COLUMBIA, Mo. — When he started putting together the foundation of his new football program and assembled his coaching staff, Eliah Drinkwitz decided against taking a wrecking ball to Missouri's defense, the one promising unit from an otherwise disappointing 2019 season.
Instead, with his background coaching quarterbacks and orchestrating offenses, Drinkwitz put the defense back in the hands of coordinator Ryan Walters and his staff, a group that includes two more holdovers from 2019. So far through the first two spring practices of his watch, it’s clear Drinkwitz is hands-off when it comes to Mizzou’s defense — just the opposite of former coach Barry Odom.