Mizzou football wraps up fall camp, shifts focus to season opener
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The 2024 edition of fall camp is in the books for the No. 11 Mizzou football team, which means the attention now all flips to the season opener against Murray State on Thursday. Aug. 29.
Head coach Eli Drinkwitz said you can definitely sense an excitement from the players, when it comes to finally getting to go against someone new. However, right now, a big emphasis for him is continuing the sellout streak at Faurot Field. The program ended the 2023 home slate with five-straight sellouts and will hope to extend it to six with Aug. 29's season opener.
"We need to sell out this first game, alright. We're a top 11 program in the country, coming off of a Cotton Bowl win and, in my opinion, if we don't sell out the first game, then that shows me that we're not where we want to be as a fanbase, yet," Drinkwitz said.
Sellout or not, there is a lot of excitement surrounding the 2024 Tiger football team, after the best year the program has seen under Coach Drink. On Tuesday, four out of MU's five team captains spoke to the media and said preseason noise is just that...noise.
The Tigers are focused on stacking another good year on top of the last. In order to do that, Drinkwitz and company have blocked out the noise and kicked things up a notch. In fact, Coach Eli said he wanted this fall camp to be the toughest one yet.
"We had more live reps this year than we have had in any fall camp, we had more periods in our 17 practices than we had in the previous fall camp, we had more reps this year than we had in previous fall camps and so that's a tangible demonstration of it was harder than it's ever been," he said.
Players agreed. This fall camp just a hit a little bit different.
When asked if he noticed a different, Mizzou defensive tackle Kristian Williams laughed and said, "Did I? It was a big difference as far as just like the rep counts and you got more team periods, you got more practices with pads and stuff on. It's been a big difference on the end and I've been in college for a while now, so of course I've got a different perspective on it. But, if anything I feel like that plays a big role into the season, going deep into the season. It's a longer season, at that, so I feel like it'll translate properly."
You can watch the full press conference with Williams in the video player below.
The rep counts were different and the grind was a bit different, but so is the feeling surrounding the entire team, especially quarterback Brady Cook. The St. Louis native finally gained the trust from the fan base he's been looking for for years, after a breakout year in 2023.
"I have a lot more respect or love towards my name," Cook said. "Whether it's Mizzou fans or fans from St. Louis and that's great. It's great, it's a part of it, it's a part of coming off of a great season. But, just as quickly, you know, that could turn, so I think it comes with the position, good or bad."
You can watch the full press conference with Cook in the video player below.
Drinkwitz said he's seen a lot of growth from Cook during fall camp. In particular, he said that his accuracy has been dead on and he's seen some good trends as far as his decision-making and consistency goes.
Cook and wide receiver Theo Wease Jr. represent the offense in that room of captains. But, Coach Drinkwitz emphasized the importance of the defensive captains during Tuesday's press conference. He said with a new defensive coordinator and a lot of newcomers on that side of the ball, he's going to rely on those leaders to be coaches on the field and communicate what the 'Death Row' defense is all about.
"With the young guys, you know, personally I know I talk to a lot of them. I'm trying to just tell them what the standard really is. Like, it's really just physical, violent, understanding that there's going to be adversity but if we come together and stay together, we're gonna be alright, no matter what," linebacker Chuck Hicks said.
You can watch the full press conference with Hicks in the video player below.
The defense will go into the 2024 season under new leadership with first-year DC Corey Batoon set to make his MU debut. Defensive end Johnny Walker Jr. said he's enjoyed working with Coach Batoon, so far, through fall camp.
"It's very detailed," he said. "He gives us things to do to maximize, like dominate your box, things like that, so I feel like he's done a good job with that."
You can watch the full press conference with Walker Jr. in the video player below.
Now, the preparation over the next two weeks will focus on Murray State. Mizzou and the Racers will kick off at 7 p.m. at Faurot Field on Thursday, Aug. 29.
