coaching
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✦ AI Summary · 3 items synthesized
- [on3] Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz said Ahmad Hardy still had not returned to practice or advanced beyond rehabilitation and confirmed Malae Fonoti would miss the rest of the season with a non-contact ACL injury, calling running-back depth the team's biggest depth-chart concern without establishing a Hardy return date. - Missouri lineman Cayden Green completed... [source](https://www.on3.com/sites/mizzou-today/news/everything-mizzou-coach-eliah-drinkwitz-said-ahead-of-the-b
- [247] Eli Drinkwitz said Missouri running back Ahmad Hardy remains out of practice in rehabilitation and Malae Fonoti will miss the rest of the season after a non-contact ACL injury, leaving running-back depth his biggest roster concern. - Drinkwitz said offensive tackle Cayden Green completed roughly three quarters of Monday's practice but still needed his... [source](https://247sports.com/college/missouri/article/everything-mizzou-head-coach-eli-drinkwitz-said-on-tuesday-28
- [on3] Missouri's quarterback immediately found rhythm in the opener and looked accurate and confident in Leipold's film assessment, making early passing execution a specific positive rather than merely general praise for the team. - Missouri had not yet played Ahmad Hardy at the time of Leipold's comments, but the Kansas coach still regarded its backfield as... [source](https://www.on3.com/sites/mizzou-today/news/what-they-said-about-mizzou-lance-leipolds-pre-border-war-press
Everything Mizzou coach Eliah Drinkwitz said ahead of the Border War
- Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz said Ahmad Hardy still had not returned to practice or advanced beyond rehabilitation and confirmed Malae Fonoti would miss the rest of the season with a non-contact ACL injury, calling running-back depth the team's biggest depth-chart concern without establishing a Hardy return date.
- Missouri lineman Cayden Green completed about three-quarters of the prior practice with an initially favorable response but still needed reassessment, while Jack Lange remained available after a first start that mixed good length and power with communication problems against edge pressure.
- Missouri's early rushing problems included inadequate frontside stretch and backside collapse on wide zone plus missed movement calls on inside zone, with Drinkwitz describing a productive adjustment to the odd front but still demanding better quarterback protection and rushing execution against Kansas.
- Missouri's defense must maintain disciplined pass-rush lanes against Marshall's throwing and scrambling ability, with Drinkwitz stressing sideline communication and in-game adjustments because the new Kansas coordinator-quarterback pairing supplies limited film.
injuriesavailabilityrbdepth_chartconcernsolpracticeoffenseschematicsdefensecoachinggame_breakdown
What they said about Mizzou: Lance Leipold's pre-Border War press conference
- Missouri's quarterback immediately found rhythm in the opener and looked accurate and confident in Leipold's film assessment, making early passing execution a specific positive rather than merely general praise for the team.
- Missouri had not yet played Ahmad Hardy at the time of Leipold's comments, but the Kansas coach still regarded its backfield as talented; this interview did not provide the reason for Hardy's absence or establish his availability for Friday.
- Missouri's defensive personnel stood out to Leipold for length, athleticism, physicality and the ability to create disruption from multiple spots.
- Missouri showed secondary depth across the rotation and continued making plays through personnel changes in the opener, according to Leipold's scouting assessment.
offenseqbgame_breakdownrbavailabilitydepth_chartdefensepersonneldb
Everything Mizzou head coach Eli Drinkwitz said on Tuesday
- Eli Drinkwitz said Missouri running back Ahmad Hardy remains out of practice in rehabilitation and Malae Fonoti will miss the rest of the season after a non-contact ACL injury, leaving running-back depth his biggest roster concern.
- Drinkwitz said offensive tackle Cayden Green completed roughly three quarters of Monday's practice but still needed his response assessed, with Jack Lange ready if needed after showing first-start communication issues.
- Drinkwitz said Missouri must protect its quarterback better and attributed early zone-running problems against Pine Bluff to poor handling of defensive movement and insufficient frontside blocking before sideline adjustments helped.
- Drinkwitz described Kansas quarterback Isaiah Marshall as an accurate downfield passer and dangerous runner, requiring Missouri to maintain pass-rush lanes while also defending his throws rather than simply concede the passing game.
rbinjuriesavailabilitydepth_chartconcernsolpracticeoffenseschematicsgame_breakdownqbdefense
A look at the changes to the Mizzou football offense in Week 1
- Missouri's offense roughly doubled its RPO rate under new coordinator Chip Lindsey, running 17 RPOs on 78 snaps after ranking bottom three in the SEC in RPO percentage in 2025.
- The RPO emphasis appears designed to help new quarterback Austin Simmons by giving him familiar reads from prior heavy-RPO offenses and quicker decisions against apex defenders.
- Missouri surprisingly did not lean heavily into 12 personnel against Arkansas-Pine Bluff despite offseason expectations and UAPB's deep Cover 2 and Cover 4 looks.
- Missouri used multiple sniffer-set snaps after charting only eight all of last season, usually to create outside-zone runs with a moving lead blocker near enemy territory or the red zone.
offenseschematicscoachingqbpersonneltegame_breakdownrb