It's time for The Mailbag, presented by The Westin Jackson, where I answer questions from RebelGrove.com subscribers and Twitter followers.
I asked for questions. You delivered. So here we go...
From Patrick C Timony: Will vengeance be mine?Also, what is Ole Miss’s reality if Denzel Nkemdiche immediately transfers after Hugh’s arrival? Is Freeze still the coach? Is there an NCAA investigation?
Yes, vengeance shall be yours.
That's a fun rabbit hole. My guess is the personal issues would still have popped up but the NCAA stuff wouldn't have exploded so quickly, if at all.
From DeuceMccluster22: Do you want to step outside?
How big a boy are ya?
From rebandson: Costco or Sams?
Larson's Cash Saver and L.B.'s Meat Market. We talk about getting a Costco card, but it seems like a lot of trouble to drive to Memphis to shop for groceries. I mean, I've got an Amazon account.
From JTMP: Is this just a phase of bad leadership at Ole Miss that will pass on eventually or is this a much deeper, long term problem?
From RebelAccy95: If on Sunday, November 8, 2020, Ole Miss is 3-6 but lead the league in rushing and have double the number of 20+ yard runs than anyone else in the conference and have 3 "moral victories" with chaos in the second half of those 3 "moral victories", is the AD in contact with the agent of 3 potential HCs for the Ole Miss 2021 football season?
My opinion: That scenario isn't survivable. Simply put, Ole Miss has to win games next season and everyone associated with the program knows it.
From FireFighterReb: The lack of speed from our outside recievers is concerning to me. Is this a concern for the coaching staff? Do they feel we are fast enough on the outside? Is this being addressed in recruiting?
I haven't addressed this specifically when talking to recruiting people, but in general, this is a staff that is very cognizant of side:speed ratio at all positions.
From Samminish: Cheers, Uncle Neal! For all of us heathen, greedy capitalists, could you give us a general rundown on how all of your programming generates revenue .. .. For instance, considering all the outlay made for the live stream, how you and Uncle Bernie generate revenue there as opposed to just the podcast .. ..
Well, we are always searching for revenue streams. Our hope is that we build a following for the YouTube-based shows and an audience that habitually makes us part of their morning routines while we livestream the podcast. The money, I suspect, is on naming rights for the show(s), mic flags, backgrounds, caps, shirts, etc. We're hoping we're just in the infancy here.
From Usp94: If corral is in fact gone after this season, why in the hell do you interrupt the flow of the offense by putting him in the game in the second half when the LSU defense hadn’t shown the ability to stop the run? Is that a Luke thing or a Rich Rodriguez thing?Sam Williams seemed to be in the backfield or around the ball on every play. You think he has the chance to be Nkimdiche-ish before his OM career is over?he is a load for a TE or OT to handle one on one
Simply put, Corral entered in the first half against LSU because the offense was stagnant, they were falling behind and they needed to try to throw the football. I mean, they were down 21-0. It wasn't working.
As for Williams, he's awfully good. I could see him having a huge season next season. I'm not sure he has Robert Nkemdiche-level talent, now. That's a big ask.
From One Block East: Can we get David Morris on the podcast and get his assessment on Plumlee’s passing potential?
Sure. He'll be on Wednesday's Oxford Exxon Podcast.
From M.O.B. Rebel: Has anyone asked Rich Rod about the lack of production from the TEs or why we rarely use the middle of the field in our passing game. I'm serious, not being a smarta$$. If I missed it, then I apologize. My best guess is he has not been asked, instead, has been tossed softballs from Chuck. But I think we all would be interested in his answer.
Not to my knowledge, at least not specifically about tight ends. We have asked about the middle of the field and the answers we get are coach-speakish. I can't pick on Chuck here. It's late in the season and everyone is tired of each other and the hard questions get coach-speakish answers. Everyone, at least from a media perspective, is kind of ready for the season to end.
From Grovin1551: When, in your opinion, is the appropriate time to put up a Christmas tree, play Christmas music and generally be merry?
Well, my lovely wife was ready to put up the tree on Nov. 1. We waited another 10 days or so. She would play the Holly channel on SiriusXM pretty much all year and it seems to make her happy. So I shall defer to her and say Nov. 1 on the tree and the music and hope you and yours are merry the whole year round.
From North Tampa Rebel: Obviously, what the Astro's did is wrong, but are you against sign stealing in general? I think its part of the game, if you don't want your signs stolen, hide them better or switch them up. Any other "unwritten" rules of baseball bother you?
No, sign stealing is part of the game. However, what Houston did was use technology to steal signs in real time and relay information to the hitter at the plate. That's wrong. I don't really have a problem with any of the unwritten rules. They're silly, sure, but sometimes, it's stuff that fires you up as a fan.
From North Tampa Rebel: Basketball, if OM beats Memphis on the road without Wiseman, he then comes back in December and they have a good season, would the committee downgrade OM's win knowing it was without Wiseman?
I wouldn't think so. If you're Ole Miss, you want to beat Memphis and then see the Tigers go on a tear. You need quality wins.
From nas5108: I know Mason hasn’t been fired yet but it is basically a formality. With that being said if you were in charge of the Vandy coaching search who would be your top 3 candidates?
As you know by now, Vanderbilt announced it is keeping Derek Mason for another season. I'm stunned, based on what I was hearing. To answer your question, I would've hired Mike MacIntyre.
From nas5108: With the holiday almost here what is your favorite and least favorite food to eat at Thanksgiving?
I dread the food portion of Thanksgiving. I love dressing. Can't eat it. I love the sweet potatoes with the pecan topping. Can't eat it. I love the green bean bundles wrapped in bacon and covered with the tarragon butter. Can't eat that. I love pumpkin pie and chocolate pie. Can't eat either. So I guess my favorite food is the bourbon I'll consume. My least favorite food is those English peas with the cheese sauce that everyone else loves. That looks disgusting. I'll have some turkey and a salad.
From CityRebel: Did Keith Carter approve the Luke contract when he was the head of the foundation? His bio lists him as "Executive Director for the Ole Miss Athletics Foundation since June 2012."If so, shouldn't he be held partly responsible for us currently being in a situation where we can't afford to buyout Luke since he signed off on Luke's ridiculous contract?
I don't know. However, if you're wanting to blame people for that deal, blame Ross Bjork and Jeffrey Vitter. No one else had much to do with it.
From One Block East: Had Ole Miss elected to design its stadium on the Baylor model (45,000) instead of adding seats, and had placed an emphasis on premium seating and better acoustics, would that have created more of a home field advantage? Would fans have purchased more season tickets for fear of availability? I have to believe this model would have worked much better in the long run.
Sure, but that applies to lots of schools now. Plus, it really allows for hindsight and revisionist history. Moving forward, I suspect you'll see schools do just that with stadiums and arenas.
From CityRebel: How much has the recruiting strategy shifted since 3 months ago now that our offensive philosophy has changed so dramatically? In your opinion, has the recruiting strategy shifted enough? How big of a negative is Luke shifting this philosophy away from the system he recruited to for his first two recruiting classes? How far does this set the rebuild back?
I haven't sensed a shift in philosophy at all. They're recruiting to a specific formula, looking for SEC-style athletes. If anything, they're being more disciplined about recruiting players who can definitely play at this level. They know what they're looking for.
From nas5108: Is it realistic to think this OM basketball team can make a run to the Sweet 16 this season?
Sure. I mean, some things have to happen. Blake Hinson has to return and contribute at a high level. They've got to develop a little more perimeter shooting. Etc. But yes, they're capable, in my opinion, of being a second-weekend team.
From Levi275: Should Tua or Tua’s parents/advisor made the decision to sit out the rest of the season after his ankle injury vs Tennessee. At the time, he was almost assuredly R1P1 & looking at $36 million guaranteed. I know it’s perhaps unrealistic, but wouldn’t it have been logical & fiscally prudent? Nick Bosa followed this line of thinking and was drafted R1P2.This isn’t being asked in light of what happened Saturday, but rather a hypo I asked others after the Bama v Tennessee game.
I'm the wrong person to ask this. Yes, if it were me and it were my kid in Bosa's situation or Tagovailoa's situation, I would stop, prevent injury and get the money. However, I'm not an elite athlete, and I know they're wired differently.
From OrangeBeachReb: I think I heard on your podcast that Kermit did not want to play the 2-3 zone order 1-3-1 zone in one of the prior two games but had to. Do you really think he wanted to save that for Memphis? Would he not have wanted to practice it during a game before Memphis? What, with this team being so young, etc? If so, can Memphis really pick up a lot from watching these games running the zone that is detrimental to the Ole Miss squad vs the experience we gained?
All coaches would like to show as little as possible. They'd love to live on man-to-man for as long as possible. However, Memphis knows about Davis' 1-3-1 and they'll practice for it. Having some of it on film with current personnel helps the Tigers, but it won't factor in the outcome of the game.
From realistreb: Have you had a rum ole fashioned yet? A good one?
Nope. I need to. I'll let you buy me one.
From poppyreb: I’m hearing Tua’s college career is over. Isn’t he just a Jr and could come back for one more year?
He could. He won't.
TheRevReb: Talk me out of the fear that, even though Matt Luke is retained, the bulk of our staff sees the likelihood of losing their jobs next year and therefore departs after THIS season for other jobs. Then Luke can't hire new coaches without multi year deals because no one wants to get on the sinking ship, making the ultimate buy outs even more expensive.
I don't think there will be much, if any, staff turnover. I really don't. I think you're worried for no reason.
From calhountubbs: This may be a better topic for the pod...On a recent pod, you talked about Ole Miss’ realistic expectation being an average 8-4 program. Not long before that, @Jeffrey Wright shared some historical averages showing OM has won just over 6 games per year. What does Ole Miss need to do to increase the average win per year by about 1.5 to 2 games?
I think you have to have consistent top-20 recruiting classes, beat Vanderbilt every year, win your non-SEC games, beat Mississippi State and Arkansas most of the time and then put yourself in position to be consistently competitive with the top of the SEC. That's roughly eight wins a year. If you do that, you'll have seasons where you'll only win six but you'll also have seasons where you win 10.
From Bojolly: Hey Neal. Love you man. If I see you in Kroger I’ll probably go to jail. Anyway I feel like most people are happier with the program after this week. Is that how you feel or am I way off base?
Bojolly, you now have me scared to go to Kroger. As for the fan base, I don't feel I'm qualified to speak for it. Are you happier? In the end, that's all that matters. Happiness is a choice, Bo. One chooses to be happy. So if the program has you feeling that you're happier, well, that's fantastic.
From robert90: I understand they probably promised Plumlee he could play baseball if he signed with Ole Miss. But if I’m Matt Luke and my job is going to be determined in the next year and a half with Plumlee as my QB, I am telling Mr. Plumlee that he is a football player only from this point forward. Do you think Luke should do something like this when the season is over?
No, I think that would be ridiculous. They promised Plumlee he could play both sports and he wants to play both sports. Promises matter in recruiting.
From Wesleyrule: What’s your favorite protein bar?
I like the JIMMY bar. I really like the chocolate peanut butter. I also like the One bar, peanut butter pie flavor.
From enclaveREB: You've mentioned your man crush on Crowley but besides him, who are you most encouraged by /excited to see develop throughout the course of the season?
I really like what I see from Sammy Hunter so far. As he gets comfortable and stronger, he will be fun to watch develop.
From BankingReb: This isn’t a Luke question. It’s more of a process question. It’s been said that ADs should always have a running list ready to replace the current coach. How soon do ADs start reaching out behind the scenes to coaches on that list to see if they’d be interested if/when a change is made? How complicated does it get when agents like Sexton are involved given that they may represent both the current coach and the potential new coach?
It depends. If the decision is basically made, they use feelers to get some gauge. That's really what search firms are for. It lets schools gauge the water, if you will, without getting wet.
From jlittle67: What in the world is going on with the Spurs? Are they in danger of breaking longest playoff streak in pro sports?
Gregg Popovich is an amazing coach and the culture in San Antonio has always been a winning one. However, it's a talent league. Look at the teams ahead of them as of today _ Lakers, Rockets, Nuggets, Clippers, Mavericks, Jazz, Timberwolves, Suns and Kings _ and they all have more talented rosters. The Spurs are 5-9, tied with the Grizzlies, Thunder and Pelicans for 10th in the Western Conference. They're 3-6 against the West, 0-2 in the Southwest Division and they just don't have the talent they once had.
I love Dejounte Murray. He's one of the league's most underrated players. But LaMarcus Aldridge is aging, DeMar DeRozan can't carry a team and the rest of the roster is just typical NBA roster-fill. So yes, they're in danger of not making the playoffs.
From RebCJ: Favorite part of the beat? Least favorite part?
Look, I have a great job. I talk and write for a living. I have independence, can set my own hours, etc. I could complain about some things, but there's no point. I'm very fortunate to be able to make the living I do doing something I enjoy.
From REBELTAXMAN: Is this thing with Will Wade over?also,Thoughts on the recent rumor that they are planning on announcing Keith as the AD DURING the radio broadcast in 2 weeks. Are you hearing anything on this? It would be great to bust Boyce out on this ahead of time and would cement your legacy with this administration.
As for Will Wade, it certainly appears to be over. I'm stunned, and I'm mad at myself for being stunned.
As for the A.D. rumor, no, I haven't heard that one. But let me stress this: NOTHING. WOULD. SHOCK. ME.
ETA: I'll call Glenn with your suggestion. He and I are tight.
From RickyTReb: Do you think it's possible that if we minimize the State rivalry too much that they'll turn into USM in the late 70's and 80's? I was a student/early alum during that time, and it became such a problem that we had to stop playing them. We obviously can't do the same w/MSU. They were USM under Vaught, but there were no limits on recruiting which allowed us to dominate to a degree no longer possible.
I'm not aware of what USM was in the 70s and 80s. Therefore, I can't answer your question. I'm not sure I understand.
From Rye Whiskey: Is Yahoo/Rivals/who every owns yahoo now planning on fixing the app?Y’all put out a great product week in week out thank you...
They insist they are. I understand your frustration. I and many other publishers share it.
Thank you for the kind words, by the way. It might not look like it at times or on the surface, but we put a lot of work and time and thought into the site.
Tell them the White Lotus referred you. They'll get a big kick out of that.
That's actually pretty funny. I always enjoyed covering Greg back in the day, but it was clear then he needed help. People, self included, laughed his behavior off. Looking back, I feel guilty for that. Those were cries for help, and no one _ not Ole Miss, not the Panthers, no one _ really stepped up for him.
At this point, Hardy is a bad person. He's an abuser. So while it would be a funny "punishment" for the loser, I don't want to accidentally make a joke of what he's done to other people.
Decent.
I have no idea how many fire emojis "decent" is.
Take a look at the. 2017 signing class. What's left of it? There's Ben Brown, Ryder Anderson, Braylon Sanders and MoMo Sanogo. That's about it, realistically.
Matt Luke and Co. signed a strong foundational class last year and they're going to do it again. There is stability in the coaching staff and, slowly, some stability with the roster.
Look, has this team left a couple of wins on the field this year? Absolutely. Does this staff have to win next year to get 2021? Certainly. However, whether it's Luke or his successor, the 2021 roster is absolutely going to be better than the 2017 roster this staff inherited. That's progress.
Mississippi State -2
