Greetings, chatters. I'm back in Columbia after a few days in Las Vegas. A lot going on this week. Of course, the Border War resumes Saturday at Mizzou Arena. Look for coverage from myself and Calum McAndrew to help preview the showdown. Let's get to your questions.
I wouldn't get too excited about Slovis coming to Mizzou. Now, maybe there's some backchanneling going on, but I've been told he's not high on the radar of the staff. Slovis' production has dropped off each of the last several years. His completion percentage and passer rating have gotten worse each season he's been in college. And he's not a mobile QB. In four years of college football he's had just eight games with positive rushing yards - and never more than 25 yards in a game. Mizzou is keeping a close eye on the transfer market. There's a desire to add someone to the mix. Based on conversations I had in Las Vegas, I would be very surprised if Slovis is the choice.
I cover Mizzou, so we'll report the news like we would any other recruiting commitment. If a Mizzou transfer commits to another school, we'll report that, too. It really doesn't change the approach on our end.
Mizzou has to play its style and play it well. Aggressive defense has to produce turnovers, not fouls. Easy baskets in transition. Self's team is solid defensively, so you can't get bogged down in the half court on offense. Self doesn't have a very deep bench, so it would be in Mizzou's best interests to attack the paint and draw some early fouls. And the Tigers have to use what should be a bonkers crowd to their advantage.
As of this week the expectation is Cook will be back next year. Same for Sam Horn. The staff would like to explore the transfer market to have a third QB compete for the job. It'll be interesting without a doubt. The difference between this situation and last year is Cook has a full season of experience now and finished the regular season on a promising note. Also, don't be surprised to see Sam Horn get some snaps in the bowl game. He won't start, but I'm told he could play.
He could be, but he'll need a really good offseason to convince the staff he's ready for that kind of role considering he rarely got on the field this year. It's a big offseason for that position.
Wake coach Dave Clawson said a couple days ago that Hartman could enter the NFL draft - didn't rule out a potential transfer - but talked as if he plans to play in the bowl game. We've still got 15 days until the game, so stay tuned.
You mean Gabarri Johnson? Mizzou QBs coach Bush Hamdan has strong ties in the Seattle area from his days coaching at Washington. He was the lead recruiter and did a great job building a relationship before other Pac-12 schools get more involved. Drinkwitz visited him yesterday in Tacoma. He'll sign with Mizzou in a couple weeks.
Pretty sure that "rap" came from one comment I made here in this chat a few weeks ago. Again, my point was his body language on the sideline gave me the impression he didn't expect to play in games this year. You can tell the difference between a backup who's ready to enter the game at any notice and a backup who knows he's not seeing the field. Horn was more of the latter. But I can tell you the staff has been really impressed with his development since he got that taste of playing time against New Mexico State. Was told he's really caught the coaches' attention with how he's approached practice and just his overall preparation.
Hamdan is an option for sure. I still don't envision Drinkwitz hiring a complete outsider to completely revamp the offense. They will still run Drinkwitz's base offense. That's why I think it's less likely he hires someone to take complete control of not only play-calling but the playbook. Also, if you do hire an outsider, you have to lose an assistant coach, either someone gets another job or he fires someone.
I don't know exactly. That data isn't made public. I would guess far more than 10 percent. Several brokered their own deals last year. Others are getting money from the collective, notably the players who were recruits at the time the collective formed. But I wouldn't say many are getting rich.
Davis is signed through the 2023 season at $325,000 per year. Remember, he just coaches the tackles. Kevin Peoples coaches the ends. He's also signed through 2023 at $400,000 per year. The results say those two have done a fine job getting more out of Mizzou's talent. They're losing some standout seniors from this year's roster, so they'll have to do it all over again next year.
There is little to no expectation that he stays at Missouri.
We'll know a lot more about this team at the end of the month, but they've got the pieces to be competitive against Kansas, Illinois and Kentucky. Mizzou has to clean up its halfcourt defense especially guarding the 3-point arc. But they've got the scorers, the depth, the playmakers and the coaching to win some of these games. I wouldn't be shocked at all if MU wins on Saturday.
I'm not sure I'd generalize that much. These are mostly individual cases that should be measured/evaluated on their own. Ford was coming off a serious injury last year. This season, he couldn't crack the depth of a very good and deep D-line. He played in one game in two seasons. Writing was on the wall in big, thick letters that they just didn't see him as a contributor. Other linemen have gotten on the field and played bigger roles who are the same age if not younger: Connor Tollison, Arden Walker, Mekhi Wingo, Armand Membou.
I think it's the most logical solution, which is why it won't happen for a long time, if ever. The athletics departments would have to make massive changes internally with how they run their finances if their revenue suddenly has to go to the labor instead of the management.
I hope the college football pundits aren't building my hopes up to only to let me down. Read reports where there is a good possibility the Pittsburgh football QB is headed to Mizzou. That would be huge. He was at SOUTHERN CAL. I give credit to Cook he battled this year but we must upgrade that position Basketball wise I am hoping so much we can at least give Kansas an 8 to 12 point game. They have a ton of fire power and we give up a lot of points. This Mizzou teams will battle every second. Ken pom report has us going 10 and 3 non conference, 7 and 11 in the conference. I hope 17 and 14 gets us into the NIT , which I believe would be an awesome season for Gates first season.