In the Era of Changing Rosters, Eli Drinkwitz is Focused on Building a Sustained Culture

In the world of college football, rosters are never the same. A program's culture is the only constant.

Sep 14, 2024; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers defensive lineman Eddie Kelly Jr. (97), cornerback Toriano Pride Jr. (2) and coach Eli Drinkwitz link arms prior to a game against the Vanderbilt Commodores as they walk out of the tunnel at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. / Matt Guzman-Missouri Tigers On SI

Eli Drinkwitz can feel the foundation of college football shaking with each day.

December is a reminder each year that college football will never be the same. The exciting period of roster reshuffling is a reminder of everything name, image and likeness payments (N.I.L.) and the transfer portal has added to the sport. But more importantly, what it continues to take away.

"I worry that the game that I love and have dedicated 30 something years of my life is slowly getting taken away from us," Drinkwitz said in a press conference Wednesday.

Drinkwitz never played college football. But he's coached it for more than three decades because he values relationships that can be built over time. The strongest relationships require commitment, loyalty and time.

"Honestly, that's why I coach," Drinkwitz said in a press conference on Nov. 19 of creating a connection between players. "I thought that would be one of the strengths of our style, is being relational and being intentional, and developing a culture and a brotherhood. Trying to be less transactional and more intentional in building that."

From left, Missouri running back Cody Schrader, head coach Eli Drinkwitz and quarterback Brady Cook talk with CBS after a college football game at Faurot Field on Nov. 11, 2023, in Columbia, Mo. / Abigail Landwehr/Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK

Most relationships in college football today, by nature of the ecosystem created by N.I.L., are transactional ones with a monetary value. It's not to say players looking to make the most out of their careers in an unpredictable field don't see the value of loyalty or relationships. But the current system doesn't incentivize that enough.

"The one thing I would say about this whole situation is, it's not our players. Don't be mad at players. This whole situation is not their fault at all. Don't hate the players hate the game. At the end of the day, there's no system. When there's no system, people will do what they need to do."

Drinkwitz doesn't feel anger toward players that decide to transfer away from his program. But he clearly does with the type of mindset it encourages young players to have.

As of Dec. 19, five of Missouri's true freshman entered the transfer portal. This includes some of their highest regarded commitments from the Class of 2024, including five-star defensive end Williams Nwaneri, four-star defensive end Jaylen Brown, four-star running back Kewan Lacy and four-star wide receiver Courtney Crutchfield.

Some, like Nwaneri, enrolled with the program in the summer. Nwaneri only took 38 snaps in 2024, but was undoubtedly a major part of the program's plan going forward.

"Six months, I just think that's a really short time period to give a program," Drinkwitz said of freshman that enter the transfer portal. "But again, everybody's got their own journey. Core value number four for us is to enjoy the journey. And if six months was all that journey was, then I know they made us better."

Missouri's program has been built on players who come in as raw athletes, and after being patient with the development cycle, blossom into polished players. This rag to riches archetype is the ethos of the program Drinkwitz has built in his five seasons with Missouri.

This April, the Tigers set a program record of seven players selected in the NFL Draft. Five spent their entire careers with Missouri. Only one (Ty'Ron Hopper) was rated higher than a three-star prospect out of high school.

"There's no such thing as an overnight success anymore," Drinkwitz said. "Doesn't matter how highly you're recruited or how low you recruited, none of that matters, man, just get in there and continue to do the work. That what I regret. Everybody when they come to college football faces a level of adversity that they have to overcome."

The name of the game in college football used to be having an eye for potential. The path to sustained success was constantly identifying players with the highest ceiling, and helping them reach that point by the end of their career.

Projecting for years down the line is simply an unrealistic business model now. Programs have to find who will help them win now and adapt year to year.

"That old style of thinking of, 'hey, I'm going to have 85 scholarships, and I'm going to recruit four deep at each position, and once this guy leaves, then the next guy comes,' that's not really realistic anymore."

"Our job is to build the best team that we can so that when we start spring practice in March, we have the best team possible, knowing that in April there's another free agency period, your team could look drastically different."

Aug.17, 2024; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz looks onto the practice field at the team's annual fan night practice at Faurot Field. / Amber Winkler/MissouriOnSI

The only constant that can survive within a program from year to year is the culture. It's always been important. It was for Nick Saban at Alabama. The players Saban had on his roster were important, no doubt, but it was the culture he worked tirelessly to instill that led to unprecedented levels of sustained success.

The challenge that Saban didn't have to face for most of his career though, was having to create buy in to the culture each season with a completely new group of people.

But Drinkwitz is confident he and his staff at Missouri are building a foundation strong enough to withstand personnel changes.

"Just know that we have a great system here. We have a great product here. We have great opportunity here. And that's what you've seen with the five commitments that we've had so far. Really good players that fit our system, know exactly what their getting."

If built the right way, the culture can be what attracts players. It's a part of the pitch that Missouri wide receiver Theo Wease Jr., who transferred from Oklahoma ahead of the 2023 season, makes to transfer portal prospects looking to possibly transfer to Missouri.

"I tell them the truth — It's a real brotherhood here," Wease said Thursday. "Everybody in the team loves each other, and we play for each other."

The game will never be the same from when Drinkwitz started coaching it in 2010. But amidst instability, he can only hope the foundation of his program will remain stable.

"I feel confident," Drinkwitz said, "that every day my head on the pillow, and after I say my prayers, I'm thinking about, are we doing everything we can to put this team in a position to compete for a championship and how do I build a roster in order to do that."