Kwiecinski: Missouri football and Eli Drinkwitz have a lot to prove in 2023, and they know it

NASHVILLE — It's become clear what this year's rallying cry is for Missouri football.

The motto is an acronym: STP. Players openly say it on social media. The coaches have leaned into it. Eli Drinkwitz unveiled what it meant Monday at SEC Media Days.

It's "Something To Prove." It means close but no cigar doesn't cut it anymore. That almost should only exist in horseshoes and hand grenades, and not at Faurot Field this fall.

"Last year, we left a lot on the table," offensive tackle Javon Foster said. "I feel like this year, we got some stuff to prove."

This became clear when we only really learn two new things Monday

First, Drinkwitz and Blake Baker are going to be in charge of the kickoff team on special teams, and cornerbacks coach and assistant head coach Al Pogue is in charge of the kickoff return team.

Second, Chance Luper and Xavier Simmons are going to be on medical scholarship this season. That's new.

We knew that Brady Cook was going into the season with a leg up in the quarterback competition as the incumbent starter. We knew Darius Robinson would split time at defensive end and tackle. We knew the offensive line would feature multiple new starters. We knew there would be plenty of returning players, making MU one of the most experienced teams in the SEC.

There was plenty we knew about coming into media days. At this point, the only thing left to do is for MU to prove whatever it wants to prove.

The bottom line is simple. Missouri does need to win games. Drinkwitz has had a stellar recruiting repertoire, bit only a 17-19 overall record to show for it. That stings even more when you consider Missouri was in six one-score games last year and won only two.

Beyond Drinkwitz, it holds even more weight for the players.

Darius Robinson saw the other end of the stick. MU would have had a 8-4 record if it went 4-2 in one-score games. He wants to prove Missouri can get to that.

"That was the difference in the bowl game we were in, the season we had and the season we could have had," Robinson said. "It's a new year, new journey."

Javon Foster he wants to prove the team can finish games. The Tigers came so close, and it starts with not hurting themselves. Foster was part of a struggling offensive line that he consistently had to hear about.

"That's my unit, so yeah, we take it personal," Foster said. "Me, definitely I take it personal, real personal, but we got something to prove."

Kris Abrams-Draine wants to prove MU belongs. He did it on a personal level, proving he belongs as an SEC defender after switching to defensive back from wide receiver.

Now, he wants to prove the entire team belongs.

"We trying to prove we belong in this league," Abrams-Draine said. "When we went to the SEC, it wasn't a fluke."

Individually, each player has something he wants to prove. It's only natural considering how Missouri came so close to winning games.

Case in point, the Tigers were the only team to hold Georgia, which fielded plenty of NFL-caliber players on both sides of the ball last season, in check. But the one-score game was never ruled a checkmate in Missouri's favor.

That needs to change in year four under Drinkwitz.

One of the biggest things we still don't know about this team is who the starting quarterback is, and that'll come with time. The rest of the roster has pieces in place.

The newly-formed offensive line should be better. The Luther Burden-led receiver room is still incredibly talented. The defense, sans a now-Cleveland Brown Isaiah McGuire and former captain Martez Manuel, is still loaded with experience.

Missouri has everything it needs to prove what it wants to. There might even be a slight margin for error. But, the one thing the Tigers are running out of is chances.

There are 12 games for Missouri to prove itself.

"Close doesn't count," Drinkwitz said.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri football and coach Eli Drinkwitz out to prove themselves in 2023