Drinkwitz began this week with the media saying Missouri is fortunate to be 1-0 and has to improve substantially in a lot of different areas.
Calls Kentucky a "tremendous opponent" in a night SEC road game. Expects a loud environment. Has lots of respect for Mark Stoops and notes he's close to a decade at Kentucky. He has changed the perception of Kentucky, recruits at a high level, and develops his players.
Pointed to Josh Paschal as an example of recruit & develop on this year's team. Notes Kentucky did an outstanding job in the transfer portal ("basically added three NFL players on offense and their offensive coordinator"). Points out UK is the No. 1 defense in the country and says Stoops teams are always solid there. Dynamic return potential on special teams. Lots of respect for Kentucky. "Know we've got our hands full."
Drinkwitz says Levis is the straw that stirs the drink. Has a nice hard play action throw. Coen does a great job of making run and pass plays look exactly the same. Calls Wan'Dale dynamic playmaker with elite speed who complements Josh Ali. "They're really talented across the board ... their offensive line is considered by some to be the best offensive line in the country." Very impressed by the tackle combo of Rosenthal and Kinnard.
Impressed with 560 yards and so many through the air. Last year "they had maybe 35 total plays and 35 (yards) through the air." Shifts, formations, vertical shots, intermediate middle field throws, quick game. "The only thing that's a surprise to me is how quickly they've gotten it to where they're at." Sometimes that kind of system change can take a long time but adding great players makes it easier.
Drinkwitz says it will be his first experience on the road with the wild crowd, which is a huge concern. Handling communication, nerves, and not letting the crowd dictate how they play. "We're going to see what we're made of."
UK's defense starts with its line, Drinkwitz said. McCall started against Missouri last year and he was very difficult to block. Paschal is an outstanding defensive end. Speed and power. Can play four or five or on the edge. Stoops does a great job of recruiting length in their defense "which is really tough to go against because it collapses lanes." Notes "the only guys that aren't there are the guys who got drafted." Good scheme, play hard, don't make mistakes.
Did note Mizzou rushed for 200 yards in Week 1 but too many negative plays. Can't allow front side penetration and must clean up double teams. Negative plays created the third and longs. "When you go on the road it's a trench football game...to have any shot in the SEC you've got to be able to run the ball."
Tackling against CMU was a red flag. They were very poor tackling. Had some eye discipline issues. Guys in man to man who let guys cut loose. There was loose coverage. Were supposed to be inside and were outside, were supposed to be outside and were inside. The biggest disappointment from Saturday was tackling and explosive plays allowed. Sacks, pressure on QB, and turnovers forced were the best things they did. "It can't be Jekyll and Hyde against the kind of team we're about to face. That scoreboard's going to light up real quick."
Says all games are big but last year it was a big game for Mizzou because they hadn't won in five years. Getting that off their chest was good. Notes Stoops has been at Kentucky for around 10 years. Lots of recruiting and developing. Can't really compare where they are. "It's a little bit soon..." Nobody's season ends after Week 2 regardless of the outcome. It's a big test of who they want to be and how they want to play. Said they did not play well on the road last year with just one win. Circles back and says the East champ is usually not undefeated.
Drinkwitz said Mizzou was 2/12 on third down and have to complete passes in those situations. That's both he and Bazelak. That was on the only concern.
Notes Mizzou cannot travel out like they normally do because of a situation at the Columbia airport. Drinkwitz was very upset about this, you could tell. Half the travel party has to leave from St. Louis. Some have to leave from Columbia. It may be that none can fly back into Columbia pending weather and weight limit of the plane. Seems like an annoyance and inconvenience that could affect their typical road trip plan.
Notes Kentucky has recruited well in-state and has gotten a lot of Midwest guys. Knows about how UK has recruited Michigan as well. "He knows who he is and who he's recruiting." Five drafted players last year. "They're always fundamentally sound. They don't beat themselves. They're in a lot of football games... He's got a great record in one-score games. That to me is when you as a coach really gotta coach... You can tell he's got an overall sense of how the game's going to play out in offense, defense, special teams. I think he's made bold moves, with the offense... He started out spread wide open then after Neal left, raked it back in, controlled the clock, won 10 games a couple of years ago... playing in late November to win the East. That's pretty impressive. Second longest tenured coach in the SEC. It's about two years and we get shipped out of here."
(Today, Drinkwitz said that Mizzou isn't ready to beat a team like UK on the road).
