The Mailbag, pres. by Whitney McNutt/Tommy Morgan Inc Realtors: Edition 107
It's time for The Mailbag, presented by Whitney McNutt of Tommy Morgan Inc., Realtors, Edition 107.
I asked for your questions. You delivered. So here we go...
From LeroyReb: Is there really that big of a drop in talent behind Elijah Moore and Mingo(not proven) or could it be that Derek Nix isn’t a good WR coach.
Moore is a special talent. So yes, there's a fall-off after that. Putting that blame on Derrick Nix would seem to be an odd flex if one did it. For the most part, elite wide receivers are recruited, not developed.
From nas5108: When will Tennessee really be “back”? What do you make of Pruitt firing the Co-DC/dline coach 4 games into this weird Covid season?
I don't know that Tennessee will ever be "back," whatever that truly means. As for the Brumbaugh firing, it told me something is bad wrong internally that had to be addressed.
From nas5108: What is your prediction for the Rays-Dodgers WS?
I'm answering this on Tuesday at 10:45 a.m., so I might already look silly by the time you read this, but I'll go with the Rays in 7.
From nas5108: What is your favorite kind of pizza?
I love the prosciutto and arugula from Saint Leo. I still to this day, almost 30 years since I've had it, sometimes have a craving for a sausage and jalapeño from Johnny's Pizza.
From philwauke: Do you think they'll go after a transfer qb next season for a backup?
My guess is, if Ole Miss signs a transfer quarterback this offseason, he would be coming in to start.
From WBurns42: #7Honestly not sure your stance on sports curses, but there’s some serious voodoo working against Atlanta sports. Just like Clayton Kershaw in the playoffs. Do you think there’s legit curses or is it in the players’ or teams’ psyche?
I'm not a believer in curses. I'm really not. I am a believer in something getting in your head. Ben Zobrist admitted, in the moments following Rajai Davis' home run to tie Game 7 in the 2016 World Series, that he wondered about curses. Other players referred to the rain delay as a "cleanse," so yeah, that stuff gets in people's heads.
From Grovin1551: What is your best guess as to what’s going on here?
OK, first of all, her failure to give me a proper answer there would be the end of the road. So, she's 35 and collecting teeth? She's a psychopath. Are they her baby teeth? Did she have a child and she's hanging on to those teeth as a memory? I just don't know. Is she somehow collecting teeth from former boyfriends? Is she the Tooth Fairy in her spare time?
There's no real explanation that could lead me to say, "Oh, that's cool. I get it."
So I'd be out. I'll clean my own damn house. No one needs a girlfriend that bad.
From Samminish: Uncle Neal: The FOOTBALL GODS returned to the Hailey/OEP Studios and offered a solitary wish after watching the genius SEC Short ~ YES/NO, would you like ARKANSAS to have never been admitted to the SEC?Rebels would probably be 2-2 today but they would have won the National Championship with FREEZE and he might still be here .. ..WHAT DO WE DO?!?!
Oh, I don't know. I think Arkansas belongs in the league after all this time. As for Ole Miss, here's the thing: Does Freeze win at Mississippi State if the Arkansas fourth-and-25 doesn't happen. Things would have been really tight.
From Hill Rebs: do you think the olympics is what cursed atlanta/ga sports?
As mentioned before, I'm not a curse guy. I just don't buy them.
From Fuzzy Huddleston: Do you believe part of the increasing wokeness of the sports “journalism” industry was just a bunch of white privileged dudes believing they needed to amp up their political activism to gain access to black athletes who they perceive to be more left leaning in their politics and now we have a yet another industry dominated by leftist?
No, I just think journalists are typically liberal and social media has given them a platform to express those views. Also, at a lot of places, there is pressure on journalists to be left-leaning because their bosses want that.
From Hannitized: Who is "back" first? Miami or UT - Knoxville? (Like my short TO THE POINT questions?)
Miami. The road to contention is much straighter. Other than Clemson, there's no proven commodity to overcome.
From nas5108: What is the most overrated job/program in the SEC, ACC, and Big 10?
SEC -- Tennessee
ACC -- Florida State
Big Ten -- Michigan
From rebelpsychologist: In regards to Matt Corral, why is there such a failure to recognize that he has only started 8 games at the college level? I understand he played poorly at Ark, but every QB has tough games, let alone a guy who doesn't even have a full season of experience under his belt. Why the call from some fans for Plumlee?
I really don't know. I can't speak for a fan base and wouldn't try to. I know there's a segment of Ole Miss fans that would love for Plumlee to be their guy because he's a Mississippi kid and they enjoyed what he did a year ago. I don't know why some are so hard on Corral. This sounds flippant, but my interactions with Ole Miss fans are pretty much limited to what you see here. I'm not exactly out and about talking Ole Miss football or in a bunch of group texts with Ole Miss fans (to be clear, I'm in none).
From RebelCommodore: Everyone is talking about firing Gus Malzahn. If it happens who do you think takes the job. If it is even possible.
I still doubt it happens, but I don't have any real idea which direction they'd go. I think you'd hear Will Muschamp's name. I think they'd look at Luke Fickell, at Billy Napier, etc. Money is going to be weird at Auburn and everywhere for a bit. Firing a coach today is going to require a big-time booster commitment.
From coachnuke: If the bowl games the SEC are contracted to play in, are going to be played. With the 6 wins or winning record this year waived ,do the bowls take non winning SEC teams or do they take for example, a Sun Belt Team with a winning record?
They'll take SEC teams all day, especially if fans are allowed.
From InsuranceRebel: How do you think the lost of revenue in MLB impacts free agency? With bigger markets like the Yankees and Boston losing hundreds of millions of dollars, and on the flip side, small market teams not getting revenue sharing percentages from those larger markets, could we see a lot of guys kind of stuck in No Man's Land?
I expect it to be a calamitous offseason from the players' perspective. I anticipate a lot of high-profile non-tenders, very little free agent activity, etc. The players are going to PAY. The owners lost so much money and, given the fear of another season without fans, they're not going to be eager to spend at all.
From Cocainecowboy: Arch Manning reclassifying to 2022? You mentioned it Saturday on the show. Anything to add or just a rumor.
I didn't make it up, but I also just called it a buzz. We'll see.
From Patrick C Timoney: Why do you think states provide less process in administrative hearings that involve implications on professional licenses than the process afford in a typical civil action? Both involve property interests and I argue the latter is more paramount because it goes to someone’s ability to make a living.
I have a useless degree in broadcast journalism and history from Ole Miss and an even more useless Masters degree in "communication" (whatever the hell that is) from ULM. I have no idea.
From kylethehoss: If you had a choice of defensive coordinators already on your staff, who would pick and why?Pete GoldingButch JonesMike StoopsCharlie Strong
I'd take Golding from that group. He's considered an elite recruiter. At least I'd have players.
From RebelAccy95: Do you see Kermit experimenting with groupings more than usual early in the season? If Jarkel and Devonte play together heavy minutes, does that reduce the ability to run 1-3-1 because one or both of them might have to play a wing and/or run baseline? How does Murrell project defensively?
Yes, I think he's got the type of roster where he can experiment and have multiple groupings. He can go small. He can go big. He can move Shuler off the ball. It's a versatile roster.
You could play them together in the 1-3-1 as long as you had a long player at the top of the zone (Rodriguez, Buffen, Vaughn). As for Murrell's defense, I don't know, really. All I can tell you is that staff is very high on him and they believe he's going to be a help this season.
From DSU_REB_12: What if the first four games were products of the opposing teams just looking past Ole Miss and Arkansas actually preparing for Ole Miss? Why do people still believe that Freeze or Matt could have done better when the talent level on this team is a product of their recruiting and coaching?
No one was looking past Ole Miss. Ole Miss' offense was just very efficient. Barry Odom and Arkansas tried something different and it worked and Corral had a terrible day.
As for why some still cling to Freeze or Luke, I don't know. Again, my interactions with Ole Miss fans are really limited to here. My guess is there's a sentimental attachment to Freeze for the 2014 and 2015 seasons and to Luke because he's a really good guy who is Ole Miss through and through.
From DSU_REB_12: Kermit and crew have done an excellent job bringing in what seems to be the best team the program has had in a while. With better talent around him will it help Shuler raise his draft stock?
Yeah, that could happen. Devontae needs to stay healthy, show he can score off the ball and really defend like a, well, you know. I'd like to see him work with Sy and/or White and become a better pick-and-roll player. He also has to be a more consistent perimeter shooter.
From OrangeBeachReb: You’ll recall, back in the day in the early to mid 90’s and before, when you were more involved day-to-day recruiting, that the heights, weights and speed of recruits were almost always fudged. To the players benefit. For example, a QB that is 5’10” was listed as 6’, etc. Max Howell once told me the HS coaches would fudge them to the services but the college coaches knew the real measurements. Plus a 6’ QB got magazine buyers more excited over a 5’10 one.Most fans didn’t know this and it was the big “inside joke” in the business. Are the h/w/s measurements today legit?
They're much more legit now because of things like the Rivals Camp Series. Guys actually get measured. I expect a step back now because COVID is eliminating those things for the time being.
From train21reb: What mental hurdles (if any) did you face when going from running a half to a full marathon?
For me, late in the process, the doubt started really creeping in. I was going to be alone that day in Chicago and I worried I'd fail and, in my mind, let a lot of people down. There was just so much self-doubt. There was a point, about 18 miles in or so, where I realized I was fine. It was a beautiful day -- 50 and sunny, and I finally let myself enjoy it. I never ran a half. My advice is follow a training program, follow a nutrition program and just relax.
