New Mizzou football coaches look to make an immediate impact on the field
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
In addition to bringing in dozens of players in the offseason, head coach Eli Drinkwitz also added several new coaches to his staff for the 2026 season.
Alex Atkins, Lavorn Harbin, and Garrett Riley were all added as offensive and defensive assistants in hopes of raising the level of play at each level.
As Mizzou heads for the final few spring practices, this team is beginning to learn and fit into the coaching systems that are already in place, new coaches included. New defensive line coach Lavorn Harbin says this system works so well because the players function as a unit, rather than individuals trying to be stars.
"Coach Drink does a good job with the leadership part, really making the kids work hard and come together," said Harbin. "I've been to a couple of places where its more about me, me, me, but here's about playing as one."
You can watch the full press conferences with coach Harbin, as well as coach Atkins and coach Riley in the video player above.
While Harbin was the lone addition to the defensive end, the Tigers brought in a pair of offensive assistants to build off of last seasons success.
One major get for the team was new quarterbacks coach Garrett Riley. He previously served on the staffs at Clemson and TCU, where he worked with some of the best at the position in the sport. With new additions Austin Simmons and Nick Evers expected to compete with returning sophomore Matt Zollers, he'll have a tough time deciding who is the right guy to run this offense.
"I think right now it's just really the consistency and decision making and execution," said Riley. "Any time you have a quarterback battle and everybody's trying to impress the coaches and make a play...we don't need guys to press right now, we just need to make the correct play."
Alex Atkins was also brought in to assist on the offensive end, overseeing all of the tight ends. In just his first few weeks in Columbia, he's been most impressed with the amount of depth the group has.
"We've got older guys, with Jordan and Brett who've been here a long time. You've got Jude and Gavin Hoffman who come in a little like that mix tier, and then you've got Isaac Jensen and Adam kind of carrying the back end, so it's kind of stacked from top to bottom and has good young talent."
With just a few practices remaining, all the new coaches will be doing their best to get the most out of their groups before summer hits.
