FOCUS. ON. THE. GAME.

It’s been a few weeks since football season got left behind. Time to Eli Drinkwitz to start making some noise.

Drinkwitz tweeted this cryptic GIF yesterday morning, and was subsequently joined by multiple staffers, including the program’s Associate Director of Recruiting. One would think it might have something to do with Jordon Harris, who committed yesterday from Arkansas. But multiple staffers don’t usually get involved on one recruit. Could there be something big in the works?

Perhaps one of the dominos included the confirmation that Ennis Rakestraw Jr. — one half of Mizzou’s dynamic secondary duo — would be staying for another season after his partner, Kris Abrams-Draine announced the same last week.

From Matter’s story:

Rakestraw and Abrams-Draine formed one of the Southeastern Conference’s best cornerback tandems this season, combining for 25 pass break-ups — the most by any pair of teammates in the conference. Abrams-Draine leads the league with 13 breakups heading into Mizzou’s bowl game on Friday, while Rakestraw is tied for second with 12. Both were eligible for the 2023 NFL draft and could have considered entering the NCAA transfer portal.

Meanwhile, Eli Drinkwitz has other things to worry about... like a third consecutive bowl game on Friday! Blair Kerkhoff at the KC Star has all the scheduling info if you want to plan out your Friday afternoon, including naming some faces you shouldn’t expect to see. He also spoke about the departure of Bush Hamdan, which puts him back in the play-caller seat for the match up against the Demon Deacons. Eventually, though, someone will have to fill Hamdan’s shoes.

“I think it gives me an opportunity to kind of sit back, reflect and see what best positions us moving forward to accomplish our goals,” Drinkwitz said regarding not having a plan to fill the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach openings.”

Yesterday at Rock M

• In which Sam recounts all the things that happened outside of DeAndre Gholston’s buzzer-beating three against UCF
• In which Lauren and Adeen tag team Mizzou’s Braggin’ Rights loss to Illinois.
• In which Eli Drinkwitz lands a late-bloomer TE/DE/ATH prospect out of Arkansas for the 2023 class

More Links:

• Mizzou has a new volleyball coach! Say hello to Dawn Sullivan!

Sullivan, who holds a 109-38 (.741) mark as a head coach, takes over the Tigers program after five seasons as the head coach at UNLV. She led the Rebels to the 2022 Mountain West Conference Championship, five-straight postseason appearances and 20 or more wins in four of five seasons, including 54 victories over the last two seasons.

An All-America player at Kansas State, Sullivan has spent all but the last five years of her career in the Midwest with coaching stints at Iowa State and Illinois State.

“We had the privilege of speaking with an impressive group of coaches during this competitive search process, but it became clear that Dawn embodies everything we sought for in our next women’s volleyball head coach,” (Athletic Director Desiree) Reed-Francois said.

• Happy Graduation, Justin Gage!

• Situation Sunday, anyone?

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