Quick Hits: Matter on Mizzou sports

Rounding up the hot topics from Mizzou beat writer Dave Matter's weekly chat:

ANY UPSIDE TO A CANCELED SEASON?

QUESTION: Do you think if the season were cancelled that it could be positive for Mizzou football? Coaches have not had enough time to install their game plan — our quarterbacks could get more reps and more comfortable with the offense. Everyone would have more time to prepare. 

MATTER: No, no, no, no, no, no.

There is zero upside to losing an entire season. Zero. Point. Zero

Will a lost season cripple the football program? Not completely but if there's no football season it will be DISASTROUS for many college athletics departments. Dozens and dozens of people will lose jobs. Departments will be skeletons. Schools will cut teams left and right. Baseball teams, wrestling teams, track teams. All gone. 

Maybe football players would be given another year of eligibility, but anyone who's ready to make the leap to the NFL will move on. Nick Bolton, Larry Rountree, Damon Hazelton, Tyree Gillespie, Kobie Whiteside. They won't want to sit around for another calendar year and hope there'll be a 2021 season if there's money to be made in the NFL, even late-round money. 

Also, if the virus forces college football to cancel the season, practices will be shut down, too. So it’s not like having 12 free weekends in the fall is going to help the team prepare for 2021.

WHY IS MIZZOU RECRUITING MUCH BETTER?

QUESTION: Barry Odom's average recruiting class was ranked No. 43. Drinkwitz & Co. are sitting at No. 18. I understand that Drink is a high-energy guy with a gravitating personality, but how does one double Barry's best class with much of the same staff? Pretty sure Barry could sell the same new facility that Drink can.  

MATTER: It’s not really the same staff. Drinkwitz hired seven new assistants on the 10-man staff, including a new recruiting coordinator. There’s new blood recruiting the 2021 class. Also, Drinkwitz doesn't have an on-field track record that can become a negative against him. He's only been a head coach one season and has been part of winning teams every season he's been in college football. Odom had a losing season right from the start, making it hard to gain any momentum in recruiting. He started in a hole and never really dug himself out.

If Mizzou has a 2020 season and the team goes 4-8, it's going to be harder for Drinkwitz to recruit and sustain the momentum the program has now. But, to his credit, he and his staff have done an incredible job connecting with recruits, targeting players they want and landing them with their sales pitch.

The staff is being aggressive with kids they target and were innovative during the early stages of the pandemic in terms of offering virtual tours and really making a strong first impression with schools and contacts around the state.

There's still the honeymoon effect here. New voice, clean slate, fresh sales pitch. It's resonating and momentum is incredibly valuable.

CAN MIZZOU’S CLASS STAY TOP 25?

QUESTION: Where do you see Mizzou ending in college football recruiting rankings this year when it’s all said in done? I’ve got them potentially in top 25, which would be their highest in a while.

MATTER: Mizzou is right around 20 now give or take a few spots. I think it's realistic to expect somewhere in the 30s unless they finish the class with several four-stars, and I'm not sure how realistic that is.

Right now, the ranking is built on the class' quantity more than quality. Not to say this can't be a class of some great players, but only five Power 5 teams have more commitments. That explains the top 20 ranking more than anything. Once other schools get to the 25-player maximum, you'll see Mizzou's class likely slip some.

Consider the programs currently ranked behind Mizzou that will almost certainly move ahead: Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Florida State, Penn State, South Carolina, Auburn, Mississippi State.

CAN MU’S UNDRAFTED ROOKIES MAKE IT?

QUESTION: Can you give your thoughts on the recent seniors’ chances of having successful NFL careers? In particular, I'm thinking of Cale Garrett, Damarcus Acy and Yasir Durant.

MATTER: I like Garrett's chances with the Titans. I think he'll find a niche in Mike Vrabel's organization. He'll play on any and every special teams unit. He'll know the defense inside and out. He doesn't have NFL speed but inside linebackers don't have to be the fastest player on the defense. He makes up for it with instincts and good enough lateral quickness. As long as he's healthy I think he finds a way onto Tennessee's roster. 

Acy (49ers) wasn't as productive as a senior as he was as a junior but also dealt with a late-season injury. If he can make an impact on special teams he could be a team's fifth or sixth defensive back. He's a pretty physical corner, good tackler. Can he consistently cover NFL receivers well enough to make a roster?

Durant (Chiefs) is obviously on a really good team that's pretty set along the O-line at tackle with Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz. If he can prove to be a swing guy (play some guard and either tackle spot), he could land a role as a backup. Won't be easy, but he was a high-priority free agent and one of the first players the Super Bowl champs wanted after the draft. 

TEAMS ON THE HOOK FOR CANCELED GAMES?

QUESTION: If the SEC canceled the nonconference games, would those impacted schools be paid a fee?

MATTER: It all depends on the individual game contracts and how negotiations work between the schools. In some cases, schools that have their games canceled will settle for nothing less than the money owed to them according to the contract. Other schools might be willing to negotiate a later meeting down the road.

Mizzou is trying to amend its four contracts with a pandemic clause that will give it some protections should the SEC cancel nonconference games against Central Arkansas, Eastern Michigan, BYU and Louisiana. Mizzou agreed to pay Central Arkansas $425,000, but according to the contract, obtained by the Post-Dispatch, the two schools signed an amendment on June 18 that added a pandemic clause, saying they will reschedule the game if “reasonably possible” if the game can’t be played because of “weather conditions, labor strikes, wars, acts of God, pandemic, public health crisis, government restrictions/orders or other such emergencies.”

Mizzou agreed to pay Eastern Michigan $1.1 million for the Sept. 26 game. If either team breaches the contract it owes the other school $1 million. Mizzou is paying Louisiana $1.3 million and would owe that same amount for breaking the contract.

The Missouri-BYU contract calls for a $1 million payment if either team cancels the game set for Oct. 10 in Provo, Utah.

We could also see some horse trading between clusters of teams. Just a hypothetical here: Let's say Missouri and UCLA were scheduled to play a game and Kansas and San Diego State were scheduled to play a game. The two pairs could swap games to cut down on travel: Mizzou plays Kansas and UCLA plays San Diego State. There are some cases around the country where something like that could be worked out.  

CAN COLLEGE FOOTBALL LEARN FROM NASCAR?

QUESTION: I heard a report on the radio that 30,000 fans successfully social-distanced at a NASCAR event. Would college football fans have the discipline to do this?

MATTER: There was a reported 20,000 fans at Wednesday night's All-Star race at Bristol Motor Speedway at a mega facility that seats more than 160,000. So, that's less than 20 percent capacity. It's far easier to social distance in a facility that's 80-percent empty. From what I read about the race, masks were required upon entry and in common areas (bathrooms, concessions) and only encouraged in the seating areas. They staggered the entrance and exits so that massive crowds weren't coming and going at the same time. Tickets were distributed so that fans weren't sitting on top of each other.

My hunch is this will be the model we'll see at college football games if there's a 2020 season. If NASCAR fans can pull it off safely then college football fans should be able to do the same. 

I've talked to some ADs who are thinking about having social distance/mask sections for fans who want those options. It'll be fairly impossible to expect part-time paid ushers to enforce those policies if everyone is required to wear masks in all sections. 

Also, like the NASCAR race, you can bet some stadiums/schools will require fans to sign a waiver saying they won't sue the school if they contract COVID.