Mizzou Football Begins Drinkwitz Era with No. 2 Alabama

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A NEW ERA BEGINS AT THE #NEWZOU

• Mizzou Football is set to begin a new era as first-year head coach Eliah Drinkwitz takes the helm of the storied and tradition-rich Tiger program during its 130th season. Drinkwitz’s Tigers have a tall task in front of them as No. 2/2 Alabama heads to Columbia for the first time since 2012 for a 6 p.m. kickoff on ESPN. Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge, Allison Williams and Todd McShay will be on the call for the national broadcast.

A QUICK LOOK AT MIZZOU’S FIRST-YEAR BENCH BOSS

• A winner at every stage of his coaching career, Eliah Drinkwitz – considered one of college football’s top offensive minds – was named the 33rd head football coach at the University of Missouri in December 2019.  Drinkwitz takes over at Mizzou following an impressive 2019 season at Appalachian State, where he led the 20th-ranked Mountaineers to a 12-1 record and a Sun Belt Conference championship.
• Drinkwitz’s offensive acumen has been a key element in his teams winning five conference championships while compiling a perfect 8-0 bowl game record in 10 seasons at the FBS level.  The combined record of his teams from 2010-19 is 98-34 overall (74.2%), including a 57-22 conference mark (72.2%). Drinkwitz also serves as the program’s offensive coordinator.
• The 2019 season saw Drinkwitz turn in one of the most impressive FBS head coaching debut seasons ever. His Mountaineers set a Sun Belt record with their 12 wins, and also set the mark for the best regular season in conference history (11-1).  They claimed the Sun Belt championship with a 45-38 win against Louisiana on Dec. 7.
• Prior to App State, Drinkwitz spent three years as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for record-setting North Carolina State teams (2016-18), after excelling in a similar role at Boise State for two years (2014-15), where the Broncos won the 2014 Mountain West title and finished 12-2 and ranked 16th nationally. In 2015, Drinkwitz was promoted to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, and he helped the Bronco offense rank in the Top 15 nationally in points (39.1) and yards (501.3) per game.
• In his five seasons as an offensive coordinator, Drinkwitz has produced five 1,000-yard rushers, four 3,000-yard passers and four 1,000-yard receivers. Three of those years (2015, 2017, 2018) his offenses produced at least one in each category.

Drinkwitz’s Coaching Awards

• 2019 Eddie Robinson Award Finalist
• 2019 North Carolina Coach of the Year (North State Journal)
• 2018 Broyles Award Nominee

ANYTHING BUT NORMAL FOR COACH DRINKWITZ SINCE TAKING OVER

• Taking over a program can present a variety of challenges for any first-year head coach, but doing so during a global pandemic poses even more obstacles. That’s what Coach Drinkwitz and his staff have been forced to navigate during a difficult year 2020 for our nation.
• Mizzou’s spring training period was upended after just two official practices, and Coach Drinkwitz wasn’t able to get a full team practice again until midway through August. Things have been unconventional at best during his first year at the helm, as his media opportunities have featured more questions about COVID-19, contact tracing and social justice issues than football. He’s handled it well, winning over his locker room thanks to his passion for his players, pride for his job and purpose in getting his team ready to play this Saturday.

MIZZOU IN SEASON-, HOME-OPENERS

• In its previous 129 season-openers, Mizzou has won more than two-thirds of them, going 83-41-5 all-time (66.3%). Mizzou has won 20 of its last 23 season-openers, but dropped its 2019 season-opener at Wyoming, 37-31.
• In home-openers, Mizzou’s all-time record is 94-31-4 (74.4%), and that includes an active win streak of 14, and wins in 21 of its last 23 such games. Mizzou’s last loss in a home-opener was a 45-35 setback to New Mexico in 2005. Saturday’s game will mark the second time in as many years that the Tigers will open their home slate against a Power 5 opponent.
• Last year, Mizzou thumped West Virginia, 38-7, on Faurot Field. That was part of an eventual five-game home win streak to open the season. Before doing so in each of the last two seasons, the last time Mizzou played a Power 5 opponent in its home opener was in 1993, when it drubbed Illinois, 31-3.

SQUARING UP AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS TO KICK OFF THE SEASON

• All-time, Mizzou is 4-7 vs. ranked AP teams in season-openers, most-recently beating No. 20 Illinois, 52-42, in St. Louis to kick off the 2008 campaign.
• Alabama marks the highest ranked opponent Mizzou has played in a season-opener since 1975 (and equals highest ranked ever in an opener along with Maryland in 1952), when the Tigers handed the No. 2 Crimson Tide a 20-7 loss at historic Legion Field in Birmingham.

COACH DRINKWITZ IN SEASON-OPENERS

• Last season at Appalachian State, Coach Drinkwitz’s Mountaineers rolled East Tennessee State, 42-7, in its season-opener. Dating back to his time at Auburn as a quality control analyst in 2010, Drinkwitz is 7-3 in season-openers. Below is a breakdown:
  • 2010 (Auburn Analyst): W, 52-26, vs. Arkansas State
  • 2011 (Auburn Analyst): W, 42-38, vs. Utah State
  • 2012 (Running Backs, Arkansas State): L, 34-57 at Oregon
  • 2013 (OC, Arkansas State): W, 62-11 vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff
  • 2014 (Tight Ends, Boise State): L, 35-213 vs. Ole Miss
  • 2015 (OC, QBs, Boise State): W, 16-13 vs. Washington
  • 2016 (OC, QBs, NC State): W, 48-14 vs. William and Mary
  • 2017 (OC, QBs, NC State): L, 28-35 vs. South Carolina
  • 2018 (OC, QBs, NC State): W, 24-13 vs. James Madison
  • 2019 (HC, App State): W, 42-7 vs. East Tennessee State

A RARE NOTE FOR THE OPENER

• When Coach Drinkwitz’s Tigers take the field Saturday, they will do so against a ranked team. During the AP Poll era (1936 to present), Coach Drinkwitz will be just the third Tiger head coach to open his Mizzou career against a ranked team. The other two instances are listed below:
  • 1971: Al Onofrio vs. #19 Stanford (L, 19-0)
  • 1978: Warren Powers at #5 Notre Dame (W, 3-0)
  • 2019: Eliah Drinkwitz vs. #2 Alabama (TBD)

MIZZOU HEAD COACHES IN THEIR TIGER DEBUTS

• Dating back to 1935 (the year prior to the AP poll era) when Don Faurot patrolled the field that now dons his name, Mizzou’s head coaches are a combined 3-7-1 in their debut at the school. All-told, Mizzou’s 32 head coaches are 17-13-2 in the Tiger sideline debut. Below is a look at each (since 1935):

SERIES, LAST TIME vs. ALABAMA

• Mizzou and Alabama have met six times dating back to the 1968 Gator Bowl. The Crimson Tide hold a slight 4-2 edge in the all-time series, but have won the last four meetings, including the 2014 SEC Championship Game in Atlanta (a 42-13 Bama win en route to the College Football Playoff), and a 39-10 decision in Tuscaloosa during the 2018 season.
• Mizzou won the first two meetings between the two storied programs, first coming in 1968, a 35-10 Gator Bowl triumph in Jacksonville. Mizzou then went to Birmingham in 1975 and Al Onofrio’s Tigers earned a 20-7 win over the No. 2 Crimson Tide. Alabama then came to Columbia in 1978 for a Top 15 matchup. The top-ranked Tide edged Warren Powers’ 11th-ranked Tigers, 38-20.
• Mizzou and Alabama have met three times since the Tigers joined the SEC. The first meeting came in 2012 when Alabama earned a 42-10 win on a rainy, stormy afternoon at Memorial Stadium. The other two meetings came in the aforementioned 2014 and 2018 seasons.

MIZZOU HOPES SAME ‘BOLT’ WILL STRIKE TWICE

• Mizzou has a bona fide super star at linebacker in junior Nick Bolton, a player that anchors a Mizzou defense that finished 14th nationally in total defense a year ago.
• Bolton burst on to the scene as a true sophomore in 2019, taking on an expanded role after MLB Cale Garrett suffered a season-ending injury during the season’s fifth game vs. Troy.
• A preseason All-SEC first-team selection by the league’s 14 coaches, Bolton has appeared on the 2020 Butkus, Nagurski, Bednarik and Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch Lists. He is also a Preseason All-American by a variety of publications as college football pundits around the nation have learned about his incredible talent.
• At 6-0, 235-pounds, Bolton plays with incredible leverage and speed (he’s in the team’s 19 MPH-club, the heaviest player to do so). Below are some notes on Bolton after a memorable sophomore season:
  • Pro Football Focus third-team All-American during his true sophomore season.
  • Earned a season-grade of 91.1 from Pro Football Focus, making him the SEC’s top-graded linebacker.
  • Earned All-SEC first-team honors from both the league’s coaches and the Associated Press after posting a team-best 107 tackles.
  • His 107 tackles were the SEC’s top mark during the regular season, and only LSU’s Jacob Phillips, who played in 15 games vs. Bolton’s 12, finished ahead of Bolton on the SEC tackle chart (113 in 15 games).
  • His 8.92 tackles per game were far-and-away the league’s best mark, besting Arkansas De’Jon Harris (8.42 per game).
  • Also added 9.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, two interceptions, eight pass breakups and three quarterback hurries.
  • His 74 solo tackles were 15 more than any other defender in the SEC.
  • Ranked 31st nationally in tackles per game while his 74 solo tackles were fifth nationally.
  • Led the SEC with 80 tackles in eight league games (10.0 per game).
  • ProFootballFocus.com rated him as the No. 3 defender against the run in the SEC.
  • Named SEC Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career on Sept. 9, following a 10-tackle, two-interception performance in Mizzou’s 38-7 win over West Virginia.

TIGERS MAY HAVE THE SEC’S BEST SAFETY TANDEM

• Another reason that Mizzou coaches feel good about their defense is that the back-end features what is possibly Mizzou’s best safety duo since 2007 when Pig Brown and William Moore patrolled the secondary. Coached by defensive coordinator Ryan Walters, a rising young star in the coaching profession who landed at No. 8 on The Athletic’s Assistant Coaches to Watch list over the summer, Mizzou’s 2020 safety tandem of Tyree Gillespie and Joshuah Bledsoe may be one of the SEC’s best units.
• Gillespie was tabbed a 2020 second-team All-SEC pick during the preseason by the league’s coaches after posting 50 tackles over 12 games last year, including 4.0 tackles for loss, one sack and seven pass breakups.
• Bledsoe, who makes the jersey change from #18 to #1 this season, finished 2019 ranked third on the team with 49 tackles (35 solo) with 4.0 tackles for loss. He added a team-high 10 pass breakups with a fumble recovery and also forced fumble. His 49 tackles were a new single-season career-high and he became the first Mizzou safety in more than a decade to post 10+ pass breakups in a single season and just the eighth Mizzou defender to do so since 2009.
• With those two on the back end, it’s easy to see why Mizzou likes its secondary moving into this season, a group that returns six regulars to a rotation that finished ranked sixth nationally in pass defense a year ago.

ROUNTREE APPROACHING MILESTONES

• Mizzou brings back a talented and experienced stable of running backs in 2020, highlighted by senior team captain Larry Rountree III, a three-year impact player at the position who was the coach’s third-team selection at running back on the All-SEC preseason team.
• A two-year starter, Rountree concluded his junior season with 2,748 career rushing yards, sixth-most in program history and trailing fifth-place Henry Josey by just 23 yards. He enters his senior season needing 450 yards to become Mizzou’s rushing yards leader by a non-quarterback and just 1,541 rushing yards to catch Mizzou’s all-time career rushing leader, QB Brad Smith (4,289 from 2002-05). His 537 career carries rank seventh-most in program history.
• Nicknamed Trey, Rountree finished his junior season with 829 rushing yards on 186 carries (4.5 average), scoring a team-high nine touchdowns on the ground. He posted three 100-yard rushing performances in 2019, giving him 10 100-yard rushing games in his career. Below is a look at the all-time Mizzou rushing list and where Rountree ranks:

BADIE IS A BAD MAN, AND POSSIBLY THE SEC’S MOST VERSATILE RUNNING BACK

• Not only does Mizzou have a workhorse back in Rountree, it may also have the SEC’s most versatile running back in junior Tyler Badie.
• A former 2018 All-SEC Freshman Team selection, Badie led Mizzou with 928 all-purpose yards as a sophomore, averaging a team-best 77.3 per game. Of his 928 all-purpose yards, 457 came on the ground as he averaged 4.2 yards per carry with three touchdowns.
• He also led Mizzou with 32 catches and posted 356 receiving yards (11.1 average) with five touchdowns. His 32 catches were the most by a Mizzou running back in the last decade and he was the first Mizzou running back to lead the team in receptions since Brock Olivo in 1995 (17).

OFFENSE BOLSTERED BY GRADUATE TRANSFERS AT KEY POSITIONS

• As Mizzou’s coaching staff took the helm of the program back in December, it started to look at positions of need as the roster went through some transition that is to be expected when a coaching change is made.
• Drinkwitz and his staff identified some key spots that they could potentially upgrade, and then hit the graduate transfer market. What they found was a great group of players that could come in and upgrade a couple of those positions. Those key additions are listed below:

WR Keke Chism – 6-4 – 210 – Graduate from Angelo State

• Comes to Mizzou from Division II Angelo State, but don’t let that fool you. Drinkwtiz called him an “absolute steal” and an “absolute freakin’ stud” during a media call over the summer. Chism backed that up all during fall camp and really looks like a player who may exceed the expectations that come with more than 2,220 receiving yards at the DII level.

WR Damon Hazelton – 6-3 – 215 – Graduate from Virginia Tech

• He was twice an All-ACC performer who brings significant experience and production with him to Mizzou. During his collegiate career, he has 133 receptions for 1,834 yards and 20 touchdowns, which spans 35 games (including 25 starts) from 2016-19.
• Hazelton was a 2019 first-team All-ACC selection (Phil Steele) at Virginia Tech, when he led the Hokies with eight receiving touchdowns in 11 games. He caught 31 passes in 2019 for 527 yards, including a top performance against Virginia, when he caught seven passes for a season-best 118 yards. As a sophomore at Virginia Tech in 2018, he earned second-team All-ACC honors as he led his team with 51 receptions for 802 yards and eight scores

C Michael Maietti – 6-1 – 291 – Graduate from Rutgers

• When three-year starting center Trystan Colon-Castillo left school early to pursue an NFL career last year, Mizzou was left with a hole at center. Enter three-year Rutgers starting center Michael Maietti. He started the Knights last 33 games at center and is expected to be a key cog on the line for Drinkwitz and his staff in 2020. He played 744 snaps a season ago as well.

WHITESIDE BECOMES A FORCE INSIDE

• In a breakthrough 2019 junior campaign, senior DT Kobie Whiteside became a dominant force on the defensive line, carrying on the long tradition of Mizzou’s #DLineZou.
• Whiteside tallied 27 tackles on the season and had a team-high 6.5 sacks for a loss of 51 yards. The Houston, Texas, product was especially dominant against South Carolina (9/21/19) and No. 6 Florida (11/16/19), as he record 2.0 sacks in each of those contests to go along with three and four tackles, respectively.
• Whiteside’s 6.5 sacks are tied for the most among any returning SEC defender in 2020. The Tiger senior is a Preseason second-team All-SEC selection and is on the 2020 Nagurski, Outland and Wuerffel Trophy watch lists.

#MIZZOU4CHANGE

• Mizzou has been heavily active in social justice reform over the offseason following the untimely deaths of numerous Black individuals.
• First, Mizzou Football student-athletes organized a march from Mizzou’s columns to the Boone County Courthouse in June. Many nothable Mizzou head coaches and Mizzou Athletics staffers joined the student-athletes during this event. Following the march to the courthouse, more than 60 student-athletes registered to vote.
• Next, Mizzou Football participated in a march from the columns to Memorial Stadium in September. The march was organized by the newly-formed Black Student-Athletes Association (BSAA), and kicked off the organization new movement, named #Mizzou4Change. The group’s focus is to begin the conversation on social justice, and how to create a better world for everyone moving forward. Representatives from every Mizzou Athletics sport was in attendance for this march.