It's time for The Mailbag, presented by Whitney McNutt of Tommy Morgan Inc. Realtors, Edition 163.
I asked for your questions. You delivered. So here we go...
From North Tampa Rebel: Any tips for Santa's elves who have to put together a Barbie Dreamhouse on Christmas Eve? Asking for an Elf.
Tips:
1. Pay someone to put it together
2. Drink
3. For the love of God, don't wait until the last minute and have a big fight with the wife and ruin Christmas over a damn Barbie dream house.
From WBurns42: My brother in law and I had a big discussion at T’Giving. What are your top 5 favorite Office episodes?
5. Local ad
4. The Convict
3. Diversity Day
2. Goodbye, Michael
1. The Finale (I've never watched it without being moved to tears, a testament to how good that show was and how emotionally attached I was/am to the characters).
From hamslam12: If you were a football player, what would your ideal NIL brand be? Money is the same across the board, what company would best sponsor Neal McCready?
Oh, this is easy. I'd go with Clark Ford, DeadSoxy, Blue Delta Jeans, Service Specialists, Walk-On's, Blue Sky and then see what else was out there.
From Cobbrebel: Will Corral, Sanders, and Mingo be 100% for the Sugar Bowl as far as their injuries are concerned?
When I was out at practice a week or so ago, everyone looked to be fresh and healthy. I've heard nothing to the contrary.
From beams8star: The past several coaches there has been a trend on how they recruit.... Houston Nutt went into Ark. and used the GA connections on the staff. Hugh Freeze went in to GA, star chaser, and used TN ties. Matt Luke was all in on MISSISSIPPI MADE. Where is the trend with Lane Kiffin.... using some NE connections on the staff, a little bit in FL. I just don't see a pattern. Do you see this being a problem with lack of consistency or still early in his tenure?
Look, while I have some opinions regarding recruiting, Lane Kiffin and his staff are 10-2, ranked eighth in the country and in the Sugar Bowl this year. Criticism would be foolish. For now, they get the benefit of every doubt.
From DeuceMccluster22: Who gets on Chases nerves more, John Rhys Plumlee or JG Tate?
To my knowledge, Chase likes Plumlee. I think he and Jay get along, but of those two, I'd say Tate gets on his nerves more than Plumlee does.
From Kylethehoss: Do you think this is the start to the end to Dabo and the dynasty? Will he lose recruits because of his ideas on NIL?
I do think his stranglehold on the ACC is coming to an end. I don't know if it's due to his beliefs on NIL or Clemson's resources (or lack thereof). I just don't know enough about the internal dynamics at Clemson, but something has happened. I'll give you a very pertinent example: Last summer, all the buzz was Clemson was in the driver's seat for Arch Manning. Now, most don't think the Tigers are really even in the mix anymore. Most everyone believes Georgia, Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas all lead Clemson. If true, that's a precipitous fall.
From DgreenReb: If you could ask the last 3 OM football coaches one question and they had to answer it honestly what would you ask? (Luke, Freeze, Nutt)
A couple of these are self-serving, but it's been a minute.
Nutt: The way you treated me like some sort of a pariah -- was it worth it? When you realized it wasn't helping you and I wasn't going to be intimidated into being a homer, did you ever consider just being decent? Did you feel small when you sent Chris Vaughn across the field to deliver your message? Because, Houston, it made you look small.
Freeze: When you told people I was the reason the NCAA investigation continued, knowing that was a lie and knowing people would not only attack me but come after people in my family, did that even bother you a little bit? Never mind, I'm sure the answer is in some Bible verse or in some Christian rock song being blared at unhealthy decibel levels.
Luke: Deep down, do you wish that Egg Bowl had been your Oxford swan song, greasing a path to the South Alabama job, where you could have built your skills in a less pressurized environment? Also, I wish you well. Few people in college athletics are more inherently decent than you. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
From ESPN3reb: Worst Christmas gift you're ever received and why?
I don't know that I'm able to think that way. I'm not a big gift-receiving guy. I've begged my family not to get me anything this year, but I can't say that I've ever turned my nose up at a gift. I just don't think that way.
From OrangeBeachReb: haven’t seen you post or mention on the podcast running your Peloton. Are you not running as much?
I'm doing Peloton almost daily, but no, I haven't run in a while. It hurts my feet and hips and I have a knee issue that worries me a little from a running standpoint. I miss running, however. For me, it is the one sure-fire, proven way to keep weight off my fat-ass body.
From FlaReb69: Arch will be at the Sugar Bowl, in his hometown, at his family’s alma mater’s game, a game they’re deeply involved with. This obviously means A LOT.can we get RG coverage on:-where does Arch sit and what does it mean for his recruitment?-what shirt is he wearing? What insights can we get from that?-hat? Visor? No hat? If he’s not in a visor is that a diss of Kiffin?-will y’all contract a body language expert in analyze his body language all game?-will y’all be monitoring Olivia Manning’s interactions with Arch for deeper insights?-can you run some kind of analytics program based on his reaction to good Ole Miss plays?thanks
This was planned, but when I found out Arch wouldn't be masked, I couldn't take that risk. :-)
In all seriousness, Chase and Brian will stay for the game. I'll come back here and coordinate coverage, write a column, load videos, etc. It's going to be such a late night.
From baby yaga1: exactly how far behind in NIL is OM really?
I honestly don't know. People tire of hearing this, but it's the Wild, Wild West out there right now. No one knows if what is going on would hold up against NCAA inspection. Is it sustainable? Look, Ole Miss has to address it and there are people trying to do so, from what I can tell. However, if it comes down to just pure dollars, Ole Miss is always going to be behind. I don't mean that as some sort of slap, either. It's just an observation.
From Fabius: Asking at 6 p.m. on Monday evening-- if you had to bet $1000 would you bet that a transfer QB will be at a bowl game this month and that our coaches are pretty sure who it is?
Do I think there are more quarterbacks who are going to get in the portal? Yes.
Do I think Ole Miss knows, right now at this moment, which quarterback it will add from said portal? I really don't.
From Joey Grovewater: Favorite Christmas tradition?
I love Christmas. From Jimmy's visit a few days before Christmas to our annual party with a couple of our neighbors to seafood dinner on Christmas Eve at my parents' house to beef tenderloin on Christmas Day, I just like it. The kids are home, and while they're spending more time with friends and such than with us, it's nice to have them around. So, I don't know that I have a favorite.
From olmreb5: If you had a sports Christmas list what would be on it?
This is going to sound sappy, but it's the truth. Personally, I don't have a lot of fandom left. The Cubs won the World Series. Nothing else really matters, but I know sports make people in my life happy, so my list would be:
-- The Cubs signing Carlos Correa and the Thunder winning the lottery and landing Paolo Banchero. I always admire Carson's loyalty. He sticks with his teams. I'd love to see that rewarded.
-- Speaking of Carson, a summer of growth, leading to a little more explosiveness and a dash more confidence. I'm biased, but I see signs of his becoming as much of a scorer as he is a facilitator. I love watching him play more than maybe anything in this world.
-- Another good season for Arkansas. It was fun watching my girls go to games and it be fun for them. I'm not sure either could tell you who the Razorbacks are playing on New Year's Day, but I could tell they enjoyed their team being good this fall.
-- Arch Manning for you guys. I just think it would be cool. You've accepted me over the years and I know his commitment would be joyous for many here, so that would make me happy. My life is easier when Ole Miss wins. You can believe that or not, but it's the truth.
That's about it. I'm not sure anything in sports really moves the needle for me anymore on any emotional level.
From jchmcl09: I rarely see Football Prospect Lists or eventual Signees who are High School Centers. Is it because HS centers are usually the shortest linemen or not accustomed to Shotgun snaps or college coaches prefer to convert HS Tackles into guards and centers? It is not just Ole Miss either that doesn't sign HS centers.
Yes, for the most part, they want height and length across the line. The general sentiment is a tackle can move inside but a smaller guy can't move outside. That's pretty much the standard across the board.
From Ole Myers: if Chinese children missed 2 plus years of their normal education and everything thing else from a possible American virus, how do you think the world would react? Especially if it obviously hit china hard comparatively to what’s happening here.
Obviously, America's white supremacy and utter disdain for the environment would finally be exposed for all to see in that scenario. You know, since China and India are going to such measures to end their reliance on fossil fuels, It's the U.S. that is killing the planet. And obviously, the virus would've come from an American laboratory where white American doctors tested viruses for gain of function and then "accidentally" released it into the wild.
I remain, to this day, stunned at what our country has willingly done to our children.
From walnut Reb: If you could pick any individual to be president, doesn't have to be a politician, who ya got? Do one current, one historical.
In history -- Alexander Hamilton.
Today, just because his common sense approach to everything would drive so many into an absolute rage -- Adam Corolla
From walnutreb: If you had to live in any southeast town/city (Alabama, Tennesse, Georgia, and Mississippi) no Oxford and no Louisiana. Where ya going?
I'd probably go back to Birmingham. I generally like everything about it, especially if I had the money to pick which parts of town I'd live in. I'd have to at least look into northern Alabama. It's booming and everyone loves it.
From pcrebel: How is it possible for someone to be somewhere between poor and mediocre in their job for 20 years as a columnist and never be replaced? The individual I am referencing and not naming recently turned on the hometown hero, now coach for not having his players vaccinated and having to cancel a game against an SEC East team. He is doing EXACTLY what you have described homer journalists would do on the OEP for years: things are not going well and he was one of the first to turn on this coach.
He's a brilliant writer and a great radio talk show interviewer. Look, the pandemic has exposed a lot of us. My reputation has certainly been hurt. I've lost friends. There are people who will likely never come on the podcast again due to my views. Geoff's in a tough spot on this. I haven't listened, but I would imagine it's delicate. He's very pro-vaccine and he's very pro-Memphis, and the Tigers' vaccination rate is (or at least was) very low, and there's a reason for that. I doubt Geoff wants to go far down those roads.
If you go the homer route -- and I'm not saying he has -- you are going to get uncomfortable at some point. And it's simply inevitable that homer journalists are the very first to turn on coaches. It always happens. Every. Single. Time.
From SaladThunder: How do you deal with stress/anxiety, panic attacks? I don’t want to assume but you seem like someone who has come out of the other side on these issues.
Well, I try. I battle it. Therapy helped immensely. I exercise. I make sure I get alone time. I go for a drive in silence. I turn my phone off. I'll listen to classical music. If I'm feeling really bothered, I'll get in the shower and let myself cry. Make fun all anyone wants, but often, that is sort of cleansing. I'll watch something funny. If none of that works, I'll sit down and write down what's bothering/stressing me. I try to take a step back and put things in perspective. I have found when I do that, I usually find comfort.
For me, getting some time to myself is often enough to settle me. And I'm a big proponent of exercise. The endorphins just make you feel better.
From Tennissippi: New puppy just turned 4 months - he’s a well mannered Lab/German Shepard mix and has been a joy. Are there any game changers in training or anything you wish you’d done differently when you were starting out with Gus and Rizzo?We really don’t deserve dogs. They are cream of the crop. Thanks
Oh, I wish we'd taken them to real training very early. Mainly, I wish they were better behaved on a leash. If we ever get puppies down the road -- and I pray we do; they make life happier -- I'll make sure I do that.
And yes, I agree with you. We don't deserve dogs. Gus and Rizzo were once my babies. Now they're two of my very best friends. They bring happiness to my life.
From HoustonRebs92: There is rumor that Grayson McCall enters the portal. Anything linking him to Ole Miss? Duel threat quarter back who is 19-2 as a starter. Think Kiffin would maximize his potential if brought in. Thanks again Neal! Loving the coverage we get on a weekly basis!
Well, in the time since you posed this question, McCall has issued a proclamation that he is returning to Coastal Carolina. Like you, I'm watching the portal with great interest. Ole Miss absolutely must find quarterback help there.
