Bring your Tigers football, basketball and recruiting questions, and talk to Eli Hoff in a live chat at 11 a.m. Thursday.
Transcript
Eli ±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýMorning, all! Thanks for coming by this week's Mizzou chat. We'll keep up the usual offseason rhythm of talking about whatever's on your minds. And hey: The offseason's almost over. I'm making SEC media days plans, buying and devouring those annual college football preview magazines, and feeling ready to get rolling soon. But let's get to your questions...
Fly Man:ÌýSeems like Coach Gates will have another challenge of blending 3 teams-recruits, transfers and returning players. Good challenge to have. Can you talk about the challenges and has Men's and Women's basketball benefited as much as football from NIL?
±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýThat sort of blend is precisely the challenge of being a modern college coach, especially in basketball. Mizzou is a pretty clear blend of the three groups: 1/3 of the team is back from last year, 1/3 are freshmen, 1/3 are transfers. But that's the norm now, and maybe even a little heavier on returners than other programs. That John Calipari quote from right after he was hired at Arkansas where he said there just wasn't a team is stuck in my mind.
One part of the challenge is building chemistry and camaraderie. That process has already started — it's team-building and a familiar part of any offseason. But the more interesting part, to me, is figuring out what players to combine in lineups, how they'll play off each other, that sort of thing. I'd asked Kyle Smithpeters, one of the assistant coaches, about this a bit ago and he'd told me that it's always intriguing and challenging for coaches too. You can watch a guy's tape at another school, scour his stats, but you can'tÌýreallyÌýknow how he's going to pair with another player who you've even had in your locker room for a year.
As far as NIL goes, Mizzou seems to be competitive across the board when it comes to that. Obviously football gets the biggest bucket. But I don't think you see someone like Mark Mitchell going from Duke to MU without a strong NIL offer. (I don't know the terms of what got him to Columbia, so that's just an assumption based on the state of college sports.) The Mizzou women didn't lose a whole lot of young talent and got some key transfers, so I'd guess they're able to offer something there as well.
Larry M:ÌýLooking forward to the FB season and impressed with the recruits Drink is getting. What in your opinion is the driving factor for being so successful - Drinks message or NIL $, Is there anyone who can provide a big picture of how NIL and whatever other sources of payment are working and/or how the money is allotted to other sports. Lots of unknowns here so maybe someone could provide this in a future article. Thanks
±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýI think it's a combination of those things you mentioned. There are good NIL opportunities. Drinkwitz is going after players he think will fit into the culture that's now in place and pitching them on that. There are also players on this Mizzou team who guys elsewhere want to play alongside. People want to line up next to Luther Burden. Or block for Brady Cook. And I suspect when someone like Burden reaches out to a prospective recruit or transfer, that has some sway. And winning obviously helps too. Mizzou isn't selling hypotheticals after last year.
As far as NIL goes, I wrote this piece last week that provides a look at why Mizzou's NIL operation is considered so strong even heading into the uncertainty of revenue sharing. Not to toot my own horn, but I don't think you're seeing reported perspectives like this anywhere else. Some people still aren't ready to really give details on the NIL front, but those of us asking the questions are gaining ground. Eventually, we'll get a sense of what the percentage breakdown is through revenue-sharing that will give a good sense of how each sport is valued at different schools. But for now, if you want to understand how Laird Veatch is viewing NIL right now, I think this encompasses it pretty well, with some key context and recent developments:
“I think the Mizzou model is a model that many will end up trying to duplicate or reflect in some way, shape or form," MU athletics director Laird Veatch said.
Tiger Warrior:ÌýBrady Cook is the best QB in SEC and don't forget: he is the champion!! M-I-Z!!
±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýI think it's tough to sell him as the best going into this season. Seems like Carson Beck leads the charge, then Quinn Ewers. Jaxson Dart and Cook are the next tier, though I feel like I've seen Dart ranked ahead of Cook more. But is that where they'll all end up? I think Cook has a very real chance to be higher on that list by the end of the season. And, of course, that means NFL Draft stock rises...
´¡²¹°ù´Ç²Ô:ÌýWhen thinking about seismic changes that we're seeing in college football, what potential impact do you see in relation to ensuring Mizzou's facilities remain competitive with the top programs in the SEC? Or do you see them focusing more on NIL?
±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýThat's an interesting question. In general, there's obviously going to be the addition of revenue-sharing expenses: $20 million or so. That will have to be a focus in the same way that payroll is a focus for any other sports entity. But the facility stuff does matter. I don't know how much football stadium work would need to be done to keep it competitive within the SEC. Can Faurot seat 100,000 like some other SEC stadiums? No, but it also doesn't need to. If Mizzou can routinely sell it out and, based on the administration's view of what the stadium's good for, generate some revenue from its premium areas, that's probably all it needs to be.
But that does matter for other sports. A big investment in a new baseball facility, for example, would probably come as part of a broader investment in baseball to make that program competitive in the SEC — and then likely come with results. A stadium helps with recruiting, attendance, revenue, that sort of thing, but there's more to fielding consistently strong teams than that. The question going forward is how frequently and how expensively you'll see those investments from Mizzou, since the return on being competitive in SEC baseball just isn't the same as being competitive in SEC football.
DCG:ÌýI read your article today, and I just want to congratulate you on properly using the word "quash" (regarding expectations) rather than the increasingly misused "squash." It's one of my top writing pet peeves. So, thanks!
±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýGlad I passed the test! Quash is such a fun word to use anyway. And while we're talking pet peeves, can I use this as an opportunity to share one of mine? (That's rhetorical — I'm going to.) I hate the overuse of "with that being said" in every recruit/player's announcements of a commitment or flip or transfer. I understand how they want to structure those statements, but man, can't somebody find a different phrase? I cringe a little every time I see it — for no good reason at all, I'll admit.
Oh, and here's that story from today, in case you haven't seen it... I looked ahead to the upcoming Mizzou sports year, which I predict will be defined by postseason performances and the potential for a breakthrough or two there.
A chance at the College Football Playoff stands out for Missouri athletics next academic year, but other teams have been knocking on the door of national contention, too.Ìý
Larry M:ÌýReading comments on MU needs to provide more backup for this or that position, but little to rate the capability of the QB backups if Brady goes down. Seems like the whole season would be blown up w/o a competent BU. How good is the incoming ND transfer.
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±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýThere's certainly a lot riding on the health of Cook, but this is true for a lot for teams. Drew Pyne, the transfer from Arizona St and Notre Dame, has starting experience and an arm. He wasn't on campus for spring ball, so I haven't seen him throw or work with the Mizzou offense yet. That seems like a decent recipe for a backup, but we'll see what he looks like in preseason camp.
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Roy Earl:ÌýIt seems like the sports other than football that have realistic national championship aspirations are gymnastics, softball, and wrestling. Do you have anything to report about them, Eli? Thanks.
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±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýGymnastics is bringing in a transfer class that will be up there with the best in the country, if not the best. That's a big way to reload after a strong run last season. Softball brought in an outfielder with a little bit of power, but a lot is going to fall on how the younger pitchers progress and step up next year. I know wrestling has been active in the portal but I'm not as familiar with the moves there.
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Palmetto State Fan:ÌýGood afternoon. How are things going these days with the Board of Curators' Intercollegiate Athletics Management, Inc.? Are they bringing anything positive to the table or just slowing down the processes? How many dollars have they brought to the athletics department to assist in funding the North End Zone project?
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±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýThe Mizzou athletics oversight committee hasn't met since May 17. The whole board is getting together in Springfield next week for a couple days of meeting, and athletics will be part of that — likely advancing the north concourse project, since bid deadlines are happening there. Nothing has been slowed down by them and it's proceeding as expected. Perhaps there will be a fundraising update as part of that meeting, but I'm not sure if/how much the Curators are involved in soliciting donations themselves.
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