Exactly a year ago, I had the misfortune of criticizing Eliah Drinkwitz and the Missouri Tigers football team. Since that article was written after the Middle Tennessee State game, Missouri won 13 out of their last 15 games, won The Cotton Bowl in 2023, and gave a legitimate run at making the playoffs. Looking back on this fateful article, I made some very bold statements, many of which aged horribly.
My first grievance was that Drinkwitz had brutally mishandled the quarterback situation. This obviously turned out to be a very poor take, but in my defense none of the quarterbacks had shown promise yet. Obviously Brady Cook has taken command, and since this article he has thrown for 3,361 yards, 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Cook has also proven to be a dual threat, with ten rushing touchdowns. In this article, I do give Drinkwitz some credit with how the offensive line on paper appears to have improved, and this was certainly the case. The Tigers went from being one of the lower ranked offensive lines in power 5 football, to becoming Joe Moore Award semifinalists this past season. The Joe Moore award is annually given to the best offensive line in the nation. This is a facet of the team that has carried over to this year as well, with Mizzou grabbing Southern Methodist transfer Marcus Bryant and Oklahoma transfer Cayden Green.
Another positive I gave credit to Drinkwitz in this article was the fact that he had done a great job in recruiting local players, which is still true with nine starters, who played against Boston College all being from Missouri. In terms of other takes I had in this fateful writing, I criticized the lack of player retention, which was a real concern. But Drinkwitz once again proved the doubters wrong as he has been able to supplement these departures by using the transfer portal, many of which have turned out to be upgrades.
So in hindsight, Drinkwitz and his team absolutely proved me wrong, to the joy of all Mizzou fans. Before last season, the Tigers were seen as a mid to low level S.E.C. team, but with the current momentum, there is a genuine chance that Missouri can make a playoff run, and become a perennial contender. But, if there is something I have learned, it is don’t put the cart before the horse.
In conclusion, I was plain wrong about Eliah Drinkwitz and the Missouri Tigers. Although it was well known that he was an elite recruiter, to go from the potential hot seat to Cotton Bowl champs in the span of 11 games is wildly impressive. The quality of talent on the roster and overall depth, is arguably the strongest it has ever been in recent memory, and although things can change in an instance, Drinkwitz’s talent acquisition has the Tigers in a prime position to keep advancing through the ranks of college football.