COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri football players reported to preseason camp Sunday afternoon, arriving on campus for the 17 practices that will mark the team’s late-summer preparations for a season carrying the possibility of a College Football Playoff berth.
There are returning veterans familiar with the pattern of camp from previous seasons and players in for their first camp experiences in Columbia. One early tenet of Mizzou’s preseason camp already took place: Players moved into some of MU’s dorms near the athletics facilities, which will be their base for the next week.
That falls under the umbrella of one of the three goals that fifth-year coach Eli Drinkwitz has established for this preseason.
“No. 1, we want it to be hard,” he said during his pre-camp news conference. “We want to create adversity in fall camp. That’s why we move into the residence halls for the first week: so that we force these guys into a mindset of ‘it’s just about football’ and eliminate distractions.”
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His coaching staff returns offensive coordinator Kirby Moore and features a key new component in defensive coordinator Corey Batoon, who arrived over the offseason from South Alabama.
That group will be tasked with getting players on board with goal No. 2: embracing varied types of roles.
“Everybody’s going to have a role on this football team that helps us win and lose football games,” Drinkwitz said. “We need everybody to embrace that role — not everybody is going to be the star. Not everybody’s going to be a starter.”
His third goal is developing “unity” with a mixture of players that includes key returners such as quarterback Brady Cook and wide receiver Luther Burden III, as well as incoming transfers such as cornerback Toriano Pride Jr. and freshmen such as five-star edge rusher Williams Nwaneri.
“Whether you’re talking about Day 1 or Day 17, it’s about trying to accomplish those goals,” Drinkwitz said.
He used Sunday to announce a handful of changes to his coaching staff that revolve around a new NCAA rule that lifts restrictions on staff members providing technical instructions. Now, any coach can do so during practices and games, which led Drinkwitz to elevate some staff from analyst-esque positions to coaching roles.
Among the more notable changes, Erik Link will be the full-time special teams coordinator, shedding his responsibility as tight ends coach. Link shared special teams coaching duties with Drinkwitz last year but now returns to his roots with a full focus on that aspect of the game.
“It was an opportunity to positively impact our staff and our players, so I couldn’t be more excited,” Link said.
Derham Cato, who had been a senior offensive analyst, is now the Tigers’ tight ends coach. He previously held that role at Washington, leading the development of NFL tight end Cade Otton, who led the Huskies in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns while in college in 2020.
Cato has also worked as an offensive coordinator at Davidson. He played at Dartmouth before professional stints in the Canadian Football and Arena Football leagues.
In a similar vein, Batoon, the defensive coordinator, no longer will double as the safeties coach, instead focusing on the defense at large. Jacob Yoro, a former Hawaii defensive coordinator, will coach the safeties. Yoro had also been slated to fill an analyst role this season.
Al Davis, who primarily coached defensive tackles, received the broader title of defensive line coach. Brian Early, who was hired in the offseason, already was the edge rushers coach, but David Blackwell now will be the defensive tackles coach. Blackwell is an experienced defensive coach, having held coordinator roles at six schools, including Louisiana Tech, East Carolina and South Florida.
Moore, the offensive coordinator, will continue to work hands-on with quarterbacks. He’ll now be joined by Sean Gleeson, an offensive assistant, when it comes to coaching that position. Gleeson has been an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Oklahoma State, Rutgers and Princeton.
The staff changes “will allow us to operate more efficiently,” Drinkwitz said, “and, I think, put us in a better position to be successful and maximize the talents and abilities of our coaching staff.”
Drinkwitz also said that two Missouri players will miss the season because of injuries and receive medical redshirts.
Christopher Kreh, a running back who starred at Marquette High School, and Isaac Thompson, a Ƶ University High standout, will miss the campaign.
Kreh has played in 26 games across the past two seasons in special teams roles. He was also a captain for the Tigers’ 2024 spring game.
Thompson missed last season because of a leg injury. He was a four-star prospect in the 2021 recruiting class, generally ranked among the top 200 players in that group.
While they won’t appear in games, both will remain around the program.
“Their injuries were just too significant for them to continue and play football at the highest levels,” Drinkwitz said. “Those guys both have been with us throughout the summer and will continue to help our football team in coaching roles throughout this year.”