COLUMBIA, Mo. — You know Nick Bolton? The former All-American linebacker at Missouri who has won the Super Bowl twice with the Kansas City Chiefs?
Well, Nick Bolton has inspired a drill at his alma mater. It’s named after him. Mizzou talks about the Bolton Drill sometimes, mentioning it in an offhand way that makes the name sound like a “boltin’ drill†— which, in a way, it kind of is.
In a nutshell, it’s a scoop-and-score exercise. It’s named for Bolton because he picked up a fumble from Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and took it 36 yards to the house to help the Chiefs win Super Bowl LVII.
MU coach Eli Drinkwitz said the Tigers run the Bolton Drill every Monday and Tuesday. It’s common enough that outside linebacker Triston Newson called it an “everyday thing.â€
“We go over the bags, and they want us to make a firm, firm grip on the ball, make sure you get the ball, scoop and score,†Newson explained.
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In the drill, players quick-step over and around a couple of tackling dummies, field a loose ball like a bunt on the infield grass and bolt with it.
You know how football coaches have their sayings that they lean on? Their one-liners that are rhythmic enough to slip into everyday speech, general enough to be broadly applicable to the sport and its philosophies yet punchy enough to be memorable?
Drinkwitz and Mizzou have been kicking one around the team facility for a while now: “Practice execution equals game-day reality.â€
It’s a shorter, sharper version of the ol’ “You play how you practice and you practice how you play†line, but the meaning is obvious. It’s to encourage players to take practice reps seriously with the knowledge that there’s a direct correlation between those drills and plays in real games.
And man, oh man, did it come true in the game-winning play of Missouri’s 30-23 victory over Oklahoma on Saturday night.
In the final minute of action, with the Tigers and Sooners knotted at 23 points and OU controlling the ball, Newson sacked quarterback Jackson Arnold. The ball popped out, not far in front of defensive end Zion Young. He cleared a couple of obstacles, secured the ball and charged for the end zone.
Seems like the Bolton Drill, no?
“It’s about the same thing,†Young said, still holding his game ball as he entered his postgame news conference. “We jump through a couple of dummies, scoop and score. Same thing.â€
Drinkwitz was plenty happy with the sequence — as any coach would be with a game-winning play. But now, he’s got proof of concept he can use when putting future players through Bolton Drills over and over again.
“We talk about all the time — I’ve said it to y’all: Practice execution equals game-day reality,†Drinkwitz said. “That’s exactly what happened with Zion Young. I mean, it’s teach tape. It’s awesome.â€
