Eli Drinkwitz Previews South Carolina Matchup: “It’s a Big Challenge in All Three Phases”
Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz addressed reporters Tuesday to preview the Tigers’ SEC opener against South Carolina. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Saturday on ESPN, and Drinkwitz made it clear his team has its work cut out.
Opening Statement
“South Carolina is a very good football team,” Drinkwitz began. “They have a lot of momentum right now in their program from last year to now, with the way they ended that season. Their quarterback is an excellent player, an All-SEC preseason, a Heisman front-runner, and an absolutely great player. We know firsthand with the way he played against us last year. Got really good players in the offensive positions.
“Nyck Harbor, again, played excellently against us last year as a dynamic return player. He has elite speed and size and has grown as a wideout. Got really good lines of scrimmage, All-American at the tackle position from last year, and then the running back, you know, seventh year playing college football, is a really explosive player, really good player. He changes their scheme offensively. So we’ve got our hands full there.
“Defensively, I think Clayton White does an unbelievable job. They lost some guys last year, but when you watch the tape, you don’t really notice it. I think they’ve replaced them, not only with good players, but they wear a lot of the same numbers, which is a little bit of a challenge. But obviously, they’re led by Dylan Stewart, the All-American defensive end, who is as good a defensive end as there is in this league. An elite combination of speed, power, physicality. He really plays at a high level.
“I think their other defensive end, Bryan Thomas Jr., is a very physical player and does a really good job. They’ve replaced their two interior guys, which I thought last year was as strong as there was in the SEC. These guys are really good. Obviously, JayR Johnson was the (SEC) Defensive Player of the Week nationally, I think, in week one. He’s an excellent player.
“They’ve got several guys coming back off of injury at secondary, so they appear to be getting healthy. So, it’s a really difficult scheme in the way they play on defense. And then obviously on special teams, coach (Shane) Beamer does an excellent job there. They always create an advantage. Their return units are elite. Their punt returner has three touchdowns in three games, more than the SEC combined. They always try to create an advantage in that phase, whether it’s through fake punts, fake field goals, or, most recently, return opportunities. They had a big reverse against us last year that led to their drive to win the game. So it’s a really big challenge in all three phases. Going to be a really big challenge for our team.”
On South Carolina’s Quarterback Situation
With LaNorris Sellers battling an injury, Drinkwitz said the Tigers are preparing for multiple possibilities.
“I anticipate LaNorris to play,” he stated.
“Luke Doty has played quarterback. Another guy that’s played a lot of college football. We played against him before. I think I remember recruiting Luke out of Myrtle Beach High School when I was at NC State. Really good player. I don’t think their scheme is going to change any. He’s not LaNorris, but he’s a very good, capable player. So for us, there are not too many stylistic differences in the way that the quarterback position is going to be played. So for us, we’re going to anticipate that LaNorris will play, and then we’ll adjust if he does not.”
On What Makes Sellers Special
“I mean, he’s listed as preseason All-SEC first-team quarterback for a reason,” Drinkwitz said. “That would tell us all that he’s a cut above; he’s got a unique build and frame. He’s really strong, hard to tackle in the pocket, hard to wrap up, makes incredible decisions and plays when the play is broken down.
“So I think that’s always a challenge, especially when you’re playing defense, if you’re in man and he breaks the pocket and he’s going to take off and run. If you’re playing zone, it’s hard to keep a zone cover when your focal point is moved. So how does that zone move with it? So it’s an extremely difficult challenge. He is an elite player.”
On Mike Shula and South Carolina’s Offense
Drinkwitz noted that while offensive coordinator Mike Shula is now calling plays, much of the scheme remains familiar.
“Obviously, Coach Shula was there with him last year as an offensive analyst. He and Coach (Dowell) Loggains, you know, co-created the plans each week, and so there’s a lot of carryover. Each play caller has their own flavor of how they call games and what specifically they’re doing to implement the game plan.
“There are some subtle differences in the run scheme. There’s more quarterback-driven run plus one runs, I would say, than there was probably last year. I think there are more drop-back concepts. And maybe that’s just year two growth with LaNorris, since that’s something he’s more comfortable with. But finding explosive, being creative, utilizing empty, that’s stuff that they did last year and did effectively versus us.”
On the Importance of the SEC Opener
Drinkwitz said the Tigers must treat South Carolina as another tough step in their growth.
“As you elevate your program, we talk about being 1-0 every week, and the importance of a nameless, faceless opponent. And last week, I think, the focus was not to allow our opponent to dictate our preparation or performance. I thought our guys really responded to that.
“Our guys understand the significance of playing in the SEC. They understand that the level of competition rises. The importance of all the little things rises. They understand the importance of being 1-0 this week. I don’t really think we have to hammer that or say that. I think that’s been the enhanced growth of the program over the last three years.
“It’s an SEC night game. We’ve only had three since 2021, while others in the league have had way more than that. It’s an awesome opportunity for us to take advantage of that. But the reality is the separations in the preparation you put in this week, and the most important thing we can control is having toughness Tuesday, not trying to play on emotions on Saturday.”
On Facing Dylan Stewart and the Gamecocks’ Defense
“Dylan creates a tremendous amount of pressure on you because of his ability to play the run,” Drinkwitz explained. “Most people in these kinds of situations would say they want to play a read game with him, but he does an unbelievable job on his mesh charge. He’s vertical, plays hard at the quarterback, does a really good job of getting around blocks.
“He can sustain and hold the C gap when he’s against the tight end. Obviously, he is really difficult to handle one-on-one. So it’s a challenge. I bet Clayton would love for us to tell you exactly how we’re going to play this game, but we’re not going to, so you know, I think that’s the cat-and-mouse game schematically.
“But there’s also a measure of just you got to play the game. There’s certain things that we do, that we got to be able to do. And it doesn’t matter if it’s whoever’s over there, we’ve got to be able to execute it if we’re going to be the team that we want to be. So there’ll be a little bit of this is what we’ve got to do to neutralize, or attempt to neutralize him. He’s going to make plays, you know, he’s going to make tackles. He’s going to run you down from the back side. He’s going to defeat a block on the front side and make a play. Just got to try to minimize the impact he has overall.”
