Eli Drinkwitz and No. 12 Missouri will head to Athens this weekend for a major matchup at No. 2 Georgia.

With Dominic Lovett now a member of the Bulldogs, Drinkwitz expressed gratitude for the time the talented wide receiver played with the program during a recent press conference.

Lovett spent his first 2 seasons at Missouri and earned First-team All-SEC honors last season with 56 receptions for 846 yards and 3 touchdowns.

“I’m extremely proud of Dominic Lovett and what he meant to our program and what he means playing at East St. Louis and then coming and playing a couple years for us,” Drinkwitz said. “Hopefully we had a hand in his growth and development as a player, and obviously he felt like it was in him and his family’s best interest to try and go play somewhere else.”

Drinkwitz added that Lovett has bought into the system at Georgia under Kirby Smart. Lovett has 35 receptions for 365 yards and a touchdown this season.

“And obviously we knew he was an extremely talented player, he was first-team All-SEC while he was here and he’s gone on and embraced his role at Georgia,” Drinkwitz said. “Appears to be an excellent player for them and I know Coach Smart whenever I’ve had a conversation with him commented on how excited he was to have Dominic in his program. And how much he’s added value to that program, and that’s great for him and we’re really proud of him for that.”

Drinkwitz believes former players shining after transferring is a glowing reflection of the development program at Missouri.

“But we’re really proud of our guys for what we’ve been able to do while we’re here, and obviously Luther’s done well and I think you hit it on the head,” Drinkwitz said. “This is the 3rd game we’ve played against a former player from last year’s team or the year before and it’s just kind of the way it goes now.”

Missouri at Georgia is slated for 3:30 p.m. EST (CBS).