Eli Drinkwitz believes the success that Missouri saw this past season will come with both advantages and disadvantages. The Tigers finished with 11 wins for the first time since 2014 and took home a Cotton Bowl victory to finish No. 8 in the final AP poll.
That has created plenty of buzz surrounding the team entering this season as a contender to make the College Football Playoff. Drinkwitz spoke recently on ESPN’s College GameDay podcast, saying that has created a new belief in the program, but also acknowledged the challenge that comes with more attention.
“I think success can have two different opportunities for you,” he said. “The first thing it does is it creates belief in your team that what you’re doing works and now you’ve just gotta do it a little bit better. I think there’s a belief that when your athletic performance coach says, ‘hey, we’re doing this’ and all the guys can point back to it last year and say ‘this was the foundation to our success.’
“The challenge is not resting on success. Not believing that what you accomplished last year has anything to do with this year or future results. I think that’s where a lot of people make a lot of mistakes.”
Missouri lost plenty of key pieces that helped it achieve the success it saw in 2023. Specifically on defense, the Tigers will be without edge rusher Darius Robinson (eight sacks) and cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine (four INTs, 13 passes defended).
Running back Cody Schrader, who led the SEC with 1,627 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns, is also gone.
Missouri added 15 players through the transfer portal to make up for those losses, ranking No. 8 overall according to On3’s Transfer Portal Rankings. That includes former Clemson cornerback Toriano Pride and Michigan linebacker Jeremiah Beasley.
Although it will be a lot of new faces this year, Drinkwitz noted how that is becoming the norm in college football in the transfer portal era. What will ultimately determine whether the Tigers can follow up on last season’s success is how they stick to the foundation and core values that were built.
“Especially in college football where now every year starts completely over,” the coach said. “You have to relay the foundation because you’re gonna have so many new pieces to the culture. You’re gonna have so many new players, coaches, whatever it might be. You’re gonna have to go back and say ‘what’s the identity of this year’s team?’
“We don’t have Cody Schrader’s leadership. We don’t have Darius Robinson’s talent. We don’t have Kris Abrams-Draine on the corners, but we do have the same foundations. Who are gonna be the guys that step up and lead the way this year?”
Missouri kicks off the 2024 season on Aug. 29 against Murray State.
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