Around 500 fans greeted Eli Drinkwitz, Dennis Gates and their Mizzou teammates Tuesday night in St. Louis for the latest stop on the Come Home Tour as the caravan arrived at Ballpark Village to join forces with the St. Louis Sports Commission to rally support for the upcoming year of events.
The coaches had plenty to discuss — we’ll get to scheduling news, the quarterback competition, the Kobe Brown sweepstakes — but the theme of the night focused on St. Louis and the athletics department’s partnership with the Sports Commission as part of the ZOU to the Lou movement. Some takeaways from Tuesday’s tour stop.
1. Mizzou is serious about St. Louis
Last fall the school announced the St. Louis partnership that will bring many Mizzou sporting events through the city over the next year, headlined by the Sept. 23 football game against Memphis at The Dome. Wrestling coach Brian Smith broke news that he’s arranging a dual match against Illinois at Stifel Theater planned for the night before the Braggin’ Rights Game against Illinois at Scottrade Center. Gymnastics, volleyball, softball and baseball will get in on the action, too. The Sports Commission is working on a men’s basketball game separate from the annual Braggin’ Rights Game.
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Last fall, athletics director Deisree Reed-Francois successfully negotiated with Memphis to wrestle that game away from the Liberty Bowl and move it to St. Louis for what’s technically a neutral site game but a contest Mizzou is describing as a home game away from home.
St. Louis’ embrace of the XFL’s Battlehawks only reinforced Mizzou’s desire to have a stronger presence in the area.
“That was one of the things when I first took the job that we had talked about with the previous administration, was about how do we re-engage the city of St. Louis,” Drinkwitz said. “Obviously, what a tremendous job that Coach (Anthony) Becht did this year, and then the atmosphere for the Battlehawks we're just trying to piggyback off that.
“At the end of the day, St. Louis is the leading alumni base for the University of Missouri and we’ve got to tap into those fans. I say this all the time: You can be a Chiefs fan. You can be a Blues fan, Cardinals fan, Royals fan. But we all need to support the University of Missouri because we represent our state.”
Mizzou hasn’t played a football game in St. Louis since the last game against Illinois in 2010. Drinkwitz believes an enhanced presence here can boost recruiting.
“I think the fact that you can sell to recruits that you got a chance to play in front of your hometown and your parents can come watch you play and not just parents, literally coaches, mentors, people in the community can come watch you play and help you build your brand, I think that's powerful,” he said.
In the past two weeks, Drinkwitz said he and members of his staff called every high school coach across the entire state to “make sure that we were doing everything we can to recruit our state the hardest.”
“Just like anything, you can say the right things. It's about consistently doing them,” he said. “It's about consistently showing up. It's about having your high school football clinic and coaches clinic and then having every state school university representing themselves. It's about being consistent with who you are being consistent and showing up and having our coaches show up.”
That goes for basketball, too.
“Being the a state's Power Five institution, I think there's a want and a love for great basketball,” Gates said. “And we are a basketball state. I think there is unbelievable grassroots high school, but also traditionally on both sides, women's basketball and throughout all sports. I just believe there's historical value in what we've been able to accomplish throughout our state.”
2. Team Eight or Nine for SEC football scheduling?
In late May, Southeastern Conference campus leaders, athletics directors and head coaches will gather in Destin, Florida, for the annual SEC spring meetings. The biggest unresolved issue when it comes to football is the future scheduling model. Drinkwitz expects the future schedules to be finalized and released BEFORE the SEC meetings kick off in Destin. League leaders have discussed moving from eight to nine SEC games. Under the nine-game proposal, teams would play three permanent opponents every year and six rotating opponents. There’s been talk around the SEC that teams outside of the upper tier prefer to stick with an eight-game schedule. Drinkwitz has been cautious in siding with one format over the other but on Tuesday he made his choice clear.
“I'm Team Nine,” he said. “I think the more permanent (opponents) you can have, I think it allows you the ability to measure yourself every year on where your program’s at. And I think it reduces the amount of variables. The least amount of change possible in a schedule allows you to build. If you catch a team on a good cycle or a bad cycle, it could really be a struggle for you. I think as long as we have three permanents and then you have your six rotating that's the format I’m for.”
Should the SEC adopt the 3-6 model, it’s widely expected Arkansas and Oklahoma would be two of MU’s annual opponents with Vanderbilt the most likely third opponent. Drinkwitz has not been officially briefed on the options since last summer but expects resolution soon.
3. What about basketball scheduling?
Only two of Mizzou’s 2023-24 nonconference opponents are officially official: Illinois in the Braggin’ Rights Game and Kansas (in Lawrence) in the Border War. The Tigers are expected to play a home game against Memphis, CBS Sports reported earlier this month, though neither school has formally announced the series. Gates wants to play a game in Chicago as well. On that topic, here’s what he said Tuesday:
“You have to build a schedule that allows you to get better gradually, get challenged, but also build confidence and play a brand that can become more and more resolved and resilient as perseverance is required, as hurdles come. And I think our schedule last year, for instance, allowed us to do certain things early. Although it was mentioned that there was a weakness in it, I looked at it as a positive because players were able to galvanize, get to know each other, but also get challenged with different styles that were going to be reflective of our SEC schedule.
“The one thing that I'm trying to do is play in Chicago, play in St. Louis, play in Kansas City every year. We will explore that. We will explore those opportunities as detailed as possible. I'm excited about our administration, Greg Hulen and Desiree Reed-Francois. We meet consistently on this topic because I truly believe we have a tremendous fan base throughout the country, but also in those areas that I mentioned. And there's nothing like St. Louis and bringing games here. We’ve got to explore that.”
4. Who’s the QB in 2023?
Everywhere he goes Drinkwitz is asked about his quarterback competition. He was the guest speaker at an elementary school recently and a 7-year-old asked him who is going to start. On Tuesday, Drinkwitz stuck with his stance that Brady Cook is the incumbent starter but will have to hold off a pack of contenders. Cook is fully recovered from offseason shoulder surgery, he added.
“It’s Cook and challengers,” Drinkwitz said. “If we went out there today with the 1s, Brady would walk out there and nobody would stop him. But he knows he's gonna have to play his best because he's got some really talented players behind him. So that's kind of how I would phrase it.”
Newly arrived Jake Garcia, a January transfer from Miami, was healthy throughout spring practices, along with walk-on junior college transfer Dylan Laible. Four-star prospect Gabarri Johnson joins the team in June. Sam Horn was able to finish the spring after a minor setback on the pitching mound.
Back to the Garcia. On the former Hurricane, Drinkwitz said, “Jake Garcia is a really smart, young man. Competitive. He's got an ‘it factor.’ Everybody likes being around him. He’s got a really live warm. And I think the exciting thing for him is, in spring, everything was new. How do we practice? How do we go from this period? How do we transition? Do this how do we call these plays? He's going to have an opportunity throughout the summer and going into fall camp to really go in it with some confidence. I think that's going to be the biggest thing for Brady, for Sam, for Jake, for Dylan, for Gabarri, is how quickly those guys can play with confidence and utilize their God-given ability but also utilize the playmakers on the field to help us get in the end zone.”
5. What about Kobe?
Just like Gates said he would, Kobe Brown entered the NBA draft on Sunday but will retain his eligibility should he decide to return to Columbia for another year of college. Brown was in Chicago earlier this week to start some private workouts for NBA teams. Gates has consistently said he believes Brown is a first-round NBA pick — projections have him as a mid-second rounder at best — but Gates genuinely wants the best for his player. He’d also love to have the first-team All-SEC forward on his team next year. It’s no coincidence that Mizzou’s preferred NIL collective, Every True Tiger Foundation, had two representatives at Tuesday’s event. (At these caravan stops, Drinkwitz has been the loudest cheerleader for the collective’s efforts to keep Brown on campus another year.) Also, at Monday’s ROARS awards in Columbia, the athletics department’s annual awards ceremony, Brown was given the Director of Athletics Leadership Award, which comes with a $5,000 post-graduate award. Coincidence?
No matter what happens next, Gates asked for patience in the process.
“Very excited about the feedback that we're getting so far,” Gates said. “I believe he's a first-round draft pick. I'll continue to say that. But only I know how special he is because I've been fortunate enough to have a front-row seat each and every day along with his teammates. But I'm not the decision maker. He's going to continue to work hard, but also he put himself in a position to not lose his eligibility. I think we all have to just sit back and pray for the best for his for future as he pursues his pro career.”
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