The HD Experience
Hunter Dawkins, owner and publisher of The Gazebo Gazette, covers Mississippi high school and college sports like no one else. Join Hunter and his special guests as they bring the best in what's happening in sports on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
The HD Experience
The HD Experience Episode 34: The Draft
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The HD Experience Episode 34: The Draft
HOST: Hunter Dawkins - Owner/Publisher of the award-winning newspaper - The Gazebo Gazette, Sports Correspondent SuperTalk Mississippi News, Gulfport High Radio Host G96.7, Member of the Football Writer Association of America (FWAA, Heisman Voter), Member of the Associated Press Sports & Editors (APSE)
PRODUCER: Jeff Clark - Award-Winning Journalist, Multimedia/Podcast Host, South Alabama Beat Writer, Director for the Harrison County Senior Services
GUESTS:
- Matt DeGregorio - WLOX-13 Sports Anchor/Multimedia Journalist
- Ricky Smith - Athletic Director/Head Baseball Coach for the Pass Christian School District
- Raymond Partsch III - Program Director for ESPN Radio SW Louisiana, Former President of Louisiana Sports Writers Association, Member of FWAA
- Caleb Salers - SuperTalk Mississippi News Reporter, Ole Miss Beat Writer
- Mitch Gibbs - WGSO 990AM Radio Host for "Breakfast with the Bayou Bengals" and "In the Red Zone"
It's Duncan able to make the physical catch with a title score up at 20 points of. Oh my goodness. I got a watch biggest PAT of this watch is coming up. This was amazing. He has BS 10. 54 for 50. Excuse me. 53 for 55 on the year over 90%. And this is for the golden ball. It's dead. All 12 on the staff. McDonald will be on the hole. The golden wave bring it out. They're coming. McDonald calls for the ball. The staff is back to hold us down. The golden guy is coming to the coast!
SPEAKER_13Welcome to the HD Experience, your source for sports on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Here's your host, Hunter Dawkins.
SPEAKER_02Good afternoon. My name is Hunter Dawkins. I am the host of the HD Experience. This is the 34th episode of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Sports Podcast. Sponsored by the Gazebo Gazette, Harrison County's independent newspaper, the revised resort and casino in Biloxi. Joseph Kelly, attorney at law, and we're always in the U.S. Marine Inc Studio. I'm here with my wonderful producer of the show, Jeff Clark. Jeff is a well-accomplished award-winning journalist, South Alabama beat writer, and the director of the senior services. Jeff, how are you, my friend?
SPEAKER_14I'm doing well, Hunter. Or I am well, I guess I should say. Um, we're at this is the 35th episode, is that what you said? Or 34th?
SPEAKER_0234th.
SPEAKER_1434th. Wow, man. So we're in between half a year and a full, you know, we're just keeping on doing it, man. It's amazing. What a what a what a great great time. It just every week the guests seem to get better and better. Uh, it looks like we have a pretty exciting topic this week.
SPEAKER_02This is the week if you're a football fan just like I am, and you know, it's not so much the difference of you could be a college fan, you could be a professional fan, but above everything, this is the time for the 91st 2026 NFL draft out of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh on April 23rd through 25th, they will have seven rounds of the NFL draft. And the Saints, New Orleans Saints, are the team here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, you know, there's quite a number of people, not only from New Orleans, but just as the team is the closest to our our area. And the Saints have, you know, uh, even though there's seven rounds, they have eight picks, including one compensatory pick in the fourth round. And Jeff, I know what you're gonna ask me. You're gonna ask me, what is a compensatory pick?
SPEAKER_14And I said How did you know? It's like you have a not for Damath, you know.
SPEAKER_02Well, you know, I I think I have a little bit of this, and you know, I know that you know those those thoughts are going through a lot of people's mind. Well, just to tell you, an NFL compensatory pick is an additional draft selections through the rounds three through seven that are awarded to teams that suffer a net loss of unrestricted free agents from the previous year. So because uh the Saints had a net loss of unrestricted free agents, they will have an extra compensatory uh pick in the draft, which that will be in the fourth round as pick number 136. But this episode is about uh you know the draft in general and the Saints, the Saints selections, what are they looking for? And you know, do you have it's been a while since they've been in the playoffs, so uh we're gonna be kind of looking at that.
SPEAKER_14Yeah, I mean I remember that that last playoff game well, man. Uh you know, it was a championship game, right? Like that's the last time that they went, right?
SPEAKER_02Yep, Tom Brady and Drew Brees. It was it was the uh the old Big Ten rivalry. And so and then Tampa ended up winning and they won the Super Bowl the next week.
SPEAKER_14So I guess I guess I was thinking the year before is when they won they had the NFC championship game in uh in the dome, and you know, cheap trick played a free concert outside of Champions Square. We went over for that, it was an amazing day, and then you know, that no call just which is still one of the most ridiculous plays in football. Like the guy almost got killed, got completely upended, but didn't call pass interference and uh anyway. But like I've said, you know, it you should should do more to not put yourself in a situation like that. Um any well who who who do you think is gonna go number one? What what's your pick for the first pick?
SPEAKER_02For for the overall pick, of course, it's for you know Fernando Mellon and Devices from Indiana to everybody's pretty much. So that's almost kind of the the deal. But there's a lot of different out there. You know, I've looked at Mel Kyper and Todd McShay, the two NFL draft pick experts, and they're still kind of confused about either it's gonna be David Bailey from Edge Rusher from Texas Tech, uh, there's Ruben uh Bain, the edge rusher from Miami, uh there's edge rusher from Ohio State, they might try to get trade up to get Arvill Reese. What they really need, of course, obviously is an edge rusher, and that's gonna be a lot of what we'll talk to the guests about.
SPEAKER_14Yeah, man. One one saints question. Cam Jordan, do is he going to another team or is he still just sort of a as far as it goes right now?
SPEAKER_02There is no nothing out there. I know that's what I thought. Okay, speculation here, there, and everywhere else, but uh I think I think July 1st is his contract his time for contract extension. Well, I'll obviously talk to the guests about that, but uh but I believe that is the timeline he has until and uh you know normally they will extend him earlier than that if they want to extend him another year. He wants to play in New Orleans for another year. But that's that's little the business that the NFL really works about.
SPEAKER_14Hopefully, hopefully the Saints will get a good pick like Ricky Williams again, because that really paid off for him. Yeah. Like I watched that that uh 30 for 30 about him. I'm you know, he had mental health issues. I'm certainly not making uh making fun of that. Uh my last question, Ty Simpson, second quarterback off the off the board. But what is that late day one, early day two?
SPEAKER_02That's the the earliest projection. Now, of course, you know, these projections never hit hit for wherever. Like an example of Michael Penix, you know, everybody selected him late in the first round, maybe second round. He of course got picked by the Falcons in the ninth overall pick. But that being said, uh we're looking at probably in the the mid-first round. So uh, you know, it's more or less who needs the quarterback and what's gonna happen from there.
SPEAKER_14So right on. Well, I'm excited. I'll be uh be watching it as always, and I know you have a lot of great guests lined up today, so I'm going to pop out and let you get on with our first guest.
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SPEAKER_02I would love to introduce my good friend and award-winning sports anchor, director, reporter from WLOX 13, ABC CB News on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Matt DeGregorio. I hope I said that again, Matt, right?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I mean you're you I think it's just getting better and better each time.
SPEAKER_02There you go. Matt, are the New Orleans Saints looking, well, how are they looking in this year's NFL draft is draft?
SPEAKER_05So I think that it's it's gonna be a fascinating dynamic, right? Because if they stay at, they currently hold pick number eight as of as of four days before the draft, right? So assuming they go into the draft holding pick number eight and that they and they don't move, I really think that you're gonna see a defensive player taken off the board by New Orleans. I love linebacker Study Styles. We talked about the last time that I was on there. I really think that he can build into a cornerstone piece for the franchise. Obviously, he's got the size, he's got the tools out coming out of Ohio State. He is right now currently the number one ranked linebacker in the entire class. Arvell Reeves can come off the edge. He's also an Ohio State guy. He can play more of a hybrid situation. Arvell will not be on the board at Picky, so the states would have to trade up to get him if they wanted to go in that direction. Tony Stiles brings so many things that are the intangibles that New Orleans States fans have grown to love. With a guy like DeMario Davis, who obviously has moved back on to the New York Jets, he will fill the role, maybe not right off the bat as a leader, but he will be a guy who will be a captain for a decade in New Orleans, wearing the black and gold if the states were to draft him. So I like, I really like Sunny Styles. I think he's the best fit in the draft for New Orleans and for what they're looking for. Um but if not, they may go a different way and continue to look defense in a guy like Reuben Bain, who obviously a lot of people from Mississippi are very familiar with Bain because of his play against Old Miss in the Fiesta Bowl, in the Cultural Bowl playoff semifinals. He's had a lot come out. I mean, it came out that he was involved in uh in a deadly car crash, which somehow escaped the news, uh, uh uh the mainstream media for a long time. Um he's he's a guy who who, if his, if his arms were a little bit bigger, you saw this problem with Will Campbell a year ago, the LSU offensive tackle, who struggled in the Super Bowl mightily for the New England Patriots. The arm length is definitely a question, but but Baines, Baines's such a powerful player, he's gonna be able to get to the quarterback and really cause uh havoc with the amount of pressures that he's gonna bring.
SPEAKER_02Well, and as far as what I've heard uh similar to you, that the first pick is more than likely a defensive player, at least according to Mel Kuyper and Todd McShea, uh, whether they're going Ohio State, Miami, whoever's really the best available. Um talk to me about what do you think this draft is because the Saints do have eight select picks this so far, if there's no trade or anything as such, what is their main focus going to be on? Is it gonna be on the best man available, or are they trying to form something offensively, or is this gonna be all about Brandon Staley style defense?
SPEAKER_05Ray, so I that's a fascinating question because I I think the last time I was on, I spoke briefly about this, but the Saints have have had this thing where where they they've had a guy or two going into the draft that they were very confident in. Obviously, last year was Tyler Shuck. Um, they they had a seven-plus hour meeting with Shuck in New Orleans, and of course, you have to do that if you think that he can be a future uh a future cornerstone of your franchise, especially at the most important position in the sport. Um, and that worked out. They went and got their guy in the past. I looked to the 2017 draft as the model. And that in that model, Mickey Lewis picked the best guy available in each round, and it turned out to be the best draft that the New Orleans Saints have ever had in the franchise's entire history. You got a guy like Alvin Camara, who has been the guy in the big easy for a long time there. He was he's obviously a headline piece. You got him on day three of the draft, I believe. So when you look at that, I mean, if you can find value in the later rounds, of course, they found value last year in the defensive backfield. Um, if they can get that, get that type of success again by going with the best player available mindset, I think you're gonna have a lot of success. Of course, um, you know, you you need to focus on defense in this draft, but also wide receivers, a massive question mark. This is that I think uh, you know, people go back and forth on the deep, the deepness of this draft at the wide receiver position. I personally think that this is it is has the potential to be a top five wide receiver class that we've ever seen. Um, same with the defensive edge position, um, which is two things that the Saints going into this draft are going to prioritize. So if you can get, I mean, one, maybe even two wide receivers to bring into the fold, pair them up with Chris Olave, Bub Means should be healthy coming back. He's obviously battled injuries in his young career. If you can get a couple pieces to mix in there for Tyler Shuck, a few weapons, maybe a second, third round, fourth round wide out, and you also address the edge situation. If it's not of the first round pick, then later in the draft as well, I think you had a good draft. I think you really have to draft for positions of needing and go with the best available guy.
SPEAKER_02Based on a segue question on that, based on what you're discussing about the receivers, would you rather go with a speedy Rashid, Rashad Shahid style receiver or a big 6'3 style receiver?
SPEAKER_05It's a good question. I I think you know, you have a guy in Bub Means who who his I you know, I knowing these guys, he he has put in the most work out of any of the Mickey Lewis draft picks over the last three years, I'd like to say. I uh just on his on his physical health, because he's had so many injuries. He's a guy that I thought when A.T. Perry got drafted, I thought A.T. Perry was going to be that deep, the long field uh threat, downfield threat. And then I thought Bub Means could be that guy. I really like Casey Conception. He's a guy out of Texas AM who who's speedy. He probably will go at the end of the first round, so you probably have to trade back up into it. But he he reminds me of a young Hollywood Brown when Hollywood Brown was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens. And everybody remembers how critical he was to the to the development of Lamar Jackson as a passing threat. Um, if you can bring in a guy like that for Tyler Shook to be able to just dump the ball down to, Alvin Kamara's getting older. He's not gonna be able to run out and continue to work these screens like he used to. ETN coming into the fold, he's gonna be more of a one-two down back, so you're not gonna really see him uh going out for many remotes. Uh, if you bring in a guy like Conception, who really ate the SEC apart this past season, he he can really make a difference for you on the offensive side of the football. So I guess long story short, I long answer short, I think the speed element is where I'd go if I were the Saints. Chris Olave can has some of the best hands in football when he's healthy. So I don't think that that they're really worried about about the pass catching ability. I think it's more that speed factor. Like you said, that they lost in Rasheed Shaheet.
SPEAKER_02For what this is just the final question for the audience. What's it like being in the media room during the NFL draft?
SPEAKER_05It's it's very uh it's chaotic. I I remember a couple of years ago, uh Michael Penix got drafted by the Atlanta Falcons, and it was so high, or so just far off the board, was not a thought. And I just remember seeing the most informed people, some of the most informed people in the National Football League turning their heads like, what the heck just happened? Like that was that was so fascinating. So every year there's stuff like that that happens that the most informed individuals in the league are not aware of. So I mean, everyone who goes in thinking that they know everything, I promise you, going in and when you see this stuff firsthand and you're right next to where the draft room is, and you're in that media room and the pick comes in, I I mean, there's nothing like it. And especially you just go team by team, Hunter, and and every single time it's oh, this potential guy's gone. Um, let's change our focus to this guy because this could be this could be a future New Orleans Saint. And and of course the guy who you pick is is gonna be a guy that you're gonna get to know. So you gotta you gotta uh put a lot of a lot of apples in each person and in and try to figure out um who who the best player is in that moment. And you gotta move on fast too when you're in the media room. I think that that's a thing that kind of goes under the table. You gotta put a lot of merit in each player. Um, and and when one player is gone, it's on to the next. Same same with the teams.
SPEAKER_02Matt, tell everybody how they can get in touch with you.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, you can uh watch me nightly on WLOX, ABC, CBS, Channel 13 on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, or follow me on Twitter at Matt underscore DGregorio. I'll have updates throughout the entire NFL draft. First round Thursday, Friday, second, and third, and then the remainder fourth or seventh on Saturday.
SPEAKER_02You take care of yourself.
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SPEAKER_02Now I would like to introduce one of my good friends, the Pastor Chan athletic director and the head baseball coach, Ricky Smith. How are you doing, my friend?
SPEAKER_11I'm doing good, Hunter. I appreciate you having me today.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. And you know, of course, before we start talking about what's going to happen next, I know y'all had a rough game yesterday. How is the team chemistry? What's everything looking like for the game three philosophy?
SPEAKER_11Man, I'm I'm really excited about tomorrow. We had 13 free passes yesterday, and that was the difference in a ball game, but our our kids played really, really hard, and we overcame all the adversity to cut it to one run in the sixth inning and had a chance to win the game late, and it just kind of got away from us even after all the free passes. So I'm really looking forward to our guys going out there tomorrow. Um I I like our pitching matchup that we have, and we're swinging about as good as we have all year. So I think it's gonna be a good matchup in Columbia tomorrow night at 7 p.m.
SPEAKER_02Now that being said, and I'm not trying to end it early, the season early for you or anything like that, but what has this season meant to you so far? And you know, obviously they're not the real.
SPEAKER_11Well, well, it's not a lot, but this has been the most up and down season uh I think I've ever been a part of. Um we've got several kids that have moved in, and and the chemistry for this team has taken a long time to kind of put together. So we're playing our best baseball right now, which is the best time to play baseball. Um, but the the ups and downs of the regular season, it's been tough. Um just because of just melding these kids together. It's been it's been really difficult, and I'm really happy for their for that because they've gone through the struggles, and and it's good to see them start to kind of reap a little bit of those benefits of that uh at the right time of the year. Because we played really well on Friday night, had a tough one yesterday, but but the kids are playing really, really hard. So I'm happy to see how they've kind of gone through it throughout the year.
SPEAKER_02Now moving forward with with our discussion.
SPEAKER_11Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Talk to me about what you would like to bring to the Gulf Port Athletic Department next year.
SPEAKER_11I'm I'm gonna bring myself. I I can't do anything else other than be me. And what that means is I'm I'm a guy that goes in and just works every day. And I'm a I'm a grinder, man. I love to work. And that's that's what I I'm about every day. And I think I've done that at Past Christian, and it's done well for us as an athletic department. I think our our department has grown over the last five years of my leadership. And and that's all I can do. I can't I can't try to go and reinvent the wheel. I can't try to go be somebody that I'm not. So I'm just gonna go be me and I'm gonna go work hard every day. And you know that that means just showing up for work and doing the little things, just doing the the mundane things and and going and building relationships with our coaches. And I think that's where it all starts is right there. And then from the coaching standpoint building into the community and and just try to be myself and hopefully that'll be enough to help this program grow a little bit each each and every day.
SPEAKER_02As an administrator and I know you you kind of recognize this but as an administrator for going you're going into one of the top athletic programs on the coast and probably one of the best in the state how big is it for you to develop a relationship with these pilot programs in the elementary school and the recreational leagues to build a winning culture?
SPEAKER_11Well I I think it's important for me to do that, but I also think it's important for the coaches to do that. And I think that's a collaborative effort between uh myself and the staff to make sure they're in those elementary schools every day and in the car rider lines and meeting these parents and meeting these kids. And I think it's also important to have these kids you know in Gulf Wort apparel all the time as much as they can you know it it is a brand it is a culture. Guard you know it's one of the elite programs in the state and we want to make it the elite program in the state and and it starts with these young kids to get them involved early and to understand what Gulf Admiral Athletics are is all about.
SPEAKER_02I know you're not a football guy. Obviously you love football but I'm not I know you're not by trait a football guy. Yeah but I l I live in the South brother is part of it. That's right that's right I know you have have a really strong relationship with coach Pennick back from his time over here. Talk to me about if you've spoken to him and where you think you're trying to to develop you and him are trying to kind of coincide with development of Gulf Board's program.
SPEAKER_11Well well first off Blake has done a great job building his own brand as as a coach individual individually at Ocean Springs and Pash Christian and now currently a Gulfboard state championship. So he's look he doesn't need my help for for success I promise you that my my job is to kind of just let him run as much as he can you know obviously I'll have to put some guardrails on him because he's a football guy and he's going to try to push as much as he can but my job is to let the coaches coach and and and to push them as much as they can football is you know it's turned into one of the premier things at Gulfport with the new stadium coming into play and everything else and it's an exciting time for that football program. So my job is to let Blake be Blake and go out there and be himself and be flamboyant and you know go get on the radio shows and do a social media thing and coach these kids up because you know that's that ultimately helps our brand and it's going to help us win football games because he's a heck of a football coach.
SPEAKER_02Now just from the outsider question now when you have the position as an athletic director you know everybody thinks well these guys are just in charge of getting the officials to show up to games and all that but there's I know you and I both know but I'll this is for the audience more than anything else talk to me about what goes into this position outside of just referees teams this, that and the other with schedules well I I tell you I don't know if we've got enough time on the radio show for it.
SPEAKER_11Look honestly there's a lot day-to-day operations um scheduling gateworkers officials cleanup crews um being in the community fundraising you know handling coaches purchase orders there there's a myriad of things that we do on a day-to-day basis um but ultimately my job is to try to make the coaches' jobs easier and that's to take pressure off of them that's to be there for them um in good times and bad and it it's it's a you're you're the coach of the coaches is what I always say and that's the biggest and most important thing um my job is to be a sounding board for them when they're in trouble or struggling a little bit or they just need an extra voice. My job is to be just that listening board for when they have to just vent and complain. And sometimes my job is to kind of push them a little bit and you and that's where the tough conversations come into play. But I think if if you build those relationships going into it early a lot of that stuff takes care of itself but man there's so much behind the scenes but you also have to have a great support system I and I already know that Gulfport has that with a a good SID a a great athletic secretary Donnie Fuller's there who's a who's a mainstay of Gulfport athletics and and there's a great support system in place to help build all of those things because it's really it really is a lot of moving parts well coach not only the best of luck for you tomorrow and we'll help this thing keeps keeps going and advancing but uh best of luck to you in the future. Look I appreciate it it's it's gonna be a good game tomorrow I I really like our team's chances man our our kids are loose and playing hard and we're gonna ride ride it out as long as we can and and I've enjoyed my time at Past Christian uh it's been a great eight years that that program has saved me personally and and my career in a sense as well and I I couldn't be more thankful for that district and Dr. Evers and and everything they've done for me and I and I'm looking forward to finishing my time here strong and and then when when the time comes for me to go to Gulfport we're gonna work our tails off there also.
SPEAKER_02Thank you sir take care. All right thanks Hunter the Gazebo Gazette is Harrison County's only independent newspaper publishing news from Gulfport to Bay St.
SPEAKER_03Louis every Friday hi this is Hunter Dawkins owner of the Gazebo Gazette if you're looking for local news without the hassle sorting through story after digital story log on to thegazebogazette.com add your name to the digital audience of 25000 plus coast residents who already know where to find the stories that matter to them I would like to introduce the director the program director of ESPN Radio Southwest Louisiana Raymond Parsh III Raymond how are you my friend Hunter I'm doing great brother thank you for having me on on this Sunday evening Raymond talk to me about the Saints' overall you know want for the draft what are what's on their agenda in the 2026 NFL draft I think you have to give uh Mickey Loomis and his front office personnel some credit here we've been very critical of them in the last five years or so uh but they hit on the draft last year right so this time they were somewhat aggressive in free agency and I know they let Demario Davis go but they have addressed a lot of their needs in free agency this year you know they went out and got some offensive line help they went out and got Travis uh H from Jennings High School and uh you know a Louisiana native that wanted to come back home he selected to come back home to the Saints so that's your insurance policy in case Alvin Kamara possibly retires you're starting to hear some rumblings there. And don't forget they also addressed wide receiver a year ago when they got Polk in the trade with New England. Now he didn't play because of the injury but when you talk to people inside the building there on airline drive they love the kid they think he can be a legitimate number two number three option in their offense they liked what they saw out of Bailey last year who they picked up from Denver so you know they addressed the issues that they had now they still need to work out trying to bring Cam Jordan back we expect Taysom Hill to retire. You really can't replace him right he's a unicorn so to speak but they did nice things to address the the issues they have on this team even special teams so the Saints have put themselves in a position to do what they like to do best hunter and that's draft best player available that's typically what they like to do year in year out they never trade down in the first round they'll trade down in the middle rounds they never trade down in the first round under Mickey Loomis it's not something they do they like to trade up if they really really like a player they'll go do that. And they typically take best player available and typically on their board the guys that they the positions they select in the first round historically under Mickey Loomis offensive line defensive line DB wide receiver best so that's what they like to do go through the draft history what do they use their first round draft picks on O line D line D B wide receiver so it really kind of boils down to that if you know their history you've studied their history you looked at what they do you see what they've done this offseason to address um the the areas of need then you can kind of reduce it down and say okay we know they like taking best player available if a special guy falls to them they'll jump all over them but we know what they like to draft in the first round and that's part of Mickey's DNA from Jim Hazlitt through Sean Payton through Dennis Allen and now through Killinore do the Saints want to develop the players that they're gonna select or are they going to put them right on the field after training camp? Well I think Mickey's always in win now mode like we Mickey doesn't like doing rebuilds right I I joke all the time that says the only reason why he did the rebuild after the 05 season is because a natural disaster forced his hand. Like if that team would have gone you know eight and eight with Jim Hazlitt you still would have been the same coach the next year. Right so that's what they like to do I think they have a young coach they feel like they figured out quarterback now defenses are going to make adjustments to Tyler Shuck. Now there's film out there they're gonna make adjustments to what they see but the kid makes all the throws he's older right he's not some young guy that doesn't have a lot of starts under his belt as a college player making the transition to the NFL had a ton of starting experience in college had injury issues true but this is a veteran guy. He's married he's settled in he's closer to 30 than he is 20 but they feel like they got their guy. But defenses will be making adjustments to that so I feel like they believe whether or not you and I believe this hunter they believe they can go out and win the division in 2026 because the NFC South is wide open Tampa feels like they're in a rebuilding or transitioning into rebuilding mode Atlanta's always a mess and Carolina yeah they won last year but do you trust them to do it again? Probably not so they feel like the division's up for grabs and they feel like they can put together players on this team right now that can help them win win the division and possibly win a playoff game. That's their mentality heading into this 2026 season. So they're gonna draft guys that can be instant impact players for them. I don't think they're in the mindset of well let's take this guy and he can sit and develop I mean they drafted Tyler Shuck last year and he started last year. Now he didn't start the whole season right he wasn't ready to start the season but if they're drafting a guy in the first round they're gonna expect him to be an impact player at least probably four to five games into the season and start being a starter they're not taking a guy in the top 10 that's not going to be an impact player starting on day one. Raymond as you talked about the veterans how much do you think some of them I know there's not a whole lot of Cameron Jordans on the team left but of those that are how much do you think they're looking over their shoulders during the draft I don't think none of all and and I say that so you're older statesmen of the team right so Cam is a free agent we already see Demario Davis has left in free agency so who does that left leave? Well Taysom is probably going to retire we already are starting to hear things about Alvin Kamara maybe possibly retiring as well so who's the old men on on the roster anymore there's not really your starting tight end is a young guy Juwan Johnson your quarterback's young a ATN let's say a TN is your RB1. Let's say something happens with Camara well he's still a young guy in the in his prime you your offensive line tackles are young right the guy drafted last year the other guys drafted two years ago so I don't think anyone's looking over their shoulder their secondary is extremely young linebacking core they really like Stutzman. We've heard a lot about that we've heard the coach's staff in particular coach Staley talk about that the defensive coordinator starting last year. So I don't think there's anyone that's in danger of oh I'm gonna lose my job and I do think the Saints want Cam Jordan back. They love him. He's on the Mount Rushmore of all time Saints right I mean it's it's you know Ricky Jackson Drew Brees and and you know you can make an argument of who the fourth is but you probably say Cam Jordan's definitely number three of the four on the Mount Rushmore. So I think they would like him back but I don't think there's a veteran that is looking over their shoulder going okay you know if you're a Saints fan you would hope it would be Caesar who is because of how bad he's been right you hope that he's looking over his shoulder and maybe they can draft a guy on day two they can come and take his job but I don't think there's a not this year. Maybe last year but not this year. I don't think anyone is you know sitting there going oh I I'm I'm I'm sweating it because I feel like they're in this transitional uh moment in the franchise of they're not doing a full blown rebuild because once again Mickey doesn't like doing that they're doing this thing where they're trying to do a quick rebuild with a good draft class solid free agents and then another good draft class and then they can start winning again. Raymond we really appreciate you letting everybody know how they can reach out to you well they can uh follow esb and southwestLouisiana.com you can download the mobile apps for that and you can follow me at rp3 underscore sports on X and uh we'll be posting on there and I post on there all the time so you can follow us for all of your updates including New Orleans Saints LSU Tigers Louisiana Raging Cages Meeting's Cowboys and more we thank you sir and we'll have you on again.
SPEAKER_02Appreciate the time brother thank you and now we'll move to our next guest who's somebody that I do not really need to introduce very very much so is my good friend and Super Talk news reporter Caleb Sailors.
SPEAKER_06Caleb covers all the Mississippes along with all the news from the state's largest media syndicate Super Talk Mississippi news on supertalk.fm and he has the statewide football scoreboard show Friday nights during the season to report the scores how are you my friend Hunter just living it up in paradise how about yourself doing doing great before we start talking about the draft tell me about I saw this weekend Ole Miss played up in Tennessee but they they ended up winning the first two and then they got kind of rocky today this afternoon correct yeah yeah the Rebels continue to hot streak Hunter uh have had won eight straight going into after yesterday going into uh Sunday's game in Knoxville and Tennessee I mean look hunter it's hard to sweep on the road and Tennessee desperately did not need to get swept at home and so the volunteers came out to play on Sunday took a game three victory 13 to five but after getting kind of knocked around by the rebels in games one and two absolutely absolutely okay well now we'll get back to the the main subject is the draft how many players from Ole Miss and from you could even include state and USM how many players do you think really have the opportunity to be at least the first day the second day or the third day just kind of go break it down for me each each section and who you think is really going to have the good opportunity to get selected early yeah I think for for old miss so for Southern Menace I I mean uh Josh Moton I know I know he's a name that can be called I mean that's a that's one of the best defensive in defensive backs in the country and definitely the best defensive back in the Sun Belt uh last year. I know that's the one guy that pops up for the Golden Eagles uh for for Ole Miss I mean it's it's Davien Harris and DeJohn Stribling that are the guys that have the highest potential to go early in the draft Harris defensive tackle that played a lot of snaps under a lot of snaps for the rebels last year. And you know when you got to the tail end of the season I know there was some kind of criticism of the old miss defensive front um Xavier Harris, Will Eckles uh you know Miami was kind of running the ball at will on the Rebels, Georgia had some success running the ball and uh the offensive lines weren't getting pushed around as much, but it was also because guys like Xavier Harris and Will Eckles were playing so many snaps per game. So he's a very durable player got a lot of upside and then Stribling came on at the end of the year as you know one of the most reliable wide receivers in the country. I mean he played a huge role in Ole Mist winning the egg bowl had two big touchdowns there and then winning the Sugar Bowl big play Trinidad Chambless finds him upfield to get that go-ahead field goal that essentially won the game for Ole Miss Stribling's a big wide receiver uh got a good catch radius uh catches almost every contested pass and is pretty fast too for his size and then I think other other other other notable Ole Miss players in the draft this year Daquan Wright tied in that can do a lot he he's a fast tight end he he runs kind of like a wide receiver good route runner not the best blocker in the world but got a lot of upside everywhere else and then um and Trey Wallace wide receiver Harrison Wallace the third who's a speedy wide receiver a decent route runner and then catches just about everything uh a little a little small but still he was remarkable for Ole Miss and and Trinidad Chandler this past year. So those are those are the guys and for state um I think Brendan Thompson is the best bet. Speedy wide receiver even if he's not going to be used as a wide receiver someone will use him in special teams somewhere.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely and now tell me Caleb if in under your mindset and what you've seen in the combine what you've seen in pro days or what you've heard who is going to be the sleeper out of the or maybe not they're not drafted but who is going to get onto an NFL training camp team and it's going to be shocking to everybody?
SPEAKER_06Yeah I think I think that would be Daquan Wright Hunter I think Daquan Wright, you know, again he was one of the better tight ends in the country last year. Very reliable for Ole Miss very very underrated asset on the offense because a lot of the success the receivers had in the passing game last year, a lot of the success Trinidad had in finding wide open wide receivers was in part because Daquan Wright you really you had to zero in on him because he's so lethal so effective on the field that it opened things up for other players. So I think when he really gets an opportunity he's going to be kind of the sleeper from this Mississippi class uh in the NFL draft.
SPEAKER_02Tell me now how's uh how's spring going for the rebels have they had any I mean is it over is are they gonna have a spring game? Tell me what's going on up there.
SPEAKER_06No spring game they are doing Meet the Rebels again for the first time in a while so fans will have an opportunity to go to the Manning Center and get their auto get players autographs interact with the players interact with Pete Golding and doing that. They're not doing a spring game though but spring spring has kind of gone as you would expect spring to go you know Ole Miss has a veteran heavy offense Trinidad is is you know building some a rapport with his receivers uh they're trying to figure some things out at offensive line they've had a couple of minor injuries that Pete Golding has you know assured won't be long lasting and won't have an impact on September. Otherwise you know the defense is coming to form the the linebackers have looked really athletic really fast. The defensive line looks like it's going to be you know a step ahead of what it was last year. And then you know they did some of the new coaches have kind of gotten their footing too in spring but it's looked like what you would expect a typical spring to go if you were looking at Ole Miss in the prism of Ole Miss operating like an NFL franchise more so than a college team. I think Pete Golding has kind of kept that mindset that Lane Kiffin had before and that he learned from Nick Saban in Alabama.
SPEAKER_02Now what I remember I'm not sure if they're gonna do it again this year. Maybe you know a little bit more about this than I do but um I know the alumni association had usually a a couple the coaches maybe a couple players go down throughout the state uh and just kind of give a little bit of you know uh kind of an alumni thing bring you know bring ticket sales back or so uh up talk to me about that is that gonna be something they're gonna the Pete Golding is going to re redo as Kiffin started doing later on in his career Career or but uh what what's gonna go with that?
SPEAKER_06Yeah, they haven't I haven't seen any announcements about uh a rebel road trip of sorts. Um I have no reason to believe those won't happen. I believe Pete will be more than open to going to Jackson, Gulfport, Memphis, Birmingham, Dallas, um, you know, other regions in the kind of a tri-state area, the quarter-state area to interact with Ole Miss fans. I know Keith Carter has been adamant about doing that of late as well. And I don't see a reason that they wouldn't do it. So I would I would imagine that Ole Miss fans, you know, in the broader area that don't necessarily live in Oxford, but the ones that live in Tupelo and Jackson and on the coast and even in Memphis and New Orleans and Birmingham will have an opportunity to hear from Pete Golding in person at some sort of alumni event. You hit it up to the first game this this year in Nashville? Oh, Hunter, you know I'll be up there in Nashville. Big big Ben Milam, our good buddy who used to work with Over Talk News. He he's up there in Nashville, so I'll be smoozing it up there with him.
SPEAKER_02Well, you know, I absolutely will look forward to hearing about that. But also, too, now is that do they have the new stadium in Nashville or is it not done yet?
SPEAKER_06No, it'll be played in Nissan Stadium. It'll still be played in the existing current uh Titan Stadium. Well, good deal.
SPEAKER_02We'll let everybody else how out here know how they can get in touch with you and how if we keep following the Caleb Saylors timeline.
SPEAKER_06Well, bad news is my X account got hacked. So if you follow Caleb Saylor's ST, you'll have to transfer over to Caleb Saylor's ST. You know, I'm trying to, you know, regain footing there on NX. It's kind of a bad deal, but it's it is what it is. It's not the end of the world. But you can find me on all other social media platforms. I'm not hard to find Caleb Saylors is my name. And then uh you go to supertalk.fm, you'll see me covering everything from Ole Miss Athletics to the state legislature and all things Mississippi.
SPEAKER_02Hey, you take care of yourself, my friend. Thanks, thanks, honey. You the best. And now my final guest is someone that I talk with virtually every week. The WGSO 990 radio host. We're in the red zone. Coverage of the Saints, and breakfast with the Bayou Bengals covering LSU, Mitch Gibbs. Mitch, talk to me about what your thoughts are Thursday night when you know you get in this the media room, and it's there's just some discussion about what's going on because there's no real no real idea who the Saints are gonna go with first, if it's gonna be Bailey or Ruben Bain from Miami, or you know, some uh they're gonna trade up to get Arvell Reese according to Todd McShay. What's gonna happen?
SPEAKER_12Yeah, what happens is um, you know, a lot of these guys talk among themselves and uh, you know, they have different theories of uh, you know, who they think the Saints are gonna pick. I never agree with many. I'm not I think that's why you have me on your show. Um and uh I think they should definitely pick uh Ruben Bain. I mean, there's no question about it. I mean, I'm still aggravated two years ago when I talked on the show, which I did, you know, recently about Ruben Bain, um, about Jared Verse from Florida State a couple of years ago, and the Saints picked Fuaga, who's you know, a nice offensive lineman. They already had to bring in the uh the Bills free agent um uh lineman as a free agent trying to shore up the offensive line, you know, because they they got Travis Etienne in free agency. I think they did okay in free agency, but they didn't address Edge Rusher. And so if they're looking for the uh you know the wide receiver from uh Ohio State, who may or may not be available, I'm hearing maybe a couple teams above them might be interested, but they're in this position because they won these games they shouldn't have won at the end of the season. And so uh, no, I I trading down would would probably not happen. Jalen Mickey Lumens doesn't do that. Trading up, yeah, it's a possibility, but I don't know, you know, if it's not Arvell Reese, I don't know who else they would be really interested in. Uh, they don't need a running back, so love's out of the picture from Notre Dame. Um, so I you know, I don't know. There's there's so many different mock drafts that have different opinions. Um, you know, like you could look at like four or five mock drafts and you see four or five different picks by the Saints. I think the Saints should either pick, listen to me, uh Ruben Bain Jr. in the second uh, and if he's not available, then I I'd say you pick the best available edge rusher. Or if you can find, you know, maybe you like the LSU kid, uh um uh Delane, I think, uh, as a corner, because he might be the best uh Monsor Delane as the best corner in the draft, but uh I I don't know. I mean, you know, your guess is as good as mine. I'm never right about because the Saints never pick who I want, they always pick somebody else. So uh like it, like you just said, it it's wide open. I really think it will come down to the best available player at number eight. I don't think they're gonna trade off.
SPEAKER_02Mitch, if I was to mention two statements, which one would you agree with more? The the draft for the Saints is more of a about getting a team to or getting a group of players that are going to be along with Tyler Shuck or a Brandon Staley style defensive group.
SPEAKER_12I mean, I I if you're asking me what the Saints are thinking, yeah, uh God, that's a tough one. Um I think it comes down to who they like more. I don't think they're gonna cater towards um who Tyler Shuck wants, you know, because he likes his his the guy he played with, I believe at Louisville. Uh yeah, right, that wide receiver. They uh the the uh Arizona State kids like the fastest guy because you know they they trade Rasheed Shaheed and they don't really have a vertical guy. Uh a lot of supposedly depends on Olave. Well, they're not gonna have, I don't know if they have anything worked out long term with Olave by Thursday anyway. So if somebody says, well, that's gonna that kind of um is uh a determinative factor or whether they go for a wide receiver. And then uh on the other hand, if you if you're looking at defense for Stanley, um, I don't think that they're gonna pick a defensive player because he wants one. I mean, obviously he would like that in a in an idealistic world. Uh, but I think clearly you need when you're picking at eight, you got to get uh uh a guy who's gonna be like a career or franchise type player that's gonna be here for a while unless you just can't afford him down the road. And I don't see a lot of those. I think you have it's a nice draft, but I don't see a lot of guys that are like that, except Ruben Bailey Jr. is the guy. I I mean Ruben Bain is the guy that I think can be like just like Jared Verse and be a uh uh a guy who really just look at the way the guy played in the playoffs, and Miami really should have won the game against Indiana. I'm tired of hearing about Indiana and Mendoza because the block punt, but he was like all over the field for the entire uh and that's against the best competition in college football. To me, it's a no-brainer to pick that guy if he's available. Everybody's saying that that he will be available, uh, that he's gonna drop down to at least where the Saints, and then they're saying the Chiefs will pick him if the Saints don't. If the Saints pass on this guy and the Chiefs pick him, I think they're gonna have like a champagne party.
SPEAKER_02Outside of recently, you know, contract extension with Pete Werner and Stutzman, who are the Saints really have behind those two from the linebacker position that they could look for?
SPEAKER_12Well, yeah, that's why they were talking about. I forget all these names. There's a they again a higher state uh linebacker who they think could be a difference maker. I would just like to see them pick a defensive player because you can get wide receivers later in the draft. And I do think they need a little bit of help uh, you know, with wide receivers, but those are guys that you can get wide receivers later in the draft that can end up being stars. I mean, you there's so many examples of that. Um, they need to pick uh impact defensive player. The first position uh for that is gonna be edge guy. The second position would probably be a corner, shut down corner type guy. Then you go to linebacker. So that's why I'm saying I think it's a possibility that we could all be wrong. And the Saints might pick somebody on defense that we're not expecting because they'll just see how the board flows in the first seven picks.
SPEAKER_02Outside of like a receiver amongst the receivers, we if you're making a selection receiver, do you think that they would need to go after Shaheed style or just a big, you know, 6'3, 6'4 type receiver?
SPEAKER_12Well, first of all, I don't know if I want two Ohio State wide receivers anyway. I'm one of those guys who believes Ohio State wide receivers are nice receivers, but generally they're not as good as like these some of these LSU wide receivers or other, you know, teams. You you don't they're they're always productive guys. If you think of Thomas and then Olave, they've been nice players. I mean, Thomas just went off whatever that deal was. But uh, yeah, so I would go with with what you said first, uh, speed. You've got to replace Rashid Jahid. Tyler Shuck is gonna be a lot safer. Um, obviously, you have to have offensive line, especially left tackle to protect him, but he's gonna be a lot safer, and then Travis Antienne's life is gonna be a little bit easier if they have a vertical guy. Because if you don't have a vertical guy, they're gonna be able to play closer to the line of scrimmage against the Saints because the Saints don't have anybody because they can beat them deep, and that puts you in a difficult position. So I would definitely that's why the kid from Arizona State, who I think I think there was some injury issue too with him.
SPEAKER_02But he's supposed to think about Jordan Tyson, yeah.
SPEAKER_12Jordan Tyson is the I think is the best speed guy available. So if if I had if if you told me uh you they have to pick a wide receiver, that's my guy.
SPEAKER_02Talk to me for the last question about uh the Pelicans. Season's over. What's going on with the team? Uh, you know, I'm not I haven't heard anything about any possible trades, some front office movement. What's going on there?
SPEAKER_12Well, I mean, you listen to some of these guys, some of my peers, and it's just like um I don't understand where they're coming from. I don't think they, you know, they were they were uh raving about until the the the losing streak at the end of the season about how they had one of the better records after the um, you know, after the uh uh trade deadline. The trade deadline in the all-star break. But the thing is, uh they were playing a lot of teams that were trying to lose because they had a lottery pick. Uh Dumars has put them in a really tough spot because uh you can probably get a quality guy in the first whether wherever you land in the lottery, and they don't have that pick because he traded the unprotected pick for Queen, who really plateaued off on the second half of the season. So uh they're in a tough spot. And uh this Jordan Poole thing made no sense. And he even admitted at the press conference that it hasn't worked out so far. You owe this guy another 30 something million dollars. I don't know if he's tradable. Uh, I would have asked him the question, maybe wouldn't have answered is like, are you interested in being in the um in the first round uh uh in the of the draft? Um, and the only way I see that that happening is to trade Zion Williamson. Nobody's gonna give a number one for Jordan Poole. I don't even think with Herb Jones you could get a number one, but I think that their best position is to get a new coach. And now I'm hearing that Barega's got like at least a 50-60% chance of being the coach, which I think is not a good idea either. But I think that they need to pick the right coach. Darwin Ham would be probably my first choice on that because he did well dealing with LeBron James, which is not an easy situation. Got to Western Conference Finals in his second or last year. And I think they should trade Zion because I think they should get in a first-round pick. And then you've got Murray, who's very good. We saw Murray come back, he looked pretty good. I went to a couple of games, I saw him play. Uh, I like Trey Murphy. I think he's the best player in the team. He's a three-point shooter. They need more of that. And Herb Jones is a good defensive player. So I think you can build the team with those three guys and some of these other pieces. And then if you get the um, you know, you get a lottery pick, if you can make a trade, uh, then I think you have a playoff. You could make the play. But if but if you don't trade Zion, you're not getting in the first round. So I think they come back uh stat, I don't know how you come back status quo when you had a lot of empty seats um in a lot of games against good teams. I just don't see you sell the fans on buying tickets if it's gonna be the same situation next year. I know they made some, they got rid of a lot of staff, medical people, all that, but Joe Domars is still calling the shots, and he has made two not very good decisions for this franchise.
SPEAKER_02Thank you, my friend. And tell everybody how they get in touch with you.
SPEAKER_12Yeah, well, we uh I'm gonna have a good uh an announcement uh shortly about where we're gonna be next year for the uh the LSU football show, uh, which I always love to do on Saturday mornings. But in the meantime, right now, since we're I consider sort of off season, even though we have all the NFL stuff going on, the NBA and NHL playoffs, but every Saturday morning, 9 to 11, live at Premier Volkswagen on the West Bank in La Palco, on La Palco in Harvey, Louisiana. Uh love to have people come down and see the show live in person. We've had some great guests on. Uh, we even talked to the NHL playoffs uh the other night as well. So a lot of great guests, it'll be a lot of fun. And then soon I'm gonna be making announcements about the uh Saints and uh LSU football shows this fall. Thank you. Thank you.
SPEAKER_09The following is a paid advertisement by O'Doire Realty agent Stephanie Mankowitz. Call Stephanie today at 228-563-0471 for all your Realty needs.
SPEAKER_02And here we are talking about Realty again with our O'Doire Realtor Agent sponsor, Stephanie Mankowitz. Let's talk about the tips this week from Stephanie about what realtors should be doing for you.
SPEAKER_01Thank you, Hunter. As always, it's a pleasure to review realtor topics and uh hopefully it helps people, right? So, what should we do we be doing for you, the buyer or the seller? First thing I would say is, and it's in the actual disclosure everybody signs when they work with an agent, is ensure all parties are represented fairly and honestly. It's called fair and honest dealings. And if I'm helping you or anyone out before I can even show you a house, you know, you sign that disclosure. It's not even a contract, it protects you as a person, and I'm supposed to explain that for him to you and say, hey, before we do anything real estate, I am licensed, I am liable, I am here to help you, give you fair and honest dealings, get the most I can for your house, confidentiality. I'm not gonna, if you're a seller, I'm not gonna tell people your bottom line, that's a secret. So, um, so we'll start with that. The first thing is that we are fair, and sometimes realtors get a bad rap, and sometimes there's realtors that have caused that. But uh, I know I'm one of the realtors that considers myself pretty by the book and just trying to solve the problem. I just want to be part of the solution, right? So if you're selling a puppy or Avon, whatever it is, there's liabilities when you're selling a house times three times ten. Okay. Alright, well, I would say uh another thing we do, we we make sure that the people who maybe they were they've never sold a home before, or they've never bought a home before. We make sure that we we through the shaky buyers or the sellers, buyers that maybe aren't a good idea to deal with, we can see problems coming before they start when a realtor's been doing this 10 years. And if it is a buyer, we're also looking for sellers that might be a problem. You know, if we're putting in a really healthy offer and it's like full price or near full price, and then we hear there's a multiple offer situation, it doesn't mean you panic. You know, sometimes you leave your offer right where it is, even though there's other offers. So we're making we're weeding through the shakiness and the things that come up that seem unpredictable. And one of the other unpredictable things, like for sellers, is you know, they get an offer and it's got 10 contingencies on it, and the price looks great, and they say they're cash, but there's all these contingencies, so um, you know, you're not you're not really aware how much we help you until you actually deal with a good realtor. That's one thing I would say, and and we want to help them determine the value that's correct if they're selling.
SPEAKER_02What are some of the things that determine the value?
SPEAKER_01Oh, okay, that's a good one. Let's start with location. You know the old saying, location, location, location. All right. Uh, let's start with what are things selling for around you? If you're in a nice neighborhood and and you think your house is a castle, we all kind of feel like that when we love our home. Doesn't mean it's worth three times what the market says. Uh so people will hear realtors say, Well, the market says your house is worth this. And some sellers don't want to accept that. No, no, it's it's got to be worth more. I've got a double granite countertop, I've got a fountain that shoots out gold in the backyard, and I've got three kittens with it. So I think I should get a hundred thousand more. And we have to rein people in and say, I love your kittens, I love your granite. And the last year in your neighborhood, people have paid this amount, and though, and that's where we start thinking like an appraiser. So we're like, okay, wait, we can go out two miles and look at the last sales in the last year within two miles of this property, and we can see what people have been paying. And we also have look at the square footage, and that's really important, Hunter, because if your house is two thousand square feet and you saw one sell for a million and it had three thousand square feet, and you're like, Well, mine's worth that too. You're a thousand square feet smaller, so I can't even count that house as a comparable sale, right? When we determine the value is the critical, probably the most critical thing we do as your listing agent, because that price is the first thing they see, just like the pictures. And if we priced you so high that you seem ridiculous, they're not coming. And then guess who you don't like? Me, the realtor. You don't like me anymore. So I'm kind of an upfront realtor. I think a lot of us are after we've been in a while. And we say, look, in all honesty, right now, this is what the market says your house is worth. Other things we're gonna help you with is um determining what is the inside of the house worth. Um appraisals are gonna change next year across the country, and there will be different data inputs into determining what your house is worth. So we're gonna be on top of that. Um, and so if you're trying to sell on your own, you know, we can be really helpful and deal with all these unexpected things that happen when you try to uh sell on your own. Um and you know, we've talked about sellers a lot, so okay, I'm just gonna put this out there. If you're thinking of selling on your own, that some of the things we're doing for you, the seller, to make it easier is photos, professional photos. We pay for those. A lot of our photographers have drones. We're taking the calls because it's our number on the sign. So if it's a looky loo, it's not an ideal buyer. We've got our radar out there, so we're taking that hassle, you know, out of it.
SPEAKER_02If you are thinking about selling on your own, maybe ask Steph. If you would like to talk to Stephanie to help determine your next steps, call today at 228-563-0471, or call her at the office and ask for Steph at 228-452-4242. Steph has the latest information to help you get through the process with reasonable expectations. Again, that's 228-563-0471 to speak directly with Stephanie. And we gratefully appreciate you listening to this podcast. We thank you again, Jeff.
SPEAKER_14Absolutely, man. It was a great show, a lot of good information. Um, excited to see what happens in the draft.
SPEAKER_02So yeah, exactly. The eight selections, as far as we know right now. There's not been no trade-ups or anything as such. But uh yeah, that's uh there's gonna be a lot of interest from Thursday to to Saturday. And if you're uh you're big into football like yourself and mine, uh it's draft day is uh it's uh should be almost celebrated as a holiday.
SPEAKER_14And also it's my favorite Kevin Costner movie. So there you go. There you go.
SPEAKER_02That is well that's uh that's that's definitely a uh a sling at uh Mr. Costner, but you know, I guess we'll uh we'll let that that happen the way.
SPEAKER_14Yeah, I'm not I uh you know, I I that one just I like football. I like the draft, I like that's an intense movie, you know. I mean, I know he has other ones people would probably pick before that, the bodyguard or uh you know the one the field of dreams, but uh draft day it's a good movie.
SPEAKER_02So you're right, and you're absolutely right about that. It is a good movie, but anyway, we thank you again, Jeff. And uh we want to make sure everyone follows us on the gazeboazette.com, where the podcast will be posted next week as well as on facebook.com backslash the real gazebo gazette, or on X at Gazebo Gazette as the handle. The HD Experience is available on all podcasts, including, as Jeff would tell you guys, Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Amazon music, and virtually everything under the HD Experience tag. Signing out, this is Hunter Dawkins, the host of the HD Experience, and we'll catch you all on the flip side.