Ole Miss Will Be In the Playoffs This Season After Roster Improvement | A 2024 Season DEEP Dive

Intro welcome in college football fans and welcome to the first and Long college football show I am your co-host Marcus there's your other co-host Mason we are on our countdown to kickoff folks and uh By the time this video is released we're going to be within just really a matter of days before we've got college football again praise the Lord hallelujah thank the church it's back Mason how are you today buddy we're about to talk some old Miss football a team that's been at the top of everybody's mind this uh entire offseason really the last few years as Lane kein has got in there uh and made this team relevant um how are you today buddy you ready to talk about some Rebels yeah man doing good uh By the time this this episode releases we will be 11 days from the start of kickoff um Mark and I are both jazzed up I cannot wait and I really can't wait to see what Old Miss does with a another revamping of their roster um the portal King does it again and and probably gets his best tall yet um this was a a tough breakdown to do because there are so many new faces but um with the transfers it's it's not too terrible because you you have seen these players play at other places so you you you know you kind of get familiar with their stats and what they did with the other teams um but there's a lot of moving Parts here um excited to break it down with you today Mark we learn a ton about these teams offensively defensively uh we we pull up the schle schedule at the end of these videos and and we give our predictions for the year and just kind of talk through those games and and how we feel like those games are going to go and how the flow is and you know not to spoiler spoil anything uh but I think the schedule sets up really good for this team this year um as you said Mason it was certainly uh it it was the best Hall in the transfer portal in the country but by any team and pretty much any ranking you want to look at this was the number one National ranked transfer portal class and um yeah the portal King does it again man and what I'm most impressed with is the he he did it almost perfectly even between offense and defense I mean there's players throughout the entire roster that that he got from all literally all corners of the country um and it's it's quite fascinating to uh watch it here in real time again I want to thank you for watching if you're an old Miss fan and you're new to the first and Long college football show welcome I hope that you'll consider hitting the Subscribe button we're going to have a ton of fun in 2024 and Beyond we had a lot of fun with you guys in 2023 and um 2023 was our first year we were really figuring out how this whole thing goes and um we're we're just a couple of super fans just like you so we hope that you'll consider supporting the channel and coming and hanging out with us we'd love to have your unique uh perspective from the old Miss fans perspective or whatever fan base that you're a part of uh you're welcome here at the first and Long college football show we'd love to have you and uh are looking forward to conversing with you in the comment section please let us know what you think about the Old Miss Rebels this year um as we go through these position groups uh we'd love to hear from you all the fans of the teams that we're covering we learned tons from you guys and and we're very active in the comment section we' love to hear from you uh so by all means holla at us the 2023 results for this team were uh I I think exceeded most everybody's expectations Mason because we have watched this team over the last few years and and an old saying really comes to mind to for me uh it's an old Bobby Bowden saying is first we lose by a lot then we lose by a little then we win by a little and then we win by a lot that's how this thing goes it's a process and it is the process is expedited more now in in modern college football uh you know than it ever has been before with the old transfer portal you can flip a roster just like that and um but with all that being said it's still a process Mason and we we saw one year where Old Miss did really really well in the transfer portal and I think culturally it kind of had some issues with it um so it's not just a there's no magic Silver Bullet for for this thing to just take a program out of the mud and and into the top ranks of college football but I feel like I feel like Lane kein is fighting a good fight at Old Miss and I think that it's paying off for him um and you know the more I've watched this guy he's funny he's inter he's very entertaining he's always on social media and and whenever that first whole kind of thing began it was like oh boy here we go what's Lane gonna say but you know what Mason it's really kind of worn on me in a good way uh I look forward to hearing what what Lane has got to say on lots of topics and I think a lot of people feel that way he's made Old Miss football great again how about that um what do you think about the 2023 season 11-2 you get the Peach Bowl victory over Penn State um 35 Plus points a game on offense the defense was much improved although there is room to for improvement we're going to go over it here in a few minutes but uh it was much improved I mean you went from 120th something rank you know points per game defense to like 40th in the country that's a massive Improvement in one season um you got to be excited at the prospect of what om Miss did in 2023 and what's going to happen here in Lane Kiffin 2024 yeah absolutely I I think Lane kein has come in and uh really done an excellent job with this program 11 wins last year was the most impr program history right you win a Peach Bowl um those new year six bowls don't come too often for Old Miss and so to not only get in and get invited but to win that game against a pretty tough Pinn State opponent um I thought it was I thought it was pretty pretty uh miraculous you know for considering where Old Miss was just three seasons ago I guess um not that long ago right and and now you've seen the attrition and the roster being tweaked year after year after year and suddenly we're talking about an old Miss team that can compete not just to be in the playoffs but to win the national championship and I think I think that that's a um I think that really casual fans and and even some InTouch fans have a hard time grasping because of the Old Miss brand and because of Lane kein right uh Lane kein is is a hell of a coach but the the one knock on his resume is that he hasn't won a big game right winning the Peach Bowl last year was probably his uh his best win I think of his career at Old Miss so far um that that's the only that's the only knock on on ke and he his his only two losses last year came to Georgia and Alabama right so now you get one of those teams back on your schedule let's see if you've Clos closed the Gap a little bit um that's kind of kind of the only concern for me that the roster is there I think this year um they've got a lot of weapons let's let's you know let's do our our due diligence here and break it down with for the fans but um let's see what kind of depth is is hidden in this roster because we know the starting 22 is going to be pretty good but behind them that's what you're going to need to to win a championship this year and to do that you've got to have talent acquisition um and you've got to have a process in place and and that takes years to build that's that's what we're talking about when we're talking about the process and and Lane kein has taken the time to do so feel like and and the transfer portal certainly helped but um yeah it was you know just to kind of piggyback off of what you said for for just a second you know a lot of people have said that lane kein he hasn't won the big games and and that is true I totally understand that you you you know the Georgia game last year comes to mind uh you give up 52 points there to Georgia right it it wasn't a great defense last year it still wasn't great it was much improved over 2022 but it wasn't great um it was a new system also in 2023 right not an easy one to pick up uh we'll we'll talk more about that when we get over to the defense but in 2024 you're heading into the second year of that defense so I believe that helps as well but you know think about if if Nick Sabin I I just I'll play de devil's advocate here for a second imagine Nick sabbin was the coach of that of that team you know last year or or the old Miss team the year before I don't think he's beaten Alabama roster if Lane kein was coaching Alabama at that point if if rols were reversed you know what I'm saying I don't think it's a lane keing thing is really what I'm getting at I I think it's a okay we're losing the games that we're supposed to lose and it's the same thing that's going on with James Franklin at Penn State and and it's like we we beat the people that were supposed to beat and we beat them badly right typically um there there was a couple of exemptions to that last year uh with with some of the scores of the games but I digress that's just part of it man you've got to get the guys the jimmies and the Joe's in there to run the x's and the O's this guy knows the x's and the O's he's L Kens got that covered no problem but you got to get the Jimmy J and Joe's in here and it's got to be done through High School recruiting as well as the transfer portal not no team's going to be able to just rely on one that's not going to work because by the time you get guys in in the transfer portal Mason you only get a year or two with them and it and it's hard to install a system that way so um you have to have the right mix of both uh to make it these days uh you got Clemson that's on the other side of the you know Spectrum they're saying we're not taking any transfers well guess what that hurt them last year so yet again Point proven you you've got to have that right mix recruiting is like we said one of the ways you do that this team's around top 20 every year in recruiting that's in my opinion I think that's good enough to get it done especially considering whenever you're going to be if you're going to be top five in the transfer portal every single year which they have been so far that that the transfer portal has been a thing then I think you can get away with that and probably compete on a national level um which I think that Old Miss is is more prepared to do this year than any other year um but that's something that's got to you know continue in the right direction I I think it's headed in the right direction it has to continue and then the record versus the rivals Mason is just something that that we have to pay attention to 0 and four against Alabama two- two against Arkansas two- two against Auburn three- one against Mississippi State you know we just talked about it's not necessarily Lan kin kin's fault all his fault that they lose a game to Alabama Alabama's a more talented team but how do you explain Arkansas right nine times out of 10 Arkansas's not going to be a more talented team than Old Miss especially at this point uh they're not going to be this year I can promise you that they weren't last year and Old Miss beat them by seven so those are the teams that you've got to not only beat you've got to beat them badly um and I think that's one of the stepping stones in becoming a dominant program um let's jump over into the offense and we'll talk about that uh Offense this was the 16th best scoring offense in the country last year we talked about over 35 points per game game they they did that they beat everybody they were supposed to beat really bad and then struggled to score points against like teams like Alabama and Georgia scored 10 points against Alabama scored how many points against Georgia Mason uh I I got it right here somewhere um 17 17 you know that's not going to get it done you know believe me I'm a Georgia fan if you want to beat Alabama you better score 30 that's the old adage for between us Georgia fans that's if we don't score 30 we're not expecting to win and beat Bama right and that's what you really the mentality that you have to carry into these huge huge matchups that you would potentially see in a college football playoff SEC Championship game so on and so forth um what do you think about the offense specifically last year headed into 2024 uh you got 83% returning production but that doesn't even count what you've got coming in through the transfer portal um but what do you what did you think last year and and how that kind of leads us into 2024 um some areas to improve some areas that you would love to just stay the same or or maybe even get just a hair you know a hair better yeah I mean Offense Breakdown starting with Jackson Dart I think that he's one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC um had a really good season last year even though he was hobbled for most of the season has been for two years straight now um really anxious to see him at full at full health you you lose quinon jins uh he was a pretty productive back but behind him was is ulyses Bentley who was actually more more efficient at least didn't get the number of carries and uh thus didn't get the statistics that jkin built up um uh wild receiving group was excellent you had you had three Bonafide dudes last year Trey Harris is one of the best wide receivers in the country so um really really solid there um offensive line was okay right I I think that we we want to see them get better up front and I think that they did with the transfer portals that they that they brought in uh the the players that they brought in I I think I think that you're going to see um a much more physical uh offensive line up front which will bode well for this offense because uh Old Miss Old Miss they really as good as the receivers were last year and as good as Jackson Dart was last year this was a run first team right they were all season long and did a really good job with it now I think they're going to be even better at running the football and they're going to be even better at at passing the football when they need to I do think that this offense has taken a step forward this year but um it was a great offense last year I just I I I'm you know looking forward this is a preview right looking forward I think that this one is is going to be better than it was last year yeah I think you'd just like to see maybe a little bit of improvement from last year in third down area and and the Run game right you you'd like to see a little bit of more efficiency in the Run game I think is uh is a good way to put it um but look we'll throw 20 this is it this is the last time we're going to talk about 2023 Old Miss guys really um so Current Roster let's put it all behind us and let's move into 2024 here and let's talk about the current roster we've got on hand because it's totally different it's totally different and um you know we we can throw a lot of those statistics sticks out the window because there's going to be a lot of different guys in in different positions even though you do got 83% return in production Jackson Dart Mason you talked about him this is a guy if I had to make a list of guys that were going to the Heisman Ceremony and and bet on him going this is probably one of the first guys I'm writing down I I don't just don't think there's any way that Jackson Dart doesn't end up in in New York at the at the Heisman ceremon Ceremony this year something would just have to go really really wrong like an injury or something because you talked about the wide receivers he had last year you only add to that group you only make it better uh tight end same story offensive line going to be the same story so why would this guy's numbers not get 10% better this year right um 3,300 yards is nothing to sneeze at um maybe you'd like to see the completion percentage uptick just a hair but really it's just just all about I think if you're a fan of old miss you just want to see Jackson D come in and run this offense maybe a little bit smoother right be a little more efficient on third Downs play for the next down you don't really have to do too much you get you just got to distribute the ball and and make sure your team's in the right play at the right time um so if there was something in the offseason for Jackson Dart to really really work on it was probably mental more than anything um and I I have no reason to believe that he's not going to improve in another year in this offense what do you think Jackson Dart comes back to Old Miss big deal for this program yeah absolutely I I I love Jackson Dart I think he's um top three in the SEC at the very least um top five in the nation probably uh by the end of the year statistically speaking he he definitely could be uh a Heisman Contender for sure I saw him take a really big step last year right it seems like like he we were looking at him as a below average SEC quarterback and then last year he kind of bursts onto the scene we saw him get a marginally or or um super marginally better I guess um and if he takes a similar step this year yeah you are talking about a Heisman um finalist if not a Heisman winner uh he looked he looked much better last year and now it it seems like he um he he's healthy right and and it it'll be the first season of him starting that he's going to be healthy first season of him starting where he's not in a quarterback competition right Walker Howard's a talented quarterback behind him a former five-star but he's not competing with Jackson dth this year this is Jackson dart's team everybody knows it the whole room knows it and they're they're working to make sure that he plays his best football um and I I think that's what we're going to see this year you're going to see a healthy Jackson Dart this guy runs the football pretty well he needs to learn to slide a little bit more but runs the football pretty well and um he he's a he's a gamer you know you saw him not be afraid to put the game on on uh his back when the game was on the line right and it worked out for him more times than not last year super excited for him and for a healthy season for him um especially given some extra weapons that he's got I think I think he's going to do really well this year let's talk about some of those WRs weapons Mason we'll goad and transition into the wide receivers I like to I like to do the wide receivers right after the quarterback uh obviously for very obvious reasons those go hand inand or ball in hand I should say uh you return Trey Harris and Jordan Watkins you couldn't ask for a whole lot more there out of returning receivers I mean Trey Harris has got a chance to be the best receiver in the country this year uh Bar None 54 receptions 985 yards um this guy can do it all Mason he can make the acrobatic catch he's a good route Runner um he he's got unbelievable uh good and late hands catching the football there's not much that to not like with Trey Harris and um 18.2 yards per reception you know as crazy as it sounds I could see that number going up this year um I could see him more like 20 this year um and being tops in the country I I think if there's one guy on this roster offensively that could end up other than obviously the quarterback skill playerwise if there's a guy that that I feel the best about ending up with over a thousand yards is TR Harris um now the rest of these guys I don't know because you're going to have to distribute the ball a pretty good bit uh you bring in Juice Welles over from South Carolina um he's dealt with some injuries now we're going to have to see you know I I think they ought to be able to rotate him enough to keep him like super freshh and not r injur with him like I'm I'm thinking if he's going to be okay with you know not being in there every snap but um I think they're going to be able to use him sparingly and he's going to be able to just be kind of a a weapon that you you pop out there and and he's got fresh legs and and he's he's hard to deal with man I mean he he is way bigger than you think he is too um so it it's it's three really good wide receivers in this room I cannot say it enough I am super super excited to see these three starters um you got Dion Smith coming in from the juo path um I've heard you know usually where there's smoke there's fire guys and there's some smoke surrounding that guy um people saying that that he really really looks the part and his and is doing well there um we'll we'll see how that goes as fall Camp progresses um Aiden Williams and Kaden Lee they'll kind of uh be your depth guys but as far as the starters go if you don't have injuries with these three guys you're talking about one of the most productive wide receiver groups in the country um probably the most productive Mason if they can all three stay healthy what do you think about this group plenty of weapons yeah plenty of weapons uh very deep group um starting with Trey Harris I mean you you said it this guy's possibly the the greatest wide receiver in the country this year and what what's really scary I mean last year played played lights out almost a thousand yards eight touchdowns only three drops all year had 45 first down catches last year which is an extremely high number a go-to guy reliable especially with you throw in only three drops on uh 50 well more than that on um I guess he was probably close to 75 80 targets considering he had 54 receptions so um only three drops is is pretty incredible sounds like he's having a really good spring and fall Camp um they're saying that with with bringing in Trey Amos uh from Alabama who who is also having a really good camp they're saying that those two are just are are going you know good on good in in practice and sharpening each other's skills I mean iron sharpens iron right well Trey Harris and Trey Amos are getting better uh which is a scary thought for other teams in the country because Trey Harris was one of the best last year so now he's getting he's getting a lot better um going to be really fun to watch this year and then and then juice Wells is probably the most talented of this group and he finally gets a chance to get away from South Carolina and not be the guy right the guy that you you put everything on when the game's on the line he'll be a he'll be in a group of guys like that and so um maybe and not saying that he needs to be a complimentary piece this guy can absolutely take a game over and um is is a problem for sure but let's let's see if we can we can get him you know six to eight catches a game and not rely on him for uh you know uh in in a big game right and and maybe three or four in some of those smaller games and and get him out but um not not putting so much workload on this guy is going to is going to help him with this longevity um he we didn't see him in spring because he he had just had his foot surgery which is a surgery he had been putting off for a while so he's going to come into fall practice healthy and I think we're going to get the best juice Wells that we've seen yet yet um and even if he were to just duplicate what he did in 2022 I mean that would be incredible you know a guy had just in 2022 68 receptions 928 yards six touchdowns uh playing with South Carolina he was 75% completion uh percentage when when targeted uh and of those 928 yards 555 uh were yards after the catch and and he forced 19 uh missed tackles it's pretty pretty remarkable season for him I'm sure Old Miss fans would would say hey we got Trey Harris if juice Wells could just duplicate those numbers we'd be just fine he probably not going to work out that way you're probably not going to have 2,000 yard receivers or or close to it but um crazier things have happened I mean we just saw a Duo at Old at LSU last year uh have some pretty pretty good numbers themselves so um on top of that I mean Jordan Watkins comes in for his senior year had 741 yards himself last year with three touchdowns so uh really good slot receiver there and and they're saying Kaden Lee as a true sophomore is just lighting it up in Spring practice um and in Fall practice this offseason um Kaden Lee may be may be tough to keep off the field with with the way it sounds like he's performing um and then Aiden Williams another true sophomore who is um very talented just didn't get to see the field a lot last year with in in such a deep group uh maybe we see him creep up a little bit and and and get some more uh targets and then behind them there's just a ton of senior transfers Micah Davis Devin Price uh Jordan smart Dion Smith you know um zamari Bruce a lot of a lot of Junior and senior transfers who are bringing in a ton of experience and um a lot of a lot of competition right and so when when you're talking about a championship program all these programs have competition at practice ice and that's exactly what this wide receiver room is doing now I I think it's one of the deepest in the SEC one of the deepest in college football uh of wide receiver units that is and um I'm really excited to see what I'm excited to see who pops honestly I I know Trey Harris and I know anine Wells are going to pop I know Jordan wat Watkins is super reliable a possession type receiver I one of these other guys behind them is going to go off this year and I'm excited to see who it is and when I say go off I'm I'm thinking like 500 yards and and six touchdowns or something like that but um there's a lot of talent behind the starters in this unit and and uh that's what you need for a championship program to have that depth absolutely Mason I agree 100% with you right there um I think you need Deion Smith and Kaden Lee you're going to need those guys at some point this season to to help your team out because the odds that all three of these guys play every single game this year are just not great I mean this is college football and SEC um you know if you're if Trey Harris is is going to have 60 receptions he's going to get tackled you know he's going to get tackled at least 55 times right um something like that so 50 times whatever you want to say so I mean yeah it it's it's a risk that that any offensive player takes but I I'm interested to see how the depth is in this room because starter wise A+ depthwise you know what would we what would we rate the the second team here you know probably average or average plus a little bit you know um so we'll have to see hopefully we don't have to see those guys I don't want to predict an injury but um you know those are RBs things that you got to be prepared for this is a physical game for sure let's talk about running backs Mason this has been a kind of a weird room for this team um there has been a lot of comings and going uh over the last year or two or however you really want to look at it three I guess um but from everything I understand these are your dudes right here that that are pretty much going to be toen the load ulysis Bentley I fourth is going to be the bcal back of these three which is kind of interesting because he's never been that um he's always kind of been a complimentary back that's literally my only question with this guy he's he's got you know all the measurables really that you're looking for he he seems to be the part it's just know I've heard multiple people as as we've done our research on this say you know he he's never been the go-to guy how is he going to handle that and you know my my thinking in my head is okay there might be some validity to that that thought but at the same time is it just because he's just never been the guy and that's why we're saying that and now he's going to be the guy and he's just going to take the Reigns he's gonna he's going to take off with it you know what I mean so um just because we say he can't be the bill cow back doesn't mean that he can't be um so I I'm interested to see how that plays out and um he's got plenty of experience this guy knows what he's getting into um he's a returner on this team a leader on this team um so I I fully expect ulisa Bentley to have you know 120 140 150 carries this year um or more right um and then Henry parish is a guy that has had over a hundred carries three out of the four years of his college career um so I I suspect that he's going to have something similar to that maybe a little less maybe 70 or so um but this is a good running back Henry parish is a good one that you get over from uh Miami and then um Rashad Amos and wasn't Rashad amus from Miami of Ohio wasn't that right so you get a one running back from Miami of Florida and one from Miami of Ohio and when you're doing research on a bunch of teams that's really nice to go ahead and just confuse you real good and make you go back three times and double check your work uh because that's what I did look Rashad Amos is not he was a thousand yard rusher um he's he's not going to be that in this offense okay I I can pretty much tell you that because he's not going to get the carries to get to over a thousand yards he was on a team last year um let's see Rashad Amos he was on Miami of Ohio and South Carolina before that um he is a senior 62 235 pounds um so he's he's got the measurables and stuff but he he's just he did a lot of that work on on kind of a bad team right and I just don't suspect he's going to have anywhere near 210 carries maybe 50 maybe 70 something like that but he is a nice complimentary piece considering like you said Mason you lose your star running back after last year he goes over to Ohio State and that kind of shocks the world then you get this other this other dude um the one that ended up transferring to you but then transferring to Arizona right after and then Logan dig crosy Meritt yeah yeah that was weird I didn't even understand really what happened there and then you've got Logan Diggs but he's hurt we don't know when he's going to be back if he's going to be bad that's the only reason I didn't include him on here I don't know I don't know that he'll be back or not this this season so um and I don't think anybody necessarily does I mean he he could pull a cam rising and it could be middle of next year before we see him so um you know it this running back room is pretty good Mason I I really I like elisis Bentley and Henry Parish pretty good Rashad Amos is a decent complimentary piece Bentley's going to get the bulk of the carries um and we'll see how he does in a rb1 role a true rb1 role that's not something we've gotten to see from him um is this the best unit on the offense no is it serviceable yes I think it certainly is um what do you think about the backs yeah I completely agree I think you've got three um solid pieces right none of these guys are going to make the all SEC team um first second or third more than likely but I think that you've you've got you've got some service here you know you've got some some experience here right this is a really experienced team as a whole and this unit is no different um I think that ulyses Bentley might just need to get his motor going I mean I played I I played uh fullback in high school and in in school and one of the things that I needed was was to be fed I I needed to get my legs going to to really make a difference and and gash a defense I the first couple of carries I was cold and I just I didn't carry very well but after a few carries things started things started uh moving down down the field a little bit better maybe ulyses Bentley is kind of the same way and a lot of running backs are like that they they say hey I I'm best after 10 carries right uh so who knows we'll see we'll see what Bentley can do but he was I thought I think he's been a really good back uh he's been fun to watch kind of hot and cold right I I do I do see that out of him but um he's going to have to carry the load this year and and I think I think he will uh come in and perform and then I mean you mentioned the other two I I I don't I don't really have a reason to rehash that um two solid pieces I think Henry Parish could probably be I I honestly I think that I liked Parish last year as well I liked watching him run I think that him and Bentley could be kind of a 1A 1B you know I could see both of them getting 15 carries a game and then uh Rashad Amos getting like five or six you know uh mixed in here and there I think that that's probably more more likely to happen than um Bentley kind of being the Workhorse or or anything like that I don't think that he's going to be that that Quin Sean junkins type who's who's more about uh quantity over quality of runs you know and and but o overall you know this this is a pretty good unit I think it's um it's good enough I was concerned when Logan digs went down that they weren't going to be able to have anywhere to go to um and picking up Amos picking up uh Bentley or excuse me picking up Parish I I think I think is about as good as you can do I think you got two guys that if you hit on one of them you're going to feel really good about the the running back room yeah TEs yeah I like it I think they're good um tight ends Kaden proring now all Miss fans uh kind of there's a lot of hype around this guy after last year and um especially after that uh that wasn't it Sugar Bowl wasn't that what they were in no it wasn't the Sugar Bowl it was the the Peach um Peach Bowl that's what it was my goodness um he had a he had a really great day I think 10 catches 130 something yards there in that Peach Bowl um really kind of a coming out party and it was a lot of it had to do with he was one of the only options on the field at that point in the season um but I digress he had a really good day this guy's got really good hands I I think that um I think that he's going to be a nice piece in the tight end room and he can block as well dayquon Wright he comes over from Virginia Tech as you can see the only concern there was no touchdowns so it was kind of weird right 366 yards 28 receptions and no touchdowns for this guy uh big Target all quarterbacks like big Targets in the middle of the field Mason and um you know you'd like to think that these guys could help out a little bit more in the Red Zone but there's so many good wide receivers on this team you know if you're throwing the ball you you might you might be better served to go to the wide receiver group but um all in all there's just pass catchers everywhere in this on this offense you know I mean uh everybody's got pretty good hands or or or or better so um I like the tight end room um not like a ton of depth I guess you wouldn't say but I don't think this you know you can't you can only hold so many awesome tight ends in a room you know captive there's only so many of them that play a lot of times just one at a time right so uh I like this room for all intents of purposes what do you think yeah I agree I mean look this isn't an offense that has featured the tight end um since Lan kein has been there part of that is because he hasn't had the dudes and part of that is because that's just not not the offense that he you know generally runs it seems like at least maybe maybe now that he's got uh right in you know prescor and came on late last year he scored all uh four of his touchdowns in his last three games last year so maybe seeing that from him will um you know allow lanin to feed uh the tight end room a little bit more uh dayon Wright you mentioned it he's a big physical tight end who can also catch uh and then behind them you've got uh Hudson wolf who's another big physical tight end who's more of a blocker so maybe you see some 12 Personnel I kind of I kind of doubt it I I don't think that's going to be like a go-to formation considering all the talent that's in that wide receiving room uh and then Dylan hip comes in as a true freshman behind them but this is a really solid group I mean uh for for for four guys I mean efficiency wise as far as you know how each individual player is rated this is a really highly rated uh unit on this offense how they use them is is kind of my question um I think that you should get prescore more involved because to me I mean he he's a he's an all SEC potential tight end you know um if you feed him if you continue with what you did the last three or four games of the year last year with his production um if if you if you continue to use him utilize him and that in that fashion this is a guy who can who can put up some pretty good numbers be a pretty good tight end in the uh pass catching room yep all right Mason let's talk about the OL offensive line all good team I mean this is what it comes down to for all good or great teams if you don't have a a good to great offensive line you're probably not going to have a good to great football team it is what it is that's what it is uh lines of scrimmage matter that much defensive line if you're going to be a NA national championship Contender you got to have a really good defensive line me and Mason have talked about that before it's just it's almost like a prerequisite these days um for for a championship Mason for all intensive purposes uh we we're going to sit here and go over this offensive line You Know Name by name you see them on your screen now this is one of the best groups of the offense I think um so deep you go and just get tons of dudes I mean just tons of dudes 222 total starts among offensive line players uh that's number one in the nation right in front of Oklahoma State who I believe is like the most experienced college football team ever like seriously I mean I I I I'm pretty sure that there're a bunch of six-year dudes on that team so to have any position group older than the Oklahoma State Cowboys and have more starts and more experienced than them let's saying something um you bring back Caleb Boren you bring back Michael Pettis uh Jeremy James you bring back Jaden Williams actually is a returner as well but I mean you go and you get guys that are even better than what you had last year uh in Diego pounds he comes over from North Carolina you bring in the two guards from Washington we know the success that Washington had last year and boy howdy did they protect Michael pennick uh on a lot of pass attempts I mean just a ton of pass attempts um and I believe he was sacked 13 14 times the whole season right so you you bring a couple of guys over from and by the way this offensive line last year um Jackson Dart was sacked 27 times and that was good for around 75th nationally and sacks allowed so I believe you're going to improve that number drastically this year I mean at just really drastically now I will preface or I will I will kind of correct myself in one in one aspect when you have a running quarterback and he goes on a design run and he takes a one yard loss that's considered a sack so not all of those were you know he was back trying to pass and and was sacked so you know take it with a grain of salt but all in all I think this offensive line is going to be better in all aspects of the game Mason running the football pass protection getting downfield hitting those secondary blocks I just think this team is all around better than what or excuse me this position group is all around better than what we saw last year um big improvements and oh by the way you got some some incoming guys that that are going to be pretty good as well um including William Eckles fourstar interior offensive lineman the interior of this offense is just absolutely set up three seniors from left guard to Right Guard um and guys with tons of experience as we said couldn't ask for much more Mason what do you think about this offensive line yeah man um really you got three three guys coming in to to um you know expecting to start here and Diego pounds Nate cppo and Julia uh buo uh who who are all better than any linemen that you had on the offensive line last year right um I think that that that's kind of the there's no there's no way to to say that without saying that this this unit is going to improve this year um which is going to be much needed if you're making a championship run um I like Diego pounds a lot it seems like he's really good in the um as as like a road grader and and really good in uh the the rushing attack not as Elite in pass Pro but serviceable in in in pass protection um and then you go down to left guard and you've got Nate cppo who is who was just a huge pickup um both both of these Washington guys were were really good Nate cppo is probably a little bit better but uh these are two guys who are coming off of a Joe Mor to winning offensive line last year in Washington and they they they both can play right that's that's two of the two of the five in the country so you know you're getting some good ones there um he's he's really good in the running game as well so you got your left side sht up as far as the rushing attack goes at least um but he's also really good in in pass protection too very versatile uh Caleb Warren returning from last year he's a senior all the experience in the world um the other Washington transfer uh uh Julius buo is is is not only is he good but he's also versatile um when mic a Pettis was out this this spring because of injury they had buo kind of kick down to right tackle and so he's played a little bit on the end on the end as well uh so he's going to be a little bit versatile there and um Mel Pettis is returning obviously he he was out for for spring but um a good good solid piece there uh and then another guy who's kind of making a buzz as a transfer from Southern Miss gerin Scott seems like he he may give um The Right Guard to run for his money he's kind of competing right there uh coming over from Southern Miss and and um if not you at least have a good utility piece but the main utility piece I think is is Eli AER uh red shirt senior fifth year guy can kind of play all over inside outside doesn't matter um every every good Championship offensive line has a guy like this and I I think Old Miss might have two of them um really solid group I think that they got much more physical UPF front on both sides of the football we can get in the defensive line here in a minute but um I I think you've got some road graders up front for this Rebels team really good on that side of the ball Mason um I I have to just tip my cap to to coach and and you know all the old Miss fans that are part of that Collective out there that helped make that happen I mean you know Kudos that is um what a transformation this offense has taken because if you look at the roster they had last year and if they would have just sat back and just kind of went through the motions again this would not been that would not have been that great of an offense I mean you would have had a returning quarterback but you would have had trouble on this offensive line Mason um you would have had big depth issues you would have had some holes uh in your starting lineup as well that is a thing of the past uh this offense doesn't doesn't have a ton of depth issues at all maybe you know you'd have to have some serious injuries in in one direct area before you're going to start start to see a drop off and that's what Old Miss has been missing and Defense that's what it takes to be a champion um Pete Golding second year we talked about defense uh earlier last year was his first year coaching he had came over from Alabama kind of ran out of uh ran out of T toown Mason uh ran him out on the first thing smoking and uh he he he was kind of known for having a overly complicated defense lots of you do this if I do that but if you do that I do this and it takes a while to pick that stuff up I mean that's defense in general and I'm I'm not claiming I'm not some kind of you know exis andos genius or anything like that but from what I understand it was a NFL style defense that was tough to tough to pick up on and a lot of people said well if he can't do it at Alabama with the talent that Alabama's got he's not going to be able to do it at Old Miss the jury's still out on that for me Mason I'm just going to be honest with you I I don't dislike Pete golden do not get me wrong but I look at these numbers and these are very similar to what we saw at Alabama while he was there the defense I I think they were a little better at Alabama while he was there but the the defense took massive strides because this was a horrible defense in 2022 just Horus horrible um running like 335 type stuff you know what I mean it just it was bad it was really really really bad um so it gets better but there's only one category on this page that we see that's in the top 50 and so I'm going to need to see some some more receipts on on this guy before I'm willing to say you know this is the right answer at defensive coordinator for the long term um but you certainly saw some good improvement from 22 to 23 we'll see what happens in 2024 um it's a totally different team Mason this defensive line we're about to get into in a second it's very very good a good defensive line can mask a lot of deficiencies on a defense what do you think about the defense last year and pink golden and and him kind of leaving his mark on this defense and what do you think it means going into 2024 well I think there are some good pieces from last year that that they held on to but I I really feel like the overhaul that um that this Old Miss team did on the defensive side of the football was completely necessary because they were very average um in all facets of the game last year and you're not going to win the SCC that way you're not going to beat a team like Georgia we saw the discrepancy between the two programs last year so I think I I think that the the team collectively just said hey we go to we got to do whatever it takes to um to lessen the gap between these two programs to give us a chance to win a National Championship and I think they did did did just that um and you know I know we're about to get into the transfers But ultimately I I do think that Pete Golding has to have better numbers than this um this year in 2024 given the fact that he's he's got the the uh more Talent on the defensive side of the football but also this there's a lot of pressure on this team to win right now not not necessarily win a National Championship but got to you got to make it to the playoff I think it's playoff for bus for this team um and really need to win a playoff game you know at least I think that's like the minimum that this this team is expected to do this year and most of that pressure is going to be on the defense we we feel really good about the offense we just broke it down I don't know that anybody's questioning that the Old Miss offense is going to be good this year we got a lot of questions on defense um not questioning the players but we're questioning this guy on your screen right here and whether or not he's going to be able to um lead this team lead this side of the football to be an elite unit right we haven't seen that from Old Miss um in my lifetime to where they were Elite as far as you know um a top 10 defense right can can they get to that because I think now they've got the players but is it is the scheme going to fit is is are they going to get developed right that those are the questions that I have on on this side of the football for all miss this year um yeah ready to break down the the players when you are 5 57% returning production in 202 for from that defense last year and Mason just kind of put a cherry on top of that before we get into this Defensive Line defensive line you see here on your screen kind of my my overlying my overlaying point is you've got a complicated defense typically like a Kirby Smart defense it takes a couple of years to get a guy acclimated get them knowledgeable about what you're trying to do you know maybe things have been simplified a bit but bringing in a bunch of transfers especially guys that have one year in your system it just makes me wonder I'm like is that is that not enough time to pick up on on the responsibilities and the verbage and the the duties of your position not only your position but you know on defense you need to know what everybody else is doing around you you know to play complimentary football together um you know so it just it makes me wonder and I'm not saying it you know it can't be done but I'm saying I need to see it I got to see it defensive line you you bring back some some Goods you bring in some Goods right Prince Ley U for all intensive purposes probably the best pass rusher in SEC right now um or at least I think he can be if he's not already considered that uh 15 career sacks there at Florida he's going to be coming in and playing that buck kind of hybrid defensive lineman linebacker position there um you bring back JJ pages and Jared Ivy um I I I like what JJ pag does for this defense um really a a big time hole plugger there in the middle um I like what he does and and you know to be a big guy stuck in the middle of that defense absorbing blocks sometimes double team he's got decent stats from last year U not not bad um just didn't have a ton of I don't think he had a ton around him uh last year and I I think you bring in a guy like Walter Nolan as well as Prince leyu uh to come and and help with that and I think it certainly will Walter Nolan last year 37 tackles one pass deflection four sacks and he did that at Texas A&M and was on everybody's rankings the number one transfer portal player in the country and U Old Miss does secure him to come in and play um you you got a couple of young guys coming in incoming freshman um and apparently a really good one and cam Franklin apparently he's going to be able to come in and help uh and provide some Dept right away you got a guy named Cameron beavers coming in he's a four star as well both of these guys are are top 150 in the nation for Franklin and and top 250 in the nation for for beavers there so um and that's not to mention guys that you've really got to keep your eye on because we're hearing you know we said earlier where there's smoke there's fire we're hearing about the smoke of of xaven Harris and uh Chamberlain Campbell so U those are a couple of guys that are gonna provide much needed dep you've got to be able to roll two groups of these guys you got to have two groups of these guys to be able to roll in and out um to say the second group that you'd roll out is as good as the first would be a lie but the first group's really good and the the second group I think is serviceable right um and and mostly unknown mostly unknown I'll give you that so maybe the second group is a little better than what we think even um but this starting group I like these guys by the way guys we're going to see a lots of lots of switching on this defensive line so um just because you're a starter one week you might not be the starter the next week but all these guys are going to play um what do you think Mason what do you think about this group I mean there's there's at least eight guys that that I'm very interested in six of them I I know what's up with them and I feel good about them what do you think about this defensive line group yeah I think it's definitely the the um the most talented unit on the defense for sure Prince you starting with him I'm with you I've got him tabbed as potentially the best pure pass rusher uh in the country guy had 39 tackles last year which is which is fine uh 11 and a half tackles for a loss seven sacks really good 21.1% pass rush win rate that is excellent uh 10% is excellent this guy doubled that that's that's insane uh 28 quarterback hurries 21 run stops as well that's that's that's what was most surprised in doing this breakdown is um you know more than 20 run stops on top of what he did as a pass rusher this was incredible this guy's really awesome uh biggest addition on the defensive side of the football no doubt um second biggest to me is Walter Nolan coming over from Texas A&M look the the guy is really good one of the best players in the country coming out in his class the um the the biggest question I have have from him is can he play consistently because we saw spurts of it and you know we saw him we saw him play as a true freshman even and um you know really kind of kind of wow you with his speed at that size and and things he's he's a he's a freak he's an athletic freak and by all accounts um from everything I've heard from Spring and fall Camp so far he's doing it this year and and and and the third year for defensive lineman interior defensive lineman especially is typically when you do see the bump finally they've got the strength part um they they' figured out the technique they're they're learning more um um hand movements and things so I think that this year you're going to see Walter Nolan Turn the Page and be a consistent defensive lineman uh play himself potentially into a first round because talent-wise he's there um JJ piges in the middle as well um he he's kind of he's also a genetic freak but he's turning into a a more he's morphing into a better defensive lineman and not just being that athletic guy that's playing in the middle of the defense um it sounds like he's getting much better in Camp as well which is a really good sign Jared Ivy to me is is just kind of a serviceable defensive end he he's gonna he's going to do what he can to contain um he's a Jag Plus in my opinion uh pretty good though Chris Hardy backing him up um it's just fine as a defensive end I think you got a really solid number two back there xaven Harris you mentioned he played good ball last year but it sounds like he's getting better this spring as well and and uh in into fall um aolo Stone I think I'm saying that right um he's you know that defensive tackle that's a little bit undersized but has really good twitch he he he gets to the quarterback really well coming from that defensive tackle position uh I think you can put him in in some some you know pass uh pass only situations and he could be really effective uh and then on the two deep the the most impressive Prospect is it's got to be sine Perkins who uh was a true true sophomore this year played as a true freshman last year was a little overwhelmed seemed like the game was moving a little bit too fast for him but was was still able to to Tab 38 tackles five and a half tackles for a loss three and a half sacks um and was actually only asked to rush the quarterback 130 times last year so that was was pretty productive considering that you know that's really not a ton of um a ton of opportunities for him to pin his ears back and go so I remember his his recruitment I remember as a Georgia fan wanting this guy he he's an absolute stud um and I think that he's finally found himself a home at the buck um sort of linebacker defensive end Edge position um and I I think it's going to bode well for him this is a guy who could really be like a household name by the time the season's over the only the Linebackers only obstacle in his way this year is the fact that Prince Leu is is playing in front of him that's that's the only thing I think he's going to have a really really good year for Old Miss I included him with with linebackers and um you know I I I don't know which one he'll end up playing if if he's wanting to get a bunch of playing time it'll probably have to be a linebacker because Prince Leu I I don't think you want to take him off the field um you know or or maybe even in that defensive end spot you know we talked about Jared Ivy Jared Ivy is kind of a Jag plus Mason he the athletic ability of him I I I'm not sure how high that ceiling is compared to some of these guys right he he's a bit of a robot out there just a little bit uh some of these guys are kind of more of a I don't know free free moving athlete right um I don't think his athletic ability is at the level of some of these other guys but um yeah sunin Perkins I've Heard lots of people say that that um you know he he could be one of the guys that ends up with u double digit sacks on this team maybe there's a possibility if there was two guys that could have uh double digit sacks it would probably be him and uh him and Prince Leu but um you bring in Chris Paul over from Arkansas um you know I think this is kind of a I I think this is a good player I don't think it's a necessarily like a great player um you you've got a guy like Ki Coleman in waiting in the wings behind him he's a returning guy um got some pretty good stats so I think you'll be able to plug him in there with Chris Paul as well um a and I don't think you skip a whole lot of beats this defensive line is good the defensive line is really good I think they're going to be able to keep a lot of the bodies off of these linebackers and let them go to work um you you've got a a good one or at least you think you got a good one in TJ Dudley we don't know he's completely inexperienced um we we don't know what you know is going to become of him he was a you know pretty highly recruited guy not like a festar or anything I don't think but um a guy that that we're waiting to see what he's going to be able to bring to the linebacker room and maybe provide a little bit of depth but um for all intensive purposes this line Breer room is fine um I would give it like a b you know I don't think there's I think it's a little better than average right I wouldn't give it a c i I would consider it probably a b um and I think that it's going to be just fine considering the insulation that it has with some pretty good players in the secondary some really good players on the defensive line in front of them what do you think about the linebacker room altogether I feel like the front seven is better than last year the the the overall numbers of this defense for that front seven especially should improve against the run and and keeping quarterbacks contained and getting sacks I think you're going to be good in those categories yeah I I think it's it's a little bit tough to grade the the room not knowing kind of where sunin Perkins is going to play and that kind of goes back to what I was saying like he needs to find a home you know and and learn there um he he's only a true sophomore so it's nice to be versatile but uh I think that you know having him go back and forth would would be uh a disservice to him but nonetheless um outside of sine Perkins I've given you my Spiel on him uh I I think that Chris Paul is is uh good to to a good to great middle linebacker coming over from Arkansas um you know you see the the stats on your screen there also had uh an 8% Miss tackle rate which isn't too bad uh 27 run stops which led the team at Arkansas there uh he's vers he plays the pass pretty well um and he he steps up and and plays The Run um well as well um from from everything I've heard this is a very intelligent football player and so we could see him kind of being that field general for this team uh in the middle linebacker position I think he's going to pick up uh golding's defense pretty well and a guy another guy that I'm hearing a lot of Buzz about um in the middle linebacker room is TJ Dudley um he was a Clemson transfer last year and um is super quick at 61 230 pounds apparently he's got a lot of speed uh for that size and carries it well and he's having a really good off season so don't be don't be shocked to see him and uh Cary Coleman both kind of splitting reps there at that that second linebacker position next to uh Chris Paul again assuming that sine Perkins goes down and plays on the line a little bit more as a sort of outside linebacker Chris Paul there in that picture he looks like he looks like his mama gave him that nickname poo yeah like like it looks like she was behind the camera she says say poo and he just looked at the camera like man which I I kind of my mom called me Marky poo so uh you know that kind of hits home there you go yeah that kind of hits home with me uh I think I'm G I think I'm GNA call my son poo I always call him stink right now his nickname right now is stink stink Carter uh but maybe I'll switch it to pooh I don't know that's pretty cool um yeah if you're if your nickname's going to be poo though you got to be able to get out there and knock the hell out of somebody otherwise it's not cool um that's right otherwise otherwise you're getting made fun of let's talk about a secondary we'll round round this defense out and we'll jump over to the 2024 schedule again I want to thank everybody for tuning in if you if you've tuned in to this point in the video you must must be very interested in Old Miss football as we are um I get called a college football nerd from my family daily um you know and and um I think that's probably true at this point uh not to not to name drop a a YouTube channel name there accidentally uh but we we are kind of some college football nerds Mason I hate to say it John Sanders makes his way back or excuse me John Saunders makes his way back to this defense uh as well as pre Washington actually I don't was Trey Washington the transfer I don't think he was he he was there last year wasn't he Mason yeah yeah he was these guys um and then all the other three guys in the bottom of your screen there are all transfers Trey amus comes over from Alabama Brandon Turnage actually was at one point in Alabama then was at Tennessee for three years after that he makes his homecoming he's a Mississippi guy uh so he'll be making his way back to play Nickelback it's looking like at this point um and then you've got Isaiah Hamilton who had a really nice year at Houston last year uh 50 tackles four interceptions four pass deflections as well um so I feel like you get some pretty good experience from him he was at Texas Southern uh a couple of years before that so um he's looking to play his fourth year of college football so got got plenty of experience none of which was at you know a necessarily a big boy school you know level of football now Houston did move up to Big 12 last year so he did play a big 12 schedule so I guess that is a little bit of a step up but um I like John Saunders and I like Trey Washington pretty good in in this uh these returning guys you've got key Lawrence that came over from Oklahoma you got Yan banks that came over from South Alabama and they're going to compete and they're going to provide some depth at at safety you might could see those other two guys starting by the time fall Camp's over you know I mean you really could there's so much competition going on all these guys are going to play though Mason I got a feeling I think we're going to see lots of mix and match um especially in those first few games we're going to get in the schedule in a minute there's there's nobody on the in the first few games on the schedule really other than Wake Forest and um who's I mean come on give me a break so we'll drop down to the cornerbacks and kind of talk about those I think Trey Amos is a star on the rise I think this is a future guy personally I just don't think that his all of his potential has been realized yet um Isaiah Hamilton like I said I like him you know can he perform at this level is he a lock down corner at this level probably not at this point but I think he's serviceable uh and you and you bring in a guy um Chris Graves and and you've got Richard O'Brien that are going to provide some depth there at cornerback and they're going to compete some I've heard some people say some good things about Chris Graves Mason so so um it's very possible to see him contribute and then we talked about it before the video started you've got Lewis Moore backing up Brandon Turnage at the Nickelback I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't see Lewis Moore start some games at Nickelback me personally um his numbers are just way better than Brandon turnes um and he and he played at Indiana where you played in a really good you know conference high level of competition he had like 90 tackles last year from from the Nickelback position so um I feel like you need to figure out a way to get that guy on the field and get him acclimated in this defense and as I said I think he's going to have opportunity to do that because I think there's going to be tons of plug and play over those first few weeks whether it's to start the game or just later on in the game when you're blowing people out because that's going to happen um I think we'll get to see all of these guys all in all I think me personally I I would give this room like a be I think it's going to be good we'll see how great it can be still got to see some of this stuff come to fruition for some of these guys um who haven't necessarily always been starters some of them rooll guys some of them smaller school what do you think about the secondary I I think we talked about it before the video got started I think you get from the ball on defense the you you kind of get more inexperience in some cases and and questions in other cases in other position what do you think about the secondary group here well outside of Trey Amos who I think it's going to be a stud this guy had on just well I say just 340 snaps it's a pretty good bit considering um you know that he wasn't a starter but 340 snaps had 12 t uh 12 tackles five pass breakups 7.7 uh missed tackle rate 45% completion rate when targeted uh this is a guy who who would have been bam a starting corner back had he stuck around decided to jum jump ship and and I think it's important to not to to note as well that um this is a guy who who played for Pete Golding who knows his system right so there's no there's no learning curve there for him he already knows how to play uh in this system and I think he's going to play really really well um for Old Miss outside of that without rehashing what you've already said there's a lot of unknown in this group which is which is okay um the the when when I look at what Pete Golding did on the defensive side of the football what they what they brought in as far as transfers go I see a lot of size and I see a lot of experience like that there's a lot of Juniors and seniors um red shirt Juniors and seniors fifth year guys fourth year guys um a lot of experience and then I you know looking at at kind of the roster all of these guys are listed at 61 or or or higher at least as far as the transfers go so you're you're getting a lot of length there on the back end I think that's going to be really really important um but more important is going to be that experience that comes with it my question and you know when you look at their schedule which we're about to get into kind of backloaded right as far as a schedule goes pretty easy schedule overall but but pretty backloaded as well can you figure things out on this back end within the first three or four games because I think you're going to need time for these this unit to gel before you go you know play some of your bigger games before you get to LSU especially you're you're going to need to have this figured out I think with all the transfers that they brought in they're going to be competing you know into the season this the unit the the the five or four whatever whatever they start with as far as their um their scheme goes but the the unit that starts will not be the unit that that starts at the end of the season right I think that there's going to be some some change and and some changes made how soon can you get to that final form and let these these um players gel together because you got to have you got to have some synchronicity on the back end of a defense it's it's the most important um aspect of your DB room is to is to gel together and play together know what each other are going to do and my question with bringing in this many transfers is how soon can you get up to speed um and playing with each other not only in in a new system but playing with each other um that'll be kind of the big question but I think that there are some dudes in this in this in this unit and um if if they can if they can play together with each other I I think it could be a good unit it's just you know on paper looking at it you know right now from a bird ey view I would I would agree with you it's probably a B unit um we'll just have to wait and see a lot of unknowns in this one yep and we're in Paul Camp there's room to grow man and uh we're going to get to see the product sooner than later um I I just can't wait let's talk about the 2024 schedule Mason this team is um predicted at a n and a half over under uh by a lot of the Vegas totals there um man dang it dude I left the logo right there in the middle of the dagam schedule you see that right on top of Wake Forest folks if you watch this show enough I have to mess up one slide I have to mess up one slide every single if you're watching if you're watching on your phone you probably can't even see that hardly but if you really squint hard at the Wake Forest logo you you'll be able to see that Jesus Christ we're going to have to start over Mark let's let's start over re-record this hour and a half long episode from the top from the top everybody um yeah so Le let's literally let's go from the top of the schedule start off with Ferman uh Middle Tennessee I think is that is that who that is I don't who cares it doesn't matter it's Helen Keller School for the Blind and death might as well be um you go on the road to Wake Forest that's the only sketchy thing about that is that you've got to literally go get on a bus and go head over there I guess um not a big deal probably a jet I guess for for these guys um and then you've got Georgia Southern at home so you're starting off 4 and0 you've got four weeks to figure things out you know I heard somebody had kind of an interesting take on this and I'll repeat it here not saying it's necessarily my belief but they're talking about Georgia uh last year and how uh or in years past all years the last few years you go through those easy games and the expectations are really high for a team like Old Miss this year just like Georgia is the last few years Alabama is the last few years blah blah blah when you play these little bitty teams you can't score enough it it's just there's there's a such thing as style points this isn't the NFL where if you win 21 to nothing that's an ass whooping right that's not that's not what college football is there's a s such thing as a as style points and if you if you were to go beat fman 21 to nothing there'd be a lot of questions being asked um if you did it two weeks in a row and then you you went and beat Middle Tennessee 21 to3 there'd be even more questions right you can't beat these teams bad enough and I think we may go through that first month of the Season saying is there something wrong with Old Miss what's going on with old miss you know and and I could totally see them going out there and winning a game like that 31 to nothing and running the football um winning a game you know 35 to seven and you know and people say man this team isn't as good as what I thought and I don't think it means a darn thing because Georgia you know Georgia did that and won national championships in the same year that they did you know had some goofy games like that so I don't think it means a darn thing expectations are through the roof for this team um you know there's nothing to gain from these these games other than maybe if you can get out there and beat these teams 70 to nothing or whatever um you start at the end of September really is when your schedule starts you've got four preseason games to begin the year congratulations uh then you're going to host Kentucky you're going to go on the road to South Carolina that's very juicy and pun intended uh because that's where juice Welles came from and that place is going to be rocking I hope that's a n game if it's not a night game curse you whoever schedules these damn things curse you TV programming um because that needs to be a night game for all of us uh all of us viewers we need to see that South Carolina you know their fans it doesn't matter if they're zero you know zero and 110 right they're going to show up at that place they're going to rock out with their uh Gamecocks out um that's going to be a win but it's going to be really juicy uh literally um LSU Mason you go on the road to LSU probably going to be a night game Mason and this is the game that Old Miss has struggled with year in and year out these are the types of games it's not LSU specifically it's these types of games if Lane kein and Company can go into Death Valley and get this win then it will have been the best win for L kein at in his career at Old Miss I believe I mean I would put it above the peach bow I would what that Peach Bowl wasn't a playoff game I'm sorry but it didn't matter a whole lot U they could you know I mean it is what it is I I hate to be that way uh you know I love watching those games Penn State sat out a lot of players too and that's I'm sure that Old Miss have heard that a ton but there were Olu Fano didn't play chop Robinson didn't play I mean a lot of the def the defense was not there so yeah I agree yeah so with all that being said can the secondary get it figured out Mason in time to play this team because LSU's got a hell of a wide receiver room Just Like Old Miss does maybe probably not as good as quite as good as Old Miss but it's very very good guys um very very good um they've got a good offensive line as well um they've got a quarterback that's experienced hasn't started but is experience um the the the knock on LSU is is defense and we saw last year there was like over a 100 points scored in this game last year I think it's going to be very similar to that again I think there's it's going to be a really really high score and I think the point total will be at least in the 80s um I can't wait to bet on that game because I'm going to uh I'm going over whatever it is unless it's like you know 100 points or something um so with all that being said LSU is going to be a tough one then you host Oklahoma after a byee that's going to be that's nice you got the bye um that place will be rocking for that I think om Miss can win that game um Arkansas Mason I don't know why but this is a really tough game for this for this team they struggle against Arkansas almost every year brother what is the deal I don't understand it really I don't understand it if if if Old Miss struggles with Arkansas this year then there is just something weird about that game and oh by the way it's at Arkansas's place so you got to go on the Road and and play that game I guess you as an Old Miss fan maybe you just hope that that Arkansas's kind of down and out by then and and the fans aren't so into the game and um maybe you can go in there and it's not as much of a pressure cooker as what I'm thinking it is going to be um but if Old Miss is is somehow undefeated at this point there's going to be a lot of pressure on Old Miss and I don't think there's going to be that much pressure on Arkansas just to be honest so um we'll see what kind of pressure cooker that game turns into you got George at home I'm I'm not ready to say Old Miss is ready to beat Georgia I got to see some of these games first I'm picking Georgia to win that game I I won't waste anybody's time on that um Florida is I think is an underrated game you have to go there maybe Florida's Down and Out by that point they've got the hardest schedule I've ever freaking seen in my life so they may be you know at that point in the season they may be you know five and five or something right um and Florida Gator fans are not that much into it at that point who who knows um and then November 30th you're going to absolutely crack in the egg pun intended again on top of the head of Mississippi State um so here's what it comes down to for me Mason LSU Oklahoma Arkansas and I hate I don't I don't mean to write Kentucky off like that but I just I I think I think Old Miss can take care of Kentucky at home um although it may be a close game it very well may be a close game I think kuy's a little better than what people think they are so I think that one could be a 10-point game or something like that and that wouldn't surprise me a bit but what can you do against LSU Oklahoma and Arkansas who is your rival and you struggle with for some reason um I'm going to count on this team to beat Arkansas even though that hasn't been a given and I I think this team could could drop a couple of games uh one of which probably be in LSU Oklahoma um cuz I don't think this team's going undefeated um and I because I think they're losing Georgia for sure and then I think they lose one of those to their October 12th or 26th um more than likely more than likely the road game so give me losses the Georgia LSU 10 and two for Old Miss this year and then it's going to be in the hands your fate is going to be in the hands of the college football playoff at that point because if you look at the schedule what are your best wins after that if you lose to to LSU and and Georgia you know um we'll just have to see where everybody's at at that point Mason what are your predictions what are you thinking buddy yeah I'm kind of with you um I I don't think you're going to struggle at all with the first four you got four weeks to really figure this out like I said um figuring out that DB room but figuring out other positions as well I don't think there's as much to figure out um in in other rooms based on the the breakdown we just did but nonetheless this team should be rolling by the time they they um invite Kentucky in and get to face them to open up SEC play and then you got four or or eight SEC games in a row um starting off with Kentucky and look it's not the easiest SEC team that you could face kuy's a a very physical team they're going to match up really well on the lines of scrimmage and I think it's really going to come down to the skill position players for that game in the trenches um look it it's not I'm not saying that that Kentucky has the same guys on offense and defensive lines um same level of Talent on offensive and defensive lines but there's not a ton of drop off this is a this is an SEC um a true SEC offensive and defensive lines that uh they're very physical you got a guy in Dion walker uh on the defensive line that might might be an all SEC you know defensive tackle when it's all said and done uh and a couple of edge players who can who can Rush the pass are pretty well I'll invite you to go back and look at our uh Kentucky preview from from way back when they were number like 34 on this list or or somewhere somewhere um in the way back machine but nonetheless ky's going to be pretty good they got a good quarterback and Brock Vandergriff coming in couple of good pass catching weapons this could be an interesting game um they will have already faced Georgia at this point if I'm not mistaken so they they they've already got some SEC um tape to go back and study and they're going to be itching for a win and um you you just better be ready I I do think Old Miss wins this game but this is uh this is one of those matchups like when I'm looking at these schedules I don't think oh who's better and who's worse that the better team's going to win I look at the matchups and Kentucky is a tough matchup for Old Miss because of how physical they can play uh at the lines of scrimmage if you don't have your DB room figured out by by then I I think Brock Vandergriff could have sort of a coming out party uh against you win or lose right I think this he could have a day um and you know we we we could be saying you know hey this might be the next next great you know SEC UM quarterback or something like that so you better have things figured out after those first four games uh on the back end of the defense or you could be you could you could find yourself in a a Troublesome game with Kentucky I do think that um South Carolina is better this year I don't think that don't think they're good enough to to get the upset against Old Miss um not not that early in the season I I I don't I don't see that happening LSU could be interesting I I've got to see their defense take a huge step forward a similar step forward to what we saw from old Miss's defense last year to the year prior I even if that's in the works I think that you are looking at their defense and saying that they're behind where Old Miss is and I think that old Miss's offense is just as good if not better better than LSU's defense going into this year so i' I've got to give the edge to uh Old Miss even on the road in Baton Rouge um look you you've got to add about six points right if it if this is a night game in Baton Rouge add six points and I think that uh uh Miss is still going to be able to win that game by three to six or something like that um a one score game it's going to be really fun to watch for sure Oklahoma as high as I am on Oklahoma this year their offensive line it has some serious question marks they are not going to play well against this Old Miss defensive line especially when this game's being played in Oxford um give me a win for the Rebels on that one going and playing Arkansas on the road I do think Arkansas is better this year I think that they're they're going to figure some things out on offense but um if Arkansas is sitting at three wins at this point in the season they may not even have Sam Pitman as a head coach so a lot of unknowns there but I think if um if Bobby patrino is kind of dialing up some plays for them and they're playing well that could be a tricky game I I do think Old Miss wins that game though um then you got Georgia coming to you playing at home that's going to help this is going to be one of the best environments Oxford has ever seen because I do think that this team could very easily be undefeated right both of these teams could be undefeated going into this game um it's going to be pandemonium uh it's going to be a very interesting game for sure but um ultimately I mean look Georgia is going to play really well with you on and really physical up front on the offensive lines this is going to be or on the offensive and defensive lines this is going to be the best offensive line that You' faced all year for sure um I don't know if they're going to be ready I I don't know if they're going to be ready up front for the physical type of game that they're going to walk into I think that Carson and backck can kind of slice and dice this defensive back field uh you know pretty well I know I'm biased it's it's tough to kind of erase the bias and all that but I just think that they've they've got the dudes who have been doing it together with each other for longer and they're they're more of a a jailed sort of Team more of you've got units that have jailed for longer I just think that they're um further along in the progression than where Old Miss is as a team right now um I I see it being a closer much closer game than it was last year for sure but I think that Georgia wins and and probably wins by six to 10 points somewhere in that range um Florida hey maybe they've made a quarterback change by then DJ lagway is playing you know that that's kind of the only way I see this this Florida team even competing with Old Miss I think I think Old Miss has got the win there and I think that Old Miss Even though last Egg Bowl was uh only a 10-point win I I do think that Old Miss uh beats beats up on Mississippi State pretty good at home I think it's an 11-1 season Mark and I know I I know that that would be um one historic season for for Old Miss but I I think that they do it again this is a really good unit um a really good team with really good units I guess but it's also a really easy schedule considering where they're at now um it seems like we've we've done a Missouri breakdown now and an Old Miss breakdown two teams that were in the top top 12 at the end of the regular season last year really seems like the SEC did them both some favors when it comes to the schedule making because they looked at an opportunity to have two other teams in the college football playoff um two teams that that would potentially be outside of it you know in in in um normal years I guess in in down Years or or average years for for them but with what they bring back um these are they're two teams that I think are going to be in playoff contention for sure I'm really high obviously on Old Miss and um really excited to see what they do this year don't let me down yeah if you're not an Old Miss fan just uh stick a pin in that and you can pick up right where we just left off on September 28th right whenever you play Kentucky uh and with for me for a guy like me I don't mind that a bit Old Miss fan if I was a Georgia fan and I had to wait until basically October to get my first real game for my team which I've had to do several years there's been several years where we didn't really play a big matchup until you know like October or whatever it's kind of boring at first but um I think it's really necessary for this group get all these new players and coaches and everybody acclimated together um and I think it's going to serve uh the Old Miss fan base very very well um so whenever I start watching Old Miss football again in October uh I can't wait to talk about some of those big matchups because those last eight to 10 or I guess it's technically nine or 10 weeks of the Season that last n or 10 weeks are going to be crazy crazy interesting uh action pack um no no rest for the wicked uh and Mason and I won't be resting we will be all over and we hope that you'll be with us so please hit the Subscribe button hit the like button for this video we want to try to get this video out to as many college football fans as possible U and we're building an awesome Community here that we want you to be part of what community doesn't have a million different perspectives uh and we wouldd like all teams from all over the country to bring your perspective to the first and Long college football show we'd love to hear from you and be a part of that we're going to have a ton of fun uh thank you so much for watching and signing out for the first and Long college football show I'm Marcus that's Mason we'll see you next time [Music]