A

Foreign.

B

Welcome in everyone to the Longhorn Republic, your source for Texas Longhorn news, sports and opinions with a bit of snark built. And we are members of the Dave Campbell's Republican Football Podcast Network and the College Football Huddle and you can find more about both those great organizations. Social Media Bios if you like what we do, please leave us a rating or review on Apple Podcast. A comment on Spotify really helps as well. And share this with your friends on any podcast platform you found us. You could obviously get them to be a part of our community as well. Connect with us on social media Longhorn Pod on Twitter and Blue Sky, Facebook and Instagram the Longhorn Republic or shoot us an email longhornrepublicpod Gmail.com My name is Gerald Goodridge. You're my host this week like I am every week. And I'm not joined by Kyle Carpenter. He's at some hoity toity business dinner with a client at the apparently it's a big deal. It is what it is, right? No, but we are here and I am joined by Skeeter Man, a friend of ours from the college football huddle in the host of the Sons of the Show Me State podcast to help us preview the Missouri Tigers. Skeeter, how are you doing tonight?

A

I'm good, Gerald, how are you doing?

B

I cannot complain. The kids are in bed. We've got got a short week this week at work so everything is going well. So it is because every podcast is somebody's first podcast. We have been going through over the last several weeks through each week week of the Texas Longhorn schedule to give you a preview. We do it in reverse order because frankly nobody wants to do a Texas State preview twice. It is what it is, right? So we start 12, 13 weeks out from the season, go all the way backwards and the last one before the season starts is Texas State Week 1. You can go back and listen to our previous ones. We've got A and M, we've got Arkansas in the bag. Got a ton in there for you as well. And then on Thursday we'll be back with our schedule with our team previews as well. Talking about the running back room. But with all that out of the way, we're here to talk about the Missouri Tiger. Skeeter. I want to start at the top and really ask you just Eli Drinkwoods is in an interesting place because it's seven years in. You don't see a lot of coaches with that much tenure anymore. Had two really successful seasons, but Missouri struggled kind of had a step back last year. So like, how do fans feel about, you know, drink and what are the expectations for this year?

A

So yeah, year seven going into year seven, that's crazy to think that he is the second longest tenured head coach in the sec, only behind Kirby Smart at Georgia blows my mind even consider that. But you know, his first three seasons we were 500 ball, I think five and five in the 2020 season because of COVID we didn't get to play a full schedule. And then the last or the 21 and 22 both went 6 and 6 with bowl game losses. So ended up 6 and 7 and then 23 just kind of exploded onto the scene there with a 102 season and getting that 11th win against Ohio State in the Cotton bowl there in Dallas really set the bar high and the expectations just went through the roof for us. And then you get to 24 and Brady Cook battles injuries, forces a little bit, has turnovers, and we don't get the results that we were hoping for. So in 25 we go get Bo Pribula spent a couple years backing up at Penn State and there was a lot of what if, but we were optimistic after having the seasons we had in 23 and 24. But Bo did not deliver. The offense as a whole did not deliver. We'll talk about it later on with offensive coordinator Kirby Moore and how that all kind of unfolded and just did not put the team in a beneficial spot offensively. And so Eli really reflected, I think, in the mirror and has made some comments after SEC spring meetings that the coaches and ADs go to and kind of, kind of raised my eyebrows. And I think we've seen a lot of growth. You know, when he first come to Mizzou, he's kind of fly off the hip and you never knew what he's going to say behind the mic. I kind of must see tv. He's really toned that back. Really, really toned that back. I don't know if he's gotten trouble from SEC or from, you know, the higher ups at Mizzou or whatever, but he's really scaled it back. And one of the things he said is his dad told him, you can't really talk crap until you start winning and when and when it counts. And so I think he's. He's had a lot of personal growth. He only had one year head coaching experience before we hired him and that was the 19 season at App State where he went 12 one, I believe, in a Sunbelt Conference championship. So really new to it and thankfully Our board of curators has been patient. The, the donors have been patient and not really screaming from the top rope of firing him and letting him get through that 500 ball and figuring out SEC play. And I think with the staff he's brought in this year and the players, there's, there's a lot of, a lot of potential.

B

Love that. So you talked about bringing new players in, but let's start with kind of the, the change at the coaching staff. So Kirby Moore is taking over at Washington State, bringing in Chip Lindsay to take over as the offensive coordinator. Last year we, we saw, you know, a more run heavy attack than I think we see in modern college football. Which, you know, part of it is probably the personnel, but, you know, ultimately, what do we expect from the, the Chip Lindsay version of the Missouri offense at 26? It's taking into account like all of the offensive firepower they're kind of adding to the roster.

A

Chip Lindsey had a true freshman quarterback last year at Michigan, and they averaged like 200 and some change a game rushing the ball. So he's, he's a run first three out of the six seasons that Eli's been head coach at Mizzou. In the sec, we've had the SEC leading rusher. So I think there's a good marriage there with a run first offensive coordinator along with a run first head coach, but then a big hire that's being highly overlooked, I think by a lot of people, including in the Mizzou circle. We go get Garrett Riley after he got let go From Clemson as O.C. lincoln's little brother, and he's our quarterback coach now. Then we go get Atkins, who was tight end coach at LSU last year. He's now our tight end coach at Mizzou, but he's also has offensive coordinator experience. So Eli goes and gets three offensive coordinators in the room. And at the spring meeting, a reporter was asking what he would do to fix college football. He misunderstood it and said, what have I fixed? I fixed me not calling plays anymore. So even though Kirby Moore was ROC by title, he was fairly new at it. He was, he was younger, kind of coming up through the ranks. We hired him from fresno before the 23 season, but Eli still apparently had a, had a lot of say so on the offense. I think he's completely turned that loose. And he's got guys that have resumes as long as you want to go and read through Wikipedia on them, really good resumes of what they've done and accomplished. So offensively I think it's exciting because we have an unknown because it appears Eli has completely let loose of the reins, focused on being CEO and letting Chip Lindsay come in, do his thing with Garrett Riley and the rest of the coaching staff on that side of

B

the ball, you know it. I really need that to pay dividends. So we have one more data point to tell Sark to like, hey, get out of the offensive coordinating game. But that's my own. We're not here to talk about that. We're here to talk about Missouri. So one of the big pieces of the offensive puzzle is Austin Simmons who comes in, had a stint at Mississippi. Former, you know, highly touted recruit, hasn't really seen the field much. It hasn't lived up to that. But like what do they, what do they like about Lindsey and what's kind of the marriage of, you know, Simmons and Lindsey together?

A

Austin Simmons, 6, 42 15, left handed quarterback, some SEC play experience already. Adle miss not a lot because he wasn't able to stay healthy. That's a big red flag, big question mark going into the season. But I think just Chip Lindsay, you look, go look up the 2018 Auburn Tigers. I think it was just ridiculous offensive numbers from quarterback, running back, receiver, they set all kinds of records with that offense that year and Chip was the head of it. And so I think just his experience in SEC play calling also with almost 30 years of coaching experience in college football, I think just the maturation that he has and the ability to develop, you know, most prominent name most people are going to know that was coached under Chip Lindsay would be Drake May, the New England Patriots quarterback from Chip's time at North Carolina, you know, but he also got Omarion Hampton as a Doak Walker finalist that, that season too. So it's not just quarterback, it's, it's the whole offense.

B

Love that. So let's, let's talk about the rest of the offense. I think, you know, the, the I'm an old school guy in a lot of ways when it comes to football and one of the things I love is, is a good running back and especially as you, you know, try to figure out new coach, new offense. Like it's, it's good to be able to just say, hey, I'm going to give you the ball. You get me four yards, five yards down and we'll keep things moving. So, so Missouri returns one of the most productive backfields from last year. You know, they got Ahmad Hardy obviously, but Jamal Roberts is also nothing to sneeze at. I think he would probably be RB1 in a lot of running back rooms and he just happens to be behind Ahmad Hardy. So they combine for, you know what, almost 2,000 yards, I think, which is wild. Last year, Missouri had one of the top running back duos in the country with Ahmad Hardy and Jamal Brooks, who would have been probably RB1 in other places if he hadn't been behind Hardy. Hardy was set to return this year, but an off season, off field situation, he was shot and so he's. We're unsure of his status. Can you give us an update on Ahmad Hardy and kind of what we expect from the Missouri running attack this year?

A

Well, let's back up to the spring. Ahmad Hardy's at a Mississippi around Hattiesburg and he's leaving a concert. There's a fight in the crowd, somebody shoots a gun. The bullet strikes Ahmad in the thigh when he's sitting in a car leaving. So we don't know what we have in Ahmad Hardy yet. We don't know that he's going to play this year. The ability to retain Jamal Roberts, massive. He had offers to hit the portal to go be starter other SEC schools. The Mizzou donor stepped up and was able to get enough to keep him. Gotta love it because he's a St. Louis kid. Been with Mizzou since out of high school. That's not common in today's college football. You know, you got to fall in love with the name on the chest plate more than what's on the back plate because it's a revolving door, it seems like, with the players. So when you get a homegrown kid that you recruited out of high school and they've stuck it out, you can't, you know, help but love that kid a little bit more than the rest of players. You feel attached to them. But Jamal Roberts, I think is going to be the workhorse to start the year. Depending on Ahmad's leg recovery, Eli said he he hoped to have more information to share come the SEC meetings coming up here later this month, the media days. And so everything that is being reported is that he's ahead of schedule. But what is that schedule? We don't really know. You know, it did shatter his bone. He had to have surgery to repair that bone. And Eli's been adamant that they're worried about his health first, they're worried about him out of Hardy, the. The person first, and then they'll worry about football after that. But from all the reports he's been at all the team meetings, all the team summer workouts, he's Right there with the guys in the room still being a leader. So I think he intends on playing this year because he's not off doing his thing. He's. He's still being a part of the team as much as he can while he's recovering. So. Long answer short. I think Jamal is going to be the, the workhorse to start and we'll see from there.

B

Yeah, and it's. He's a guy who would probably. Nobody would fault him if he went off and just did rehab on his own and focused on being healthy for the NFL in a year. So I think it's, it's pretty telling that he's, he's still in. Engaged and active in the, the program. So let's talk about the other side of the ball because Missouri actually low key, had one of a, one of the better defenses in the country. They're pretty solid allowed, you know, less than 20 points per game, depending on the stats you looked at. I think they were top, you know, 15 or top 20 if you're an advanced stats kind of person. But you know, they have a lot of turnover though, from last year in that unit. So does Corey Batoon have what he needs to replicate last year's performance or like, what are the key pieces you're looking at to see if they can?

A

Last year's offense was horrific. The fact the defense had the numbers they did is mind boggling because they were on the field 80% of the game. It felt like without the defense being as good as it was, I don't know that that offense was good enough to even get bowl eligible if it really depended on it like it was. It was that stagnant of an offense. But we, we do not return a starter off last year's squad. Yeah, but the way Corey Batoon coached that side of the ball, there's a lot of rotational pieces. So we return ends that got a lot of playing time. Darius Smith, Landon Kitchens on the, on the ends. And then we have two nose tackles. Talk about homegrown. Kids have been with us out of high school. Jalen Marshall and Marquis Gracial. Expect big step ups from them. They played a lot of snaps. Linebacker Nick Rodriguez, we hope it's another line of Mizzou linebackers, you know, going to the NFL, drafted from Nick Bolton and so on. You know, all the different guys have come in after him and so. And then secondary is probably our big question mark. But we go out and get graves of stuff. Starter at Ole Miss at db. We bring in safeties from Oregon, from Notre Dame, we're going getting kids from other Power 4 schools. Is, is it still Power 4? Yeah, not really even sure anymore. You know, I mean, since you and Oklahoma left Big 12, do we even count Big 12 as Power 4? But anyways, three and a half maybe. Yeah. And so, you know, we've got kids that have a lot of playing time. They haven't had to step up and be that guy just yet. Santana Banner is the safety that got a lot of playing time with us last year. He's like 6, 2, 2, 15 and he's been clocked to running a 43 this year in the spring. So expect a big, big year out of him. But I trust Cory Batoon and the system that he has and the guys that are returning and then the guys that go get in the portal were huge. And so I still think we're too deep across the board. It's just, are the guys going to step up and make the plays when it's necessary?

B

It's always the question. So, so let's kind of bring this to, to an end. So, you know, what is one storyline maybe you're watching going into 2026? Obviously the Ahmad Hardy storyline is, is one, but like, you know, outside of the, that whole kind of extra football, outside of football stuff, like what is the, what's the storyline you're watching heading into the season?

A

To me, offensively it's efficiency. The last couple years we have struggled with penalties and turnovers and maybe you talk about drive killers, putting your defense in short field situations. Take care of that side of the ball, take care of the ball and you know, a lot of good things can happen. My episode this week on the podcast, I talked about how I think we can get to 10 wins. We have the ingredients for another 10 win season like we had in 23. That's a 10 win regular season, not counting bowl games. You get to that 10 win mark and I think it's pretty safe. You're in a 12 team playoff. But the biggest thing is, you know, we don't need Austin Simmons to be Superman. We need 2023 version of Brady Cook. Be smart with the ball, step up, make plays that the defense allows you to make and just live for another play, you know, know, live for another down. So that's probably my biggest thing I'm gonna be watching because if we struggle in that again, it's, it can go downhill fast. And with the way, you know, we're unveiling a new 250,000 or 250 million dollar north end zone. The open hill where you can look out and see stadium drive and see the hospital on that ugly end is no longer ugly. It's enclosed. It's their sweets. We're still going to have the rock kiln. There'll be a small grass section hill in the middle of it. But Memorial Stadium is 100 years old this year too. So you've had the donors, the ticking season ticket holders. Their season tickets have tripled in the last three years.

B

Wow.

A

On ticket price and donation requirement has tripled just about across the board. So you're having all these, all the fans foot the bill to compete at a championship level. That's what you're selling us. Eight and five is not gonna. It'll be cranking the heater up on the coaching seat. But I, I think the pieces are there. It's just the guy's got to go out and execute now.

B

I get that. So let's ask that. What does execut execution look like? You know, we're, let's say we're sitting here in December or January and we feel like Missouri had a successful year. What would that look like to you?

A

I mean, I know nationally we're not regarded as probably not even an average program at best, but I think playoffs. Making the playoffs. Yeah, you would love to win the SEC and be a top four foreseed. But you know, I've asked for the last couple years with first four teams getting a buy, is it worth being the runner up in the SEC championship game? You go play elite competition, you're, you're, you know, banging your guys bodies. Another week, you get to host a playoff game. So more than likely. But is it worth that extra game where the other teams are. Get that extra week of rest? You know, would you rather be the runner up in the SEC or would you rather be the third best team in the sec? That's kind of a hard spot to be and I. Y' all have experienced it here recently. Do you think your playoff results would have been different had you not make, had you been the third seed in the sec?

B

I don't think so. I.

A

Okay.

B

It's hard because running into that Ohio State team at that moment is hard. It kind of colors everything. So. Yeah, I don't, I don't think it would have changed much.

A

To me, a successful season for Mizzou would be one of the top four teams in the SEC and make the playoffs.

B

Okay, so let's, let's shift gears. We've done the serious conversation. Skeeter, you've been great. I'm going to ask you some, some off the, the off the wall questions. We call this shooting from the Hip. We've rotated, we've changed the name of this a couple of times, but shooting from the Hip, I think is the one that's, that's lasted the most number of off seasons. So we Texas podcast, big barbecue fans. You know, you're from a barbecue rich area, so I'm going to ask you the controversial question. What is your barbecue hot take?

A

I mean, Texas brisket is where it's at. Kansas City ribs, when you're wanting ribs or where it's at, you know, Memphis, St. Louis, they got some good ribs. Texas makes some good ribs. But Kansas City's where it's at on that. And the burn ends. But Texas brisket, that is. I pipelined in Texas for a couple years, South Texas, around San Antonio, and it's hard to find bad brisket down there. I mean, everywhere you go, it's, you know, as the young, younger kids would say, it slaps.

B

Oh, man, I love it. I love it. So this is, again, these are silly questions. So Brad Pitt, David Koechner from Anchorman and Heidi Gardner are all Mizzou attendees, but I don't think any of them graduated. Which one do you think would have the bigger impact for the university if they decided to come back and get those last few credits?

A

It's gotta be Brad Pitt, right? Does that just mean I'm old now?

B

Fair. So in the research, he only. I think he's only like one class shy of graduating, which is why, yeah, he made the right choice. We'll go say probably made the right choice, but. But again, yeah.

A

Does he need a degree?

B

Does. No, probably not. Okay, so we're in the NIL era. We're in, you know, we're firmly in the area of nil. Rev shared all of that, but there are a ton of former players, previous players that we like, we always talk about would have been great in the NIL era if you could go back and pair one Missouri player. Anybody? No, no parameters around it. One Missouri player with any brand for an nil deal. What would it be and why?

A

Man, we had a safety in 2007 that got injured and really kind of derailed our potential of making the BCS national championship that year. But Pig Brown, Funny, funny dude. Love it when he goes on other podcasts now. But you get Pig Brown to go on, like, nil with a hog roasting company or, you know, somewhere with bacon or, you know, something, something to do with the pork and the pig. Yeah, I think that'd be a perfect marriage.

B

I love it. I love it. That's. We. We hear a lot. We hear a lot of. Of. Of fun names, and this is a thing. Okay, so two more questions. Cheryl Crow is a Missouri alum. Which album of hers would you use to describe just by the name, the upcoming season? I've got some options for you because I. I took a few flyer and figured you weren't the Cheryl Crow encyclopedia, so some album names you can choose from. Come on. Come on. Wildflowers, detours 100 miles from Memphis. Be myself or evolution. Those are the. The best options I can come up with.

A

Give me evolution. Evolution of Mizzou football. We're no longer content with being the 500 team, with being just decent. Let's just. Let's be an evolution and be the new Mizzou and put our name in the hat every year.

B

I love it. I love it. So, last question. One of the. One of the victims of all this realignment stuff and all the. The new era of college football is that the border war seems like it might be going away after this year for five years. A border showdown. I. I'm old. I'm. I'm.

A

It's.

B

It's border war. Okay. Right. Right again. Right. I've been calling it the border war for a quarter century now, so I'm not going to change. But it's seemingly going away for, like, the next five seasons. And so we do this to everybody that we have on the podcast, so it's not just you, but we have to ask them. We want you to say one nice thing about the Kansas Jayhawks.

A

Is this where my Internet freezes and I drop out?

B

You know, you could make it a backhanded compliment. It's. It's all. It's but one nice thing.

A

I love the look of Bill Self's face when he's getting curb stomped by the Missouri Tigers.

B

Beautiful. I love it. Absolutely love it. That's exactly. See, some people take this question very seriously and very sincerely. I'm really here for pettiness. I watch. I want to say something petty. Awesome.

A

As many people got to learn last year, you know, from our big 12 days. Mizzou ku. That's not just a rivalry. That is literal hate.

B

Yeah.

A

If my kids had, you know, D2 or their only D1 school is the Jayhawks, or as they have took it upon themselves to call them the dodo birds, if they want dad's support at the games and everything, they're gonna go D2.

B

I love it. I love it. I always. I always think about. There's a picture of James Gray, Texas Tech great running back, when his son signed with the University of Texas as a running back. And he looks like he's literally, like, dying on his face. It's one of my favorite pictures ever. But I. I get it, right? I completely.

A

Let me ask you real quick, real quick, if I can, please. I do not recall in the big 12 days the animosity between A M and Texas. Is it because A M left? And I know Texas was a huge part of it. A huge part of why we left was the Longhorn Network. You all got that TV deal and didn't have to share the money. And so we said, okay, well, we get an offer to go elsewhere. We're going. Yeah, but, you know, A M. I mean, that they're making it sound like they just absolutely hate y' all just most. We hate Kansas. Is. Is that the way it's always been, or is it kind of. We got away from you? What are you doing here?

B

I. You know, I. It's hard to. It's. It's a. Because it's always been a rivalry. It's always been a rivalry. And I think from a Texas fan perspective, A and M was kind of cheeks right before they left the Big 12. Like, they were not good for most of those years. And so, like, it was pretty easy to not regard it, but, like, it's always. The hate has ramped up, I think, because they got away, but they didn't quite get the prestige out of it they wanted, and they still kind of didn't get all of it. And so it's almost again, then Texas comes in and is one of the better teams in the conference. Almost instantly gave him a decade head start and still couldn't be better. So, like, I think it's a little bit of. Almost again, this is me coming off like a pompous Texas fan, fulfilling all of the stereotypes that everybody has about us. But, like, I think it's just like them being frustrated about not being farther ahead even though they have that advantage

A

for a decade, exposes imposters.

B

I. I think so.

A

I mean, I better watch it because we. They beat us the last two years, so. But we get. We get another chance at them this year.

B

You know, it's. Again, this is coming off like a pompous Texas fan. I'm just going to say, like, it's one of, like, the. The. The. The game this year. Te. This past year. Texas, Texas and M. It's just emblematic of, like, I think how Texas fans feel about the rivalry. It's like, they could be the better team. We're still going to beat them. And, like, I think that is also some of why, like, it's a very. They call us tips. They, they say that we think we're better than everybody. And maybe there's pro. There's probably a lot of truth to that. That's why folks love to cheer when Texas fans in Texas kind of steps on its own feet. But that's, that's a whole separate. We could unpack that. We could. I could spend a whole another 30 minutes unpacking that with you.

A

But we need a therapist, brother, for so much.

B

You, you, you and I are from the Too Many Kids crowd, and we need a therapist for sure. So, Skeeter, and thank you so much. If folks want more of what you've got to offer, where can they find you on the Internet?

A

Yeah, my Twitter X Handle YouTube channel is all the same. Zoo Podcast, the name of the show, Sons of the Show Me State, just wrapped up episode number three this week. I had a former podcast I used to do called Woods Water Mizzou with a couple co hosts. We started in 22. Last year I had to step away for some personal reasons, and when I came back, I just felt comfortable kind of going out doing my thing. And on there, the three things I focus on mainly focus on the zoo, but I talk outdoors when I, you know, have a hunting or fishing adventure that just happened that week or coming up, but also share my faith on there. I'm a strong believer in God and what he's done for me in my life, and so I like sharing that. So if any of those appeal to you. Yeah, look me up. Sons of the Show Me State or at Mizzou Podcast.

B

Awesome, man. Skeeter, thank you so much for the time. And I, you know, like, like I said, you and I are both from the Too Many Kids crowd, so I appreciate you taking some time out and

A

maybe not a problem.

B

Maybe you needed the break from it. I'm not sure.

A

But man, that's right.

B

Thanks again, brother.

A

Thank you.

B

And that's all we've got for you today, man. You can find us on all the social medias at Longhorn Pod, Facebook and Instagram. The Longhorn Republic. Shoot us an email. Longhorn Republic pod gmail.com Kyle will be back for our Thursday show. We'll be talking about the running back room, which has all New Faces for 2026. We'll talk about what our expectations are and how we can see that shaping up and pushing the offense forward. Thank you so much for tuning in. And until next time, hook him. Sa.