think who can help us win, and what that role looks like moving forward, and how we start planning for that.”
- On Sam Horn and Beau Pribula’s leadership: “Yeah, I thought I challenged them after Saturday scrimmage, and I think they’ve been really the best they’ve been the past three days. Even yesterday, we were doing an in-game scenario, and Matt threw a game winning touchdown to Lucky, and the first two guys in the end zone celebrating were 21 and 9 racing down there. So, I think those guys have displayed an elite level of leadership, and the last three days really embraces the quit making it about them, make it more about the team. I feel very comfortable with both those guys.”
- On what he’s learned about this team over the last 18 days: “I think they’re tougher than I expected them to be. To be honest, I think they’re more resilient. Last Wednesday, we simulated a two a day at the end of what would have been execution week. We’ve never done that before. We’d only done a certain number, and we decided, let’s see if we can break them. We couldn’t. I mean, those guys, they chewed it up and spit it out pretty easily. I was very impressed with that. I think the consistent energy they’ve had at practice, no matter what the scenario is, they find a way to be energetic and excited about the opportunity to practice. I think that’s a direct reflection of competition. If you get bad, then you’re gonna get passed up, you know? And so I think they’ve all had to bring their A game every day.”
- On what stands out about this group of captains: “Well, I think it was just there was a clear separation between those four and everybody else on each side of the ball and and so, I think that just distinguished them as being guys who are captains. Obviously, there’s two different ways to look at it. It’s on the field performance, and it’s off field leadership. And I think Connor’s got this level of four year starboard leadership that everybody knows nothing’s really going to rattle him. And then you got to Jalen Catalon on the defensive side of the ball. He kind of has that same kind of experience. And he’s got unbelievable energy and an infectious personality. Same thing kind of with Khalil (Jacobs). I think y’all saw it yesterday with Cayden Green leading Tiger Jacks. He has that, I think it’s coming out of him right now with that leadership role put on him. So, very, very excited about these guys. Obviously, Logan Muckey beat cancer, so of course, he was going to be elected captain.
- On how the team is looking: “Yeah, healthiest we’ve ever been out of the fall camp. Yeah, I don’t anticipate a single person to be out for week one. We held Greco the past two days just to try to get him 100% back from his hamstring.”
- On if he’s decided on a starter for right guard: “If we started today, Curtis (Peagler) would be the starter, and then Tristan (Wilson) would come in as needed in the rotational spot. We felt like on the third series, we needed to put Tristan in either guard position or a center position, but right now, Curtis would be our starter.”
- On how he feels about the blocking from the wide receivers and skill positions: “We call it perimeter drill, which is just an inside drill for the perimeter side of the plate. We do that every Toughness Tuesday. You know, we expect our box players to be tough and physical on the inside, stop the run, and we expect our perimeter players to be able to set edges. I think we do a really good job block on the perimeter. I think that’s something that Coach Peters always emphasized. Obviously, Ben Johnson emphasizes a little bit more, and Luther has kind of shined last week, but I argue that he’s had some really good blocks for us here too.”
- On how he would describe the culture he’s built to welcome in so many transfers: “Yeah, I think that’s a deeper question than probably I can just answer right here. I think the first thing is with the Brotherhood. So when everybody walks in there’s trust and respect between coaches and players, and so, I believe our team trusts our coaching staff. So when they bring somebody in, there’s going to be an instant amount of respect given to them. Trust is earned through competency and character, but there’s a level of respect that’s going to be given to anybody that walks into this building because they believe that our coaches are going to pick guys that align with the values of our program. The second thing is, we have an “always compete” mindset, so what we bring in is inconsequential to your race and what you’re trying to do every single day to be the best version of yourself. And you know, if we bring in a transfer, that doesn’t mean we’ve promised them anything, it just means we’ve given everybody an opportunity to compete. So I think it takes a while to create that trust. And I, for one, didn’t do a great job early in my tenure here, creating that trust with the locker room. But I think over the course of the last four years, I think there’s been a consistency to our approach, and I think there’s been more trust and respect built. And then it goes back to core value number one, which is “always compete”. So I think guys know they get a fair shot when they come in and transfer. I think the guys that say that they get a fair shot, and I think that when the guys come in, they feel a sense of respect from the locker room that allows them to grow.”
Jalen Catalon:
- On what it means to be named captain in his first year at Mizzou: “It’s a true blessing, you know, especially for my last year, to know that the team thinks of me like that and the coach as well is much appreciated. But with that being said, like Coach said, for us, being a captain means a lot. With that becomes high reward, becomes high responsibility, so I gotta make sure that I play my part, make sure I’m there, make sure everybody’s doing the right thing, living up to the standard of Mizzou football, and just tacking every day and just making sure I’m putting my best foot forward.”
- On what stands out about this captain’s group: “I think it’s just the Brotherhood, just how close we are to each other. Having so many captains as we do, shows that there’s a lot of guys that can go lead this team and be captains, but he chose us, and the team chose us, so we’re just blessed to put that C on our chest. At the end of day it’s all about putting our best foot forward, and everybody living up to the standard, whether you have a C on your chest or not, but I just love how the Brotherhood, everybody’s close here, I love it.”
- On where the toughness of this fall camp fell in his ranking of camps: “ I mean, they’re all hard in their own ways, but I think this one was tougher, not necessarily just because of the grind, but because this one’s my last one. So, every single day kind of just built up more, knowing this is my last fall camp. So honestly, yes, it was hard, but I enjoyed it and I attacked every day, in my opinion, because I knew it was my last one, and I felt like the team did too.
- On the day of practice that Coach tried to break them: “Yeah, it was one day last week. He had two a days, trying to bring back a little workout and get a little practice right after, so just trying to test the mental and just trying to test us. Make sure we can realize that we can go farther than what our minds, our bodies tell us, you know. So it was just about pushing our minds and making sure we realize that we can go farther than what we think we can. But it was a cool moment, because we saw everybody kind of ask for more, and everybody was kind of huddled around each other and really just wanted to see each other be great and just encouraging everybody. I think we saw the growth in that day as well. So I was happy that he had us do that, and had a challenge like that for us, you know, because we all stood up.”
- On what has stood out about the offense: “I would say, just the playmakers we have on the skill positions, you know, your running back, and then also, I like the O-Line, how they’re looking as well. But overall, I think the quarterback play from both guys is going great, even young guys as well. Offense is going to make some plays, defense is going to make some plays. Overall, I feel like it’s been pretty consistent on offense making plays, defense making plays, us competing. You know, it’s been kind of 50/50, each day. So, man, it’s been a good fall camp overall. I’m just happy that I got to have that type of offense to compete against.”
- On what he’s seen from Ahmad Hardy: “He’s definitely tough to bring down. I mean, he’s one of those guys where he’s not looking to go down. He’s not looking to be that guy. He’s not afraid of contact, either. So you gotta come with a mindset to hit him. But like I said, I’m glad he’s on my team, and I can’t wait to see him run that ball on the 28th.”
- On what he’s learned about this team over fall camp: “Just how talented these guys are, how much these guys love football. You see guys that just come in, just wear the logo and come in and just put on a jersey, but here I just feel like everybody loves putting on a jersey, but also love playing ball too. We love being around each other as a defensive unit. I can just say that we love ball. We just love being around each other.”
- On what he’s told this team about what it takes to have success in this league: “Yeah, I just told them to enjoy playing ball. This game is so stressful sometimes, and yes, it brings a lot with all the media and everything that comes along with this season. It’s a lot going on. Everybody’s excited, but I just tell everybody, just enjoy it. You know, because one day you’re going to look up like me and look back at all the years you play ball, and then you’re just gonna remember at the end of the day it was just fun to play ball and be with your boys and enjoy playing at this high level. So I just told him to accept your role and whatever it is, and just do it at a high level and enjoy doing it.”
Zion Young
- On being named a captain: “It’s everything. It’s a surreal moment. Thank God. That’s all I got to say.”
- On finding a voice over the last year: “I think it’s about the same thing. I’m just holding people accountable all around. Special teams, defense, offense, I’m holding everybody accountable. Nothing’s changed.”
- On what Damon Wilson means to this team: “He’s been a freakish athlete for us. I’ve mentioned that recently in all the interviews. Dame’s the guy. He came from Georgia, the expectations and standards have been high for that guy and he’s held it.”
- On the defensive group: “We fixing to shock the world.”
- On how the freshmen have shown up: “I think they’ve grown tremendously just from high school to college. They’ve took it upon their self. These guys move like grown men, like they’ve been in college for a little bit. They’re always in the film room, so they’re always a step ahead.
- On how Drinkwitz’s personality has made him successful: “He’s a standup guy. I think that his player-coach relationship is perfect. Like I said, he holds us accountable. He’s going to be a coach on the field, and he’s more like a dad than a coach off the field. It’s working good for me.”
- On what the primary character traits he wants this defense to have: “Just gritty. It’s no character. Just gritty, hard ball. That’s what we’re looking forward to.”
Connor Tollison
- On what being a captain means: “It means a lot. I’ve been here five years now, so just being able to gain the trust and respect from your teammates, those are the ones who voted for you, so it means a lot. I’ve voted for a lot of different guys over the past four years, so to have somebody vote for you it means something.”
- On what he’s learned from former captains: “Just being there for your teammates. I remember talking when I was at SEC media days about how I thought Darius Robinson was there for me when I was becoming a starter, and having that same opportunity to do that to somebody else is really the most exciting part of being a captain.”
- On if he’s at 100%: “I feel pretty good. These past couple weeks getting back into things, it’s been nice to play football again and not stand on the sidelines. I feel good and I’m excited.”
- On if it took any time to get comfortable with new guys on the line: “Yes and no. Cayden going over to tackle and then Dom sliding over to left guard, like I’ve been playing with him at right guard, so you really don’t see a lot of difference there. And then Curtis coming in, I haven’t had a lot of reps with, so there’s definitely some communication there, just talking with each other, just getting the feel for things. There’s definitely, just the first couple days, getting the feel for things, but it’s been about a week now, so I think we got some of the kinks lined out.”
- On Curtis Peagler’s growth: “I mean he’s had a lot of growth. I think him and Tristan are in the same class, and I think the both of them honestly improved a lot. Tristan was a guy on the travel squad last year. I think Curtis was on the scout team, now he’s with the ones. I think that just shows the dedication that he has and the want to improve. Everybody talks about it, but how much do you really want it and go get it for yourself?”
- On Peagler’s performance: “Really good. He’s playing with a lot more confidence than he’s had before. I think that’s the biggest thing for him is just believing in himself. We all know he can do it, but we can’t do it for you. Seeing him grow and have that confidence and some swagger about him is pretty cool.”
- On the growth of Tristan Wilson: “He’s gotten so much better. He’s a real technician. His footwork, the steps, making sure his steps are forward not going backwards, making sure it’s not too wide. You can really see he takes a lot of detail and pride in that. It’s really helped him transition from a guy you don’t know if you can count on to somebody who, if he goes into the game, there’s no drop off.”
- On facing the front seven every day: “It’s good. Trotter’s a hitter, man. He’s got some weight on him. The linebackers – they all can run. Nick Rodriguez is really good. Khalil brings it every day. Chris McClennan, Marquis Gracial, those are two big guys. They can push the pocket, press you, they’re not light that’s for sure.”
- On how Dominick Giudice has been the glue of the team: “So when he first got here in the spring, for half the spring he took reps at center and then they moved him right guard, and then last week he got moved to left guard. So, I think you just see his position flexibility, being able to play all interior positions. He can go back to center if something were to ever happen to me and Tristan. He’s got the ability to do it all and I think that’s where you see the ‘glue’.”
Logan Muckey
- On what it meant to be named a captain: “It is definitely the greatest honor of my life. To be able to represent this school, this university, this football team, all my brothers downstairs. There’s nothing like it. I grew up in Kansas City, so I’m a Missouri guy. I grew up watching the Chiefs, my favorite football team. Mizzou was my favorite football team. So, I’ve been a Mizzou guy my entire life. Being able to be in this position, when I walked on back in 2021, I knew it was going to be gritty. I knew that it was going to take a lot of hard work. So, being in this situation now, words will never be able to describe it. It’s awesome.”
- On being named a captain after beating cancer: “Back in April, of this past year, I was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer. It was a shocker. It was a shocker for me, shocker for my family, shocker for my friends, my teammates. Being 22 years old that’s not really something you want to hear about yourself. It was a come to Jesus moment for me. It was figuring out who I was, having to deal with that off the field, while also trying to play my role on the field. I was very fortunate to have the people around me that I did. I had amazing people here, I had amazing people at the Ellis Fischer Cancer Research Center. Everyone who was with me was with me every step of the way. It was a team effort. I had surgery back in May to get the mass removed, and ever since then I’ve been 100% cancer free. I haven’t missed a step along the way. I’ve never sat out. I’ve never let anyone take me out. It was something I went through, but it’s something that definitely made me stronger, something that built my character up. I realized a lot about myself. I learned a lot of lessons in life. I’m not taking anything for granted ever again because anything you have could be taken away from you just like that without you knowing, without anything happening. Taking it day by day, really enjoying every moment I have in every situation I have, finding gratitude in everything. That definitely changed me for the better. It’s crazy to say but it’s a blessing in disguise.”
- On what the honor of being a captain means to his family: “They’re pumped. They’re excited. I get to call with some good news when I found out, so they’re super thrilled for me. Like I said, they’ve been with me along every step of the way. Them seeing me in a position like this definitely feels good. My parents are everything to me. I’m blessed to have my mom and dad with me, especially those two. I can’t thank them enough for what they’ve done for me. Not even throughout this situation, but my entire life. I wouldn’t be who I am without them, for sure. They’re pumped about it.”
- On why being a walk-on at an SEC program was worth it: “Every time I step out on the field wearing Mizzou across my chest, it’s worth it. I love this university. I love playing here. I love Coach Drink. I love all my coaches, Coach Peeler. I love the team. I love everyone in there. So, being able to come in and work with the guys that I work with every day makes it worth it. Being a walk-on, the odds are stacking against you. It’s an uphill battle, but the guys here fight that battle with you. I’m not walking alone. I’ve been blessed to be here with the guys that I’m here with. When you walk on somewhere, you’re betting on yourself, and I bet on myself every single day, and it’s paid off because of the people I have with me, the teammates I have working around me.”
- On how he approached his cancer diagnosis: “It was tough. It was very eye opening, Nothing that I could have ever expected. It was something that shocked me, something that I had to really come to terms with, like okay, this is real, this is real life. What do we do now? Like, what are the steps that we’re going to take? So Zach Parker in the training room has worked with me every single day during that to find the best route for me, calm me down, kind of help me through the emotions of everything. So if I was alone, it would have been different. But I wasn’t ever alone throughout this entire thing. I had resources all around the town, all around the facility, like we have the best training staff in the country, and I was completely trusting them.”
- On how he learned he had cancer: “I had an infection on my tonsil that led me to go get a CT scan. And when I got the CT scan, that’s when they found the mass, the nodule, on my thyroid. So that’s another one of those blessings in disguise, because if I never had that infection of my tonsil, who knows? You know, it could have played out 10 years down the line, different story. I’m a great man of faith. I believe that God works in mysterious ways, and he was definitely then.”
- On how Mizzou football was a support staff for him: “Everyone was there for me. There’s not a single person in this building who didn’t reach out and say someone encouraging to me. I was flooded with love, flooded with support. My teammates had my back. They knew all about it all the time. I’ll say again, a blessing in disguise, it really brought me and this team closer than we’ve ever been before. I’ve never felt more comfortable with my teammates than I did during this entire process, and coaching staff included. You know, it was a tough battle for me just to deal with it, but I wasn’t alone, and they were with me the whole time.”
- On how Coach Drink made an impact: “Coach Drink is awesome. Coach Drink is my guy. Throughout this process, he texted me like almost every day, checking on me, seeing how I’m doing, giving me words of encouragement. He was one of the biggest leaders in helping me through it. He was, he kept my emotions in line, and he was, I mean, I can’t thank him enough for that and everything else he’s ever done for me.
- On what type of intensity and leadership he brings each day: “I try to bring my best every day. You know, no matter how I’m feeling, no matter what’s going on on the field, off the field, I’m bringing 100% of myself every single day. That’s a commitment I made to my teammates. That’s a commitment I made to my coaches. That’s just how it is. As a walk on that’s what you got to do. You know, no matter what’s going on in your life, no matter how you’re feeling, if you’re feeling, if you’re banged up, bruised up, you got to bring 100% every day, because you don’t know when your opportunity is going to come. It’s you know. You get it. It’s got to go hard every single day, and that’s what I do.”
Cayden Green
- On his progression in positions over the last three years: “I started my freshman year at tackle, I moved to guard. I was there the rest of my freshman year and last year, and now I’m here.”
- On when he was solidified at left tackle: “All summer and spring I’ve been working right guard, left tackle, left guard, and a little bit of center. So, I’ve been working to play wherever.”
- On his comfortability level this season: “I mean, last spring I just transferred. Obviously, I played my whole freshman year pretty much at guard. All the valuable reps were at guard. So obviously I was a lot more comfortable inside. And it was also a new offense, a new scheme, and even a new conference. So I feel like now I kind of know what to expect, so that’ll kind of help me with the transition.”
- On if he’s reached out to former teammates in the NFL: “I don’t even know if Marcus knows about it. When me and him talk, I ask him how he’s doing, and he tells me what’s going on and stuff. Armand I talk to a lot. He’s throwing me tips, he’s throwing me pointers. I’m showing him clips.”
- On seeing Logan Muckey prevail through his cancer diagnosis: “If Drink wouldn’t have told us, you wouldn’t even know. Muckey’s the same person every day, like he’s always got a smile on his face, he’s always got juice, he’s always got much energy.”
- On Muckey’s character, especially being a walk on: “Yeah, absolutely. I mean, we voted him captain for a reason. He’s a guy people look up to. His story, his work ethic. I mean, he’s in the weight room every day doing curls and tricep extensions. I mean, we voted him captain for a reason. He’s really a guy of influence.”
- On Curtis Peagler’s growth: “He’s night and day better. He’s always been a physical specimen. He’s always been a bigger guy, and he can move well his size. So like for him, it was only a matter of time before he just put it all together. And he looks completely different even from the spring.”
- On Peagler’s performance: “ mean, you know Curt’s gonna be Curt. So Curt was doing the same thing with the twos. He’s doing the same thing with the ones. He looks really good. So I’m excited for him.”
- On blocking the defensive ends: “Yeah, they’re studs. can go. I think we’ll get a lot of sacks this year. Those guys are really good. They’re always perfecting their craft. They’re really athletic. And, yeah, I’m excited for them too.”
Khalil Jacobs
- On what it means to be named captain: “Man, it’s exciting. Obviously, being able to push people every day and them letting me be able to be the guy to do that along my other captains is a cool experience. It’s real fun to do.”
- On how his leadership has changed from last year: “When I first got in, I was trying to feel my way around and get comfortable and get settled into the new team I’m with. Now, I feel like I have a bigger voice and a bigger role. So now I’m just trying to make sure everybody is up to par with the standard, and get folks who aren’t with the standard to the standard so we can be the best we can this year.”
- On anything new he’s learned regarding this defense: “Nothing too much. Just being able to be more detailed, more focused in that aspect of knowing, like who’s playing to the left and right of me.”
- On how they shift mentality from fall camp to a game next week: “Yeah, I’m tired of beating up on these guys. These guys are tired of beating up on me. We are just ready to face a new opponent.”
- On what it’s like to face Ahmad Hardy: “I haven’t got that chance yet, but he definitely makes the first guy miss. So good luck to everybody else trying to do that.”
- On what he’s learned from everything Logan Muckey has been through: “Yeah, man, adversity, it’s never going to always go your way. And when life strikes you, you gotta strike your back with toughness and grit. And him being able to go through what he’s been through, man, you can do whatever you put your mind to, especially if you got God on your side.
Daylan Carnell
- On what it means to be a captain of this team: “It means a lot. It’s always been a goal of mine since I’ve been here to be a captain, and I’m just grateful for the opportunity. I’m glad that I’m a captain.”
- On what he’s learned from prior Mizzou captains: “I’ve learned from a lot of good leaders. I just want to really follow in their footsteps and just lead the team the best that I can. Drink always say there’s no bad team, only bad leaders. I’m going to wear the captain with a lot of pride.”
- On how tough the camp was: “This was the toughest camp I’ve been a part of and this is my fifth one. He made it hard on purpose, so I guess that was good for the team. Went through a little bit of hard stuff together as a team. He definitely made it hard for us, but we all got through it and I feel like it made us better as a team.”
- On what he’s learned about this defense: “That we can push through and we can get a lot done. That’s really the main thing. He’ll put the defense in bad positions and then he’ll see how we respond. I feel like we responded well a lot of the time.”
- On who’s grown throughout camp: “In the safety room I’ll say Santana Banner. He made a big jump throughout camp. He made a lot of plays and he became more consistent as time went on.”
- On how Coach Drinkwitz’s personality has made him successful: “He knows when it’s time to be serious and then he knows how to joke. I feel like he’s a real players coach. He has a really good relationship with a lot of players. I go and talk to him about a lot of different stuff, even if it’s not football related. He’s a real players coach and I love having him as my coach.”
- On how Logan Muckey’s journey changed his perspective on football: “Logan went through a lot of stuff this off season and we were with him every step of the way. We’re glad that he’s back with the team. When he was gone, it was tough. We all think about him. We’d bring it up everyday. We’re glad he’s back and he’s made some big plays the last few days. I know yesterday he had the game winning touchdown the last period of practice. We just love having Muckey on the team. Obviously everyone voted for him to be a captain, just his leadership and everything he does on the field, off the field too.”
