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Drinkwitz will be the first head coach to meet the media Thursday, the event’s fourth and final day. His time at the podium is scheduled to start at 8 a.m. Central, with coverage on the SEC Network.

Joining him from Mizzou will be center Connor Tollison, defensive end Zion Young and hybrid safety Daylan Carnell — a trio of veteran players.

Media days might not carry the same importance that they did before the proliferation of social media and fear of going viral for the wrong reasons, but questions will still be asked and some might even get answers.

Here are five questions this beat writer has heading into Mizzou’s 2025 SEC media days appearance.

Does Drinkwitz hype up or downplay the Tigers’ talent?

Missouri’s coach is on the record as saying he’s got his most talented roster yet. National media, at least based on a lack of preseason hype and accolades, would disagree. So does Drinkwitz let the “meh� feeling about his 2025 team linger without much opposition, or does he take an opportunity to build them up?

Last year, riding a 2023 breakout into preseason playoff contender status, Drinkwitz tended to side-step the excitement to avoid feeding into it too much. Will that remain the same with a very different-looking offense now, or does he turn a bit more boastful?

A confident Drinkwitz could check some of the national consensus around his program.

Does his quarterback competition rhetoric change?

Coming out of spring practice, Drinkwitz was clear he hadn’t picked a starting quarterback yet, just like he promised he’d be heading into spring ball. From the moment Sam Horn and Penn State transfer Beau Pribula came together for those workouts to compete with each other, Drinkwitz has suggested their battle would come down to fall camp.

In May, he acknowledged this quarterback competition is “a little bit different� from past ones because he’s “got one of them (Horn) who’s playing baseball and the other one who’s able to be around more.� That’s seemingly a point in favor of Pribula, who already entered the battle as the external favorite.

It’d be surprising if Drinkwitz were to, say, name his starter at media days. It’d also be surprising if he doesn’t get a question or two about what’s next at football’s most important position. Will he use the same analogies, mention the same priorities as past answers about the topic? Or has anything changed that would shift his rhetoric?

Oh, and you can count on the Post-Dispatch to ask if he’s heard from Horn since the quarterback/pitcher was drafted by the Dodgers earlier this week.

Does the Border War’s return break through an SEC media circus?

The most-anticipated game on Mizzou’s 2025 schedule isn’t an SEC matchup. It’s the return of MU-Kansas in a Sept. 6 Border War matchup. Will that be of interest to an SEC media contingent?

Drinkwitz and his players usually get questions about other teams, players and stadiums, usually from reporters looking for angles related to the team they cover. What’s it going to be like to play a game at Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium? Do you want to sack/intercept Arch Manning? How do you think Oklahoma looks this year?

It’s not like Missouri is the only SEC school with a rival outside of the conference. Clemson has South Carolina. Kentucky has Louisville. Florida has Florida State and Miami. But the Border War rivalry that dates back to the beginning of MU’s football history might not carry as much intrigue in a self-interested SEC.

Is Tollison good to go?

Tollison missed the last few games of 2024 with a leg injury and was limited during spring practices. If he’s got the green light to fully participate in fall camp and play in the opener, that’s good news for the Tigers: Tollison has emerged as one of the best centers in the conference.

His presence at media days would point toward his being healthy, but the distinction between ready for the opener and cleared for contact at the start of camp is important. Checking in on the health of the rest of the MU roster will also be noteworthy.

How much does Drinkwitz go big picture?

With college sports changing plenty during Drinkwitz’s Mizzou tenure, he hasn’t been afraid to opine on the state of the game, from realignment to transfers to the lack of a clear entity in charge. Coaches who’ve gone earlier in the week have been asked about the potential of a nine-game SEC schedule, tampering and more.

Drinkwitz could, in so many words, shut those questions down or talk around them. Or he might engage, putting his thoughts on the record. He’s fully capable of fueling a headline or two if he opts for the latter.