'Best of' Mizzou Head Coach Eli Drinkwitz From SEC Media Days

True to form, Coach Drink delivered his fair share of humor and confidence during his time at the podium. Here's a look at some of the best moments:

Warm Welcome

In classic Drinkwitz fashion, he opened with a curveball, joking about the sparse crowd, dropping a few wild references, and channeling his best Shane Gillis impression before finally pivoting to football.

“I know there’s a lot of burning questions in this room — all 14 of y’all who showed up,” he said, before clarifying he wouldn’t be fielding questions about the Epstein files, radiation belts, or the JFK assassination — just Mizzou football.

With Drinkwitz, it’s never a question of if he’ll entertain, just how.

On Sam Horn and the Quarterback Battle

Quarterback Sam Horn was selected 525th overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers in this year’s MLB Draft, rightfully prompting questions about his future on the football field. Drinkwitz made it clear that Horn’s still in the mix and that this is still a battle.

“I told him the day he got drafted that I was proud of him, but I’ll see him at 6 a.m. for workouts.”

Blocking Out the Noise

Drinkwitz didn’t hold back when asked about the outside perception of him.

“In the first five years, I cared what y’all thought about me. Now I really don’t. I’m here to represent the University of Missouri.”

That mindset showed. He was confident, sharp, and completely at ease throughout the first part of the day, speaking highly of the program and team he's clearly proud to be apart of.

Simulating Road Games in Fall Camp

Missouri's first road game won’t come until mid-October, but Drinkwitz said last year’s sluggish performance at Texas A&M taught him a valuable lesson, and he's taking action on it this year.

“We were a step slow in just about everything we did, starting with me. We’ve actually built something into our fall training camp plans to replicate and simulate a road game for 48 hours.”

Playoff Format and SEC Scheduling

On the evolving playoff format and future SEC scheduling, Drinkwitz had plenty to say. He endorsed a Big Ten-style model with automatic bids and play-in games — a stance he admitted won’t earn him any brownie points with Greg Sankey, the SEC Commissioner.

As for the debate between eight or nine SEC games?

“If it’s about the fans, nine games. If it’s about coach preservation—and I get it—stay at eight. But with an eight-game schedule, we ain’t getting in [the playoff].”

Whether discussing quarterbacks, debating schedules, or tossing in a wild conspiracy reference, Eli Drinkwitz proved once again why he’s one of the SEC’s most entertaining and unapologetically unfiltered voices—even if it sometimes rubs opposing fans the wrong way.