New Missouri head football coach Eliah Drinkwitz has been on the job now for about two weeks, and he's been a busy guy.
Between getting acclimated to Missouri, hiring assistants and checking in with recruits, Drinkwitz has been showing off part of what made him such an attractive coaching candidate in the first place. His ability to communicate.
Drinkwitz sat down with 5 On Your Side Sports Director Frank Cusumano before the annual Mizzou and Illinois Braggin' Rights basketball game in St. Louis, to talk about his few weeks on the job.
One thing Drinkwitz made clear in the interview was that he's committed to getting Missouri players to stay home and play for Mizzou.
"One of the things that made this job so attractive is that we have two metropolitan cities that produce great division one talent," Drinkwtiz said. "So we have to do a great job of getting our players to stay in state and helping us build what we want to build moving forward, which is a team that can compete in the SEC East."
Drinkwitz also doubled down on his commitment to running the offense. He's going to call the plays and take ownership of the offensive scheme.
"I wouldn't have this opportunity if it wasn't for my ability to develop quarterbacks and put together offensive game plans. That's the strength of what I do," Drinkwitz said. "Whether it's a football team or a person, you have to play to your strengths, and so I'm not willing to give that up right now. I want to lay the foundation of who we're going to be offensively."
Speaking of strengths, communication is another big one for Drinkwitz. The coach knows what his goal is, and will tell you exactly how he plans to get there.
"I think the thing that drives me in this sport is to try to do things that have never been done before. I think coach Pinkel laid a road map for us to play in the SEC East twice," Drinkwitz said. "My goal and my job is to replicate that success but to get us over that hump. I would not have taken this opportunity if I did not think it was an opportunity to be successful. I don't ever want to follow in anyone's footsteps, I like to blaze my own trail so to speak. And I think Mizzou gives us that opportunity."