Eli Drinkwitz says Tennessee is 'really good' running the ball

Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz knows that he has his work cut out for him this week. Tennessee has one of the nation’s top offenses, known for its passing attack. At the same time, part of what makes the Volunteers’ offense so effective is their ability to also run the ball down the throats of their opponents.

Eli Drinkwitz praised the running attack for Tennessee during his press conference before the two teams are set to meet.

“Yeah, they’re really good running the football, obviously,” Eli Drinkwitz said.

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“They have a quarterback who has the ability to run, combined with a running back, and again, if you decide to spread out to match their spacing, then you’ve created vertical seams and they do a really nice job of exploiting those. Like I said, they have some really good running backs, and obviously Hendon [Hooker] himself is a really dynamic runner, and they utilize both some insert schemes but also some zone read schemes to give the quarterback the freedom to pull it.”

Eli Drinkwitz tried to explain what makes this offense so difficult to defend. It’s more than just talented athletes running plays quickly. It’s an offense designed to spread defenses out and pick their poison. If you try to stop that running attack, they’ll throw. If you spread out to cover receivers, the middle is open for runs.

“Again, if you’re playing a single high defense, your quarterback player is in the middle of the field, which is a long way for him to go to make tackles, and if you’re in a zero scheme they’re gonna throw the ball by you. So.”

It’s not surprising that Eli Drinkwitz has plenty of respect for Tennessee’s running game. Last season, during Josh Heupel’s first year at Tennessee, the Volunteers scored 62 points while running for 458 yards on Missouri. If the Tigers want to have any hope of pulling off an upset, they can’t allow that type of performance again.

Eli Drinkwitz praised Tennessee’s offensive weapons

Part of what makes Tennessee so difficult to stop is the number of excellent weapons that the Volunteers have on the offensive side of the ball. They’re difficult to stop and put tons of stress on the defense, starting with Hendon Hooker at quarterback.

“New task and a great challenge this week. Obviously, we’re playing a top-5 team on the road who’s playing at a really high level. Their quarterback is playing at a Heisman level, Heisman Trophy level. They’ve got unbelievable skill players. Obviously some of their wide receivers — not some, all three of their wide receivers — are extremely electric,” Eli Drinkwitz said.

“Jaylin Hyatt might be the best wide receiver in the country. Obviously, Cedric Tillman is a really good player also. Jabari Small at running back and Jaylen Wright at running back are both very dynamic.”