Bring your Tigers football, basketball and recruiting questions, and talk to Eli Hoff in a live chat at 11 a.m. Thursday.
Transcript
Eli Hoff: Hi all, and welcome to another Mizzou chat. I apologize for the late start today 鈥 BenFred and I just finished up recording a hefty Eye on the Tigers podcast episode for y'all, and that bled into chat time. I'll keep this open for longer today to accommodate all the questions. Let's dig in!
搁耻蝉蝉:听Eli, do you have any information or intelligence on who Mizzou is looking at in the Transfer Portal for Quarterback?
贬辞蹿蹿:听Not yet, but partly because there are a lot of players who aren't officially in yet. Miller Moss (USC) stands out though as someone who fits the bill of what Mizzou will be looking for. He's a veteran with experience and some arm talent. Once visits to campuses start getting scheduled for portal guys, we'll have a better sense of who the Tigers are in the mix for 鈥 and what programs they're competing with. I think Missouri is prepared to go after the type of quarterback it needs this cycle, which will be an investment from the program.
闯辞丑苍尝:听Early take on this MIZZOU BB team? Here's mine. Coach has a very talented group of players, a team that likes to score lots of points, play very little defense, undisciplined and sometimes sloppy, and a poor free throw shooting team. Bottom line - Gates and staff need to start coaching and developing this bunch if they are going to win more than a handful of SEC games.
贬辞蹿蹿:听The early season numbers back up your take. Mizzou is 35th in offensive rating, 95th in defensive rating and 201st in free throw shooting (though they are 3rd in free throw attempts).聽
Two things stand out to me there: First, that this team is getting to the line in a way that Dennis Gates' teams just haven't in the past. Everybody became tired of hearing about the Tigers' inability to draw fouls last season, and it seems like they've taken the needed steps to correct that. Now, they need to make free throws. Mark Mitchell is getting to the line with ease, but shooting 60.5% there. That's got to go up, otherwise the impact of free throws won't really be that much of an improvement.聽
Second, that defensive production is going to be something to watch. Mizzou wants to force turnovers and run the floor in transition. Those stops lead directly to buckets more often than a stop that's merely getting a rebound from inside the paint, but the latter kind of defense matters too. I don't think it's time to sound the alarm on defense, especially if the offense keeps producing, but what MU is trying to do on that end of the floor is worth monitoring.
叠谤别迟迟辞:听I have several questions and will try to get them all in one post Do the colleges still offer Scholarships or has NIL replaced that as a recruiting tool? Do athletes have to maintain a certain GPA to remain eligible? Is there a min number of classes or hours in which the athlete must be enrolled to remain eligible? Would you agree that college sports has now professionalized sports to the point that student athletes are now paid to play?
贬辞蹿蹿:听And you'll get several answers in return! Scholarships are still a part of the equation. And actually, they're a big part of revenue-sharing and the future of the college sports models: Changing limits around scholarships has been a key discussion for governing bodies. Now, in the NIL age, the distinction between having a full scholarship or not can be moot with some of the bigger sports, where a walk-on who doesn't get a scholarship could receive compensation that would functionally pay for their education. There are still plenty of athletes who do take advantage of the free education, even if it doesn't seem like it.
Yes, athletes must keep at least a GPA that is on track to graduate (usually around a 2.0, but it varies by school). I don't think that's an issue very often. Mizzou football has a wall with pictures of players who have GPAs at 3.0 or higher, and there are聽a lot聽of players on that. Athletes also have to take at least six credit hours each term, though usually more 鈥 they have to hit certain benchmarks toward graduation to remain eligible.
College sports are certainly more professionalized. Just this week, I confirmed that Mizzou would be getting one transfer portal player on campus through that player's agent. That's how it works now. Revenue-sharing will be even closer to pay-for-play than even NIL has been.
叠谤别迟迟辞:听It is clear that Luther B will be drafted. Are there any other Tigers who will be drafted?
贬辞蹿蹿:听Yes, but I'll actually defer answering this more specifically to another week's chat. I believe in letting players make their own announcements about declaring for the draft versus me dropping those in a chat, so I'll wait for those. I'd expect there to be a trickle, mostly of players out of eligibility, between now and early January.
叠谤别迟迟辞:听College sports now requires a full time commitment. At the end of the eligibility period does the University allow the players to stay enrolled and finish their degrees. If they stay do they get free tuition. I could see player spend four years athletically, but only complete two years academically.
贬辞蹿蹿:听I believe that's possible. They wouldn't occupy a scholarship for their sport, obviously, but there are plenty of scholarships given out by universities that don't have anything to do with sports. They would need to be farther along than the example you give to remain eligible to play, though. The NCAA stipulates that athletes need to be 40% of the way to graduation after 2 years, 60% after 3 years and 80% after 4. Basically, if an athlete falls behind a five-year graduation pace, they're not going to be able to play.
罢颈驳别谤叠辞锄:听Any rumors/conversations about opt outs for the bowl game besides Burden?
贬辞蹿蹿:听Eli Drinkwitz said he doesn't expect there to be many, so I'll go with him on this. As we see more draft declarations, that'll give a better idea of who could be a potential opt-out, but I don't think there are a ton of players on this team whose draft stock is secure enough that they'd be risking a lot by playing. Locker room culture comes into play with this too and could influence some decisions.
顿颁骋:听Hey, Eli: What a strange Mizzou season. It's hard to see 9-3 as a disappointment, and yet there hasn't been one truly satisfying win in terms of the team's overall play. Stomping the blood donors doesn't rate, against real teams, there was not one game where all facets of the team played well. The offense never found it's groove in the passing game and the defense was inconsistent . . . and yet, 9-3. It's hard not to admit that scheduling helped boost that record, so, where does the program stand? It really feels like nailing the QB situation is going to be huge. I think the general paranoid Mizzou fan fear is if they slip back to 6-6 next year, that will become the trend.
贬辞蹿蹿:听Strange is definitely the right word when it comes to how to contextualize this season. Never has a record so historically good for a program seemed so disappointing. Getting (at least) 20 wins in the last two seasons is something that only a small number of power conference programs can boast about. That has Mizzou in good standing.
And yeah, it doesn't mean a whole lot if next year goes back to 6-6. I (and others 鈥 this isn't some groundbreaking thought) have said that this season will look good retrospectively if it's Missouri setting its floor moving forward. If a disappointing season looks like 9-3 and undefeated at home, a program is in a pretty darn good spot. It would take a few more good years for Mizzou to really set the overall standard in that way, but that's possible 鈥 if next year has the Tigers right back to where they were entering this season.
I will say, on the scheduling front: The CFP Selection Committee this season has made clear that easy schedules are fine so long as you win games. Mizzou just didn't do that part.
尝耻:听Waddup Eli? Do you think the move to more high ball screens represents just a simple in-game adjustment or a more sticky added dynamic to the offense? I love DG, but at a lot of points during his tenure the half court offense has looked pedestrian at best. I'm hoping this new wrinkle can be seen as a key component to leverage the beyond the arc game.
贬辞蹿蹿:听Congrats! You just laid out the question I've got written at the top of my notebook to ask Dennis Gates tomorrow when he meets with us reporters. I wish I could figure out a way to upload a photo to the chat to show you. That's exactly what I want to know.
As I wrote about after the game, the success that MU got out of the pick and roll for its ballhandlers against Cal vaulted the Tigers to the most effective team in the nation at that play, according to the analytics. Small sample size and all that, but that was a shocker to me. So now my question is yours: Does it stick around?
Gates might answer that, or he might not. You never know. But I'll definitely be watching for the high ball screen usage against KU and moving forward to see if it's going to become a fixture of the offense or was just a flash in the pan.
罢颈驳别谤叠辞锄:听Follow up, do you expect Wease, the senior linebackers, Williams, Carroll and Noel to play or opt out of the bowl game?
贬辞蹿蹿:听At the moment, I'm not expecting any specific player besides Burden to opt out of the bowl game. Does that mean every single non-Burden player will? Maybe not, but until I start hearing word of draft stock and declarations, I'd lean toward "play" for everybody on an individual level.
Drapery man:听Like many others I think MIzzou needs a more experienced QB for next season.
Evil Calvin:听Won't Zoellers be the starting QB next year? Not sure if Pyne will be back but I would rather start Zoellers. Horn hasn't played a game and, once again I would start Zoellers over him.
贬辞蹿蹿:听I'm lumping these two questions together because they're related.聽
The expectation is not for Matt Zollers to start next season. He's a good quarterback prospect, but not the type you hand the keys to immediately. And if Missouri wants to maintain a level of success next season, a true freshman quarterback is not the way to go after that. Experience matters a lot. That doesn't mean that Zollers won't be given the chance to compete, it's just that nobody's banking on him being ready right out of the gate (and right off a season-ending injury for his senior year of high school).聽
It could be that Mizzou wants a vet from the portal who plays one year while Zollers learns and then the transition takes place ahead of 2026. Maybe Drinkwitz and co. want two years out of a transfer. It's impossible to reliably project rosters that far down the road. But I'd absolutely expect and high-level transfer to come in and be the favorite in a competition for the job going to next fall.聽
Evil Calvin:听If Mizzou stopped SC from scoring with 15 seconds left, after Burden scored the go ahead TD with a minute left, would Mizzou, who would be 10-2 be in the CFP ?
贬辞蹿蹿:听Probably. But imagine what the conversation around Missouri would be. You'd have 10-2 Mizzou and 9-3 Alabama, but the Tide beat the Tigers 鈥 but the Tigers lost their starting quarterback during the game. And then to further complicate it: MU beat Oklahoma and Vanderbilt, who Bama lost to, but Alabama would have the best win on the resume having beat Georgia. Some people would be very worked up about that debate, but I think Mizzou would have the edge for the final spot in the 12-team field.
Evil Calvin:听Men's B-ball looked very good so far. This year they drive to the basket and don't launch up tons of bad 3-point shots like last year. Is it too much to ask for Gates and the team beat KU at home? Tired of the 'effort games' I mean, I think it's been like 12 years since Mizzou beat KU in b-ball
贬辞蹿蹿:听Yes, Mizzou's last win over Kansas was in 2012, MU's final year in the Big 12. But the two teams didn't play between then and 2021, so it's really just that MU is on a four-game losing streak against the Jayhawks.聽
A day ago, I'd have told you it would've been a lot to ask against the No. 1 team in the country. And it probably still is. But KU lost to Creighton last night by 13 points, so maybe there's some Jayhawk blood in the water...
顿颁骋:听I'm sorry. This is a "very talented group of players"? What? Setting aside the freshmen who are complete unknowns given the little playing time they've received, Mizzou has one terrific player in Robinson, two inconsistent but serviceable players in Bates and Mitchell, and that's about it. There's no shooting on this at all--not one consistent three-point threat on the team, nor one consistent mid-range guy. Essentially, Gates is recreating FSU under Hamilton, which notoriously was a mess on offense but had terrific athletes. The thing that is missing is defense--FSU typically plays tough defense and rebounds. Both are lacking on this Mizzou team. I struggle to see five conference wins. They won't be getting those shots in the paint vs SEC competition.
贬辞蹿蹿:听I think that's a little pessimistic of a view, though you're right about Gates trying to replicate the FSU model 鈥 that is very obvious in a lot of ways. I just don't think there's enough of a sample to know what this team is going to be yet. They were competitive against Memphis, who has looked like a really good bunch. And they scored what they needed to against Cal, coming back from that run. I don't know what you can confidently take from the buy games, other than some general intrigue. Sure, the consistency point is a valid one, but there just hasn't been time to be consistent (or not) yet.
飞飞:听what bowl games is most likely
贬辞蹿蹿:听There are six options: Music City, Vegas, Gator, ReliaQuest, Texas, Liberty. I think the first two are the most appealing, but it's up to the SEC and ESPN as to which Missouri goes to. Mizzou is more concerned about opponent than the location/bowl.
Fly Man:听Hi Eli, what are Cook's chances in the NFL? Who do project getting drafted from FB?
贬辞蹿蹿:听I don't think he'll be drafted, but I haven't looked at draft stuff for this year's crop yet. That'll come after the end of the season, which is when the draft prep cycle really starts heating up and we can get a read on everyone's stock. Cook did accept a Hula Bowl invite, for whatever that's worth. Obviously we can all be confident that Burden will be drafted, but I just don't have a broad enough sense of who could be a fourth rounder vs. a seventh rounder vs. a camp invite guy for the rest of the roster. When that time rolls around, though, we'll have a full breakdown of the NFL's views of Mizzou prospects, like we did last year.
Fly Man:听Has the SEC announced the conference FB schedule for '25? Is it basically the same with a switch on home and away sites?
贬辞蹿蹿:听Great timing: I just got an email from the SEC yesterday that they'll be unveiling the 2025 football schedule live on ESPN2 next Wednesday. It'll be another hour-long primetime reveal that we just don't need. You know the kind of meeting that could really just be an email? That's what any schedule reveal is to me.聽
It's exactly a switch on home and away sites. So Mizzou will host Texas A&M, Alabama, South Carolina and Mississippi State and then travel to Vanderbilt, Auburn, Oklahoma and Arkansas. All that'll be revealed next week is the dates for those games.
顿颁骋:听Eli: Where do you think things stand with Kirby Moore? Is Drink sold on him? I find it baffling that Moore has maybe the most creative 2-point play arsenal in college football (I believe Mizzou scored on all but one attempt), and yet the general offense lacks creativity. I mean, when the announcers are virtually screaming at you to get Luther Burden the ball, something's up. And that wasn't a one time thing. I'm a Broncos fan, and I've watched Sean Payton figure out how to get Marvin Mims touches, including putting him in the backfield, because because the guy is a playmaker. Moore could take lessons. When it takes a snow game to finally prioritize Norfleet, you've got another red flag. I think Moore is competent, but I haven't seen him adjust to the adjustments against him.
贬辞蹿蹿:听Moore is under contract, so he'd have to either be fired or leave for a different opportunity. One of the head coaching jobs he'd theoretically be linked to (Fresno State, where he rose through the ranks before Drinkwitz hired him at Mizzou) just filled yesterday and I didn't hear anything about Moore being a candidate there. His stock is definitely lower than it was at this time last year.聽
Moore's had a Gates-esque first two years in a milder way, hasn't he? Exceeding expectations right off the bat, then raising some questions in year two is always an odd way to start a tenure somewhere. The bar for what Mizzou's offense could be was out there all along, he just only got it there in a few moments this season. Drinkwitz did seem frustrated with that at times, but I don't think to a degree where he'd really make a change.
The reality is that in a coaching sense, the Burden usage point is moot. He's gone, and the offense will look very different next year: quarterback, running back and the top wideout spots will all change. In a way, that's a blank slate for Moore to get things right. But it's also pressure to either get the guys for the scheme he wants moving forward without Cook/Burden or fit a scheme to what the next generation of this offense looks like. That'll be a line of questioning I'll have for Moore when he next talks to the media. (I asked plenty of times this season to get the coordinators, but the last I got to talk to him was the day before fall camp.)
顿颁骋:听I don't think so. They caught Cal off guard. Any decent coach will now coach his players to go under the screen since Mizzou doesn't have anyone who is a threat to hit 3s if they do.
贬辞蹿蹿:听Fair, but that's exactly what Robinson in particular expected Cal to do and feasted on it. Mizzou was ready to face drop coverage and that's what they capitalized on consistently. That's only one player, of course, but someone like Grill does have shooting gravity in the eyes of opposing coaches. Him not being out there changes the way a defense handles the MU perimeter.
Lu: I'm hopeful. It seems like our roster is set up to cater to that style of play with the combination of ballhandlers and wings. He looked very much like a freshman at times, but you can see the fluidity in TO Barrett's game. I think he's another guy who could run that play successfully
Hoff:聽Barrett got some big minutes against Cal. When Robinson was in foul trouble and Perkins was turning the ball over, Gates sat both of them down to let the freshman run the show. That's a sneaky statement that he made about who he trusts and how he wants this offense to look.
DCG: I meant the SEC schedule, not the non-conference. Given that Alabama is not typical Alabama this season, Mizzou didn't have one dominant team on its schedule. That won't happen very often.
贬辞蹿蹿:听Ah, I gotcha. Apologies for misinterpreting. Yes, it is rare. Though I think next year could, schedule-wise, be an opportunity fairly similar to this season. Getting A&M and Alabama at home is big. It's obviously too early to know much about what other SEC teams' rosters will be, but there'd need to be some steep turnarounds for the overall strength of the 2025 conference schedule to greatly increase.
顿颁骋:听Given Kirby Moore's play calling, will we even notice Burden's absence?
贬辞蹿蹿:听Maybe not in playcalling, but his absence will be missed in terms of playmaking. There are few players in college football who are more dangerous once the ball is in their hands and they have a pocket of space with which to operate. And some of the clutch plays that Burden had are not easily replaceable.
Scott Stewart:听Is LB3 the career leader at Mizzou for unsportsmanlike conduct/personal foul penalties?
贬辞蹿蹿:听No idea, but I suspect you're not looking for the actual answer. Burden had more than you'd like 鈥 and really, there are very few of those penalties that are ever really likable 鈥 but none ever seemed to really come back to haunt Mizzou. His legacy will be one of plays that saved the Tigers at times, not ones that cost them.
尝耻:听Sam Horn was a 4 star as well, those stars don't mean s*** until you put the pads on
贬辞蹿蹿:听I agree with that sentiment: A few evaluations of a 17-year-old don't mean a lot when it comes down to playing as a 20- or 21-year old. But I do think Horn is a little bit of a unique case, given that he's been trying to play two sports and now missed significant time with an injury. That kind of thing impacts a player's progression, too.
Doodledad:听Is Nate Noel done at Mizzou, or does he have any wiggle room left in his college career?
贬辞蹿蹿:听He's done 鈥 no wiggle room. Noel got a fifth/COVID year because he played in 2020, which he used this season. But he never redshirted at App State, so that's all he got in terms of bonus eligibility.聽
Tahart27:听Hello Eli--how goes your day in this frozen tundra? Regarding the flag-planting fiasco at Ohio St last weekend...I feel the NCAA should outlaw that idiotic kind of thing from here on. I'm certainly no fan of Ohio State Football, nor do I agree about the pepper spraying. But those Michigan players that idiotically decided to try to plant their stupid-a** flag at midfield knew d*** well that it would likely lead to an altercation of some sort with Ohio St. players. So they were obviously looking to start a fight. It was a classless, stupid, unnecessary immature display of bad sportsmanship on those Michigan players' fault, as it is of any opposing team that tries to do that flag-planting shit on the home teams' logo. Go celebrate with your fans in the stands that were at the game. Sing the school fight song with them if you like. And then head through the tunnel and celebrate with your teammates. That's the way it should always be done. Not that difficult.
贬辞蹿蹿:听Encountered an impassably icy sidewalk on my morning stroll, so 'tis the season, eh?聽
The flag planting incidents do make me wonder if the NCAA will weigh in at the start of next season with that as a point of preventive emphasis. It doesn't really matter now 鈥 who's gonna stop somebody from planting their flag in the Pop Tarts Bowl logo? 鈥 but it will keep happening without prevention next season. I don't know if the logo stuff can be eradicated, though. Midfield/court logos have been getting scuffed, stomped and danced on even in professional ranks. Doesn't make it right 鈥 I'm like you in that I think players should celebrate road wins with the fans who traveled and braved being away fans in a stadium.聽
尝耻:听You know kU is going to fight over all these screens (hopefully even overcompensate a bit), hope the big dogs are ready to get to the rack. Might have to put a little taste on some Mark Mitchell props. Is there another player you think could have more success on the roll ?
贬辞蹿蹿:听That could be a way to attack Kansas. I'll be interested to see if Peyton Marshall has earned some regular minutes after holding up extremely well against Cal. KU's bigs are a different level, but he was setting clean screens and can be a mismatch down low if defenses overreact to the screen and a smaller defender has to rotate over to help. Marshall will go right up if he senses he has a size advantage. I don't think that would happen with a ton of volume, but I'm intrigued by him in the pick and roll.聽
罢颈驳别谤叠辞锄:听Mizzou should be active in the QB portal. I've heard Miller Moss from USC has been contacted. Any interest from MU on Weigman or Arnold who reportedly will enter?
贬辞蹿蹿:听This is the funny part of the transfer portal: when the intel a team gathered while scouting a player to go against him becomes part of figuring out if they want to sign him. As two of the bigger names who'll be in the portal, both Weigman and Arnold merit some consideration, but I'm not sure either would be as safe of an addition as someone like Moss. It boils down to whether Mizzou wants someone who'd truly compete with Drew Pyne and others heading into next season or would prefer to bring in a QB who's almost guaranteed to win the job.
Tahart27:听Okay, from what I have seen of MU hoops this season, Take 2. There's obviously still quite a few concerns. 3-point shooting continues to be a struggle for this team although slightly better statistically than last season if I read the numbers right. Grill was playing en fuego until, in typical MU cursed-luck fashion, he got injured just in time to miss the KU game this week which we realistically probably wouldn't win anyway but I at least would've felt much better about our chances if he were playing. And did I actually read the numbers right and see that we somehow still managed to get badly rebounded in the final stats? This has been a problem with Gates' teams since even the surprisingly great first season he had here. But all that aside, when I look at this team on the basketball court, it looks overall like a bigger, stronger, more athletic team than last season. And that's very encouraging to see. Do you agree with my assessment?
贬辞蹿蹿:听To be clear, Grill hasn't been ruled out of the Kansas game yet. That might come tomorrow, but hasn't happened yet. He's day to day. But yes, Cal did outrebound Mizzou.
I've got a few thoughts there that pretty much align with yours. There aren't a lot of shooters on this team, but that might not be a bad thing. There are only four players who've attempted 20 or more 3s so far: Grill, Bates, Warrick and Crews. Those are your shooters. A few others seem to have a green light if they're open, but I don't think Missouri is drawing up jumpers for anyone else. It's better to have the non-shooters focus on getting to the rim, so long as those who do shoot often are converting.
No Gates team is going to be elite at rebounding, I don't think. That's just not where they seek out an edge. The Tigers need to be passable on the boards, but they're going to try to get extra possessions by forcing turnovers, not by grabbing rebounds. That just seems to be the reality at this point.
There definitely seems to be much more size and athleticism this year. The unlocked ability to get to the rim and draw fouls seems to be part of it.
Tahart27:听Eli just wondering is there an easy way to access previous transcripts from your chat sessions on here by any chance? There are some where I asked you various questions that I somehow never managed to finish hanging around to see if you answered and I still would like to go back and see them if I can.
贬辞蹿蹿:听That's a good question. I will do some asking around to see if there's a better answer, but the two best options would probably be to either visit my author page on our site (I'll link it) or search "Mizzou chat" on our site. You might have to scroll a little bit, but both should get you what you're looking for.聽
Tahart27:听Any chance that Theo Wease Jr. actually opened enough eyes to alleged NFL draft experts this past season?
贬辞蹿蹿:听I'm going to be very interested in what the NFL's view of Wease is. He's a little bit older of a prospect, but has shown great hands, underrated speed and an ability to contribute as a No. 2 option. Because of that, I like his chances to find a role at the next level 鈥 but I'm no scout.
Todd H.:听How would you rate the chances of Sam Horn being the starting QB for MU next season?
贬辞蹿蹿:听Not highly. Horn has thrown eight career passes in college, which began in 2022. Next year's opener will be almost 650 days after his last in-game pass. That's a really long time. Will it remove him from the QB competition, should he want to be part of it? No, but it gives him an uphill battle. And Horn would be behind Pyne on paper. Add a transfer to the mix and he's probably starting third on the depth chart.
That's where we'll wrap up today's chat. Before we go, I want to leave a note here about a great loss for sports journalism, the SEC and MU journalism school alumni: Bob Holt, the legendary Arkansas beat writer, who passed last night. He was an extraordinarily kind, genuine and talented person who brought a lot of smiles to a lot of press boxes and helped a lot of other reporters by asking a lot of questions. There isn't anybody else like him in the industry, and he'll be sorely missed. There are lots of great tributes to Bob out there today from people who knew him well, and I hope some of you have taken time to read them today. I had the pleasure of talking with Bob before Mizzou and Arkansas played over the weekend, and he was happy as ever to be doing his beloved job back at his beloved alma mater. Rest in peace, Bob. SEC media days will never be the same.聽
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