Eli Drinkwitz kicking himself over Darris Smith preseason injury

Missouri suffered a significant blow in fall camp when it lost talented edge rusher Darris Smith to a knee injury that will sideline him for the rest of the season. Coach Eli Drinkwitz is taking the injury particularly hard.

The Missouri head coach explained Tuesday that he feels bad because he was partially responsible for the injury.

“Really disappointed for Darris and kick myself every day because at the end of the day as the head coach I’m responsible for designing the practice,” Drinkwitz said. “Wish I would have done something different that day.”

Darris Smith transferred to Missouri this offseason from Georgia, where he was buried on the depth chart. But he was expected to be a key contributor for Missouri.

In two years with the Bulldogs, Smith recorded six tackles across 16 games played as a reserve.

He was in line for so much more with the Tigers this season, in a year when Missouri may well be a playoff contender, too.

“He was playing, had an outstanding camp and I think he’s been awesome with the right mindset and obviously disappointed but not devastated,” Drinkwitz said. “Continues to be in our team meetings, has his head up and has positive energy and is going to be a great teammate.”

With Darris Smith now out, Missouri will have to refocus and find new contributors along the defensive line. Drinkwitz didn’t sound overly concerned about the depth on that side of the ball, though, particularly at edge rusher.

“The thing about football is it goes on,” Drinkwitz said. “Whether you’re a coach or you’re a player, the game doesn’t stop. So yeah, obviously we have to have a next-man-up mentality. You’re never going to be Darris Smith, and we don’t need anybody to be Darris Smith. We need them to be the best version of themselves, and those guys have embraced that.

“We’ve got a deep room. That’s one position that we are deep. Obviously Eddie Kelly, Zion Young, Johnny Walker, Joe Moore, Jahkai Lang would be the first five and then you’ve got the two freshmen that are really stepping up too.”

Eli Drinkwitz and Missouri will take to the field on Thursday, Aug. 29 for a season-opening contest against Murray State.