Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz withdraws access to the football team because his brother plays for the upcoming opponent

Undefeated Missouri will travel to Kyle Field this weekend to face No. 25 Texas A&M in what is expected to be a tough road test.

As Missouri continues to prepare to compete in the Southeastern Conference, coach Eli Drinkwitz took a somewhat unexpected step this week by informing a team member that he was prohibited from attending practice.

Drinkwitz said Briah Reed, Missouri’s assistant director of on-campus recruiting, was “not cleared to practice this week.” The coach noted the presence of Briah’s brother Marcel Reed on the Aggies’ roster.

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Reed, a freshman quarterback, could start for Texas A&M on Oct. 6.

Aggies coach Mike Elko said Conner Weigman was a “game-time decision.” Weigman was the starting quarterback in the Aggies’ opening loss to Notre Dame, but left in Week 2 with a shoulder injury.

Reed has thrown a pass in four of the Aggies’ five games this season, starting in each of the last three contests. Drinkwitz said the coaching staff is focusing its game plan on Reed this week, regardless of Weigman’s status.

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“At this point, I know on their depth chart it says the other kid is the starting quarterback,” Drinkwitz said.

“But I think that’s just semantics. [Reed] is 3-0 as a starter. Whether he’s listed as questionable or whatever, I don’t think they’ll go back. They’re 3-0, they clearly have a different offensive identity [Reed] at quarterback, and they have developed an offense that fits his system. It’s very different from the first game of the year. If they go with the other, they go with the other. But they have already set up the offensive against Marcel.

On Wednesday, Drinkwitz reiterated his stance on Briah’s week-long training ban, saying he “wasn’t kidding.” Drinkwitz made the comments during a conference call of SEC coaches.

Drinkwitz also acknowledged that the brother-sister relationship created an “interesting dynamic.”

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“It created an interesting dynamic,” Drinkwitz said. “At the end of the day, this is her brother and this is her blood, and we know she’s doing her job here. But the family is always so important, and that’s why we don’t want it to come into any conflict of interest.” . In fact, I just saw her in the hallway, but I’m not letting her in the copy room and she certainly won’t be keeping an eye on the scouting report.

Drinkwitz also said he didn’t know before Week 3 that Briah had a family member who played for Texas A&M. Marcel threw two touchdowns in the Aggies’ 33-20 win over the Florida Gators this week.

Drinkwitz is in the middle of his fifth season as head coach at Missouri. The Tigers finished ninth in the current AP Top 25 rankings.

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