Drinkwitz Gives Early Review of Mizzou's Freshmen at Fall Camp

COLUMBIA, Mo. — At the Missouri Tigers practice Saturday morning, one of the questions half of the media members on the sideline were trying to figure out was why a player wearing No. 77 was participating in running back drills.

Because, with all due respect to Curtis Peagler, the only player on the roster marked down with that number, it was clear this player was not a 338-pound offensive lineman.

Eli Drinkwitz answered that question after practice. Turns out it was an effort from Missouri's coaching staff to remind freshman running back Marquise Davis, who usually wears No. 7, of the standard the program expects at practice.

“We had to put him in 77 to make sure he runs a little bit faster," Drinkwitz said of Davis.

Before fall camp, Davis, a four-star prospect, was one of the few true freshmen who was expected to have a realistic chance at playing time for the Tigers in 2025.

"A guy (Davis) who is going to have an impact as a true freshman," Drinkwitz said after spring practices concluded. "Feel like he’s going to be able to provide us with some added depth and explosiveness at the running back position."

But Drinkwitz made it clear Saturday that Davis will still have to earn it just as much as any other freshman.

"All that talking in the summer, really minor," Drinkwitz said. "That just reminded everybody, we're not making bold predictions anymore. All that stuff's over. It's about what you do on the field.” 

Even though Davis was singled out by the ripping of his jersey number, Drinkwitz made it clear that he's expecting more from all of the freshmen.

"At the end of the day, these freshmen gotta learn how to practice," Drinkwitz said. "Every rep is full speed. Two-line finish means two-line finish. So these guys gotta learn how to practice.

Outside of Davis, Missouri's wide receiver room is loaded with young talent. Not only did the Tigers just bring in three four-star prospects into the mix, redshirt freshman James Madison II is also looking to earn himself a role.

But for all of the young receivers, Drinkwitz is focused on the fundamentals, an area which all of them have apparently struggled with to begin fall camp.

"I mean the wide receiver position comes down to," Drinkwitz said, "can you get open and then you make the catch? I mean, that's really the two jobs of a wide receiver is get open and catch the ball and if you can do that, you can play. If you can't, you won't, in all honesty."

On those two basic tasks, Drinkwitz says only the veterans — Marquis Johnson, Joshua Manning, Kevin Coleman Jr. and Xavier Loyd — have consistently done those so far.

A learning curve is certainly expected for a true freshman at a Southeastern Conference program. The benefit 10 of them at Missouri have though is the familiarity gained through enrolling early with the program to practice in the spring. Davis, along with two of the wide receivers — Donovan Olugbode and Shaun Terry II — were a part of this group. So was quarterback Matt Zollers.

"The guys I'm really excited about are the guys that practiced in spring," Drinkwitz said to begin fall camp. "You can just tell there's a different confidence in them knowing what to expect at practice. And I think anytime those guys know what to expect, there's not going to be a drill that they haven't performed or participated in, we can see that jump.”

But fall camp is a different intensity, and clearly still an adjustment even for those who were with the program in the spring. For any of the freshmen to stick out, it seems the first key will be just consistently bringing the right intensity and getting down the fundamentals.