8-8-24: Is Florida the Most Important Game for Mississippi State?

a super talk Mississippi media production you're listening to thunder and lightning on super talk Mississippi covering Mississippi State sports like nobody else with Sports Talk Mississippi's Brian haad and Robbie Faulk of Onre Sports now get ready for thunder and lightning this is thunder and lightning here on super talk Mississippi Brian hayad and Robbie faul here with you on a Thursday morning thanks for joining us here at supert talk. FM or wherever it is that you get Podcast from we appreciate you guys out there our great listeners especially our service men and women out there taking care of us want to thank our sponsors over at Strange Brew Coffee House and churn and spoon Ice Cream start your day the right way with a trip to the drive-thru over at Strange Brew coffee house here in Starkville or at brelo over in Tupelo be little weird Robbie if bro was in West King it would be a little weird wherever you are in our great state you can enjoy Strange Brew Coffee each and every morning it's just a click away Strange Brew Coffee house.com it's it's actually pronounced West T King well it's two words uh well that they misspell K yep I mean I don't know what to tell you it's actually West King wesing westking there is no space yep there you go Lee Batel he's the one who be over our the official geographer cartographer of of the of the program we uh we already finished that one pit Printing and signs do it over again yeah we'll come with the new city and everything pit Printing and Signs by the way no I I do have to cut stay within a I guess like a five minute 10 minute radius here you got four towns or cities that all start with a W West King Whistler Woodwards and wesboro uh the so West King is around way yeah okay just north of wboro I've been through wesboro a whole bunch oh yeah absolutely Pip Printing and sence Academy Jaguars Oh I thought you going to go Wayne County war I've never been up there to watch them play I mean I've seen them in the state championship but yeah I I just whenever I was in Waynesboro it was to see wayne Academy okay pit Printing and signs I just saw the Tweet you're talking about with Mike Tomlin his picture is hilar is I'll get to pit Printing and signs eventually maybe they can put a big picture of this SM of this this is a this is going to be a meme you realize that is the Tomlin face so it's it's kind of like that gif of him like hitting his chest and then pointing at the camera yeah yeah that's that's what we got here I can't I I just can't give up on this guy yeah I've tried I will again in the middle I will again in the middle of the season this year and then I'll love him again's good coach don't don't don't go too far Pip Printing and signs Rel service for every business need guys I want you to go to the website pin.com and get an idea of the incredible number of things that a a deal with pit Printing and signs can do for your business you know it's not just about hey can they come up with some fancy looking mailers for us now they can completely transform the way people see your business from day one so we're not just talking about oh I'm going to get something in the mail and it's from Pip Printing and sence when I walk in the door of your business I my my opinion is going to be different because of the incredible work they're able to do with signage with Graphics uh with with brochures with everything that's that your business needs to get its message out there you need to give Cam Baker a call tell them you heard about him on thunder and lightning 60149 5216 talk to cam that's his number directly you're going to be going directly to the top you're not going to be dealing with this is not a switchboard number or a 1800 number anything like that when you need printing call pip pip today College Corner college cornerstore.com is the place to find the maroon and white merchandise you are looking for and you are looking for it guys I again go back to what we talk about the other day as long as it's not the banner M I'm we're we're cool we're cool so if you like if you really are a fan of the state script and you want to wear those polos I'm telling you I know there's an incredible selection of them at College Corner but if you want the interlocking great selection of gear there as well if you want the movers plenty of that as well so whatever you whatever your favorite Mississippi State logo is they've got it at College Corner two locations to serve you in the Jackson area orig by Fleet Feet flowed by the half shell or you can shop online college cornerstore.com Robbie and I just left restaurant Tyler and man was it good I mean it was good from brine black and catfish cheese grits and uh mac and cheese I got a little extra piece of catfish on there they'll do that for you by the way you don't have you just have to ask get it it ain't free but it's good and then rob you get F Fried Chicken Fried Chicken mash potatoes Black Eyed Peas I mean it don't get any more Southern than the meal that Robbie and I just ate so if you want the best lunch in town the only place to get it is at restaurant Tyler they have the best Blue Plate in town and if you're a blue plate person like I I am you just can't turn it down and the cool thing is like I had black and catfish today I could go back tomorrow have something completely different and it would just still be as delicious so something to keep in mind you don't have to eat the same thing every time you have a great lunch every single time you walk in the door at restaurant Tyler priority1 Bank 16 locations to serve you throughout Central Mississippi let priorityonebank.com be your guide and let them show you what they can do for your money you did the hard work to get the money to the bank let them take it from there let them show you how to invest how to manage your money and how to build your finances and your future for a long long time if you live in central Mississippi there is a location near you so give them a a call give them a look talk to them today let Priority One Bank make you their priority normally we uh we do the opponent preview second part of the show we're going to do it the first part of the show today because I have a topic I want to work around it Robbie and it's something I've been talking about a lot on Sports Talk Mississippi and I'm not getting a lot of push back from Richard and Borio I think they agree with me so I want to get your thoughts if I say if somebody asks me what is the most important game of the season for Mississippi State my answer is the Florida game I think state has a fantastic chance to be three and0 when they play the Gators should be a lot of excitement should be a good crowd this is a Florida team that I don't have a whole lot of hopes for that could possibly be a one-2 limping Florida team into Starkville if you win that game and you're 4-0 winning a bowl game I'm not saying it's a lock but it's it's awfully close at that point at that point you should be be considering where you want to go in December if you want to go to the Bowl game if you lose this game it is going to be incredibly incredibly difficult for Mississippi State to make a bowl because now we're going to have to talk about a big upset you know you you we we we we were looking at the the schedule yesterday on Sports Talk we're talking about how six of States games are against top 20 teams you know Georgia Texas uh Texas A&M Miss Missouri Tennessee right those are all top 25 top 20 teams somebody had their schedule as the second toughest second toughest in the country yeah the other six games is number one yeah the other six games are against unranked teams so winning those games is the easiest path now now you're telling me if State doesn't beat Florida they've got to win a game where where gosh Robbie as we sit it today state would probably be a three touchdown Underdog to any one of those teams even Texas A&M the probably the lowest rated one so beating Florida to me is the absolute swing game of the season have to have win do you agree yeah at least at this point now when when you get through that game then there's another game if you're just looking at the schedule before the season even begins I think there's no question that's probably most important it it reminds me in some ways um and I you know my expectations for this team isn't the same it was for that one but right it reminds me in some ways of that 18 Florida game M that was in startv state had build some very similar some momentum huge game huge atmosphere you got can't chance to start the season off with a bang beat damn mullet and all that stuff it's similar in some ways and not in the fact that you're you know you got your former coach coming in here and you got a chance to be inside the top 15 or whatever they were at the time but I do think that this is an opportunity for Mississippi State to build some momentum because the stretch of games coming up after that are going to be difficult to say the least you got Texas Georgia Texas A&M three straight weeks there's a very good chance that you go 0 and3 in that stretch you would love to be 4-0 and only needing cuz at this point I mean let's just be honest I know the the team's mindset is going to be different than ours but we're going to talk differently than they will MH you're trying to get to a bowl game this year you're not competing for the SEC Championship this year correct you're you're trying to build momentum into next season you're trying to prove that you're going in the right direction and to do that I think it's having a better season than you did last year which was a five- win team so you need to get back into a bowl game you need to show the progress under a first year head coach to do that every win is Monumental for this team and you got three non-conference games where you can build a three and0 record and then you could potentially be 4-0 here after playing Florida that would be huge for this team even if you do lose the next three games you're looking for two more wins and you could potentially get that with Arkansas and UMass than everything else is gravy but this game and I think the Arkansas game is is very simp similar too I think they need both of those games but this one no question is your biggest game to that point in the season yeah and um you got a chance to make a little bit of a statement I mean Florida is still Florida from a brand standpoint they still got people watching them and it would still be a big win for Mississippi State to be able to get this in year one it doesn't matter what Florida is if Florida's 3 and0 or Florida's 1 and two it it's still a huge game for Mississippi State the the the difference in what everybody is saying about Mississippi State at 4-0 versus 3 And1 is massive uh and and there there's a chance we talking about this yesterday if State wins this game and they're 4 and0 and they're going to Texas there's a slight chance I don't think they will be but there's a slight chance they're like 25th yeah you're ranked and look does that does that ranking hold the whole year no but getting ranked in the first year of a head coach that you have come out and said you know hey it's a bit of a rebuild there that would be massive just from a perception standpoint you get people talking about you you get people saying well Jeff leby really got this program going going a great Direction early on and and you know it looks like they're in the right way if you lose that game nobody cares you're just the team that's playing Texas in their first SEC game and then you go into those two games and then we start talking about the best case scenario which we predicted best case for Mississippi state is still probably losing to these two teams on the road just because it's just hard to imagine winning those ball games but you you put up a fight in those games and people are taking you seriously started 4-0 and then they went to Texas and Georgia and they didn't give up and they scored you know four touchdowns in a couple of those games or whatever and then you come into Texas A&M and you still have that momentum even even if you lost the games you put up a fight you're in the ball game for three quarters or something and you got a Texas A&M team that you've traditionally played well against last year not withstanding and then the momentum kind of picks up again if you're able to win that game against A&M you got two winnable games after that now you're talking about potentially getting to seven wins and the whole narrative on this team suddenly changes and this program as well and I've I've already seen I mean I saw another one today from um one of our guys at on three uh Philip Dukes was talking about how he believes Jeff lebby is going to be a problem eventually at Mississippi State and how you know his offense has been very difficult to deal with everywhere he's been um he he's a guy that identifies your weaknesses stes then people really start to jump on board I think with leby I think he's a guy that could very easily become like a media darling yeah age he's able to show he's young he's funny yeah I I definitely his everybody loves offense and everybody loves offense that's a good point you made a good point there the the the going back to what we were saying the hype around a 4-2 Mississippi State team that started out 4-0 then they lose to number three Texas and then number one Georgia but both of those games were competitive and and you know they weren't you know they weren't complete total blowouts don't playing a Texas team there are going to be people saying hey I think the dogs can get this one whereas a three and three team you're not getting that same hype so and that might be the time of year where this team's really coming together cuz I I do think there's going to be some moments early on this season where state looks a little disjointed right or something because you have so many new faes transfers when you have a new coach a lot of times it takes some time for that to build um I think that could happen with Mississippi State but again best case scenario is you still win your first four games and you're probably going to lose to Texas and Georgia anyway so if you're taking lumps there or whatever hopefully by the time you get to A&M you're 4-2 you're six games into the Jeff lebby era everybody's kind of getting on the same page and you're able to turn it up here at the end because there are some winnable matchups in there and uh even the the games that are going to be with teams that are you know potential playoff teams Missouri and Old Miss maybe even Tennessee M those are games that I could see State hanging in and having a chance yeah you know so let's go to the the interview now uh Graham Hall I talked to him earlier uh today he covers the the Florida Gators uh for swamp 20 it was I was correct it was swamp 247 yes uh for the Florida Gator we've had on the podcast a few times before let's go to that interview now and get a better look at this Florida Gator team so let's get the uh the preview on the Florida Gators from Graham Hall covers the gator for swamp 247 down there in Gainesville and and Graham I just you know last week we previewed Texas we do our opponent previews back to front so that when we finish we're at the start of the season so we did Texas last week and I was all happy you know lovey-dovey with those guys tell them oh I think you had a chance to be undefeated B Champs it's not going to be the same today I'll just go ahead and tell you with Florida I am a lot lower on Florida than I feel like a lot of people around me are so give me a a 30 second elevator pitch on W this Florida Gator team is is not only going to be above my expectations but could even even end up having what would be cons considered a good season well I think that they've shored up a lot of issues on their team starting with the defense adding some Talent there in the secondary particularly the safety spot adding ASA Turner DJ Douglas trique Bridges getting Jordan Castell back for his sophomore year after an impressive freshman season Devin Moore fully healthy as well should help at cornerback that's going to be huge for Florida when would struggled to stop these explosive offenses in the SEC last year and then getting Graham mzb for his second year you know first time Billy Napier has had a returning starting quarterback at Florida I know we're just only going into year three here but getting him back should lead to some continuity with the offense and he was impressive last year you know he was just shy before that injury of setting a top 10 single season passing record in Florida program history really cut down on his turnovers last year what just three interceptions and all of them were I think deflected off of his receivers hands so you look at that and then you factor in the more competitive depth that multiple spots linebacker defensive line improving getting some talented wide receivers Elijah Badger as well this should be a team that takes a step forward and if they do have injuries which is the case with every single team as you know you mentioned Texas now dealing with CJ Baxter being out for the season Florida losing Montell Johnson for you know a little bit of time here with a week two we injury with that knee injury you know having more competitive depth should allow fla to avoid a huge drop off if that injury bug when that injury bug does strike so across the board more Talent some continuity some coaching changes they think are going to help it's just that schedule that you look at and wonder how are they going to navigate this absolute Beast of a slate Florida last year I thought Graham Merz was one of the most surprising players maybe in college football you know you saw what he had done at Wisconsin and I I just didn't have him being one of the top quarterbacks in the country on on my bingo card last year but he was he was really really good for the Gators then the gator go out and sign the nation's number one high school quarterback in DJ lagway um I do a radio show with Richard cross who does games for ESPN he did the Florida spring game and he when he came back from that he was like man that kid he he can play and in this day and age of college football you know five stars don't show up and expect to the days of just red shuring and developing are kind of over what's the plan at Florida to balance those two guys who I think can both be successful yeah I think it's a really interesting question and one that kind of I think remains to be seen here DJ lagway needs to continue progressing I think the raw physical Talent is evident you know he's fine-tuned his mechanics his footwork has improved his understanding of the offense has progressed you know getting here in spring camp is obviously going to help him but you have a guy back in Graham Merz who is the deao leader of this team no doubt about it whatsoever you know a six-year guy who as you mentioned was impressive was the most accurate quarterback returning to the SEC completed nearly 73% of his passes last year how do they balance that I think that if you have both quarterbacks it makes you a lot more difficult to prepare for right because they have two very different skill sets DJ lague a guy who is not afraid to use his legs has a very powerful arm maybe can throw even farther downfield than Graham Merz can but then you have a guy in MZ who just knows the system you can trust him I think if you're a little bit a little bit at a higher rate if you're Billy Napier how do they balance I would not be surprised and I'm not saying that DJ lague is Tim TBO so before anyone runs with that I gotta pump The Brak there right now don't don't put those type of expectations on anyone right now because you know you'll crumble under the pressure if you're being called you know Tim TBO in a sense here but I do think just similar to the way that Florida in 2006 used Tim TBO in Chris leak where Tim TBO came in and some goal line situations gave you a different look allowed you to run some of that wild cat that you know the spread off offense that Urban Meyer really just was so successful with in Gainesville that is what I think is going to be DJ lag's role make it more difficult for the defense to have to prepare for two quarterbacks keep them guessing at times knowing that you could trade one in and one out the big question for me and I really am surprised that I don't see this too much being discussed right now is how are you going to handle the quarterback switching with the in-game helmet communication aspect that we're going to see in college football this year they would have to coordinate having you know guys ready to go in who have that earpiece in and you can't have I think more than two guys on the field at the same time with it or it's going to be a penalty something else the teams are going to have to navigate this year maybe that's an element that makes you as a head coach when you're a team like Florida that has a very small margin of error based on the schedule and based on what happened to you last year maybe that makes you hesitate a little bit but I'm with you I think that his talent is simply too much for Florida to sideline him especially in this day and age with nil and worrying about the transfer portal and guys having opportunity to go elsewhere if they don't like their role all these factors makes it really hard for me to see DJ lague not playing a role this season I just don't know if it's going to be very significant I think he'll be able to help Florida's offense but I think it'll be in a very complimentary fashion giving them some different looks and forcing the defense on a week- toe basis to have to prepare for the possibility of two quarterbacks even if gr Merz goes out there and takes 90 to 95% of the STS you mentioned the injury injury to Montreal Johnson of course Trevor Ean now at Georgia the Florida backfield just not a lot of experience there is there Talent who's going to have to carry the ball for them and what do we really know about Johnson and how long he'll be out I think that for Montreal Johnson a lot of it remains to be seen you know Billy Napier said today that they're going to go at his timeline they're not going to rush this guy back as durable as has been you don't obviously want to re-aggravate it but you know Billy Napier called it a very minor injury one that they're going to be cautious with he's out there in pads at practice he's on both feet this isn't something that is going to cause him to miss a significant duration of the season but could I see him potentially missing that first game of the year against Miami absolutely I mean and maybe even they choose to rest him for another week knowing that they have Samford in week two before starting SEC play that would make a lot of sense to me not rushing the guy back knowing that he did have to get that knee scoped out a little bit but you mentioned the talent behind him a lot of potential but not much experience the most experienced guy is Tryon Webb a sophomore who had what 150 yards on the ground last year two touchdowns he was the third back on the roster behind etn who's at Georgia like you mentioned and Johnson who's been Florida's leading rusher the past two years trayon web is going to have to carry the load here for Florida and if you look at Billy Napier's offenses historically during his coaching career I mean this is a guy who is intent on running the football no matter who he has back there you know he runs the ball about 60% of the time so I do think that they're going to have to rely on web against the Hurricanes whether the Johnson's back or not at a high rate this this early on in the season especially and then you look behind him I mean jayen b was fantastic in the spring game as well a very promising freshman just like DJ lagway KD Daniels was good as well that's two freshman though that are going to have to I think play early on this Seas season because you're not going to see just one back get the Lions share of the carries they're going to take a by commmittee approach they're not going to change their approach too much even though Johnson his availability for the next coming weeks remains to be seen and we know a thing or two about Katie Daniels up here in this neck of the woods that's a really really good football player that's uh in Gainesville right now Mississippi state was not happy to miss out on him as part of their signing class a season ago with this uh this Gator schedule I mean it's it's almost to the point where it's a meme right we just keep talking about it and we talk so much about the back end of the schedule as we should right after the the second buy Georgia at Texas LSU Old Miss at Florida State very very tough obviously the beginning of the Season Miami then you mentioned the sford game Texas A&M at home and then you got to go to Mississippi State I think a fast start is possible for the Gators but also a really bad start is possible for the for the Gators how do you see the Gators in the first month of the season do you think they get off to a fast t or do they stumble coming out of out of the gate that's a huge question for me because that intangible of momentum you know especially the first week what it's going to do for setting narratives when it comes to Billy Napier and Mario crystal ball and kind of validating all this positivity that you've heard from the program in Gainesville in the last seven months that's going to be huge for them a huge 60 Minutes of football in that game then Texas A&M a team with a new head coach what does their offense look like they get Connor Wegman back but that defense is going to be one of the best in the SEC in my mind you know getting Shamar Turner back as well you know that is going to be a very very talented group you can't say that's a guaranteed win in any way even though you know you're going to get that home field advantage and then Kentucky as well you know Mark stops the most tenured coach in the SEC now been in Lexington for 12 years crazy to think that it is you know but that with Nick sa been hanging it up and and putting on the ESPN Jersey now I think that you really you know look at what stops done I've always been a fan of the way he's recruited the way his staff is evaluated and he may have two of the best defensive players in the SEC if not the entire country in defensive lineman Dion Walker and Maxwell Harrison there at cornerback I mean he may be the sec's best corner if not their best secondary player I know guys like Malachi Starks may have an argument there as well but you know what is their what is their offense going to look like they have former five-star quarterback Brock Vandergriff who transferred from Georgia you have chip Trum who came on over uh from Ohio State they've obviously obviously added some Talent there at white out as well I mean that's a team that beat Florida last year you can't sleep on them the big one though and this is another one for bragging rights where I'm very intrigued how this game is going to go especially for Billy Napier's tenure here in Gainesville is that October 5th matchup against UCF I mean look at UCF schedule not saying they're playing a whole bunch of cupcakes because Big 12 Play is interesting they got to go to State play BYU play Arizona and Arizona State back-to-back weeks but that first couple games of the year for the knights is extremely winnable they could come into Gainesville undefeated with KJ Jefferson at quarterback a guy who beat Florida last year on senior night right I'll be it against a defense that was very beat up but they also have one of the nation's best running backs in RJ Harvey they added Penny Boon from Toledo as well I mean this is a really good team the defense is absolutely the question in my mind when it comes to UCF as well as how well they're going to be able to Pro protect Jefferson and carve out holes for the Run game there along the offensive line but that is going to be a game that I could see being extremely close here in Gainesville so you know that's the early slate for Florida to pick up some wins if they can't manage to do that before they get into November there's going to be a lot of people out there who are writing billion AP years obituary at Florida and starting to say this guy's tenure is coming to an end they better get some wins early on before they face that daunting five-game stretch against like you mentioned Georgia LSU FSU Texas I I mean you know Old Miss is is going to be here on senior night that that is going to be absolutely grueling if they can win one of those games I think a lot of people would be impressed so they absolutely better win some in the first seven or else uh it's hard for me to see you know them stick by billion apier as as much as I think that he is an impressive person and has built the Florida program back to be competitive and that this team is better that schedule is unforgiving it is Relentless you better pick up your wins when you have a chance to you better not shoot yourselves in the foot which we did see some last year from the Gators they better avoid those issues and they better find wins when they can get them because they may be hard to come by as the year goes on I love KJ Jefferson and the Gus Smalls on offense I think it's just an absolute perfect figure I agree with you Central Florida is a team that's that's very inter in in this one one last one we'll make it a light-hearted question yesterday the announcement from uh Florida International Pitbull stadium is coming uh there if if Florida were to have a celebrity Field named what would who who is the gator celebrity I guess it'd be Tom Petty right I mean you're already playing the song there in the third quarter I know some people would maybe like it to be a former gator in a sense here you know Tim T Tim TBO Stadium Steve Spurrier Stadium would be fantastic as well but don't they don't have the money though we got we got to get some money into the program we got to get some money you know Tom Petty's family owns a ton of that music rights you've seen a lot of artists recently sell off their music rights imagine they sell the rights to Tom Petty's catalog and use that to reach out and establish his legacy and in other means and have Tom Petty St Stadium named after him that'd be pretty cool Pitbull open the door what a you know Chang the game in a sense here man took the the big 12's money and and when took it and put it in Florida International kind of has opened the game for music artists to be taking over um when it comes to naming rights I think it's absolutely fascinating that would make the most sense to me you know if not it's going to be something boring like whoever the the founder of Nvidia is um you know the the UF grad someone with a ton of money so it definitely appeals to you know demographics especially younger demographics to have a notable name to say you could go there man if only Taylor Swift went to University of Florida that'd be the obvious one for me I I mean I don't know if Less Than Jake Stadium or against me Stadium I don't know if anyone knows who those acts are some Gainesville acts You Know Field By Ramen Stadium whatever you want to call it I don't know if that has the same ring to it but if I had to guess one right now I'd go with Tom Petty Stadium but I also think Gatorade Stadium would be pretty awesome man I gotta be honest I mean Gatorade Stadium Gatorade may be more well known on an international level in the Florida Gators University of Florida that would appeal to potentially an even larger demographic than the Gators be internationally recognizable that would be very sick in my mind I just don't know if we're going to see it before we're going to see that before we see the University of Florida Stadium renamed we are going to see in the next couple of years potentially even this season you're going to start seeing you know Fields with the field logos that is coming up here pretty soon you know Arkansas definitely going to get Tyson and Walmart on field here coming up you know Ohio State been ahead of the curb with safe light field logos on there teams are selling these from what I've heard they're asking for you know five sixy year commitment multi-year commitment and they're asking for seven figures in some cases to put these field logos down there and then after that we're going to get Jersey patches so that's probably more in the pipeline here coming up in Florida going Gatorade Stadium I didn't think we were get a Less Than Jake uh reference on the show today but you me wrong so there we go we'd have we'd have all the great falling apart headlines you know yeah the anthem for Florida you know it's it's Gainesville Rock City it'd be great as well big lesson Jake fan give me some SCA back in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium rename it I'm all for it there you go Graham Hall swamp 247 man thanks so much for your time appreciate it always my pleasure y'all take care there all right thanks to Graham appreciate his time interesting stuff and obviously he and I seem to have two different opinions of what this Gator team is going to be but we'll find out uh I guess we'll find out who's correct when he thinks they're going to be pretty good yeah he thinks they're going to be all right I mean I don't know about pretty good but he I mean I have them as one of the worst teams in the conference I have them going three and nine he ain't agreeing with that all their media thinks this is going to be a turnaround season and he's going to prove the doubs wrong and stuff I is I mean what have we seen a turnaround season on this schedule would be going six and six yeah like if he goes six if he goes seven and five that was the problem last year CU I mean I remember we were breaking that schedule down last year and I was like you know they could be better yeah but what's that mean like exactly as in terms of wins and losses right it's hard to find right right so that I think that's kind of the issue they're going to have again this year and eventually they're going to have to say look I mean we're paying this guy millions of dollars it they they look like they're kind of getting better but you know we should be seeing results at Florida you're three much greater than what we're seeing we talked yesterday about year three and what we think lebby should look like in year three and yet here's Florida in year three of of naier and they're not going to look anything like that they're going to be struggling to get the seven wins and it it might be okay at Mississippi State yeah it's not at Florida if you're steadily moving it's not at Florida at Florida you should be in contention with Georgia and Alabama Texas I agree they're not yeah all right let's move into the rest of the show that's brought to you by our friends over at the Mississippi beef Council who want to remind you that beef it is what's for dinner whether you're cooking it yourself or whether you want to go out to one of the great steakhouses we have in the state of Mississippi enjoy beef this weekend I saw a uh I saw that I couldn't pull the trigger because but I saw a brisket a whole brisket at Kroger the other day I was like how much is that bad boy you want to guess how much a br a 20 pounder was it's over 100 bucks oh 160 eight eight bucks a pound oh I mean I mean and that's one of those things like Quality Meat it's good quality meat and you're going to feed a ton of people oh yeah that but at the same time you're just like wow it's a lot a lot of money but hey Mississippi beef some of the best in the world and of course I would definitely encourage you to enjoy it wherever you do this weekend if you're cooking or if they're cooking make it beef beef it's what's for dinner thanks to our friends of the Mississippi beef Council two brothers Smoked Meats in the heart of the cotton district is the place to find the smoked Southern Soul food that you are looking for and you are looking for it guys if you want to have a great meal going need to go to two brother smoke Meats I tell people all the time I Robbie and I both 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finish from the sale to long long after the sale they build that relationship with you so that when something you know we're talk we always talk about service after the sale and you know trying to fix what's broken eventually you know it's a machine right it's it's going to it's going to Tucker out on you at some point but that's the repeat business that Advantage Business Systems brings because you know hey I can go buy a product it's going to last a long time and then when I do have problems with it they'll fix them that's how you get people to come back to you and they've been doing it for 49 years so you know that people have in fact been coming back give them a call today 601 36291 92 or you can visit them online ABS sms.com find how Advantage Business Systems will help your business do business before you at the games this fall make sure that you are at maroon and Co you need new gear get it at maroon and Co when you're in starville that's the place to go as maroon and& company everything you looking for there new logos new gear stuff you can't find anywhere else it's all right there at marun and Co so if you haven't been already you need to check it out before you go to Davis W Stadium this fall go to maruno and use our promo code thunder1 15 for $50 15% off regular price some exclusions do apply all right earlier today we got the chance to talk to Jeff lebby uh middle of the week practice Mississippi state three days away from the first scrimmage of preseason camp let's hear what the head Bulldog had to say uh following today's uh Camp I asked you a couple days ago what what do you want to see the second day of practice and you talked about what we work on in meetings we correcting that is that what you're seeing thus far it it's been some of that and not not as good as we want it to be you know I think that's the reality of it we talked about it this morning in the team meeting you know guys fixing problems you know in the meeting room and being able to take them to the field so we've gotten a lot better at that but still wanting to be a lot better gamee Moore yesterday put on his Facebook believe that he's sitting out this year for health is do you have any other information regarding that or no no comment on it we'll keep it internal and inhouse but um hoping the best wishing the best for for game how's the defense kind of looked and and progressed throughout yeah I mean the last two days defensively really dominated the practices uh today was a little more even match but defensively uh a lot of really good things creating turnovers having unbelievable energy and toughness and physicality uh today again was a little more back and forth but that's what we want to see you know you want to see uh things not go well and then somebody respond and you also want to see true back and forth but uh Coleman and the defensive staff done a great job with those guys getting them ready to practice every day what's your process for installing your offense and I mean you did it in the spring but as far as training camp is concerned how quickly do you want that to be um you know processed by your guys and and taken in yeah we're being incredibly aggressive with the install you know we want to apply as much pressure as we can mentally and physically so we can see what guys we can go count on you know and our guys again they've taken to it they've done a good job with it but we have we've been really really aggressive with the way we're installing through the first 10 days of camp having most of that offense here in the spring able to go through it how big was that as far as transitioning to you know preparing for game one in a few weeks no it was huge our guys got really good knowledge about what the expectation is how we want to go play how we want to do what we do uh there there's still a ton of growth to be made at every single position um but again man they've got great intent they've had great energy in the building we've been so far from perfect it ain't funny but at the same time our guys are wanting to get better and uh if we'll continue that uh we'll we'll be where we need to be you got 11 new starters on offense a season too how does the chemistry and the cohesiveness of this team compared to some of the veteran teams you've worked with in the past that have played together for years yeah I think it's different just because we haven't had that first one together you know and until you truly do that I I think there's some some unknown I think with the way we've trained with the way we've worked with the things that we've put them through and and how we've tried to connect as as a uh as a locker room and as as a program I think it gives us a pretty good idea of of the guys that that are all the way in and so those are the guys that we'll go count on the ones that we can trust to go get it done how have the Russell Brothers uh looked in practice so far yeah they've been good it's been again we they' got a ton of work to do Mont has done a really good job Mon's brought it every single day he's had great energy played with really good toughness uh so really proud of where he's at and how he's turning into a really good leader Force you got your we talked with Kelly Jones yesterday he's certainly not lacking in confidence what have you seen from him uh in Camp and if you think he can really beat that next shut down Corner well just today he got beat on a couple things um there were bang bang plays but what I loved about it is he just ended the day with a 60 yard pick six he's just playing the next play and a guy that's getting out of his own way he's preparing the right way he's taking care of his body this guy's incredibly talented but he he's a dude that is thankful for opportunity man and you see it on his face you hear it in his conversation and he be a guy that maximizes his potential you've got your first scrimmage this weekend of of the camp what's something that needs to happen between now and then for you to feel good going into the scrimmage yeah I think offensively when we look at it we we want to play clean football so we're going to play with a ton of temp ball we're going to play really really aggressive but from a penalty standpoint pre- snap penalties making sure that we're playing really clean football and not shooting ourselves in the foot is is critical while taking care of the ball and then defensively it's all about getting the ball and then getting off the field on on third down and those are the things that we'll continue to look at and that that's what we want to make sure we continue to clean up before we get live on Sunday mle has been a guy that Jordan Mosley has been a guy that's been around a couple years how's he kind of fit in with your offense what do you think of him so far yeah he's he's done a really good job that's one that we're going to be able to count on uh he's worked at a really high level he's brought guys with him uh Jordan I'm I'm excited about what he's going to do for us this far was there any kind of I mean coming into here with a bunch of turnover on defense and whatnot was there any level of concern that you had about the defensive side of the ball and you mentioned dominating the last couple of days of practice has that kind of any you know concern you had has that eased down the last couple of days in I mean again inside the building I think other people might feel a different way than I feel you know I know who we have in our building I know the coaches that are coaching them every single day will'll be prepared to go play the way we need to play and um I feel good about where we're at we got to get a heck of a lot better uh in all three phases but at the same time we got people over there on the defensive side they're going to be able to get it done CU obviously emerg as as your qb1 what have the other couple of guys look like Chris and and Mike battling behind them yeah competing every single day to be the two you know finding a way uh to to create some separation and it is right now it's it's neck and neck and got to take great care of the ball got to create predictable outcomes that's all I talk about with them I want to be able to call the play and know what's going to happen before it snapped and so that's that's where we're trying to get Chris has done a good job he's got great athleticism got great toughness great energy and Mike doesn't know what he doesn't know but he's really really talented throwing the football very accurate so uh these two guys got a ton of work to do just like Blake does but U I like how how they're going about the business you mentioned pre- snap penalties a minute ago some you wanted to clean up is the team doing okay with the tempo that you want to play at yeah they're they're figuring that out obviously the spring was a huge part of it just understanding that and so we've we've picked up kind of where we left off and we've been able to to build on that so they they understand what we're trying to accomplish how we're trying to create advantage and create an edge through that and doing a good job for the most part kellyi the the watch list for the blit maof award what have you seen from him and how he's fitting into this offense and feel like he sees are in that spot yeah ke Kelly again is a guy that's played a ton of ball our expectations is that he's going to play a ton of ball for us and have a bunch of success for us so uh he's got to continue to work and and create uh this consistency for him to be able to go do what we all want him to do what have you seen from TR that's in yeah Trent and Von both those guys obviously just getting here this summer Trent's done a really nice job he's gotten better inside the offense every single day he's made some competitive plays kind of what you saw on tapate with his touchdowns there at New Mexico state and then Von's a guy that's done a really good job when he's had the ball in his hands but he's a guy that's done a great job when he doesn't have the ball in his hands so choosing to be physical in protection playing really physical so both those guys have have come on and and gotten better every day which we've needed is there any specific way you've seen Blake get better in the past week and you you said he's got some stuff to work on what specifically on the field are you uh you looking for him to grow we just wanting to continue to to clean up fundamentally how we do what we do inside the pocket when there's things going on around us do we have the ability to stay incredibly calm in our eyes being our progression and being able to do some things that fundamentally he's not used to being coach that way and so he's made great growth I think today was probably the best day that he's had from a decisionmaking standpoint and fundamentally doing right and playing clean in the pocket uh but we'll need to continue that we saw uh Gabe Jackson up here the other day 10year vet in the league I mean how important is it you think to have some of those guys come back and kind of impart some of their wisdom on your guys yeah I mean I think it's huge and it means the world you know to to our guys for those guys to be able to come back pour into them and and talk about experience you know and I think with those guys that did it for such a long time having great understanding of man these guys lived it and they don't have to talk about it they they can share what they went through every single day and and that's been huge for our guys you know we we've got a bunch of guys that have come back uh which has been awesome Robbie I get the I I I I can't help but I wonder or you think you very effusive in his praise of the defense and how they're playing surprised by that not really because I I remember back in the spring when you you know we were hearing some similar things about the defense was really impressing and they were holding their own against the offense we we saw a little bit of it in the spring game um but the offense kind of uh pulled away late there but it I you know I don't know if it's just because we're getting closer to the season or what but it it does feel like the defense is starting to come around a little bit and people are starting to be a little higher on it than they were previously and again I don't know if that's just optimism Rising as the season gets closer we we'll obviously find out pretty quickly when the season kicks off if that defense is actually going to be better than expected or not that's that's kind of you know when you put them in between the lines is whenever you really uh figure out who you are so we'll figure that out but it it definitely does appear that the staff likes what they're seeing from the defensive side of the ball I thought this was one of our best conversations with leby mhm just from from the beginning to the end he just seemed I don't know if he's just having a good day or what mhm but he just seemed kind of like an open book it wasn't so coach speaky yeah you know cuz he has a tendency to do that which is fine I don't I don't think there's anything wrong with being that way but he he is one of those he's got you know his buzzword and yeah stuff like that I mean he's been trained in this uh world world for a long time Beyond being a head coach M so I this was the first time maybe not the first time but this is the best um media availability I can remember having with him I I really enjoyed the conversation getting his thoughts on both sides of the ball and he was you know the other day he joked like he was asked where he was during practice and he said uh with the quarterbacks as you would imagine but he really had a FS on everything yeah he he knows every player he has his eye on a lot of guys he was asked specifically about defensive guys he knew exactly what they had been up to um that was refreshing to hear from him just it wasn't just a whole yeah you know they're out there working hard or whatever he knew exactly what they had been doing and things need to improve on stuff like that uh some good thoughts on Kelly Jones some good thoughts on Damonte Russell it it was a good conversation I thought so too I thought so too I thought we had good questions and good got good answers uh from lebby on this one so first scrimmage is this Sunday and we get to talk to him again after that so we'll have uh hopefully some good some good conversation with him there and find out a little bit more about what happened uh in the uh in the uh scrimmage the first one of fall Camp Fall Camp preseason camp I know I know I know I know all right uh tomorrow's show uh just a little more football we got an interview with Mike goet junor coming to tomorrow so we'll talk some college football with him get I want to get his thoughts on on what we talked about earlier this week about how you know what is what's the the time frame you give a new coach nowadays to get his ideas on that he a national guy so we'll do that on tomorrow's show as well guys have a great uh Thursday we'll be back with you on Friday for Robbie Faulk I'm Brian haad thanks for listening to thunder and lightning here on super talk Mississippi [Music] evolution is a mystery [Music] CHT a super talk Mississippi media production h