Eli Drinkwitz shares unique story about Cody Schrader’s path to becoming Missouri captain

If it weren’t for a Missouri booster putting a bug in head coach Eli Drinkwitz’s ear some years ago, Cody Schrader might’ve never transferred to play there from Truman State. And then he wouldn’t have become a team captain and lead the SEC in rushing through eight weeks of 2023.

Looking back on Schrader’s journey from Division II transfer to walk on to starring tailback, Drinkwitz nearly ran out of superlatives to describe how much Schrader has impressed him. And he shared with On3’s Andy Staples that more than his talent, Schrader’s work ethic and mindset that stands out — and led to his teammates elevating him as a captain in 2023.

“It’s an unbelievable story of grit and determination and mindset over talent. And that’s not take anything away from Cody Schrader, he’s got a ton of talent. But his work ethic and mindset is unbelievable and it’s a story of epic proportion, in my opinion. I mean the dude is the leading rusher in the SEC. That’s a cool story Week 4, we’re at Week 8. We’re through eight weeks in this league. It’s only the toughest league in all of college football. And he’s the leading rusher. So that’s pretty special and remarkable,” Drinkwitz said.

It all began in December 2021 when a booster hit up Drinkwitz, who was going to be in St. Louis recruiting.

“I’m in the middle of recruiting in December and I’m gonna be in St. Louis and there’s a booster who wants to have a quick bite with me and so absolutely, before I go to an in-home visit, I’m going to stop by and see him. And while we’re there, he says ‘Hey man, there’s a young man who I’ve known who is transferring from Truman State, he’s actually the Division II leader in rushing. Would you let him walk on?’ And I was really a lot more interested in the booster than I was in the running back. So I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, just send it to me and we’ll see.’ Well about three days later, he follows up and I’ll be honest, I hadn’t really watch the tape. So I was like, ‘Let me watch it real quick.’ I watch it, I’m like, ‘Yeah, he definitely could walk on.’ I’m thinking he’ll be — you know you can never have enough running backs and all that sort of thing,” Drinkwitz said.

But then by the end of 2022, Schrader had played a significant role for the offense. Now, he’s one of the main cogs.

And by his head coach’s account, Schrader simply kept doing the things that forced the hand of his coaches.

“He shows up and he’s like ninth on the depth chart the first day of spring and then he just keeps showing up. Keep showing. Keeps doing all the right stuff. Keeps making plays. Keeps understanding his assignments. And next thing you know, last year, he’s playing. And then this year he’s voted captain. And it’s just remarkable,” Drinkwitz said.