Join Mizzou beat writer Dave Matter for his live chat at 11 a.m. Thursday
Bring your Tigers football, basketball and recruiting questions, and talk to Dave Matter in a live chat at 11 a.m. Thursday.
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Dave: Every year there are top football programs who start the season with a QB who has no experience or very little, but I don't feel like those situations are discussed with so much doubt as the way Mizzou's upcoming season is. Mizzou has been here before with the transition from Brad Smith to Chase Daniel. I don't think anybody could have rightfully anticipated what Daniel would bring to the program. And then we had a series of relatively successful QB transitions (Franklin's was tough, but that was primarily due to losing the entire O-Line to injury that year). So, is the issue the fact that Brady Cook is looked at as not that good? That he didn't have the reputation out of HS that some of the other QBs did? Or that ED's search for a QB in the portal sent a particular signal? I guess I just liked what I saw out of Cook in the bowl game, and as long as the O-Line performs, I think this team will be solid. My biggest concern is actually the RB position. -
If Drinkwitz would have just said in February that he was going to let Cook, Macon and Horn compete for the starting job, then I don't think there would be this cloud of uncertainty/doubt hovering over the situation. But that's not what happened. Mizzou chased so many transfer options this offseason - with the head coach openly saying they needed to add experience and competition to the room - the logical conclusion was Drinkwitz isn't sold on any of his in-house options. That only amplifies to the uncertainty at the sport's most important position.If we're going to buy stock in Cook based solely on the bowl game, then I think it's fair to assume Drinkwitz can build a running game without Tyler Badie based on the bowl game. Young and Downing accounted for 144 yards on 27 touches against Army. That's 5.3 yards per play. Pretty solid for two backups. -
Misuse of funds whether it be charities or Covid relief is rampant in today's world. That said the NIL money looks to be ripe for problems. What checks will be in place to audit how much and where it goes. For example the MU set up led by former athletes - who oversees the system and will it be transparent to the donors? Who determines their salaries? What info will be available for how much of the pot actually goes to the student athlete vs the overhead. Thanks
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The founders for Advancing Missouri Athletes are covering all administrative costs plus the salaries of its three employees: Laurence Bowers, Bud Sasser and a social media expert. Otherwise, AMA's CEO told me last week, every dime that donors give to the collective goes to the athletes' toward NIL deals.This is a private company, so they're not obligated to disclose all their financial information.
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Since womens basketball has made no improvement to their roster and has had key pieces leave will coach be on the hot seat. Incoming freshmen unless they are big time players will have very little impact in the always tough sec. Girl from notre dame will help but she can't replace the players that left. Just very confused why no impact players when coach knows she must have them to compete.
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They're women, not girls. But, yes, it's been a fairly quiet offseason. Like I've said in this space before, Pingeton has high expectations for the two freshmen. We'll see how much production they get out of Notre Dame's Katlyn Gilbert. Ultimately, this team's growth and progress will come down to the returning players and the steps they take moving forward.
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Greg Steinhoff. I wrote about the collective extensively last week. The school's coaches and administrators have input in the process. This is not some racket that's going to make Bowers and Sasser rich. There's no incentive for the people involved to keep the money away from the athletes and their NIL deals.
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Wrestling operates at a budget deficit like every sport at Mizzou other than football and men's basketball. In the last fiscal year, the wrestling program generated $123K in revenue and cost more than $1.2 million to operate. So, that's a major loss for a perennial great program. Mizzou really can't measure a sport like wrestling based on revenue because it's unrealistic to expect a niche sport with a limited fan base to turn a profit.As for what makes the team successful, Brian Smith has built a national program that recruits at a high, high national level. Success breeds more success at a program like Mizzou wrestling. There's really no magic formula.
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Dave: I know this isn't a timely question, but I'm wondering what you thought of the exchanges between Saban and Fisher weeks ago. Personally, I loved Jimbo's performance, trying to convince us all that somehow Texas AM&of all places landed the #1 class in the country completely on the up and up, especially the part about how he learned under Bobby Bowden, who was supposedly some kind of saint when FSU was notoriously known as Free Shoes University, which we all know was just the tip of the iceberg. Yes, I always enjoy Saban's righteous, tone-deaf indignation (like when players want to transfer and, you know, get a chance to play, as if that's some character flaw), but Fisher really was great.
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Lots of rhetoric, not much substance. I thought Saban was wrong to accuse Fisher of cheating without having any proof or specific examples, just resorting to half-baked rumors. I thought it was disappointing that Fisher turned it into personal attacks on Saban's integrity without - again - any shred of evidence or even allegations. Also, Fisher should have leaned into the comments Saban was throwing around and made the point that NIL payments are perfectly legal.
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