Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz didn’t spend much time dancing around the obvious ahead of Friday’s Border War: Kansas quarterback Isaiah Marshall and offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki have his full attention.
Drinkwitz called Marshall “really good, really natural” and praised the first-year starter’s confidence, vertical passing and toughness as a runner. He pointed to the way Marshall throws the ball down the field, calling his accuracy “really good,” and also highlighted the quarterback’s ability to make people miss with a sharp one-step, plant-and-burst style.
He also noted that Marshall has already faced some of Missouri’s Detroit-area players before, including in a state championship game, and described him simply: “The guy's a winner.”
Kotelnicki drew just as much respect. Drinkwitz said Kansas’ offensive coordinator has a knack for getting quarterbacks comfortable and building around what they do best. He referenced Kotelnicki’s work with Beau Pribula last year, saying the approach was tailored to Pribula’s Penn State background and designed to help him settle in quickly.
Drinkwitz also broke down why Kotelnicki can be so difficult to defend. In his view, the offense can look complicated to opponents while staying simple for the players running it. He described it as the “same as” principle, where the looks keep changing but the underlying scheme stays consistent for the offense.
“He's got plays off of plays, so he's going to give you the same shift, same motion this week, and then next week he's going to have an explosive pass off of it, or an explosive quarterback run off of it, or a trick, or a special, or he's going to have you hunting things. He's got multiple unbalanced formations where he has the in-man on line of scrimmage being eligible, so you're constantly having to ask yourself what's next? And you're hunting ghosts, which I think is what you know you're supposed to do as an offensive coordinator and he does a really good job of it.”
That creativity is part of why Drinkwitz expects a tricky night for Missouri’s defense. He said the Tigers are dealing with a limited amount of film, a new coordinator and a new quarterback, which makes in-game adjustment and sideline communication especially important.
The biggest issue, though, is Marshall’s dual-threat ability. Drinkwitz explained that every pass play essentially becomes two plays because the quarterback can throw it or take off and run.
He contrasted that with a more limited quarterback, where a defense can choose to live with one threat while taking away the other. That won’t work here, he said.
“I think the challenge with players like Isaiah Marshall and dual threat quarterbacks is every pass play becomes really a two play part. You have the pass play, which he's an effective thrower and then he can pull it down and become a runner.
So you have to play two plays within a play. There's no magic answer to it.
I think if a quarterback is limited in one area or another, then it becomes ... here was a couple years ago we played a quarterback that we said, 'Hey, if he throws it to beat us, we'll be okay with that. But we're not gonna let him scramble to beat us.'
But that's not really what you can do with this guy. We're gonna have to be disciplined.
We're gonna have to rush the quarterback and play pass coverage, and then, you know, utilize our pass rush lanes, and we'll see how it plays out.”
Drinkwitz also looked back at last year’s matchup, saying Missouri’s comeback was built on settling down after a rough start. He recalled the Tigers falling behind 21-6, absorbing a fumble return touchdown and a blocked extra point, and giving up explosive plays before eventually finding their footing.
In his telling, the turning point came when Missouri stopped panicking and started executing. He said the difference was going 4/5 on fourth down and scoring just before halftime. Still, he pointed out that that game came at home, where the Tigers were more comfortable.
This time, the setting changes. Missouri heads on the road, and Drinkwitz made clear he expects the challenge to be tougher.
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