Ad Disclosure
Eli Drinkwitz recalls landing Cody Schrader: The ‘best recruiting night of my career’
Published:
Eli Drinkwitz has a gem in Cody Schrader, and his journey to Columbia is inspiring.
The running back spent 3 seasons at Truman State, a small Division II school in Kirksville, Missouri. Schrader wasn’t highly touted coming out of high school, nor was he receiving much attention during his time at Truman State.
It was a Missouri donor that put Schrader on Drinkwitz’s radar.
“Yeah, probably the best recruiting night of my career,” Drinkwitz said. “I went to dinner with a donor trying to get a donation for our indoor (facility) and he recommended Cody Schrader, who was transferring from Truman State, to me as a walk-on. I said sure, I’d look at it, and I left there and went to an in-home visit with Luther Burden and his family. It turned out both of them have had a huge impact on Mizzou football.”
Schrader landed at Missouri as a walk-on, but it didn’t take long for him to turn into a starter for the Tigers.
“The next day (Mr. Steve Trulaske) followed up with me to see if we’d have an opportunity for Cody and I said sure,” Drinkwitz said. “I hadn’t watched the tape yet just thinking he would come be one of our walk-on running backs and we have spots for running backs and knew we needed one. So took him and he showed up in January and worked his butt off and was the starter by the first game last season.”
Now Schrader is one of the best running backs in the SEC. He’s racked up 1,124 yards and 11 touchdowns on the season. He had one of the best games of his career against Tennessee on Saturday, picking up 205 rushing yards, 116 receiving yards and a touchdown.
His journey is one for the ages, and a testament to his unrelenting work ethic.
