BONEYARD: A look at Eastern Kentucky

welcome to the bonard with Steve Robertson as always I am your good friend and host Steve Robertson here on the Hub day edition of the yard one day closer to college football kids and I know we've had some college football but you know how it is it just kind of wets the appetite and you just want to see the Bulldogs on the field I tell you what's interesting I've had a lot of conversation this morning people texed me that dayy I decided to get tickets and come on you should too I mean it's the first game of the Jeff leby a I think it's going to be a good run for us with Jeff as the coach coach and uh so let's get out of here man I mean come on and dove season doesn't start till Sunday right you got no excuse and not to mention we only get a handful of these opportunities a year I mean honestly that's one things Dave Murray does a good job kind of expressing upon people right some years you only get a half dozen home games good years you get seven so think about that for a second you get six to seven there's 52 weeks in a year you can spend basically a week at Davis Wade Stadium that's it and then the rest of your days you know I mean unless you're coming to the hump or you know Duty Noble I mean you're you're spending it just kind of going through the line right it's true so let's make a commitment to be here listen I know it's not going to be a capacity crowd people like oh you know Steve it's hot hydrate we're not playing the game at one game's going to kick off at five we've had some cooler temperatures you know uh in the evening uh you need to wear shorts and uh I don't know maybe a lighter shirt I they want you to wear maroon that's one of the things that I've read they want maroon encouraging fans to wear maroon every game except for the white out against Florida so that doesn't seem to be a big graphic making the rounds this year at least on behalf of the University but uh yeah come be a part of it and we talk about these things all the time man life is short and Death is certain right and when you at the end of your days and when you stand there and kind of give an accounting of your life even if it's you know mentally you're not going to sit around and talk about all the Netflix you watched right it's going to be about the things you did and listen I have been so incredibly blessed in life I have been I have been and and sometimes I even feel guilty about it I'm grateful but uh but the reality of it is this I'd rather do things than have things and I have a lot of things probably more than I need to be honest with you a lot more than I need uh but I do not want what I have not got I can promise you that there there are some accomplishments in life that uh I I would like to have but not really so much material things you know I mean everybody wants to be celebrated whether they admit it or not everybody does you know I want to take some trips I want to get over to Scotland someday and see the motherland I want to go out there to Big Sky country and just watch the uh the stars twinkle over the mountain ranges out there I want to do those kinds of things you know and so when I think about all the things that I've been able to do in life many of them were not expensive right I just things that happen in life sometimes you look at and say you know what hey you work hard you invest in this but you know how many times do you experience something that you can't P really put a price tag on like those days with your kids you know those days seeing everybody get all excited and put on their Mississippi State gear mom when are we leaving hey can we stop at the store and get a snack dad I got to pee you know and all that seems like such an inconvenience when you're in the middle of it but then you look back over it and you say you know what that was some of the greatest days of my life so let's cultivate some more great days in our lives you Starkville is a great place man I love it here I do I I suspect I will be here for the duration that's the plan anyway I mean you never know where life's going to take you but that's that's what I I expect I expect to be here and yeah until it's all said and done and so I remember being a kid and I want to speak to you on on behalf of your children and you have these same feelings but again when you're in the middle of it when your mom and dad sometimes you forget what it's like to be a kid and I remember when my dad would come pick us up and he's like hey I got his tickets to go see the Mississippi State play in Jackson what you boys think it was one of the greatest days ever and not just the game itself the game was great but it's like seeing the tickets and saying I get to go see the Bulldogs play I get to go see John Bond I get to go see Don Smith you kidding me I go to Humphrey Coliseum and see Chancellor Nichols Cameron smoke Burns and the reason that I remember those things so vividly is because as a child it meant so much to me to be able to go and so I share that with you to implore you a little bit and encourage you you know what even though it's a pain in the you know what sometimes I mean it is you get everybody together and you can't agree on what movie they're going to watch or what mic you're going to listen to and it seems like I I just want to go to the game but one day you're going to look back at all that you're going to miss it you're going to miss it so give yourself some things to Miss Pack the car get the kids in there and let's go watch your Bulldogs play it's one of the things that I learned when my parents made time for me and included me in what they had going on or did something special you know it it just meant everything to me and speaking of that I sound like I'm in a bit of a nostalgic mood today I I want to brag a little bit on it's a proud dad day it's a proud dad day I'm not going to give you all the particulars because she would be embarrassed if I did and she shouldn't be but that my youngest daughter Mia some of you have heard me talk about her on the show many of you know her and uh one of the things that I tell people all the time and they think I'm being disingenuous and they're absolutely wrong one of the things to me is when I meet somebody and maybe they've heard of me but maybe don't know me or my work that well it always encourages me to work harder but I love it when I go out there and somebody says hey you're MIA Robertson's dad and I'm glad that that's how I'm known in her circles right it's like she's proud to be Steve Robertson's daughter but she is her own young lady and I'm so incredibly proud of her and so she took that allat a few months ago had a great score but it wasn't the score she wanted she was off a few points from what she wanted she could have got in pretty much any law school in the country but she like so we're sitting there texting back and forth in our fam chat on that day and and guys I'm going to tell you this she made a higher lside score than all of my attorneys and she's like no no I'm going to take it again I'm going to take it again I've made a goal for myself and I'm I'm I'm going to do it she did the same thing with the HCT she also graduated from Mississippi State University sumon Lotti with two undergraduate degrees and never made it anything less than 100 in a college course it's kind of like having a festar quarterback recruit living in your house right even though she didn't live with me and so yesterday you know before the elsat scores came out she starts getting all these messages from all these schools and everybody's like hey we encourage you to apply here and I'm not talking about in all due respect right I'm not talking about you know you know Central Florida you know or Louisiana Lafayette and and listen nothing against those fine institutions but uh you only get one chance to get this thing right and so she really wants to go somewhere prestigious and so many of those prestigious schools in the country you know have uh have been in contact shall we say but uh set my alarm this morning to get up and do the bo bound show and of course uh we were going to get our our score this morning and my alarm goes off and I grab the phone and uh and the wife says hey you've already missed the celebration what a great way to open the day right what a great way to open the day and she got her score she got the one in her mind she had to have and puts her in the top 2% in the country and she's a Mississippi State graduate and one of the things that I love the most about her is her tenacity and her willingness to go out there and work hard and do things but I'll tell you this one of the things that made me so proud as a parent is she could have gone anywhere in the country to go to college and and a lot of people say that but it's true for her it's true I can't remember if it was 32 or 33 on the ACT and 4.0 and all that kind of stuff but but she could have gone anywhere but there was no recruitment process none and it was pretty simple she goes hey Daddy I'm going to go to Mississippi State I said hey that makes me happy you know we kind because with with Audrey it was a little different there was a little tug of-war you know she thought she may want to go here go there but she's like you know what I want to be Missi state but for me there was no decision to make and she goes you know Dad she said I've got some big aspirations in life I got some things that I want to do and no matter whatever I achieve in life I want Mississippi State to get some recognition from that and I remember remember I spoke to Ronda Keenum when uh you know when when Mia made her decision and everything and um Ron keenum's like I'm so grateful and so excited to see what Mississippi state's going to do for me at Robertson I goes I agree but I'm also more excited to see what me Robertson is going to do for Mississippi State and how about going out winning double digit nle championships and speech and debate at a university that had never had a national champion in speech and debate so so now I know what it's like to have a heisen winner and uh I just wanted to share that with you I know we talk a lot about some of the stuff that I've done and things like that and sometimes I think I I still suffer with the the disease of self but uh I am so incredibly proud of her and the recognition that goes along with everything she's accomplished and how that she loves Mississippi State and you know we've never had a Mississippi State educated Governor I don't know if you knew that yeah maybe it's her you know we never had a female governor we never had a bulldog and uh you know maybe it'll be her but no matter what she does uh she's amazing all my children are and uh we've had a great great great great few weeks uh our children have had some pretty major accomplishments and things of that nature but um I hope that you are so equal equally blessed when you think about your own children and I tell people all the time and I remember I think it was I was on mpb I think and they brought up the topic of legacy like what do you think your legacy is what do you think your legacy will be and I don't really know to be honest with you but I'll tell you this the greatest Legacy that I could ever live this leave this world is um my children with all the things that I've accomplished they have taken all of that in then some and built upon it and uh it just it makes me emotional sometimes to think that my dad Freddy Robertson the the son of a Dairy Farmer in Jones County Mississippi lived off Augusta Road just down the road from Jones County junior college or Jones college as we call it these days my dad slept three to a bed man him my Uncle Paul my uncle Charlie all slept three to a full-size bed can you imagine and he got his associates degree at Jones and he came to Mississippi State got a degree in agricultural economics the minor in animal husbandry worked the work study worked with dairy and he and my mom lived in marital housing my dad didn't have a whole lot not materially but he had a lot of gumption he had a lot of drive and it's amazing to me to think that hey we're just two generations removed from that and you see what his descendants are accomplishing and much of that because of the education that they received at Mississippi State University all right let's uh let's thank our friends at Bulldog Burger Company longtime sponsors of the show and man I love it I do I'm such a huge fan of bulldog Burger Company and so when given the opportunity to work with them I absolutely jumped on it because I want to be associated with winners don't you right so let's go dine a bulldog Burger Company there's just so much going on in the world these days you know you don't want to have any guess work about where you're going to eat you know and go sit down somewhere and enjoy a nice meal and you can't pick a better place than Bulldog Burger Company three great locations to serve you University Drive in Stark Vegas GL Street there in Tupelo Lake Harbor Drive in the origin FL area and I tell you this too again integrity and pricing that matters to me Ian I work hard for every dollar that I earn I do probably underpaid so when I go to to eat and go have a dining experience I want to get what I'm paying for you I've gone some places here in the last couple years and all of a sudden I get the check and there's like a convenience fee well what am I paying this for well instead of us raising our prices we discharge you a convenience fee what's the same thing it six one way half a dozen the other either way I'm paying for more than I'm getting and I can't stand it for so what convenience am I paying for who who is being convenienc by me overpaying well it's not me let's just charge it an inconvenience fee or an overcharge fee you're not get that at Bulldog Burger Company you get Integrity in pricing a lot of people jacked their prices up and then gave you less postco that's just not the case at buldog Burger Company same affordable pricing same substantial portion I respect it man and I want to do business with people that do business with Integrity so not only are you getting a great meal at a great price and a great atmosphere you're getting a great experience by people who have done things the right way that is important to me I don't know how you feel that's important to me I like to do business with people that do business the right way and they put their customers first and that's the case at Bulldog Burger company have the spring rolls as your appetizer they'll make you and everybody around you better looking get that chocolate shake to go make the whole thing a dining experience not just a night out Bulldog Burger Company the place where people go to meet meat all right let's spend some time talking about Eastern Kentucky now if uh if you want to learn more about Eastern Kentucky you know what you can do you can go over to genespage.com for free and you can read everything that Co coach Walt Wells had to say about Mississippi State of course had got a couple players that talked about it and so guys we had three stories up before 9:00 a.m. today how about that were you aware of that while you were sleeping we're getting things done and so uh I also kind of touched yesterday too wrote a free article too about you know some some long-term series for us are being suspended or ending this year you know we're not playing Alabama and I play in Auburn LSU Kentucky those four teams have have been half of our SEC schedule now since 1992 and uh they're no more we're not playing them this year now we'll rotate back around but mention that too but let's talk Eastern Kentucky there's a lot going on with this team now they weren't great last year and uh you we talked about it a little bit earlier this week you know they went five and six last year but uh let let's take a quick review I guess we'll do uh of the uh of the schedule last year you know just kind of talk about hey this is this this is where we are this is kind of how things work but yeah there's a little disappointment up there I mean you you you talk to you know you kind of get a sense that they're they're not especially happy up there and and I guess if you're an FCS program and you got to go play some games you know you're going to lose to get a check to fund your program and so playing an SEC team is a big deal for them but uh yeah it's it's been uh Hey Bulldog Vance Steve here you know I'm a big proponent of saving money I'd like to do it for you here on this show got another great opportunity for you and here's the thing too I'm not the kind of guy that's going to go through a lot of red tape and Bs and all that kind of stuff just to save a few bucks it's got to be convenient that's the great thing about Med mobile they talk about hey you can get wireless for 15 bucks a month and I thought there's no way it's just too good to be true so I called them on it turns 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unlimited plan additional taxes fees and restrictions apply see mitt mobile for more detail hey fans if you know me you know I'm a dog person I love them I've got five of them you've heard them on the show before how about that and so when things come up involving dogs I'm always very acutely aware of it and you know our our friend actress Katherine heel kind of discovered there's a lot of dogs out there suffering with some health issues and she saved over 16,000 dogs to her foundation says she's seen more and more issues with dogs joints odors and health than ever before after doing a ton of research she feels there's one place we can look to support any dog's health it's their food so she decided to create something she could actually feel good about feeding her own dogs it's called superfood complete superfood complete is made with over third 30 of the healthiest ingredients in the world including several superfoods vital to your dog's health Badlands Ranch also supports the Jason debus hgle Foundation which has helped rescue thousands of dogs and placed them in loving homes how great is that so what's interesting is they sent me some sample products guys I use it basically as a supplement you know just to kind of see how they'd like it they would leave their regular food for the superfood complete it's crazy they absolutely love it so go to Badlands ranch.com Boneyard and you can order right now and get up to 50% off your regular price order with a 90day moneybag guarantee they're putting their money where their mouth is if you want your dog to experience all these incredible things go to bad L NS ranch.com Boneyard you be glad you did um it's been a difficult stretch for them I guess so let's kind of look back last year again five and six last year of course they they get blown out by Cincinnati on the road against the Bearcats to open the season 6613 of course they had the tussle with Kentucky played four quarters but just couldn't finish the deal lose that game they get Western Carolina to come to Richmond Kentucky that's the home of the colonels Roy kid Stadium they lose that game by a field goal so it's an 0 and3 start and you're already chasing the season now you expected to lose those first two games but you really needed to bounce back and beat the catam outs but you didn't the next week they get a ranked Simo team to come in there out of Cape Gerardo shout out to those folks and Southeast Missouri State is ranked 16th and you know what it's EKU winning a game by a field goal so first win of the year some one and three and then they rattle off a couple of weeks things get pretty good they come down to Florence Alabama take on the Lions they win that game by 10 Tarlton state had a great year last year and your former offensive uh line coach at Mississippi State Mason Miller was the OC now excuse was the OC at Charlton State he's the offensive line coach now at Baylor but he goes to Charlton State and one of the only games they lose is to EKU in double overtime so big win so three straights so you you open up on a three-game losing streak you win three in a row all those games tightly contested you start thinking okay maybe we've rided the ship the next week they go to Bowling Springs North Carolina they lose to Gardener web buy a field goal three and four now they bounced back on the road at St George Utah and they beat Utah Tech another tight game 3430 and now you're 500 with three to play they go to Austin P they lose by a field goal and then they go to Central Arkansas and lose by a field goal and then they win the final game of the year against Steven of Austin at home on Senior Day 3624 but they end the year five- six but again outside of um you know those first couple ball games especially that first one they were in the games and that tells me it's well coached it tells me they have good culture there at Eastern Kentucky now they also got 22 less scholarships it's a different brand of talent but uh you can tell you know they're not scared they talked about confidence now back in 2022 they go seven and five uh go back the year before seven and four you know pretty good year I guess many respects they actually got uh the chance to uh to play in a bowl game didn't make the playoffs but got chance to do that uh go back to 2020 not that any of us really want to they go three and six that year I don't know if you can judge anybody by that and 2019 7 and five and so they've been a fairly mediocre team under coach Wells uh but he said some things a former Kentucky assistant he's played at Mississippi State before he kind of understands the cowbells uh but it's interesting it's so well you know how you planning to handle the cowbells well we got a speaker like 5 feet behind uh the the quarterback and it kind of moves with him you know to kind of improve communication because you know hand signals are very important but it's so interesting like I read people say you know I think they're ready for the cowbells guys nobody is ready for the cowbells nobody no first team opponent or first time opponent is ready for the cowbells they think they're ready for the cowbells but you and I both know they're not you cannot replicate the cacophony of cowbells that comes at Davis way Stadium now playing at home always important you know there's been some years that we have been outstanding at home and other years maybe not so much but uh you know to play an FCS opponent we've only lost one FCS game in our history or one daa whatever they were calling it they didn't even begin that till 1978 the long lost to Maine first time I ever sat in the um in the suits and I hadn't been back I guess that's not true I hav been back but uh but nevertheless I guess I saw the Tennessee game we beat Tennessee when I was in sweets but um but understand you know this is a game that we're expected to win handly do we cover I I don't know I I don't know but I expect to win with some comfortability right now looking at the um at statistics here and uh there's a lot of things that have changed right a lot a lot of things have changed because of the transer portal you know a lot of things have have changed on the roster you know and uh they go out last year and work the portal themselves a little bit and that's an important aspect of this thing too you know it's like you got to wonder to like who who is who is transferring to Eastern Kentucky I mean I don't think it's a lot of people's dream I don't mean that to be disrespectful but unless you kind of grow up in that City or you're you know the child of an Alum you probably never really considered going uh to Eastern Kentucky but you get some guys sometimes too that maybe maybe they were power four guys and and and just couldn't get it together and maybe found out that they uh maybe weren't an SEC talent and so like hey you only get a short time in life to play sports according to the guy at the Boneyard so I'm going to transfer out of here and I'm going to go play I'm going to go somewhere I can play I want to transfer to a level that I can get on the field now an interesting addition for them is quarterback Matt morresy no not from The Smiths some of you will get that some of you won't but Matt morrissy was the starting quarterback last year on a terrible Western Illinois leather nextx team they didn't win a game he played in all 11 games uh they threw 210 passes last year he threw 207 of them if that just tells you anything uh began his career at Trinity Valley Community colge went to Northern Iowa then to Western Illinois and uh now in Eastern Kentucky so apparently he likes the geographical schools but uh yeah he is a well-traveled guy to say the least but uh quarterback rating last year but W 1949 completed 61% of his passes through for 2 14 yards 13 touchdowns against seven interceptions so this is a guy that's played a lot of football and uh he's not going to be a guy that I think is intimidated you know now when I go back and think about you know hey this atmosphere is unlike anything that most people have ever seen and I don't care what anybody tells you until you get here you don't really know right and so you start thinking too about you know last year you know this environment can swallow you whole and how many times have you seen it like all of a sudden the team gets their opponents on the rope and then the crowd kind of takes over and kind of Wheels it along but you know kind of quickly looking back at Western Illinois schedule last year and again they go 0 and 11 and mean can you imagine how fun that was oh my gosh I gotta get him go to practice again today and we we've lost nine games you know but like looking at their schedule you know probably the uh probably the biggest team they play last year is New Mexico state and so there's a connection there obviously right pus Mississippi State you know goes out and uh brings in you know some people with connections out there and so you know we'll probably have some film that we can watch that we've got uh you know some inside information on but I don't think it's going to matter but uh this is a big physical young man we do expect them to play two quarterbacks I don't know if you guys have kept up with that at all but uh uh Cameron hergot was a guy that didn't uh didn't play a whole lot last year he did appear I guess in some games and he is more of a dual threat quarterback type of guy and they believe that maybe he is their future uh he is a red shirt freshman he was a red shirt freshman last year Pardon Me Maybe that's right but anyway he uh he is the change of pace quarterback and so we're expected to see him and then we'll kind of see how things go and defensively these guys were not great last year they did go out and kind of get some guys out of the portal to maybe help them on the defensive side especially in the secondary and we'll see how things kind of go from here but um you know the bottom line is this is Mississippi state is playing uh against an FCS opponent and we've played some pretty good FCS opponents over the years and we've won those games this is a team is not expected to be great but they were picked like fourth in their league but I don't think they're going to going to show up here and be intimidated and I think this is a team that'll probably do pretty well in their league uh they did lose Parker McKenna of course who was uh considered by many to be the greatest quarterback in school history through for over 3,000 yards last year so he's gone but uh yeah I expect state to win the game I don't think that this is a game that uh it may not be an offensive Masterpiece for state and and I think it's important for all of us to kind of accept that right now you know Jeff lebby is a great offensive coach and your offense is going to get more cohesive as the year goes along it's because of the fact the guys are going to get a little more comfortable with what they do it's one thing to do it in practice and you also kind of learn how teams are going to defend you and you kind of make some alterations and you kind of move some guys around kind of figure out what works best for a unit so I I don't expect to go out there and just be clicking on all cylinders now if we do I'm going to be thrilled but yeah I think we're going to miss some ball placement stuff I think we're going to miss some open receivers at times I think we're going to miss some tackles I mean there always tackling issues in week one and maybe it's a good thing that we're playing an FSS opponent you know so that didn't kind of come in to get us but uh but the reality of it is is that I think our fans need to be patient expect us to win but if we don't don't go out there and put up 70 points cuz I certainly don't expect that it's going to be okay you I remember last year you know the sou Eastern game we won that game handily but a lot of people kind of came away a little bit unfulfilled you know it's like H you know I'm just not sure about this offense you know I wasn't sure about it either but I thought you know what hey it's one game it's first game with a new offensive system and so I I think rather than us make any parallels and say well this is just like last year no it's not just like last year it's a brand new staff it's basically a 50% flip of the roster but um yeah could it be a tussle for a quarter I would love to come out and like score on our first three possessions and then everybody be able to relax and enjoy the ball game I would love that now of course like last year yeah we win that ball game going away but we had to kick a field goal in the first quarter it's a 3 nothing game after the first quarter and then you get to the half and it's uh it's 20 to7 you know it's so second quarter was decent for us and put up 17 points and then from there it was all bulld dogs you know and we called off the dogs late you know you win 48 to7 but but let's be honest about it the first half left a lot to be desired and especially that first quarter and it's so like there's so many people out there and I'm not judging I'm just kind of calling it for how I see it there's there are some people out there they're just waiting for the excuse right it's like I don't want to make this emotional investment in this team and you saw some people last year in the very first quarter at the very first game of the year just said you know what it's not going to work out and ultimately they were proven to be correct that doesn't mean we should listen to their advice because some of those same people were pretty excited in the first half of that Arizona game we didn't put those guys away ended up being an incredible finish something that we'll never forget and also the only time in school history that we've uh since the power five mandate that we sweep a two- game series against a power five opponent and again I guess we're calling it P4 this year but um after that you know it's like hey we're two and 0 and we've won both of these games and we didn't look great and either but maybe we'll be okay and then L just absolutely just crushes us and you're thinking oh well this is going to be how it's going to be and then we think okay maybe we go to Columbia South Carolina and win and we should have that's what cost you the ball game right there losing to South Carolina you know so you go back in hindsight and again that Western Michigan game was very very competitive it shouldn't have been but it took a huge toll on Mississippi State Woody marks gets banged up gets a big high ankle sprain of course uh Will Rogers done for about a month and then we find a way to win at Arkansas and it's so interesting too there some people are like but Steve you know had they not called that illegal procedure penalty we lose the ball game yeah had they not called that Fantom blocking the back penalty we win this game as well so we had a touchdown called back by a penalty as did they but the bottom line in the record books it says 7 to three and I walked out of there thinking I'm just so glad that we won this game if we could just string this thing along until will gets healthy we'll be okay and of course then we go to Auburn and offensively we're not good not good and then Kentucky of course comes into Starkville and just you know makes us look ridiculous it's really about us right I mean you start thinking about offensively how bad things were and then needed to win those last two and we did and we each other missed but uh but again you go back again there were some hints in the early stages that offensively we were not where we needed to be and right when it felt like we were kind of getting some things figured out will gets hurt and so you never know what the season is going to show but uh just be prepared it is simply human nature brand new brand new staff brand new offense 11 10 of 11 players on your first team offense or transfers and so it's going to take a little while for them to get their feet under them now again if they come out like Gang Busters in that first quarter I think everybody will be in great will feel great but we can't go out there and just be so anemic offensively early because we've learned even if we put it together in a second half and all those points count but we really need to get off to a good start we really need to get off to a good start and I think there are a lot of fence sitters out there and and I get it you know we talk about that among ourselves regularly and you think about everything this fan base has been through in the last three years it's a ton and it's not just you know it's not just all the tragedy but you know you think about hey well you know the transfer portal and immediate eligibility and the nil it's like every time I turn around where is the sport that I love where's the sport that I grew up with and not that I'm going to sit here and tell somebody hey get off of my lawn type thing but there is a lot of fan fatigue and not just within our fan base but around the country and then when you throw in the fact that you know we lose Sam West Morland and you lose coach leech and you know then you know you bring in you elevate our that because you felt like that was the only move you could make at the time and everybody everybody was pulling for him there were some people that said I don't think it's going to work out but everybody was pulling for Zack Arnett until they weren't I think we all saw it for what it is you know and and that's the thing too you got people on the other side of this hey no no no we're not going to make a coaching change and I remember that week the Tuesday before the A&M game I got a phone call Tuesday evening and said hey Zach's not going to be back next year and I said well uh what if we get embarrassed this weekend by a third team quarterback on the road to A&M you know do we let him finish the year I all bets are off and so I get off the phone call my name with Dave Murray good stories ready to go just in case just in case something happens this week and ultimately it happened that Monday but uh it's so interesting to look back in hindsight because this time last year we were hopeful you know I was hopeful with the roster we had turning I think everybody said hey we'll be a solid Bowl team and you know what if we win a game or two that we're not expected to got a chance to have really good year go back to a Florida bowl game you know make things interesting I mean and and listen let's just kind of take it like if knowing what we know now take that out of the equation but looking back at last year you're thinking hey yeah we we'll beat South Eastern we'll beat Arizona we beat them at their place pretty significantly we'll beat him here uh maybe not going to get LSU but should have beat South Carolina I think we all felt that way they have a losing records a three and one not going to beat Bama makes you three and two you beat Western Michigan for beat Arkansas we expect to do that five we had to go to Auburn and we thought you know what as bad as they are offensive man we got a chance and that could have been six kuy's coming here been forever since KY won here we expected to win that game that g given you seven you got to go to A&M you never know what's going to expect out there but you know hey maybe it's a loss and then you beat Southern Miss and then you know the egg Ball's always a toss up and the game was played here there was reasons for op optimism last year it just didn't work out for us and the schedule was actually pretty favorable we just didn't take advantage of it and so this year it's a much more Dawning schedule but we're in pretty much the same situation we were in except for now we have an offensive-minded coach and when you look historically at least in the modern day of college football we've been at our best with an offensive-minded coach you know Jackie Cheryl kind of an outlier but you know Jackie was a guy too that uh that understood about offensive football even though we didn't always have great offenses in the Jackie Cheryl era there were some times we were very prolific but um but the reality of it is in a modern day of college football you've got to have an athletic quarterback and you've got to have an offensive play caller that can create mismatches schematically we have that now we just got to go execute we got to go put things on the field we got to go show recruits and show fans that hey you know what things are going to be better and so again I'll make my plea again if you're on the fence about coming to the game this weekend please come please come we need you here we do and uh I think think your players and coaches certainly deserve it and you do too you deserve a chance to get up here and come celebrate live for us at Davis White Stadium it is now time for today's top 10 list as always brought to you by closewith blair.com that's c e with Blair b l air.com be sure and uh let me give you his phone number right now 601 52344 6015 2344 text your call Blair today about your mortgage needs maybe you're buying a home for the first time and you don't even know where to begin well then trust your business into someone with the expertise of 23 years of experience top 1% close ratio in the country back to back to back years and you know the best thing you can do get pre-qualified right you want to get your real estate agent super motivated and we have some great ones in the Mississippi State family you be sure to get that pre-qualification letter so you don't shop out of your means right you go fall in love with a house you can't afford and then everything else feels like a disappointment let's save yourself some time and trouble right get pre-qualified and maybe you're looking for that game day condo may be more affordable than you think could be your future retirement home get with Blair work through your options he can construct some loans in a way that they meet your needs and uh past the M the muster of underwriting that's Clos blair.com okay so our friend Richard Willis longtime dedicated listener to the show former musician in his own Ry cut an album uh he is my friend I love Richard Richard is always around during baseball season hangs out with our buddy Chad deas out in the at the one Tortilla grill go enjoy it for yourself but uh Richard was inspired by the uh mly crew cover list it's like hey now that you've done mly you got to do kiss well here we are you may not know that some of the great songs from Kiss are actually covers so here we go now I don't know if this one's on Spotify so Roy may have to call an audible he did with the mly list too I guess some songs lose their license and after a while and you know they come back or whatever but uh kiss covered a great Ramon's track called do you remember rock and roll radio it's pretty a propo these days because unless you list a Sirius xm octane or Hair Nation on Sirius there's not a lot of rock and roll radio out there and we must band together as a people to stop the spread of country and western music we must we must especially this broke country thing and I know some of you like it I get it but if it's got a basetrack to it it's not a real country song you know when I think of country I think of George Strait think of Wayan Jennings but uh nevertheless great cover from Kiss uh number nine It's My Life are you familiar with this this one maybe you are maybe you're not but it's my life was originally written by Wendy O Williams the former incredible lead Sanger the plasmatics another punk band and so here you get kiss kind of uh kind of you working up through the um East Coast Punk scene I guess in some respects I know plasmatic spensive time on the west coast too but uh lot of CBGB influence here number eight a very odd cover I dig it and you probably know the original by the crystals and uh it was re-recorded by kiss and they changed it of course the uh the title for the crystals track was then he kissed me well Jean Simmons sings this one and it's then she kissed me and uh again kind of kind of interesting song selection by kiss the greatest rock band of the 70s number seven Great track here called thief in the night also a windia Williams plasmatic song I think she actually recorded this after she left the plasmatics but Wendy Williams was outrageous absolutely outrageous there was nothing she wouldn't do on stage she was absolutely off the chain as the kids used to say you all those kids now are middle-aged but uh interesting track here at TH and I think you'll dig that one too number six any way you want it no it's not the Journey song it's the Dave Clark 5 again a weird song selection but kind of dig the way that the arrangement was uh was kind of modernized at the time that's of course this comes out in 77 you know so you things were a little bit different back then if you have followed Jean Simmons career he'll tell you the Dave Clark 5 was an influence on him kind of growing up you know in New York you know listening to the record player and things like that his mom was a Dave Clark 5 fan and so they record this track number five another interesting song Choice here Bobby ryell recorded this I guess in the ' 50s maybe it's kissing time well kiss covered it in 1974 and again when you hear it it's like hey it's somewhat true to the original but it's uniquely kissed too I think you'll dig it but again a song that maybe you're surprised and it may be a little bit filler in some respects you know it wasn't a hit by any stretch but um the rest of these tracks were uh number four one of my favorite Kiss songs and uh it was originally written by Bonnie Tyler you know Bonnie you know you know Bonnie Total Eclipse of the Heart you thought she just kind of came out of nowhere now Bonnie had a catalog before that and kiss covered hides your heart absolutely love what they've done on that the instrumentation is great that's during the Bruce cull ears I think Paul's vocal on this is great too so hide your heart at number four number three a song where Ace Freely is the vocalist covering the Rolling Stones man it's 20 th man I think Ace does a great job on this some of the ace vocal songs are a little bit dicey he's not a great singer of course when he does his own stuff I went saw him in Tupelo with Alice Cooper a bunch of you were there it's a great show front row and right after Ace played the shock me solo he handed me his guitar pick I'm wearing my Ace Freely shirt at the time I appreciate it space Ace more than you know I first met him at Rock home a few years ago thanks Mark walking out there on the casino floor and him and Eddie trunker there and of course I'd met earlier Eddie earlier in the day and Ace is not a really tall guy but I've had some people tell me in the past that he was not really approachable he was nice with me he really was and you can blame Ace Freely for all of this because Ace Freely was my first rock hero without any question space Ace Wass the guy that's what really got me in I was like you know what these guys are different and the more people told me I you can't listen to them that's wrong I thought you know what I'm going to listen to it the rebellious Spirit In Me was kind of stirred up when people would say you can't listen to Kess and I remember my Uncle Warren would be listening to radio of course he was a guitar player in a southern rock band called Phoenix and uh he would call me in his room every time kiss came on radio hey here's your guys here's your guys here's your guys he wasn't a big kiss fan but he knew that I was so I got to hear kiss on on the radio love him for that he just celebrated a birthday too number two another Ace Freely cover from the uh the Ace Freely solo album you know kiss put out four solo albums everybody had one and uh it's New York Groove and a lot of people think that it's an ace original it's not it's not an ace original but um we wanted to include it you know it's a cover because I think Ace kind of made it a little more famous but number one for me and of course this is all after the original members have gone outside of Paul and Jean we've talked about this on on the show before it's a Russ B Howard song Argent covered this and of course uh Petra has covered this Petra kind of made it their own the Christian rock band Petra and uh it's God gave rock and roll to you too from uh Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure Bo excuse me Bogus Journey on that soundtrack and uh it is amazing because you can put your faith in a loud guitar because God gave rock and roll to you I love it I've loved it from the very time the very first time that I heard it the video was great and uh again I love the Bill and Ted movies the first two are great three was pretty good too wasn't great but I love those first two I may even like Bogus Journey I don't know if it's fair but maybe a little more than than uh X1 adventure and the newness of Bill and Ted you know kind of drove the first one because it was so incredibly unrealistic and it was just a fun movie you know drama at the Circle K but uh I my kids grow up on that too maybe that's why they're such high Achievers uh but nevertheless that's your top 10 list for today if you have ideas for the top 10 list reach out let us know and uh we may just do them you may be like like Richard's Like Richard jumped to the top of the list because Richard's like hey you just did this you got to do kiss and so it was great and uh anytime we can talk about kiss because you wanted the best you got the best right here in The Bard we love kiss we love kissing you know we we like seeing it you know it's just part of the deal part of the Great human romantic experience I'm not really against PDA to be honest with you I know some people are it's like hey go get a room I think I might do you care to join us you know uh that kind of stuff you know it is what it is but um anyway I love the top 10 list and thanks so much for your support of it low these many years over four years and going and still finding cool stuff to talk about right right so you can uh find our list on Twitter and I retweet them but uh follow Roy at dogmatic 67 D AWG m a TI i67 and you can find our great list on Spotify under that same name and I'll share this with you too I think it's important too because I've had some people ask me about this guys we don't monetize that content like we don't get paid anything for Roy to put that on Spotify he does that as a service for all of you and as he first contacted me and first I was like I don't want to mess with any that stuff he's like I'll do it for you and now Roy's done this and sometimes he gets day or two behind but we get them out there for you but uh we don't you know I don't have to do the top 10 list I don't have to do the Boneyard but um while we do make a few coins on the Boneyard we don't make any money on the top 10 list and uh and so Roy does that out of the goodness of his heart to support the show Roy has become my friend he's your friend too it's we ride in Fort Worth I guess and some lady asked to take a picture with him big Boneyard listener she's like I got to get a picture with Roy and so I think that's the only payment Roy needs is fame fame you don't need a fortune Roy you can work for it it's the fame the fame that comes along with being The Keeper of the list you got to take what you can get but I am very grateful to Roy and uh his wife Missy of course Ela starts High School this year which is kind of got got us all freaked out a little bit you know cuz I know how you high school kids can be but uh she's got a good head on her shoulders we wish her the best and I think in time we'll be welcoming her to Mississippi State as a student and uh maybe you and your family will be so richly blessed that your descendants come to Mississippi State all right next segment of the show brought to you by campus bookmart a stark villian institution I love campus bookmark you will to the best selection of Mississippi State merchandise in an on universe and here's the reality of that aspect of it right there a lot of people out there that make the claim they can back it up so whenever you're looking to update your Mississippi State attire looking to find something for the fan cave looking for a house Waring gift a graduation gift there's a lot of great things that you can get there that are uniquely Starkville and uniquely Mississippi State don't go to Amazon or and God forbid don't go to eBay go to campus bookmark.com page and it's BSR censor beautiful Steve Robertson that gets you free shipping on all orders over $75 any order less than $75 absolutely incomplete uh I think one of the things that that uh makes our fan base so unique is that we love starville and even if we can't get back to Starkville regularly we want to support starville businesses and I'm going to encourage you to do that online shopping to campus bookmark.it about the NFL stuff and we had to revise our list you know uh Mike got that thing together and there was some late Cuts last night and yesterday evening it's the 53 man rosters have been released um then there may be some adjustments between now and game day and there's going to be some guys too that got cut that'll be signed the practice squad type things so we'll do our best to kind of keep up with that but um yeah a lot of guys for sure and uh not a lot of U surprises I guess with the Bulldog Veterans of course uh you the is back for his 11th year in the NFL did you did you see that coming I mean honestly you know he had kind of an average career at Mississippi State there you of course he was a highly Ted recruit and everybody felt like he would be an NFL guy 11 years Logan cook who has the highest net punting average in the history of the NFL in year 7 still with the Jacksonville Jaguars from my hometown Columbia Mississippi yes indeed Charles cross now in year three with the Seattle Seahawks uh Jaden crdy unless that he's been waved today I didn't go back and double check this but it looks like he's made the the roster with the Panthers Martin Emerson now in his third year with the Browns Emanuel Forbes of course back with the commanders had some ups and downs last year hope it all works out for him uh Willie gay leaves the Chiefs signs a free agent deal with the Saints now on your five JT Gray another guy I remember he kind of he was out in Arizona if emry serves me correct he was out in Arizona and a lot of people thought he was going to go to Arizona moves back to Mississippi ends up coming to Mississippi state had a really good career at Mississippi State and has kind of made a name for himself kind of a special teams demon and New Orleans and back again they signed him to a new deal I guess maybe this year last year I can't remember which but uh really happy for him Elden Jenkins of course still with the Packers signed a BigTime contract year six I remember going to Elden Jenkins house in Clarksdale Mississippi to take his picture to put on jeans page I remember how nervous he was you know I interviewed him got his picture his mom came out and took a picture of him being interviewed first time he'd ever been interviewed and now you look he's a six-year vet and one of the highest rated offensive linemen in in the National Football League Chris Jones in year nine has it really been that long it has been and of course uh Chris got a couple rings now a lot of people wonder if he's going to be State's first NFL Hall of Famer I think Fletcher Cox might get it done but if he doesn't Chris Jones will Dak Prescott in year nine and it doesn't it make you feel old somebody just yesterday you were going and buying your kid at Dak Prescott Jersey you won for yourself the Cowboys need a good year this year they're kind of all in to win this year they need to dcam of course makes team with the Raiders extremely happy for him really nice young man you guys never really got a chance to know him the way you probably should he didn't get a lot of media opportunities a little bit shy in front of the camera times but an outstanding young man wish him the best Jeffrey Simmons of course you're six with the Titans and it's hard to believe this darus slay now a dozen years in a league you start beginning to wonder this about slay too you know to play a dozen years I mean does he play his way into the Hall of Fame you know he's he's won a championship but you start working through this and you start looking at the numbers and the fact it's hard to believe that he's been in the in the league A Dozen Years he's the guy that's the current active leader for years of NFL experience among Mississippi State alums press and Smith 10 years I remember I believe Stevenson High School out of Stone Mountain Georgia and he had all these guys out there and I like this kid is much better than a two star and they're like well we've already rid so many kids there there's only so many stars to go around and now president Smith in his 10th NFL season it's crazy man it's nuts montz sweat now with the Bears excited for him and uh again the anomaly last year of leading the Reds the commanders pardon me and the bears in sack he led two teams in Sachs in the same year midyear trade eager to see what he can do this year bookie Watson makes the roster with the Browns thrilled for him I think he'll stick for a bit Tyrus swed of course uh back for with the Cowboys there was a lot of discussion late that he may not may get waved he ends up making the team and of course Cameron young backward the Seahawks for two years too so lot lot of people that we can be excited about here and there's some other guys that were late cuts that will end up on a practice squad thing but it's so incredible to think about we talk about the impact right of coaches and about branding and you know we get so caught up in the minutia the number one thing that helps Mississippi State establish a good brand is winning the number two thing is is to see your football alums go on to chase their NFL dreams and then have success you can say hey look at all these players that we have in the NFL it's pretty cool though right because we have branding every Sunday it's like hey we win a game on Saturday and then look at how great our players are doing on Sunday guys that came to Mississippi state that could be you and so we get caught up sometimes in the minutia of everything and sometimes we lose sight of what really matters that's wining football games producing college graduates that excel at their chosen vocation and for many of them that's professional football and it's every Young Person's dream to have the opportunity to play pro sports it's why athletes train and hard as they do they want to go out there and perform at a high level and continue to play as long as they can and so very very significant very significant and again we have so much to be proud of here at Mississippi State and again you look back at Dan Mullen you know how many of those guys I let's just you know we're real quickly here kind of look back here and just see you know how many of those guys are mulling recruits yeah let that sink in for a second you know we start talking about all of that stuff you know uh autrey of course Mullen cook uh cross was not that was a Jim Morhead recruit crdy was a kind of a crossover guy I guess you know Martin Emerson of course you know I mean you you start running the numbers here and you kind of begin to realize you know we had a good run of not only recruiting but developing and producing professional talents at Mississippi State got to get back to that right we got to get back and of course the football's changed a little bit you know people aren't as patient with developmental Guys these days because you know you can process a guy into the portal and come right back out and get somebody else with a little more experience perhaps a higher ceiling you know so it's changed a little bit but um that's what needs to happen at Mississippi State we need to go out and recruit and find young men from around our recruiting footprint get them into our program invest in them develop them and then have them kind of carry the banner for Mississippi State going forward that is so incredibly important uh for the longevity and the promotion of Mississippi State football and I think we've got some guys uh this year that are going to be drafted and we'll add to that number next year you know and of course you'll have some guys EV ventry that'll retire but uh you see Darius leay out there man with 12 years in a lot of people are still talking about him he's at top of his game and so that's important to understand too you know the longer these guys play the more common they become in conversations about National Football League and we've had some household names around the country and people know that hey Dak Prescott went to Mississippi State futcher Cox went to Mississippi State and and of course I know the first NFL game people hey well they they mentioned their preschool so why not us you know I get that aspect of it but at the end of the day every place they've been uh has played a part in their journey and so it's their decision you know I'd love for them to claim Mississippi State and and put that out there but it doesn't always mean anything's bad you know like Fletcher Cox did it uh in memory of a high school coach yeah and so and people were critical you know a Fletch and they shouldn't have been that guy loves Mississippi State and we love having him back when he's around and maybe now that he's in retirement we'll see him a little more often every time I see him on on social media though it's like he's going to the beach somewhere with uh he and his lovely wife and so our girlfriend I'm not sure how he characterizes her but um you know it's good to see uh Fletching those guys that uh came to Mississippi state with a dream and to see that dream be realized all right final segment of the show brought to you by the Stark Vegas Clubhouse now if you're looking to bring a large group of fans or friends or family to town whether it's a ball game weekend or not look no further than the Stark Vegas Clubhouse I would encourage you to for you midweek Travelers like if you're coming to work in the Golden Triangle area maybe you're working on campus maybe you just got a crew up here and uh you got to go see some clients and you need everybody kind of Under One Roof instead of going out getting five hotel rooms consider staying Stark Vegas Clubhouse it's a good financial decision and it's good to have everybody around because you never know when Dave is going to sneak off and go have a nap right everybody's right there together full service kitchen you can cook right there uh the wet bar is there that great back porch here you can sit out there even have your meal as things begin to kind of cool down and and maybe go uh congregate around that fire pit just 5 minutes away from the Miss State campus incredibly convenient but also too kind of tucked away in a very very quiet place where you can go get some peace and quiet you and your guests can just kind of relax enjoy being together so whether it's a coup's weekend a family weekend a coward roommates weekend whatever it is the Stark Vegas Clubhouse can help you now Google Stark Vegas Clubhouse and their Facebook page will autop populate and you have the opportunity to kind of peruse the pictures of those fine amenities right and you can see what's available to you and your guest in addition to that there's going to be some booking options that pop up you're going to have Airbnb you're going to vbo but if you want to save some money I can help you with that book through the evolved website and use promo code bsr1 bsr1 zero gets you 10% off your stay and how cool is that just by listening to this show you can save some money super cool always happy to help you guys and happy to partner with the uh Stark Vegas Clubhouse all right final segment you know we we got some college football coming up and uh I promis that we would look at it a little bit one of the things that I've learned too sometimes I wonder why we just can't make it easy you know to put uh you know just Google college football schedule you I was looking for the scores the other day it took a while you know it really did it took a while to kind of find that but um we have some uh college football Thursday evening so by the time we get together again some other games will have been played and there are a ton of games a ton so I don't know what uh you know what suits your fancy but you're going to have the opportunity to watch a ton of games uh it's kind of looking at games that may be of of of some reasonable note Western Carolina's at NC State NCA and at week Forest Jackson State's at Yu Monroe that that could be an interesting game could it not be could be Arkansas pomof is at Arkansas and we're going to take the Hogs there and um yeah hot take right Steve that's going to be on ESPNU so if you want to get your first look at the 2024 Arkansas Razorbacks you can do that on uh Thursday night the game is going to be played at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock they're taking that game off campus and I I suspect it'll be reasonably well attended but uh Thursday evening games away from campus aren't always the best but the rock is is a town that's got uh got some decent population uh the Hogs are favored by 48 a half in this game maybe they don't cover maybe you take the win but not to cover but uh you know we'll see you know it's a new look Arkansas offense you know we'll see how things kind of play out but that'll be interesting if you want to do some Advanced scouting of your own Duke's is going to be at Toledo Mississippi state's thir third week opponent that's going to be uh at the glass bowl in Toledo uh Rockets favor by 27 in the game and I suspect they'll win that'll be in the espm plus thing a lot of people already asking is our game televised every college football game in the SEC is televised every game now you may have to stream it through the ESPN app or through ESPN Plus but you can watch it the same for these other games Murray State at missou another opponent from Mississippi State that's going to be on the SEC network now Murray State you may not know this but our friend jod Wright former Bulldog assistant coach former Bulldog football staffer now the head coach at Murray State they're 46 and a half Point dogs on the road to KO I don't give the racers much chance in this ball game game but I I'm rooting for Jody and rooting for the racers so that'll be interesting now a little more uh maybe interesting game North Carolina at Minnesota I'm a huge Heather Flack fan like her she's my favorite fck uh but that could be an interesting game too if you want to watch that and of course there's the uh The Prime Time game on ESPN North Dakota state of Colorado that could be a lot of fun too but um you know again a ton of football and then we get into Friday not a lot of games of Mississippi State note but there are some notable names that are playing U we're going to see Oklahoma now member of the Southeastern Conference open their season on Friday at 6 PM FAU is at Michigan State and then tcu's at Stanford that's going to be a late game on Friday night you know you get home from watching High School football you can pop that on TCU at Stanford could be could be very entertaining uh the horn frogs are actually favored on the road by 9 and A2 and then you get into Saturday and it is uh it's crazy absolutely crazy so we'll preview Saturday's games on Friday and it should be outside of one or two games I suspect everything will go to script the chalk will likely hold but again if you want to watch some SEC football you can do so on Thursday evening super cool uh my last plea here a couple things that I want to tell you too uh cowbell yell is now open to the public it used to only be a student thing you can now attend that so if you're coming to town uh I would encourage you to maybe go experience that I've been it's a lot of fun it truly is and uh they work on uh singing The Fight Song and all that kind of stuff while they're there so not only is it entertaining it's also educational maybe we should make that uh a lab uh that's part of it too now also too and we'll touch on some of this on Friday the um things have changed a little bit on campus as I've mentioned you know that they have some streets they blocked off in the past there a couple of them just kind of covered up but boss Street Extension is is finished and it's going to take a little uh getting used to and they also have some speed bumps out there and if you're not careful you could hurt yourself or hurt your vehicle so make sure you obey the speed limit and ensure that you observe those speed bumps because uh when we were covering media during um mve in weekend here a couple weekends ago we out there speak speaking with Jeff Labby I saw a couple of students driving down boss Street extension and they didn't pay attention and they uh hit that speed bump and um I won't say they went Airborne but it was a bumpy Landing let's should say that on the on the back side of that speed bump so that's important to understand now if you're an RV person that normally Parks you know across from the hump and next to the Griffith Ballroom they're attached to the Palo Center they have black topped all of that that and that's something that needed to be done a long time ago and I'm so glad they've done that so you're going to have a much nicer place to play you know you're going to have an opportunity now to kind of get out there and do some things you know and uh in the past you know you've had to park there and that lot is not always been in the best of physical conditions well they have remedied that and so you're going to pull in there and you're going to say hey look how nice this is and it does look really nice it it truly does and there's been a lot of construction around campus and uh some things around town as well now here's one of the things too right there by TR rest Float Spa of Starkville across from Strange Brew you know um next to Little Caesar's there you know on the way people used to pick that that right to get to Blackjack Road they have expanded that intersection a little bit it's it used to be a little congested there at times because we have so many students that live off Blackjack uh they have done a lot of work there it's a lot nicer and I think things flow a lot better now kind of getting the campus so if you're entering campus on Highway 12 once you get to that intersection and shout out to Strange Brew um it's going to look different but it's going to flow better and so things like that are important to understand and and I think it's always important to make sure that you know where you're going because again things have changed a little bit so your normal thoroughfares may have changed a little bit since you were here last and wives girlfriends please listen to me please listen to me let's try to make sure that he leaves an hour early you know how he gets you know it he gets all anxious he's ready to get there and gets impatient starts driving fast and Taking Chances let's leave an hour early and a lot of that's going to depend on you I'm I'm I don't want to put the burden on your shoulders but let's encourage him to leave early it's like hey babe why don't we leave early I want to stop and get this and then you just run like the Love's truck stop and get you know something of insignificance but you just want to get on the road as soon as possible you're not in mid Game season form yet and so it's important for everybody to understand give themselves a little more time as you navigate around campus Because again these event management people are great people they truly are and uh so many of them have been here for many years some of you know their faces if not their names and they have become synonymous with the Mississippi State State Hospitality experience but a lot of these people don't know anything beyond their own sections right this is where I'm supposed to be I'm supposed to watch this lot check for this pass keep this barricade up and so they're not going to be the best at giving you directions on where to go right they don't live on campus and I I would love if everybody was you know completely aware of what everything needed to do so don't expect them and because every time it happens even when I go to campus inevitably I get behind somebody that doesn't know where they're going and so they just kind of get on campus and like hey where is lot two you know well there's a there's a map at hell state.com for game day you can kind of see where and how to to navigate to your lot and there are other people that just kind of get here and try to figure it out and so let's all work together here and ensure that we have a great game day experience and uh there's a couple little things of course you know we got the DJ and things like that but there there's not a lot of changes in that respect and there will be kind of moving forward uh but I think you know when you think about the infrastructure and the construction around campus it's so incredibly important that even though hey this is the way we've always gone may not be the way you go in the future so take a few minutes to look at that game day uh map and kind of see hey what's changed here what's happened there a lot of things are a little bit different a lot of things a little bit different and especially kind of navigating around and uh it's pretty cool too that they've already started striping off the junction uh for the game day tense and things like that so preparations are being made for your arrival and I I can tell you on behalf of everybody here in starville and everybody here involved with Mississippi State athletics we cannot wait for you to get here and there a lot of things that have been done that they've kind of put some pressure on people to make sure these things are done well ahe of game week and so some people local contractors and people that uh that maybe you don't know their names but you've seen their work theyve worked exceptionally hard uh to ensure that campus uh looks great and is functional for you when you arrive and so please buy tickets come be a part of all this and uh we're going to cut the show short early today because I've got to get going I got I've got to run down to Central Mississippi and then get back and uh we we have a lot going on these days kind of finishing up some things we because once we get into the grinder of football season uh you know how it is is you know you know how it is and so again let me encourage you come be a part of it be a part of the moment right and I I can promise you most of my favorite memories don't involve a TV set I've watched some great games on TV but how many times do you hear about it hey man do you remember that great game in 2014 and immediately like someone say I was there I was there there's nothing like being there and just something about those games when you're there to witness it in person they just mean a little more to you mean how many times you you hear some of these silverhair dogs that we all love so much I mean they they have paved the way for everything we enjoy today and so you know see we didn't have TV back in our day you know we had to go we had to go to all these games and I saw shorty MC Williams play and I saw this person play and I saw Harper Davis play and you know and uh I listen in awe when I talked to those folks and I had a chance to meet with Charlie wle that's a Mississippi State Hall of Famer Charlie wedley and kind of give him some information about you know the forthcoming book the dude and um some stories he didn't even know and I thought man this book is uh maybe better than I thought when Charlie weatherly's never heard some of these stories and they're documented you know just not widely circulated and so uh looking forward to that if you hadn't done so go to duty Noble book.com and you can pre-order the dude it's going to be nominated for some awards already has been even though it hadn't been released yet yeah manuscripts already been forwarded to uh some committee out there so maybe we win something how about that but at the end of the day I I've already won by writing the book because I've learned so much about our history and I'm eager to share it with all of you uh let me encourage you too uh if you're going to come float a lot of our Out of Towners who said hey you know Steve I'd love to support you guys uh but you can't get a can't be a member I want to BU get buy membership but I don't know how often I'm going to use it if you're if you're planning to come try it and just to support us or to enjoy the experience and that's really the better part of that uh that call 662 268 7601 and uh we're are it's been a very busy week and we're starting to get a lot of calls about this weekend so if you want to float we have four pods and uh we float several times a day the the floats last an hour and uh it's the only time that my mind is ever quiet is to get in there and Float I wanted to float this week I'm going to have to do it tomorrow but um I I think it's it's something that perhaps you've never enjoyed before and it has been a game changer for me not just for the chronic pain because I'm getting older but with the anxiety and it's improved the quality of my sleep and the very first time I flirted bought a franchise I thought I want my friends and neighbors to be able to enjoy this and uh and I I invite you I cordially invite you to come be a part of this because there's no point you laying around hurting there's no point in you laying around and can't sleep at night you know because your mind won't stop you know when I float the quality of my sleep improves for about a week or so you know maybe about eight or nine days I got to go FL again so I try to float about once a week and I need to get on a regular schedule but sometimes that's difficult for me but I encourage you to come float whether you've got chronic pain you've got anxiety depression PTSD we have a lot of uh military personnel that come over from the air base over in Columbus uh you know we we may be able to help you I mean I make no make no guarantees no guarantees in life but uh it's it's kind of like delivering flowers cuz everybody leaves happy and refreshed you know what I'm saying I've worked in retail before and people are like I'm disappointed with this I didn't like this it's so cool for people to walk out of there they look at you and it's just like you know I mean how many times do we actually take time for ourselves we talk about it all the time we sit in our beds we're scroll through our phone the TV's on and even in our quote time to ourself we're still over stimulated and so come be a part of this you'll be glad you did it's uh super cool and I've had some people say Steve I may feel a little bit claustrophobic well leave the pot doors open right you control that you know Steve I'm kind of afraid of the dark okay cool leave the light on you know there there's an overhead light that's going to be that's going to go off when you get in and stop moving but there's a light inside the Pod too that it can be kind of soothing you know I I float with the Pod doors closed and the lights off and I get in there and I close my eyes and it's almost like a download like from the higher power right I get in there and I just absolutely relax and take time to myself and give my mind a chance to rest and it's like all of a sudden like it all opens up for me it's like I think about all these things oh yeah I can do that I can do this and uh it's great and so come be a part of that again 662 268 7601 or you can download the true rest app and you can book online but if you have questions uh please give Dan a call again 662 268 7601 I think it would add some value uh to your life but um again plenty of tickets available this weekend come be a part of the great experience as we usher in the Jeff lebby era but until next time let's all live our lives in a way we make more friends than enemies and people can see a difference in the way we live