Eli
Drinkwitz and Mike Kelly were back at Harpo’s tonight for the second week of Tiger Talk ahead of the renewal of the Border War on Saturday. Here’s what he said alongside offensive coordinator Kirby Moore and new Tigers starting quarterback Beau Pribula:
Eli Drinkwitz
- On areas for improvement from last week: “The list is long. You know, I think the coolest thing about our team is they were eager to improve; this is a very coachable team. They understand, okay, alright, we put it on tape. Now we’ve got to fix it.”
- On Sam Horn’s injury: “Sam has a significant knee injury that’s going to keep him out. Don’t know when he’ll be back. But he will be back, it’s just we don’t know how long it’s going to take to fully recover.”
- On the additions of kicker Ryder Goodwin from JUCO and walk-on quarterback Brett Brown: “Yeah, we went to the waiver wire.”
- On how they found Goodwin: “Got a list. I guess Google, I don’t know. I didn’t ask for specifics.”
- On the team’s two 99-yard touchdown drives: “We had done it several times in scrimmage situations, and let’s just say we didn’t go maybe two yards. So for us to go 99 twice was good. I thought Kirby was padding that stats, though, just a little bit, to be honest.”
- On Beau Pribula’s performance: “When you first throw is a 50-yard touchdown that’s a pretty good start. I thought he did a nice job not letting the pressure get to him. You know, we had a protection bust, and we had a guy get beat, gave up two sacks. And that can spook you if you’re not careful. And it didn’t faze him at all, so I was really impressed with that.”
- On Tavorous Jones’ kick returning: “T-man, as a return guy, I cannot wait to continue to give him more opportunities. I’m telling you, he’s going to be a really good kickoff return guy for us.”
- On the possibility of Jones leaving in the portal: “I’ll be honest, I was a little worried at the end of the season, like, man, I don’t know if T-man is going to transfer. And they were walking out to the Music City Bowl, and I saw him hugging a girl before the game, and it was a cheerleader. And I was like, ‘What the heck?’ He goes, ‘Yeah, that’s my girlfriend.‘ I said, ‘Yeah, no, we’re not going to offer you much more money to stay, I’m pretty sure we got you.‘”
- On Marquis Johnson’s relationship with his mother, who passed away in the offseason: “His mom, Miss Denise, was his best friend. And the emotional strain that’s been on him not just from losing her, but also taking over a lot of the guardianship responsibility of his two younger brothers, it’s been a heavy burden and a heavy load. You know, we all compete, play sports, but we really don’t do it for ourselves. We do it for the people that supports us. And so the first time to have to look up in the stands and not see somebody that cares about you, he was really, really emotional in pregame. And we just told him, your mom wants you to play. She wants you to play well; and she’s still here, she’s watching, she’s just got a different seat. And I thought [it was an] awesome, awesome way to respond.”
- On Jude James’ touchdown: “Jude’s mom had a health incident two weekends ago when we were at Lindenwood, and so Jude went and stayed with her at the hospital for a couple of days as she worked through it. Was healthy, she was there at Tiger Walk to see her [son] and is back to making a full recovery. Jude saw her, and for him to have the kind of performance? Again, if you don’t believe in God, you’re crazy. So that’s all I’ve got to say about that.”
- On the importance of the Border War: “We do understand there’s a significance to the game dating all the way back to the 1800s. This has been a significant game that’s been played, I think, 121 times. There’s a disparity in how we account for the wins and losses, you know, and at the end of the day, there’s a trophy. If you win, you get to keep something, and if you lose, you’ve got to give it back.”
- Continued: “But when the game is played, it’s going to be played on a 100-yard field, and we’ve got to go out there and execute. We can’t be worried about how much John Anderson hates kansas and doesn’t have the letter k in his alphabet; that ain’t going to help us execute. But it was a good story.”
Kirby Moore
- On what went well for the offense on Thursday: “I thought it was really good to start fast there with the big post to Marquis. You know, that’s one thing we’ve been really harping on in the offseason is just when the stage is set and those opportunities are presented, we’ve got to make those count. I thought we did a good job of just making routine plays in the pass game. I read, I think we ended up 26 of 31, so a good completion percentage there. Having chunk plays, which really helped those drives shorten up.”
- On Drinkwitz joking he was padding stats: (laughing) “No. No way.”
- On Pribula’s performance: “Great job by Beau, right, coming in there. Give it up for Beau! (pauses for audience applause) I think just the poise, calm demeanor, executing the offense, making the plays when the present [themselves], obviously. Using his legs as an attribute to the offense and taking off there on the big scramble, and just did a great job of operating everything.”
- On Matt Zollers: “Everywhere Beau goes, Matt goes, whether it’s watching film, on the practice field, doing extra work, and I think that’s really helped his progression. It was great to get him out there on Thursday night, and I don’t think the lights were too bright – did a great job finding completions.”
- On how the offense’s depth impacts him as a coordinator: “It’s great. We can put a number of guys in some different spots, play with some different personnel groups, get some different guys on the field. I think that helps to break some tendencies at times, certain guys running certain routes.”
- On his family and having them at work: “You hear the phrase football and family a lot. I don’t know if that’s always real; here, it’s real. I think there’s an open door policy. My kids are always around, whether it’s on the field at practice, whether it’s in the meeting room, because there’s certain time demands to be successful in this. And so they’re always around, they’re open, my wife’s always in and out of the building. So that really helps from a family atmosphere standpoint.”
- On Dominic Giudice: “I like to call Dom the big, happy Italian. He’s bringing people with him early in the weight room, to breakfast at JoJo’s. He’s kind of anywhere and everywhere, bringing guys with him, watching extra film. He’s been there when it’s gone the right way and played for [the national title.] I think our guys have a tone of respect for him, and he’s done a great job, to his credit, of building those relationships with those guys and pushing them.”
- On the Jayhawks’ defense: “Their front seven, they’re pretty disruptive. I think their edge guys do a good job setting edges. Linebackers play downhill, and then they found ways to get people off the field in a hurry. They’ve done a great job third downs, and so we’ve got to be able to execute.”
Beau Pribula
- On what he looked for in the portal: “The first thing was really just an opportunity; what program was going to allow me to have an opportunity to play? Next was what program had the best offensive scheme that I thought fit my playing style the best. And then third thing was just the program in general. And for me, it was an easy decision, because Mizzou fit all those criteria. They’re on an upward trajectory, Coach Drink runs a great program, so it wasn’t a tough decision to me.”
- On his relationship with Matt Zollers: “I was lucky when I was a freshman to have a veteran quarterback in the room at Penn State – his name is Sean Clifford – and I just remember how much that he helped me. And I think that both being from Pennsylvania, I take that personally. I want Matt to be successful, and I just see the talent that he has. And anything that I’ve learned throughout my years, I can just convey to him, and hopefully just kind of coach him to be the best that he can be.”
- On his love of football: “I grew up in a football family. Grandfather played football, dad played football. My brother played quarterback as well. It’s just been in my blood.”
- On the life lessons taught by the sport: “I think one of the most special things about football and playing division one football is you’re put in the locker room with guys from all different types of backgrounds. You look at this team, a lot of these guys are transfers. They’re from anywhere, they’ve been in a lot of different schools, a lot of different backgrounds. And just coming together as one, as a family, I think that’s big.”
- On his reaction to the crowd on Thursday: “It’s crazy. Thursday night, I don’t even think the beginning really impressed me. I think it was when after halftime I came out and everybody was still there. So props to the fanbase, thank y’all.”
