Eli Drinkwitz expects more from special teams going into the SEC opener against Vanderbilt (2-3) on Saturday.

“It’s a team responsibility. We haven’t really played up to our full potential on special teams yet,” Drinkwitz told the media on Tuesday. “We’ve had glimpses of being successful there but haven’t put it all together.”

The Tigers (4-0) will need to watch out for Vanderbilt’s Jayden McGowan. A wide receiver, McGowan found a niche as a kick returner. McGowan averages 32.1 yards per return, and he score a TD once amid his 8 returns this season.

“Jayden had … really the difference in the game with the kickoff return for a touchdown versus Hawaii, so our coverage teams have got be really good,” Drinkwitz said. “Will Sheppard, I believe, is their punt returner, so they’re putting their best players back, and we’re going to have to cover kicks at a high level, and … that’ll be a challenge for us this week.”

Sheppard averages 11.3 yards per punt return. The Commodores also had long kick and punt returns, 22 yards or more, from Martel Hight, Chase Gillespie, and London Humphreys this season.

Missouri allows an average of 25 yards per kick return and 10.4 yards per punt return. The Tigers have some success flipping the field with punts at 41 yards per game.

Mizzou seeks a fifth-straight win to start the season when action kicks off in Nashville on Saturday.