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Published Sep 8, 2021
The Mailbag, pres. by Whitney McNutt/Tommy Morgan Inc Realtors: Edition 148
Neal McCready  •  RebelGrove
Publisher

It's time for The Mailbag, presented by Whitney McNutt of Tommy Morgan Inc. Realtors, Edition 148.

I asked for your questions. You delivered. So here we go...

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From BaldwynReb2019: How High are you on each NFL rookie QB? I think Zach Wilson is the next superstar

I agree with you on Wilson. I think he's a star in the making. I'm pretty high on Mac Jones, too. He was terrific at Alabama and people who know him rave about him. He's in a great system, too. Trevor Lawrence has all the tools, as does Trey Lantz. And I still think the Bears got a steal in Justin Fields. All in all, it's a super class of quarterbacks, I think.

From Kylethehoss: Which SEC coach hates it’s fans the most or the weekly radio show? Saban sounds miserable

Call-in shows are typically brutal. I get why the coaches hate them. As a rule, the people who call into them ...

I'll be kind and call them really big fans.

Saban hates those shows, and I can't say I blame him. They're an insult to his intelligence. I can't say I've listened to any others. If you ever catch me listening to a coach's weekly show, come help. I'm not doing it of my own free will.

From walnutreb: Post game, what did you think of Iton and Chance Campbell?

I thought Iton showed some bright spots. He's going through the junior college learning curve. Chance Campbell is an NFL linebacker.

From North Tampa Rebel: Why can’t we have nice things?

I don't know. Here's Taylor Swift's take:

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From Atexreb: Neal. As the dad of 2 daughters myself, I find myself waking up in a panic about having 2 kids in college at the same time. I have saved for their college, but am quickly realizing it won’t be enough. Any advice or insight since you are now living this reality. I always enjoy hearing about you and your family. Thanks!!

I always knew these would be the 10 most expensive years of my life. I saved all I could and just put my head down and worked as hard as I could to make as much as I could. There are times I wake up in the middle of the night doing math, and sometimes the math is scary.

That said, it's just life. I try to focus on positives and not stress too much. I try to enjoy each day and do the best I can. I try to think of new ways to create revenues and I try not to spend stupidly, all while also not trying to let money rule my every thought.

So far, knock on wood, I'm doing OK.

My girls are doing their part. They both have jobs and they both got scholarships that help cut costs. They're making good grades and they watch their spending.

But again, what matters most is they're happy. They're making friends and enjoying this part of their lives, and at the end of the day, that's all that matters.

Money typically works itself out, I've learned.

From Little Mike Strojny: Way to early SEC assumptions after week one including Ole Miss?

I put a lot of these in 10 Thoughts, but here are some quick ones:

-- Ole Miss is better on defense than I thought it would be.

-- Miss. State is too one-dimensional.

-- LSU got whipped up front, and that should scare the hell out of them.

-- Bo Nix loves this new Auburn offense.

-- Arkansas is a quarterback away from being respectable.

-- Alabama is Alabama.

-- Kentucky is a legitimate threat to finish second in the East.

-- Georgia got what it paid for on defense.

-- The Vols aren't back yet.

From larryjoe1979: Who is the overrated athlete in your opinion? Modern and all time if not the same person

Derek Jeter. If that exact same player plays for the Minnesota Twins, no one ever cares.

From Ignatius9: What are the 5 worst SEC teams since 1990? Could this year’s Vanderbilt team beat 2011 Ole Miss?

I don't know about worst five teams since 1990. My guess is you could just go to Vanderbilt's media guide and roll.

However, that Ole Miss 2011 team would make the list. It was abhorrent. That said, I think it would beat this year's Vanderbilt team, at least at this point in the season. Let's see if this Commodore team, with a first-year coach, quits. I rarely use that word in sports, but that 2011 Ole Miss team, well, it had some guys just quit on Houston Nutt.

From ozzy2378: Ok, so you outmaneuvered me on the shrimp cocktail and NCAA question. I can do better….Considering your taste for the delicious shrimp cocktail SAUCE from St. Elmo’s would you swap a little NCAA brown nosing for a lifetime supply of shrimp cocktail sauce, fresh shrimp cocktail (we could even upgrade from shrimp to Prawns!) at your beckoned call (delivered to your home same day fresh), and a twice a month fresh meal from St. Elmo’s? What if you could make your boys Wolken, Forde, and Robertson disappear (not in a violent or malicious way but just go away.) by doing a little NCAA brown nosing? Would you do some NCAA water toting then?ETA at 9:32 EST Monday: Another question - did the little potato log podcast that could and certain key people at RebelGrove have a sneaky suspicion Chance Campbell might be a key to Ole Miss’ Defense when they signed him to a NIL contract? You psychic dog, you.

Oooh, now we're talking. I could kiss up to the NCAA a little bit if all of that came my way and society benefited at the same time. Sure, but just a little.

And yes, I did some research on Chance Campbell. I know some people and I talked to those people. I had a pretty good idea of what I was trying to do.

From Rbb2010: What players do we have that have signed a NIL deal, and who are they with?

You'd have to ask Ole Miss that. I have no idea. I know of a few, but I have no idea on a comprehensive list.

From DovaReb: Hypothetically…If you could do a 100% honest answer interview with one sports figure would you rather interview Ray Lewis, OJ Simpson, or Hugh Freeze? For clarity, they are somehow compelled to answer any question fully and truthfully. No dodging questions.

That's easy. I think we all know the general truth on Lewis's involvement in Atlanta and I think we basically know what happened with Freeze. Comparing those two things, by the way, is completely unfair to Hugh (I know you weren't; I'm just saying). One of those people was involved in deaths. One just succumbed to human weakness.

I'd be fascinated to get the whole truth from Simpson. I know he killed them, but I'd love to know what really happened. Did he plan it? Did he just snap? Was his son in on it? Did he freak out when he almost had a wreck leaving the scene? What did he do with the knife? Who helped him dispose of it? Did he ever really think of suicide during the chase? Did he know the verdict ahead of time? Was he surprised when he wasn't welcomed back into his social circles after the verdict? Does he dream about it? Does she haunt him? Is he scared of Kim Goldman? Did he listen to her podcast? Does he worry about going to Hell?

By the way, let me say this: Hugh Freeze and I aren't friends, but I generally like Hugh. He made mistakes. He paid for them. He's a hell of a football coach. I harbor no ill will. What happened, happened. It changed my life, sure, but it didn't ruin it.

From walnutreb: With the current 4 game redshirt thing, whats your opinion on putting Luke in for one play? You'd think after that you'd give him atleast that last drive.I know I am nitpicking and arm chair coaching

I don't think it's a big deal. He'll likely not play more than four games anyway, and the odds of any one player being at your program for five years is stunningly small these days.

From larryjoe1979: What do you think is more suspect: Going to Chinese buffet with nothing but Latinos working there or going to a "New Orleans Style Restaurant" and the owner/main cook has never been to New Orleans?

The Chinese buffet without people familiar with the cuisine cooking it is a recipe for a long day in the bathroom, I suspect. As a whole, I'm anti-Chinese buffets. Just no.

At least the New Orleans-style restaurant with no knowledge of creole cuisine will be safe. It'll be bland as hell, sure, but it's a safer bet.

From napuckett14: What does your 2-5 in the SEC West look like after Week 1?

2. Texas A&M

3. Ole Miss

4. Auburn

5. LSU

From SipRebCard: Jeffery mentioned when he was on the podcast last week that in 2015, the pod was getting 30,000 downloads per episode. What do those numbers look like today with things moving in the right direction and Lane at the helm?

We're blessed. We're getting huge numbers now, much higher than during 2015. By the way, I'll be forever indebted to Jeffrey. He pushed us to make the show better, more professional, more technically sound.

Now, we have shows that routinely get huge numbers, considering the niche market we are in. Most everything we try gets very good numbers.

Kiffin, obviously, has helped that. There's a reason I lobbied for his hiring. :-)

From BigReb6: If Ole Miss has a good year offensively, and Lebby leaves for a HC job, how does that affect the recruitment of Arch?

I'm told the Mannings really love Lebby. That said, Arch Manning is not going to choose a program based on the offensive coordinator. He knows coaches leave. He knows Lebby will be a head coach one day, and that one day could come sooner rather than later. I think he knows Kiffin, Sarkisian and Swinney all have deep contacts to hire offensive coordinators. And yes, I think it's down to those three schools.

From Rebelfan20: If this season goes as well as you anticipate and as well as OM fans hope for, what would that look like for your business?

It would likely be very good.

However, I can't go there. I just take it one week at a time and do my best. That's not cliche, either. I don't spend time daydreaming or worrying. I just do my work and try to make it better than the week before.

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