51黑料

COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥� Missouri鈥檚 football coaches have been in study hall.

While players spend hours in the weight room and running up and down the Faurot Field bleachers, coaches have leaned into their own developmental regimens, too. These informal courses of study just tend to involve more numbers 鈥� in stats and Rolodexes.

Along with recruiting and some family time, this is the time of year when Mizzou coaches 鈥� particularly head coach Eli Drinkwitz and his two coordinators 鈥� conduct their own studies into schematic tweaks they might want to make in time for the 2025 season. It鈥檚 part retrospective on 2024, part idea generation, part co-opting what works for other teams.

鈥淭he first thing you do is evaluate what you鈥檙e doing and try to find people that are doing what you鈥檙e doing, similar to what you鈥檙e doing 鈥� but better,鈥� defensive coordinator Corey Batoon said.

Such a process could be particularly useful for Batoon, for whom 2024 was his first season as the Tigers鈥� defensive playcaller. He declined to offer specifics of what defensive ideas he鈥檚 explored this offseason but suggested some of it comes down to verbiage and the process of installing schemes during the preseason.

鈥淢aybe it鈥檚 not a big, wholesale discussion but maybe there鈥檚 a way that (other teams are) teaching something,鈥� Batoon said. 鈥淗ow are they verbalizing something?鈥�

On the offensive side of the ball, MU鈥檚 priorities are clearer.

鈥淭here were some things that we were not good at 鈥� straight up,鈥� Drinkwitz said in April. 鈥淵ards after catch was not good. Pass efficiency was high but yards per attempt was not good.鈥�

Those were areas that showed the offensive regression Mizzou suffered in 2024. Overall receiving yards after the catch dropped to 1,482 (5.9 per reception) in 2024 from 1,665 (6.7 per reception) in 2023, according to Pro Football Focus.

Missouri鈥檚 yards per passing attempt declined even more steeply, from nine in 2023 to 7.2 in 2024.

There will be plenty of inherent change to the Tigers offense with a new starting quarterback and only three of the eight players who were targeted 15 or more times last season returning, but Drinkwitz wants the passing scheme to improve regardless of who鈥檚 out on the field.

So it鈥檚 a point of study for Drinkwitz and Kirby Moore, MU鈥檚 offensive coordinator.

鈥淭here鈥檚 some things in the pass game we鈥檝e got to get cleaned up, and we鈥檙e really looking into that,鈥� Drinkwitz said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got to be more explosive, vertically, down the field. We鈥檝e got to figure that out.鈥�

In a macro sense, Moore鈥檚 study will be similar to one he conducted a year ago. Ahead of the 2024 season, Missouri鈥檚 emphasis was red zone offense 鈥� and how to avoid settling for short field goals inside the 20-yard line. During that process, Moore homed in on his 3rd-and-goal playcalling.

He鈥檇 felt it was needed after finding it understandably difficult to adjust to any significant degree during his first season calling plays.

鈥淪ometimes it鈥檚 hard to see the forest through the trees during the season, and the stuff that you鈥檙e doing, you鈥檙e staying with it,鈥� Moore told the Post-Dispatch last summer. 鈥淚t was looking at all those different concepts, NFL, college 鈥� going to try and implement some of those things and see if it fits our personnel.鈥�

To get these ideas, coaches have turned to their connections in the industry, including those at the professional level.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 a big part of what we do on the daily in regards to professional development: calling people,鈥� Batoon said, 鈥渨hether it be NFL teams 鈥� we鈥檝e had coaches go out and sit in on OTAs.鈥�

Once fall camp convenes in less than two months, Mizzou coaches will bring back what they learned from observing those NFL practices and talking with other college coaches and put it to the test.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e always, constantly, looking for that edge schematically,鈥� Batoon said.