Can Ole Miss' Defense Shine in the Season Opener? | Tom Vanderford on Ole Miss Rebels

Intro you are locked on Old Miss your daily podcast on the Old Miss Rebels part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day thanks again for making the Special Guest Mayor of Corinth, Tom Vanderford lock on Miss podcast your first listen every day welcome Rebel fans I am Steven Willis a 10-year veteran member of the national media and former Miss staff member today's episode is an exciting one we're joined by a special guest like we are every week the mayor of Corinth Tom vanderfords in the house will be discussing the anticipation and incitement as Miss finally is getting ready to kick off their football season tomorrow we'll dive into what the rebels need to do to get to off to a strong start key players to watch the energy surrounding Oxford as game day approaches you do not want to miss this this is the lockon podcast your daily podcast on theas Rebels part of the lockon podcast Network your team every single day we free and available in all the podc apps and on YouTube a special thanks for making lockdown on miss your first listen every day and a special hello to the every dayers and insiders who make this show what it is and don't forget to find a second listen on the network Chris Gordy at lockon SEC or even Spencer mcgoffin at lockon college football provides other perspectives on college football the SEC and yes even Old Miss so check it out so Tom vanderford how you doing buddy man I'm doing wonderful it's here yeah finally finally we we ever since the clock hit zeros against Penn State we have been willing this moment to hurry up and get here and it is finally right around the corner one day away heck yeah so what are your expectations for tomorrow because honestly if we're going to be absolutely real um we have not seen Miss play football really since the peach bow the peach ball was the last data point that 99% of theas fans got what are your expectations what do you think you're going to see I think we're going to see us run the football on offense a lot I'm not saying we're not going to pass but we're going to run the football a lot it was interesting to see that in our starting offensive line only one person was on the offensive line last year at old Miss so that's exciting uh that means that our transfer portal guys worked out and we've got wonderful depth uh in the back field so I I want to see how that line works I want to see how we run the ball yeah defense shut them down baby yeah and it's one of those things and I think everybody needs to be prepared for this this is week one so there might be a bust there might be something that happens like just like a year ago against Mercer I just nobody freak out if Ferman scores a touchdown on this furman's uh I think preseason ranked seventh in the FCS so they're not a slouch uh you know North in my opinion uh of course the game will have already been played when this airs but in my opinion I think North Dakota State's going to give uh Colorado all they got yeah and and we had Joe dó on the podcast on Thursday and he talked about um South Dakota State and North Dakota State you kind of get what you deserve when you schedule these two teams oh I agree I don't want North Dakota State and I don't want none of them jack rabbits either yeah and but after that there's a drop off so like Ferman while they're a good FCS program it's not like those FCS programs no I agree I agree and we're not like Colorado either no much better than Colorado yeah on veral different levels we I like Colorado I agree I agree you know um the SEC just came out as we were recording this it's probably been 30 45 minutes that you might not have even heard about it they're mandating um injury reports in conference games this season and the way this is going to work is if you have a conference game on Saturday so let's say oh miss is playing Kentucky in that last weekend of September Lane kein is going to have to put a there's five stages going all the way from out to absolutely available with probable and questionable and all that um in there and doubtful you have to do that on Wednesday on Thursday on Friday and then all the way up until 30 minutes before the game time they're going to have to do that I wonder if Vegas had anything to do with Expansion of Injury Reports that yeah I think they should I I mean if you're going to embrace this as much as the SEC Sports just all of a sudden Embrace this I mean you need to do it if you want the handle if you want the actual betting to happen you do need as much accurate information as possible because the first time somebody puts a hundred bucks on NC State and the starting quarterback is not playing is probably the last time that man bets exactly exactly and I'm not saying it didn't have to happen I think it did have to happen I I think it's you know the sec's migrating more towards uh what the NFL's like and as far as I'm concerned I have no problem with it at all yeah I just wish honestly it wouldn't just be for SEC games it should be I think for all games I agree yeah because L kein is going to do his injury dance that he always does for the next four weeks and we're just not going to know and just like when he talked about you know we would we we would uh you know be um have a lot of injured receivers uh for the game uh against Ferman I don't think we will I think he may set some people out that are bumped and bruised up because he wants to look at the Kaden Le and Aiden Williams and and you know people like that well this is generally the rule of thumb when it comes to injuries and Lane kein if he volunteers information to you he's probably not being truthful and if you ask him a question about an injury on a player he's not going to answer it so right anything that anybody has about injuries probably guessing for availability and especially like Jordan Watkins I think Jordan Watkins and Juice Wells are the two people that people are um talking about well there's a picture of juice Wells from the mock game yeah so he was obviously performing there so that's probably a good chance and Jordan Watkins played a year ago with a broken hand exactly I I don't think that in some capacity they're not going to be in they're not going to play I just don't think that you know speaking of receiver isn't it wonderful that I mean I I wish Deion Smith all the Lu in the world I do but isn't it wonderful you know 10 years ago we would have been crying oh my gosh this is horrible blah blah and now it's just that next up now we know why we got the kid from Utah the funny thing is probably not 10 years ago either it would probably but um like 15 years ago like the Dante M creep class yeah that that's when it really was like just Dante he he was the he was the um deal but you're absolutely right there's a time during my childhood to where if a player like Deion Smith did not make it into school it ruined your season yeah exactly because you were counting on him to get 60 catches and be a dominant player and this time Dion Smith needed oh miss more than Old Miss needed Deon Smith exactly and and like I said I wish him luck yo great player maybe he should be giving the UFL a call yes I would have whoever my agent I would be with an agent right now and it would be his job to get me on a UFL roster and into a training camp for the Birmingham stallions or whoever as soon as possible exactly yeah because he's too talented not to play football and here's the dirty little secret right now that nobody wants to talk about you don't have to go to college to play football anymore that is correct yeah like Nick Brazzle whenever he flunked out of school in 200 when is that 11 2010 somewhere in there whenever he did that it was over it was all she wrote that's not the case anymore no no I mean you know used two you had to at least go to Jo like Joe horn you didn't have to do that anymore yeah so um whenever we come back we're going to talk to Tom about what's the one question he wants to see answered in the opener we're going to talk about the new SEC on ABC theme song it's actually the old SEC on ABC theme song and we'll talk about all the Nostalgia feels that that brought back and we will do final scores when we come back but first I do want to let you know Rebel Factor Meals fans if you're like me balancing a busy schedule with staying healthy can be a challenge that's why I'm excited to tell you about Factor Mills your go-to for quick nutritious and delicious meals that fit perfectly into your day Factor meals are Chef crafted and dietitian improved with options like calorie smart Protein Plus and ketto they're fresh never Frozen they're ready to eat in just two minutes whether you're rushing between work the gym or even catching a Rebels game Factor makes it easy easy to stay on top of your Wellness goals with 35 different meals and 60 different add-ons to choose from each week you'll never get bored and from breakfast to dessert Factor has you covered 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are looking to get answered in theas Ferman game on Saturday defense past defense Rush defense well do you you mean the the transfers uh a cohesive unit yes the transfers uh the holdovers uh everybody I want to see depth and I want to see a cohesive unit out there on defense you know in years past uh especially the first couple of games of the year uh we would have some W om moments uh against some of these teams that uh they would make it close for a quarter or two I want to see dominance I want to see defensive cohesive dominance running game passing game I want to see after the quarterback with this defensive line we got I want to see sacks you know uh the podcast I did this morning um actually talked about that very thing and how that in the past in the past 20 30 40 years whenever one of those inferior teams kind of rose up to the point where they could challenge Old Miss it was because of the defense just about every time if you go back to I'm going to say that dirty work so everybody earm muffs if it triggers you but in Jacksonville State it was the fact that Tyrone Nicks and the defense could not stop Jacksonville State that is the reason that that game happened but this defense Lane kein says this is the best def defense he's ever had as a head coach yeah and that was intense at USC that was extense in Tennessee and of course FAU but yeah I think with that happens you're absolutely right I want to see a cohesive unit as well I want to see them function as a team and I want to see the individual transfers and what they can do like the Trey Amos and this Isaiah Hamilton and the key Lawrence and those guys Chris Paul yeah that's probably what I'm looking for yeah yeah I want to see it man I can't wait chopping at the bit well let's change the subject a little bit the ESPN released their theme song for the SEC on ABC and it is the old theme song from the90s as soon as it came on I pictured dece mallister taking some taking it to the house it was that tuberville era ofus football which anybody that has watched the show that was kind of my sweet spot um so when you you had like Ron Franklin and Mike godfried um calling games and that music all of them Nostalgia I I just do not think that ESPN could have found a more perfect song for anybody over the age of 35 if you're under the age of 35 you probably hate it but if you are over the age of 35 all of the Nostalgia feels oh yeah I Theme Song for SEC on ABC love it I love it I know some of the younger folks probably won't get it but a lot of us older folks will and let's face it the older you get the more disposable income you have so you know they're reaching a target audience there and also let's just let's just be real about this everybody talks about the CBs college football song and how iconic it was the CBS college football song was not that iconic song for the 20 years that existed before the SEC on CBS right once CBS got SEC and that became the deao song of the Southeastern Conference it took off the same thing's going to happen with this music exactly exactly all right so we're going to change gears a little bit and talk about the game on Saturday and give our predictions now if you look at this right now according to FanDuel om Miss is a 42 and a half Point favorite man that is a lot of points and the overunderwear in the neighborhood of 50 to s kind of or you know somewhere in there is what they're thinking could happen but Tom this is what I'm thinking with the new clock rules with everything that's going on Georgia Tech and Florida State had seven possessions each offensively now there were some long drives in that game I'm not saying there weren't but I think it might be possible that the lines and the over under at this point of the season has not adjusted to the reality of what college football could look like uh you may be right of course you know I saw your uh prediction earlier and I like it but mine's a little bit better uh for us Old Miss homers right so I'm gonna pick us to win uh 63- 10 good okay that's that's all the point 63 to 10 Yeah so basically what you're saying is whenever Miss gets up let's say Miss is up 35 to3 at halftime yeah that that that that's kind of a relatively normal score for your score to happen yeah you think that whoever comes in Austin Simmons or Walker Howard they just kind of pick it up and keep going yeah we're so deep man they're GNA pick it up keep going because you know our two and three wi outs and tight ends are great uh our running backs we've got tons of depth at running back so yeah I think they're going to and one thing that people I think may be overlooking is the communication from the coach to the quarterback so Jackson Dart is g to have some extra time to get that play and it to me it translates to us running more plays I think we'll try this against Ferman Preseason Rankings and Opponents because we want to check our depth on defense as well you know and also I do not know a firman bought the technology for the headset communication because FCS teams do not have helmet communication but they're allowed to buy the technology if they're playing an FBS team so they can they can get it like North Dakota State on Thursday decided to buy the helmet technology just for the one game against Colorado in this buis and B versus Buffalo game which basically I think isn't that the same thing yeah it was yeah so we we'll see how that looks because this might be a true game to whereas has a real Advantage with the headset Communications and Ferman might not have that being an FCS opponent so before we get out of here I do want to say if you didn't see the show this is my prediction from earlier in the day I'm predicting om miss 45 firman 10 um I think that it's going to be a quicker game than we remember they've made it to where clock rules are different and they got rid of football not commercials so it's about as long but the game time is less so there may not be as many games and with the Kinder gentler fall practice that Old Miss has had that that could lead to some sloppy play as well so Tom pretty awesome stuff and before we get out of here I do want to let every knowbody know exciting news you can now become a locked on almost Insider the best in e EAS EST way to stay updated on all things Sports it's a texting program that sends you notifications of everything relevant that happens in El Sports without the hassle of message boards filled with trolls enjoy a 14-day free trial experience the future of college sports coverage we're adding new perks as we grow so please do not miss out the link is down in the description you know game one is on Deck we'll see in the pregame show at 11:00 a.m. Central Time tomorrow Tommy any last words yeah uh number one you folks try that try the 14-day trial I love it I get updates all day long I get direct links to uh these podcasts it's wonderful and the last thing I've got to say this I want to make a shout out to Jerry Nixon in Corinth Mississippi the ultimate Rebel fan oh that that's hey praise coming from the mayor of Corinth he is trust me well hey man Jerry Jerry Nixon did you say yeah yeah H have him get in the comments and say hi and join the texting program and get that one-on-one communication and we will have fun and I'm glad that you you're enjoying that feature because I do like that insiders program it's it's pretty cool it's wonderful anyway for everybody else we will see you tomorrow in the pregame show with John and gpie at 11 Central time take care we'll talk to you then hotti totty hotti totty