Missouri Tigers College Football Postgame Quote, 12/29/2023

COACH ELIAH DRINKWITZ: First, I just want to tip my hat to Ohio State and Ryan Day, and what a great team he has. So competitive, outstanding defense. They faced a lot of adversity in that game with their quarterback going out. Tip my hat to them.

But the story of the game is how hard our defense played. Refused to give in. Refused to blame or place blame. Stick together, and then our offense just kept chopping wood.

We talk about developing an elite edge, and the G in edge stands for grit, a stubborn refusal to quit. And that’s what our team displayed tonight. To score 14 in the fourth quarter when you’re down 3-0, just really, really proud of those guys.

You know, last night, our chaplain gave a message about the difference between a blue-blood brotherhood and a wilderness brotherhood. And a wilderness brotherhood, forged through adversity and fight and scratching and clawing for everything you get. And it totally encompassed everything that we’re about.

I mean, you know, when you look at our team, we’re a bunch of wilderness brotherhood guys who stick together, fight together, found a way to love each other and had each other’s back. And I knew at any point ‚Äì I mean, at the locker room, these guys will tell you, I was telling them, we are right where we want to be. Let’s just go win the game. They believed in us. I thought Kirby [Moore] and Blake [Baker] did an outstanding job just calling defense and offense, and just really proud of them. So, with that, I’ll quit rambling.

Q. I’ve been following your career as I’m a NC State alum, and you were the OC for many of our great years. I just wanted to see if you could share more insights on what this career ‚Äì or this big, milestone win means for you personally? And then also for your program, just headed into the season?

COACH DRINKWITZ: Yeah, I’ll be honest, it doesn’t really have much to do with me. It’s really about our players and the team and the legacy of the 2023 brotherhood. You know, there’s no me if it’s not for them. If it’s not for our coaching staff. If it’s not for our coordinators, for our GAs, our administration. You know, so for me, it’s really just about the legacy that this team leaves. You know, we have a sign in our locker room that goes around that says, “When the weakest choose to run, we stand shoulder to shoulder and move forward together.” And that’s what our brotherhood did.

And you look at these two young men to my left. They came in the very first year in COVID. And people have transferred. People have left. We’ve had tough years. And they just stuck with it. They went shoulder to shoulder and moved forward together. And I can’t think of anything more fitting than for these two guys to win the MVPs of the Cotton Bowl as a signal of a wilderness brotherhood.

So, it’s really not ever going to be about me. It’s going to be about our team and our coaching staff and our university.

Q. Being around football for such a long time, just where does this moment rank for you? And then also, that fourth quarter and the way your guys performed?

COACH DRINKWITZ: Yeah, that fourth quarter is probably going to go down in ‚Äì it’s going to be a tough one to beat. Down 3-0, to score 14, to play as well as we did. Yeah, just going to be really proud. It’s hard to contextualize all that stuff right now. But to win the 88th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic in that kind of game, with these men, in this brotherhood, to cement ourself as a top-ten team in the country, from going from unranked to top 10 in the country, going to be pretty special.

But why stop now?

Q. Your offense, in the fourth quarter, or second half, had two touchdown drives of over 90 yards. I just want to ask about your offensive coordinator Kirby Moore and how he’s impacted this team in his first year and helping to get this program where it is now.

COACH DRINKWITZ: I think Kirby came in and did exactly what we needed him to do. Fresh set of eyes. Does an outstanding job with Brady [Cook] getting him dialed in. Always trying to present new ideas to us. But really, when it came down to it in the fourth quarter, I thought he did on excellent job of calling what he knew our guys could execute. We had that play dialed up for Marquis [Johnson] all week. We’ve actually run it several times. And it was the perfect look, the perfect call, at the right time, and Brady executed it.

And that play-action pass to Luther [Burden III] for the touchdown. You know, another great design.

So, Kirby is ‚Äì I can’t say just Kirby. Kirby and Blake [Baker] have been just incredible leaders on each side of the ball. And I think it goes back to low ego, high output. And they carry the mission ‚Äì or the message of the head coach to each side of the ball. And there’s no ego involved.

At halftime, Blake was ripping the defense about why we don’t have a takeaway yet. I mean, I’m like, okay, bud, y’all are playing pretty good. Just hold on. But he just ‚Äì they’re both just tremendous leaders.

Q. Brady, obviously, the first three quarters don’t go the way you wanted it to. What kind of weight is that when you go on the field, and the three quarters haven’t gone the way you wanted them to? And how do you push through it?

QB BRADY COOK: As he said, we showed grit. The offense showed grit. We just kept chopping. We looked up, it’s fourth quarter, and we have zero points. But what are you going to do? We were driving. We were confident. We still believed in the game plan. Still believed in the calls that were being sent in. And we believed in each other. So, when we put up 14 in the fourth, it’s no surprise to us.

Q. Eli, you mentioned these guys have been here since the beginning. And you’ve talked all week about some individual adversity stories with Brady [Cook], with Cody [Schrader], guys like that. What kind of lasting impact do you hope that can have on the program?

COACH DRINKWITZ: I think it goes to the stick-to-itiveness, the toughness, the brotherhood that these men have forged. And this is what it’s going to be when you come to the University of Missouri. You’re going to be in a wilderness brotherhood. You’re going to develop an elite edge that’s energy, details, grit, and emotional consistency. We’re going to demand you compete every single day to be the very best you can be.

And these guys, both coming back, can tell you what the results are going to be. Not only for them personally. I mean, these guys are ultra-talented. But they weren’t recruited by very many people. I mean, my man’s got a GED. Johnny Walker, we flipped him late from Washington State, and he didn’t play. Didn’t play a whole lot. Last year before the bowl game, came in and talked to me about, Coach, should I transfer? Do you believe in me? What did I tell you, Johnny?

DL JOHNNY WALKER JR.: Yes, sir.

COACH DRINKWITZ: I told him, I believe in you, man. Come back. Earn it. And all he’s done is developed into the Most Valuable Player of the 88th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.

Q. I think you mentioned on the field, can you talk about the idea of can’t necessarily win a game in the first, second, third quarter, but you can win a game in the fourth quarter?

COACH DRINKWITZ: What an awesome thing we saw Coach [Pete] Carroll say the other day, and I actually talked to the team about it. You can’t win it in the first. You can’t win it in the second. Can’t win it in the third. But you can sure win it in the fourth quarter. And this team, they did that. They displayed that.

And I’m appreciative to Coach Carroll for demonstrating that and Drew Lock giving us the inspiration to go out there. We didn’t have to quite do it on the last drive, but it was sure a lot of fun.

Q. For Brady, can you describe the trajectory of this Mizzou football program and the idea of a lot of people coming back next year and the excitement there?

QB BRADY COOK: I think I said this last week, this game was big for the 2023 Tigers. To cap off an incredible season for the people who chose to come back for their last year and chose to

come back instead of going to the NFL. It’s special for them and that group, but it’s also special for our team next year. The guys who are coming back for one more. The coaches. The brotherhood.

So, this is just going to give us more momentum. It’s going to send us off on a little two-week break with some good energy. We’ll be back, ready to work in a couple of weeks.

COACH DRINKWITZ: Can I just add that I’m so proud of Darius Robinson who battled a groin injury on Wednesday. Didn’t come out. Played every snap. KD (Kris Abrams-Draine) went in the tent with a separated shoulder. I said, “Hey, man, you’re done.” He said, “The hell I am.” Put his stuff on and ran back out there and played unbelievably tough. JC [Carlies] bloodied his nose. Could have easily sat out the rest of the game. Those guys have NFL futures, and said, No, we’re playing for each other, and we’re not giving in to that mindset. And that’s a legacy that’s going to be passed on. And I can’t tell you how incredibly proud I am of those guys and what Javon Foster, Xavier Delgado, Cody Schrader, those guys put it on the line for our football team tonight.

Q. Johnny, an absolutely master class on the defensive side of the ball.

DL JOHNNY WALKER JR.: Thank you.

Q. Against one of the best teams in the nation in Ohio State. How does it feel to hold a team like them down to 3 points all game long?

DL JOHNNY WALKER JR.: Got to give credit to my teammates. We all just did our job, stayed in our gaps, and shut them down.

Q. And Brady, I mean, an underdog story from finishing last year 6-7 overall to coming in this year and just absolutely being a dog all season long. And then even coming into the game after a great season, having a 31% chance by ESPN to win the game. How does it feel to beat a team like Ohio State, being the underdog?

QB BRADY COOK: It feels like we’ve been at the bottom, to be honest with you. We’ve had some tough years, some tough games, tough experiences together. An opportunity like this comes up, there’s nothing but excitement. Let me tell you. We’ve been at the bottom. We were going to fight all four quarters for this one.

COACH DRINKWITZ: We don’t really care what ESPN says or what the procrastinators say. It’s what mirror you choose to look in. You can look across the field and see those guys, and man, that wide receiver room they had looks unbelievable. And you can be intimidated by that or figure out, look in the mirror and say what made me. And what made us is an elite edge that we work hard every single day to develop. It’s about what’s inside of us, not what we’re facing on the outside of us. It’s just about us. And that’s what this team’s all about.

I mean, we didn’t care about the flip-flopping of lines or who was playing, who wasn’t playing. All that crap didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered to us was who was playing for our team. And we saw those guys in warm-ups and said, don’t worry about what they look like. It’s

what we have inside of us that we’re going to display tonight.

Q. Brady, how fitting of a way was this to send off Cody Schrader?

QB BRADY COOK: Oh, man, I couldn’t have drawn it up any more perfect. He deserves it. He embodies what our team is and what our values are and how we operate. And man, he did it. He did it. He deserves this. He deserves the credit. I mean, I can’t say enough about him. I mean, I’m just so proud of that guy. I hope he’s got a smile on his face right now.

Q. Eli, the touchdown run from Cody [Schrader], how much does that embody in the wilderness brotherhood that you were talking about a little earlier?

COACH DRINKWITZ: On the headset Kirby [Moore] was going to call a quarterback run. I said, No, let’s give the ball to Cody [Schrader] right here. You just knew he wasn’t going to be denied. Kirby dialed up that inside zone, hit perfectly. It was his moment. It was his game. You could argue that him or ‚Äì Cody or Luther [Burden III], all three had a huge impact on it.

The coolest thing about all three, they don’t really care who gets the credit. Brady [Cook] will probably make them MVP trophies and give it to them because he just wants to win. I think you would do that, right, Brady?

QB BRADY COOK: Yeah, I’d do that.

Q. Eli and Johnny, can you speak on the impact of Daylan Carnell tonight, and also, just the depth of the defense that stepped up with three starters missing?

DL JOHNNY WALKER JR.: Daylan, he’s a baller. He comes in, works hard. Leaves, comes back, works hard. There’s nothing I don’t think he can’t do. Sacks, interceptions, force fumbles.

COACH DRINKWITZ: If there was anybody that didn’t think Daylan Carnell was going to come ball out tonight, being from Indianapolis, didn’t have an Ohio State offer, was overlooked, undervalued, and was exactly what we’re talking about, a brotherhood that’s forged in the wilderness. I mean, there was zero doubt in my mind that he was going to play his best game.

Only thing I was upset with him about, he was taking forever celebrating in order to try to get the offense on the field to finish the game. I absolutely knew he was going to play lights out tonight. And extremely proud of him and cannot wait to continue to see his growth as a player and as a leader on our team.

Q. Brady, Cody [Schrader] just said you were spending 12 hours a day looking at film preparing for Ohio State. How much of that did you learn from him? And how much of that did you kind of use to propel you and this offense this whole year?

QB BRADY COOK: Yeah, I mean, we pushed each other all year long. The way we went about our business and our operation day-to-day and the way we prepared together, I mean, constant back and forth pushing each other. Who’s going to do this? Who’s going to do that? Who’s going to go here? Who’s going to watch extra tape? Who’s going to go to sleep first? I mean, we pushed each other all year long.

And the bowl prep wasn’t any different. The month of December, I mean, we looked at each other when this game got scheduled on that Sunday, and we said, we’re going to win this thing. There’s no other way. We’re going to send you out the right way. We’re going to send these guys that came back for their last year out the right way. And we looked at each other and said, we’re going to do anything it takes to get this one done.

COACH DRINKWITZ: There’s a clip in the Tom Brady “Man in the Arena” where Coach [Mike] Vrabel talks about edgers, and we’re not going to let you get the edge on me. And it was a culture that Tom Brady had and Coach Vrabel and the rest of those guys. We showed it to the team, and those guys are embodying that.

Q. How special is it for you, obviously you, Kirby [Moore], the Boise State connection, you get this win, it’s a huge milestone for you as a coach and career and the program. How great does this feel for you?

COACH DRINKWITZ: Yeah, I don’t know. Maybe on the ride home I’ll think about it. I’m more proud of our team and our staff and what they’ve been through and fought through in order to achieve this. It’s not really about me at all. It’s about our team and our players and our staff and what they’ve earned the right to enjoy tonight.

Q. Coach, you told your team earlier this year, they can’t kill you because you’ve been at the bottom. Now that you have climbed the mountain quite a bit, how does the mentality change? Or does it going forward?

COACH DRINKWITZ: Yeah, it’s, why stop now. I mean, that’s the mentality is, why stop now. We’ve worked really hard to get this opportunity, and we’re not going to sit here and change. So why stop now.

Q. Brady, you know there was a lot of 12 jerseys out there in the crowd. That’s been you. Does that feel like a full-circle moment for you? Starting your first game at the Armed Forces Bowl two years ago, to this, and to know that’s been you in the crowd, watching this team? And to get to this level, the feelings of that?

QB BRADY COOK: This is a really special night. Obviously, it was special for me. But this is about our team. We keep saying it. We mean it. This is about Mizzou. This is about our team. This is about our fanbase and the university. I mean, they deserve this. It’s been a decade since we’ve been at a bowl game like this. I hope they enjoy it. I know our team is going to enjoy it. But this is about the team. I’ve got one more year left. So, this isn’t the end of the story for me.

COACH DRINKWITZ: So, you’re coming back?

QB BRADY COOK: I am coming back. I am coming back. So, this isn’t ‚Äì this isn’t the full-circle moment I’ve been waiting on. I’ve still got one more year. This is about the guys who played their last game tonight. This is about the whole Mizzou team.

Q. Coach, I just wanted to follow up with another question about Blake Baker. I mean, what else can you share with us about this guy, this special thinker of football who’s kind of got a fun personality too?

COACH DRINKWITZ: He just means a lot to me personally. When we talk about a brotherhood that was forged in the wilderness, me and him worked together at Arkansas State. We went to Boise State. Blake was hired as director of personnel. We lived together for about six weeks. They only gave us seven nights to stay in a hotel. So, Blake and I were sharing our nights, getting double beds so we could make it 14 nights. When he took the job at LA Tech, I had to get up and drive his butt to the airport and drop him off at the airport and say goodbye. I didn’t know if our paths would ever crossover again.

Then when the opportunity to hire him – I tried to hire him at App State, and he went to Temple instead.

When I had a chance to hire him, I knew it was going to be impactful because I knew the type of energy and the type of culture he would bring to our staff. And I knew he would always have my back. And he’s just a special person. And he’s a great leader. He has the right type of fun with the players but seriousness. He does an unbelievable job game planning, and he’ll tell you it’s the entire defensive staff. But he’s got the right snap in, snap out, right, Johnny?

DL JOHNNY WALKER JR.: Yeah.

COACH DRINKWITZ: But he’s a great leader. But he’s a really good husband. He’s a really good dad. Most of you don’t know that he won the Superbowl with his son’s 8-year-old team ‚Äì 6-year-old team this past year as the head coach. So, he has a lot of head coaching experience, and he’s going to get his head coaching job pretty soon.

But we’re very grateful for him to be here. He turned down a lot of defensive coordinator job offers in the last four weeks. And I’m appreciative to Desiree [Reed-Francois] and our administration for stepping up and compensating him and securing his future here as a defensive coordinator.

But he’s a special, special person and a guy I rely on. And I was glad that they poured Gatorade on him, too, because he’s certainly responsible for this as much as anybody else.

Q. We just talked to Cody [Schrader], and he said the difference in a lot of games that were won in the fourth quarter was you. Can you talk about your relationship with him this season and what it was like to be a captain along with him and just kind of help rally your team this entire year?

QB BRADY COOK: I think I spoke on it a little bit earlier. But we just pushed the crap out of each other. Every week we were battling, and we did it together. We prepared together. And every week we just felt like the most prepared players on the field. That gave us a lot of confidence. I know it helped him out. It helped me out. But yeah, I’m just super proud of him and grateful that he was along for the ride.

COACH DRINKWITZ: He was the ride.

QB BRADY COOK: Yeah, he was the ride, actually. I was along for the ride.

Q. Eli, what does it mean to finish as a top 10 team with the way you guys are recruiting and all the momentum? Just kind of where do you feel the trajectory of this program is going right now?

COACH DRINKWITZ: When we took this job four years ago, there was a belief in doing something that had never been done before. And it started with recruiting locally, developing our players, and then putting it all together. And we’re ‚Äì you know, we’re still in the infancy stage of doing all that. But I think the future is extremely bright because of the plans we have and the vision that we’re carrying out. And it’s not just me. It’s our administration, the support they have and what they’ve done, building the indoor and renovation of Memorial Stadium, investing in our staff. It’s what our players have done, investing in each other. It’s what our recruiting is doing in continuing to get the right players to come play for us.

So, with the new 12-team playoff system, this would be a game where we’re, obviously, continuing to move on and going to have a chance to play at a higher level.

So, everything’s coming together now, but we do understand that the wind’s twice as hard at the top of the mountain. So, whatever we did to achieve this year, it’s going to be twice as hard. We’re going to have to battle a whole new set of problems. Starting with the disease of me, the disease of what about me. We’re going to have to go in there and rebuild a culture. Because I’m going to enjoy this ride home because I’m not going to get a chance to do it with Cody Schrader again. We’re going to have to find new players to step up and lead. We’re going to have to find new ways to connect.

So, it will be challenging. But that’s what the fun is. You know, the fun is rebuilding it and putting it all together and being able to say, this is what we did in the past. Now this is what our vision is for the future.

There’s an old western movie called “Lonesome Dove,” it’s a mini series. Hell of a vision that we’ve got going here. And now it’s about implementing it and going and doing it.

Q. This is the last Cotton Bowl that won’t be a playoff game. In the playoff era, most teams will end their season with a loss. What does it mean to just end this season with a win?

COACH DRINKWITZ: I should have started with how appreciative I am to the 88th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. How phenomenal this week and experience has been for our players, for our families. The way that they treated us all week, it felt so special, that we had earned this opportunity. And then the way they treated us was – it felt like the Super Bowl. And it felt like everything we did was so important to them.

Anything we asked, hey, we needed a bigger ballroom for a Christmas celebration. Man, they

showed up and made it happen. These people are first class in everything they do. And I’ll be honest, I hope we don’t lose that in the 12-team playoff because there’s something special about being able to have these bowl games and bowl experiences.

But if this is the last one, wow. Mizzou did it right for them, I’ll say that.