Mizzou football: Jim Sterk wanted a spark, and that’s what he got

Mizzou football AD Jim Sterk said time after time that the Tigers needed some energy. Here’s to hoping they got that with Eli Drinkwitz.

When Mizzou football decided it wanted to make a change at head coach, the athletic director immediately set out for a particular person in mind. Jim Sterk wanted somebody who was going to bring energy to a program that ran low of it toward the end of the season.

The Tigers were 5-1 and ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. They lost five straight before closing out the season with a win to get to .500. He said it was clear what the Tigers needed. After all, the program received a $100 million renovated stadium, and with the hype around the team in 2019 and moving forward, Sterk didn’t want to waste the momentum.

So Mizzou officials decided to make the tough decision in firing coach Barry Odom and moving in a different direction. He told UM System President Mun Choi he had an app to find the next guy — App State. Sterk landed on the guy who they believe will bring the energy he was looking for in Eli Drinkwitz.

If his press conference is any indication, the Tigers got the guy who will deliver.

The majority of the pubic say he won the press conference. He said he will shoot for the moon in regard to a question about his expectations. He made jokes about how it was hard to say no to Choi at the Hampton Inn. He’s going to hit the recruiting trail hard and put in the work to get Mizzou football back to where former coach Gary Pinkel had it. And as he shook hands with board members and others, he faked a jump shot when he got to Tigers radio color analyst and former basketball star Jon Sundvold.

Drinkwitz made a minor slip-up at the podium Tuesday, saying the goal was to win the Sun Belt. But he quickly corrected that to say the SEC East. That’s the goal Sterk and others have, and they need a spark to get things started.