After the final period of Missouri’s first open football practice came to a close, everyone previously on the sideline gathered in a semicircle around the 20-yard line. Thirty yards away, footballs came firing out of the jugs machine to simulate punts, but they weren’t for the players.
Coaches took turns standing in the middle of the horseshoe formed by the sea of people, fielding the punts. A roar went up among the crowd when special teams coach Erik Link snagged a ball on the fly. It was the most energy in the stadium all day.
For as much as Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz spoke of the importance of having fans at Faurot Field, Saturday’s workouts felt the same as any at the practice fields across the street. The team practiced for a little over two hours as approximately 200 masked and socially distant spectators watched from the bleachers on the west side of the stadium.
“I told (the players) the Ted Williams story, which is they asked him why he plays and doesn’t take a day off,” Drinkwitz said. “Because you never know if this is the first time this young man’s watching him play or gonna let him hit a home run. It’s kind of that opportunity that any time you get a chance to perform, always perform at your best.”
Cooper impresses early in Missouri career
One day into spring practice, Drinkwitz had a simple early impression of transfer wide receiver Mookie Cooper.
“He’s fast.”
Just over a week later, Cooper showed Missouri fans that speed for the first time, releasing from the 30-yard line and leaving freshman cornerback Daylan Carnell in the dust for one of his two touchdowns on deep ball drills.
“He’s got a tremendous smile,” Drinkwitz said. “God, I love that smile. He’s got great energy, great work ethic. His attitude is about ‘How do I improve?’ He called me after Thursday’s practice and was asking me about what the next install was so he could get ahead. He’s on a mission right now, and I appreciate that. And I’m on a mission with him.”
Cooper, a four-star recruit out of high school, transferred to Missouri from Ohio State in January. Earlier in the week he became one of the first newcomers to earn a jersey number. Fellow wideout Jalen Knox won’t practice until the summer because of a lower-body injury, and Damon Hazelton’s departure for the NFL Draft has given Cooper the chance to make an immediate impact in practice.
Drinkwitz sounds off on mullets
Before spring camp began, Drinkwitz got a phone call. On the other end was the mother of offensive lineman Case Cook. She told him Cook was planning to cut his shoulder-length hair and donate it to the charity Wigs for Kids.
Cook has been foundational to Missouri’s offensive line for the last two seasons, starting every game in each of the last two seasons. But while his play brought some stability to an uncertain year in 2020, his decision to take the practice field without his signature mullet was a jarring break from normalcy.
“A mullet in college is business in the front, party in the rear, you know?” Drinkwitz said. “That’s kind of how you live your life when you’re in college, so right now I think it would be probably best in his interest if he kept the mullet, but as he’s going into his internships this summer, it’s probably best to kind of eliminate that party in the rear type conversation, and get on that business front.”
Cook’s cut leaves long snapper Daniel Hawthorne as the lone mullet-grower on the team.
Injury, jersey number update
Defensive lineman Travion Ford was absent from practice. Drinkwitz confirmed after that the freshman from St. Louis will miss the rest of spring with an injury. Ford is expected to be healthy by the summer.
Carnell (13) and junior college defensive line transfer Realus George (91) earned jersey numbers in addition to Cooper.
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