Ever quick-witted, Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz on Wednesday proved he's capable in the role of reporter when he asked a question of Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer.
Drinkwitz, whose standing place in the weekly Southeastern Conference coaches' Zoom is immediately preceding that of Alabama's Kalen DeBoer, first closed his own session with a question about a question.
"Can I ask the first question of Kalen DeBoer or not?," Drinkwitz asked unflappable SEC host Chuck Dunlap. "I just want to ask if he's going to wear that black hoodie.
"I call it the 'Black Hoodie of Death.'"
Following a standard, innocuous first question to DeBoer in the ensuing 10-minute session, a nonplused Dunlap returned to the phone lines and welcomed in "Eliah Drinkwitz of Missouri Athletics" with the next question.
"Are you going to wear that black hoodie on the sideline this game with us wearing black jerseys," Drinkwitz asked DeBoer.
"Oh Coach Drink," DeBoer answered through a laugh, which also was matched by Drinkwitz laughing in the background of the audio Zoom. "I’ve got to fit in somehow. More than likely.
"We’ll see what the forecast is. I kind of know, but I'm expecting that. It’s kind of got a life of its own right now."
Drinkwitz chimed in, "That's the only question I needed to find out. All right. See ya."
As DeBoer noted, his sideline attire has been an unusually strong public-opinion topic basically since the onset of his tenure atop the Crimson Tide prior to the 2024 season.
But in the land of "It Just Means More," rabid Alabama and SEC fans, as well as other onlookers, have monitored DeBoer's sideline attire alongside Alabama's wins and losses.
The result? Well, Drinkwitz is pretty spot-on. The Crimson Tide are now 12-2 when DeBoer dons the 'Black Hoodie of Death' following last Saturday's dominant second-half performance in a win against ranked and unbeaten Vanderbilt.
Drinkwitz and the No. 14, undefeated Missouri Tigers (5-0) host No. 8 Alabama (4-0) Saturday at Faurot Field in a noon kick on ABC.
The contest actually marks an anniversary of sorts for Drinkwitz, who in his first game atop the Missouri program in 2020 faced Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide. Alabama won 38-19 with a that team Drinkwitz today called one of Alabama's and college football's best alltime.
Alabama won last year's matchup, 34-0, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.