What is the story about?
The
Gator Bowl hosted a fireside chat Friday morning with Eli Drinkwitz and Virginia head coach Tony Elliott, beginning with a talk between the two and a moderator before opening up to questions from the press.
Here’s what Drinkwitz said about the matchup, who would play for the Tigers against the Cavaliers, and more:
Eli Drinkwitz
- On what it means to play in the Gator Bowl: “Last time we were here was the last time that we beat Alabama, so it’s a significant piece of our history and some of the accomplishments that we’ve had. Any time you get an opportunity to play in a bowl game, I think it’s a really special event. I said this on the press conference, bowl games are really defined by two things: the location, number one, and obviously spending Christmas in Jacksonville, I was at the beach yesterday for the first time in my life on Christmas Day, and I thought, what an awesome experience that has been.”
- Continued: “And then the second one is a quality opponent, and [Mizzou has] an opportunity to play against a really, really good Virginia team led by coach [Tony] Elliott; I mean, ACC Coach of the Year, and they’re one drive away, and I know he’s probably stewing over that, but one drive away from being in the College Football Playoff. So it’s as good of an opponent as you can have. Our guys know that it’s going to take a lot to compete in this game, and I think any time you’re a competitor, you want to have a quality opponent, so our guys are ready and prepared.”
- Drinkwitz announced that Zion Young will play in the Gator Bowl. He also said that the rest of the team’s healthy and available starters (which should include Cayden Green and Damon Wilson) should be good to play.
- Previewing the matchup: “Obviously, with [Beau Pribula] who was penciled in to be the starting quarterback for us leaving, an opportunity for [Matt Zollers] to step up. That will be a little bit of a challenge for us, to see how can he acclimate. They do a tremendous job on the defensive side of the ball and the back end with their secondary. It’s like this offensive guy told them to mix up all these coverages (seemingly alluding to Elliott); you’ve got no idea what they’re doing in the back end. But it’s really going to be strength on strength for us; I think their defense and our defense are probably the thing that we both lean on.”
- Continued: “And then offensively, both of us control the clock and try to move the ball down the field and take our shots when we can. We’re going to really have to rely on Jamal Roberts and Ahmad Hardy, those are our two running backs, and then we’ve had some wide receivers step away too, so that gives an opportunity for Kevin Coleman and Donovan Olugbode to step up. It wouldn’t surprise me if it comes down to the kicking game, because it’s such an even matchup with offense and defense.”
- Drinkwitz said the team prepped last week like it was a normal game week before giving his players three days off to go home, then reunited in Jacksonville for the actual game week.
- On the challenges of guiding players in the new era: “These guys are still developing and maturing, and even though we’re paying them like professionals, they’re not quite there yet. So we’ve got to walk them through those hard things in life.”
- Continued: “They’re all still making decisions, and because of the spotlights, because of the ESPN’s and all that, we can’t judge them too harshly. We have to correct them, and we’ve got to mold them, we’ve got to use discipline; but we’ve got to keep helping them move along and make sure that these choices don’t have to define them forever. And I think that’s really been something in the last three years for us, is that as the stage and the lights and the money’s gotten bigger, the development of these young men is still a priority. That’s really what we got into for, and it has turned into a business model, but we can’t be so business-minded that we forget about that.”
- On the opportunities provided by having some players out: “With the redshirt rule not applying, you’re going to get to see, for us, some freshman run down on kickoffs and on special teams, and get an opportunity to play and develop the bottom half of your roster. And that’s really what these practices have been all about for us, so it’s a great situation. We wish those guys well that moved on, but really it’s about our team now moving forward. And that’s what we’re focused on.”
- On his players using NIL to give back to the community: “There’s a lot of really good stories with NIL. A lot of car dealers have gotten rich off selling cars, and then we’ve been able to give back to the community. So it’s the gift that keeps on giving year round.
- On the team’s leader that doesn’t get talked about enough: “Probably for us, Jalen Catalon. He was a transfer from UNLV, plays safety for us, has rotated quite a bit in the secondary but is just a steady, consistent hand. Carries the message of the coaching staff from the team room to the locker room, which I think is very important, and he’s just been consistent. Even through the transitions of the bowl game and players playing, not playing, he’s been consistent: rallying the troops, making sure we have the right kind of spirit and energy at practice.”
- On the idea of a “developmental fee” paid to smaller schools when a power conference team gets a transfer: “There would be no NFL if there wasn’t college football, so as soon as they start paying us, then I think that’s something that would happen. But it’s gonna have to start at the top-down.”
