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 42: Somewhere in Middle America
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The HD Experience Episode 42: Somewhere in Middle America
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 Writers 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:
- Evan Gay - St. Stanislaus Catholic Head Football Coach
- Nathan Encrapera - St. Patrick Catholic Head Football Coach
- Caleb Salers - SuperTalk Mississippi News Reporter, Ole Miss Beat Writer
- Mitch Gibbs - WGSO 990AM New Orleans Radio Host, "In the Zone" & "Breakfast with Bayou Bengals"
- Les East - Sportswriter for Crescent City Sports, 3x Louisiana Sportswriter of the Year
The greatest fairy tale never told is clearly the Bolva Bottles Discovery. Everyone's favorite ogre hits the stage in the Broadway hit Shrek the Musical. Join the trick, Donkey, and Princess Fiona on a high-energy family-friendly adventure. June 11th through July 2nd. Tickets start at $25 with four packs starting at 60th. The IP package is available. Get your tickets at Volverbolders.com. A random production show produced a special range with Peace Theater International MTI of Texas Service Chargers.
SPEAKER_09Join us July 2nd to 5th at Jones Park and Gulfport for the 78th annual Mississippi Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo. A Gulf Coast tradition filled with fishing, food, family fun, and live entertainment. The excitement continues Friday, July 3rd, when Amanda Shaw takes the stage live at 7 p.m. Amanda Shaw will bring an unforgettable night of music to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Make plans now to celebrate the holiday weekend July 2nd to 5th at Jones Park and Gulfport for the Mississippi Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo. And catch Amanda Shaw live at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 3rd.
SPEAKER_12Here's your host, Hunter Dawkins.
SPEAKER_05Good afternoon. My name is Hunter Dawkins, and I'm the host of the HD Experience. This is the 42nd episode of It's a Mississippi Gulf Coast Sports podcast sponsored by the Gazebo Gazette, Harrison County's independent newspaper. The Beau Revise Resort and Casino in Biloxi that is hosting Shrek the Musical later on this month. Nine Toes Brewing Company and Pascushan, who has live music every single weekend, and a lot of other things going on too. O'Duire Realty Agent, Stephanie Mankowitz, Joseph Kelly, attorney at law, Coast Casual, and Pascushan, who has got some really great summer deals. Caitlin will definitely talk with us in the future about that. The insurance barn in Gulfport, the Mississippi Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo in Gulfport Jones Park, July 4th weekend. I know Jeff is big on that. We're always in the U.S. Marine Inc. Studio. I'm here with my wonderful producer of the show and my good friend Jeff Clark. Jeff is a well-accomplished award-winning journalist, South Alabama beat writer, director of the Harrison County Senior Services. How are you, my friend?
SPEAKER_04I'm well, Hunter. Always like when we get to the part of the intros where you introduce me as your good friend or your great friend. You know, one of as long as I'm one or the other, I'm I'm doing well. Uh, you know, Nine Toes Brewing Company is one of our sponsors, so I want to tell you about my experience there. Friday night, Charlie, my son Charlie and I went down to watch the Old Miss Baseball uh game one of the their World Series and the World Cup. And dude, it was packed. It's probably one of the funnest times I've ever had at a sports bar in my life. You know, I wouldn't drink, you know, I don't drink, but they do make uh like a vanilla root beer they make in-house, which Charlie likes. We had a couple of Coke Zeros, a lot of people I knew, a lot of people in the community were there, Kirk Kimball, on and on. It's a great night, man. A great place.
SPEAKER_05The most important thing, Jeff, about it. It wasn't just for you yourself, it was for the whole family.
SPEAKER_04Well, yeah, it's uh it's a family thing, man. Like my son had hot dogs, and he and his buddies would run out and play, and then they'd come back in and watch the game. Uh, watching watching America win the first World Cup uh appearance. It's great, man. It was awesome. You know, it was a really, really good time. Uh as you and I were talking before we started rolling, Ole Miss kind of stunk it up, had all the momentum, and then kind of let that go. And uh looks like they're they're struggling today because we're taping this on a Sunday.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, that's right. They're actually currently behind in the bottom of the eighth inning, 12 to 8, Jeff. And uh as we've been following them across the board. But we'll talk with with some uh with an old miss, you know, uh people at least down the line. But our theme, of course, today, and I know this you like this one better. Absolutely like our theme is somewhere in middle America. The theme of this song, just for the audience, is based on a line from a legendary County Crow song, which I know Jeff knows about this very well, that spoke about small town America and how changes in small town America can cause problems in certain ways of life, and that's a little bit how the athletic changes has been h have been happening.
SPEAKER_04And uh from the from the song Omaha, you know, great County Crow song, and it's certainly small town changes, definitely happening for Old Myths, uh Alabama. A lot of people feel in the pain, you know.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, exactly. And then it's not only that, it's we're talking, you know, generally about football as we've talked last week, and we'll continue this week about you know, high school football, some of the changes that have been happening, and how that's kind of potentially could hurt some schools, especially in our area, Jeff. Additionally, the title of the song is where the College World Series is starting or is being playing at in Omaha. And uh, Jeff, these dry days of summer are happening with the horizon of football and media days happening soon. You know, do you want to give me your thoughts based on all that?
SPEAKER_04You know, I'm enjoying watching the the College World Series. I'm enjoying, I always love uh baseball season. Um, man, it's so exciting to have the World Cup back in the USA. It hadn't been here since 1994. Alexi Lawless, like I remember remember that that team well. There's a lot of hype about that. Uh, but like, man, let's just hey, last night, the Knicks, what a comeback that was. Knicks. Right? Knicks, Knicks and five, baby. Knicks and five, you know. I mean, wow. They they came back from what a 15-17 point deficit, you know. And then the game before that was a 20. Yeah, man, won it with the last second. So, you know, um, it hey, do I miss football? Absolutely. Do I miss football enough where I'm gonna watch UFL? No. But, you know, I I I know it's coming. I'm looking forward to next month. We'll be at Media Daves together for uh for the Sunbelt Conference. Um, I'm gonna go ahead and start doing some preview pieces on USA for the Gazebo Gazette, the Southern Alabama football team. Those will be coming up in July, you know, getting ready for what the what the season's gonna look like for them. Uh Hunter will be telling us about Southern Myths and uh, you know, it football season are definitely my favorite sports time of the year, you know.
SPEAKER_05Absolutely, absolutely, and that's something that we definitely have looked, you know, ready to looking forward to. But just like you said, about the the different sports theme. The uh soccer, the basketball, everything else that's just kind of going on, and even hockey. Hockey is game six, Carolina, the hurricanes tonight. They've got a 3-2 lead, and they're playing in Vegas. The Vegas Aces who have been dominant the last few years. We'll definitely see what happens with all that, and we'll tell you guys more about that in the future. We look forward to get going on the guests, and we thank you very much, Jeffrey.
SPEAKER_04Man, we'll say it again, Nixon 5. Uh we hope Old Miss, hey, Troy, Troy may put it to Ole Miss, and we'll be right back after our first commercial break.
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SPEAKER_05The Gazebo Gazette is Harrison County's only independent newspaper, publishing news from Gulfport to Bay St. Louis every Friday. Hi, this is Hunter Dawkins, owner of the Gazebo Gazette. If you're looking for local news without the hassle of sorting through story after digital story, log on to thegazeboze.com. Add your name to the digital audience of 250,000 plus coach residents who already know where to find the stories that matter to them. Now I'd like to introduce my first guest, St. Stanislaw's Catholic football coach Evan Gay. Coach, you were recently hired from Knoxville, Tennessee, where he also coached, coached at Webb High School, a really good high school. I'll tell you this, coach, a long time ago. I was a coach uh in Knoxville two years ago, but thank thank goodness I came back. But he's returned to the Rocket Shaws after previously coaching on the coast a few years ago. Coach, as I told you in my past life, I coached at Wartburg in East Tennessee. I know you probably know where that is. Um give me your thoughts about leaving a successful program at Webb High School to come back to the coast.
SPEAKER_10Yeah, it was um spent um, I was actually at the Webb school in Bellbuckle, Tennessee. So not the not the Webb school in Knoxville, um which is a little bit different. Uh yeah, of course. Um I think the the history at Webb Knoxville is is pretty uh pretty good. Uh where I was at, they were getting started in the football program. So I had a um I had a lot of work ahead of me when I first got there. Um and just put in a lot of time and work and built the program up to where we had a really good season um in 24 and and went to the playoffs. Best season in program history. Offense averaged uh 40 points a game and over 400 yards a game. And so really successful season. You know, I was here back at St. Stanislaus in 21 as a quarterback coach, and we really loved it. Um, my family loved uh being down here on the coast. And so we had the opportunity to come up again. Um man, just couldn't help ourselves and coming back down to the coast and and uh and very excited to be at St. Stanislaus for this upcoming season.
SPEAKER_05Absolutely. Your return during has become during an interesting time in private schools in Mississippi. Um seeing that SSC should not change as far as the status of classification, how do you feel about the Rocks being competitive in this climate?
SPEAKER_10Yeah, you know, we went out in the spring um and we competed at USM and kind of a Jamboree type deal out there for our spring game. We played uh Collins the first quarter, and then we played Capaya the second quarter, went out against Collins and had a long drive. You know, they drove down and scored, took you know, a lot of the clock up, and then we came right back down and drove down the field and threw a touchdown pass. And it just very great for us to see as a coaching staff our offense on the very first drive of our kind of tenure, you know, march it down the field and put it in the end zone and kind of match uh Collins. And we ended up getting a stop on defense and and coming down. Uh, we got down to to their 30-yard line with three seconds, called the timeout. And um our sophomore field goal kicker, Jude Babin, hit a 50-yard field goal to win that. So it was it was great for for those guys. I think they beat Bay last year, which was like the second game of the season. So I think they lost seven in a row coming into that one. So it was good for us to get that. And then we start the game against Kapaya um and throw a throw a 80-yard touchdown pass on the very first play against them to start the second quarter. Um, and you know, we ended up having a really a really good uh spring game there. Um, I think, you know, we went up losing to Kapaya 21 to seven, but we were down on their side of the field. I think we were down on like the 10-yard line with 19 seconds to go in half, had an opportunity to score. Um, and we've got a freshman gonna be sophomore, uh Lou Monty playing quarterback for us right now. And he just made a young mistake and threw an interception in the end zone right there. And it could really should have been 21 to 14. We had a wide open receiver. Um, and so man, we went out and did exactly what we needed to do in the spring game. So I'm I'm looking forward to the season. We've got we've definitely got our work cut out for us, and we're grinding here over the summer and trying to get it you know, bigger, stronger, faster, and getting our offensive and defensive schemes, you know, implemented. And so, yeah, we're excited about it, man. We definitely got a gauntlet of a schedule to run. But, you know, what we say is respect all and fear none, man. So we're gonna go out each week and compete to the last play. And, you know, if we do all the things that we need to do, you know, usually winning will start taking care of itself. And I definitely believe that and I've seen that in my past.
SPEAKER_05What's the main difference you were going to bring personally, coach, to this program than your previous predecessors? Now, I'm not trying to say anything bad about them. I'm just saying, what do you offer different uh for the program than what has been there?
SPEAKER_10Yeah, I'm a former uh U.S. Army infantry soldier. I served two tours in Iraq. Uh, my first tour, I was a commander's RTO and gunner. My second tour, I was an infantry squad leader in Sider City with Chris Kyle and the Navy SIELS and did a lot of missions with those guys.
SPEAKER_05Coach, we thank you for your service, of course.
SPEAKER_10Yeah, absolutely. Thank you. It was an honor to serve my country. And so I take a lot of those values that I learned as a military um leader and implement that type of discipline and that military style into our football program. And we've already seen the benefits. I mean, we had 240 yards of offense in one half, and um, and the guys are really excited and they're really taken to it. So, you know, I think that's one thing that's helped me in my past is just the discipline, the accountability that I bring, and getting kind of everybody on the same team and going in the same direction.
SPEAKER_05Absolutely. From what you have seen, what are the strengths of this team so far? And, you know, where do you think that's going to get to?
SPEAKER_10Yeah, we have a lot of really tough football players, guys that want to come in and work hard, that are ready to you know put the nose to the grindstone and get after it. And they're just relentless. I mean, they've already bought in, you know, and we've only, you know, we had three weeks to prepare for that spring game, and that was including a new offense and a new defense. We have a completely new coach and staff. And so, you know, the coaching staff bought into what we were doing, the the players bought into it. Um, and we're just gonna be a gritty football team, man. We're gonna be a team that, you know, uh we don't we're not gonna care for down 21, 28 points at any point in the game. We're gonna battle to the end. And and when you do that, man, you find yourself battling back into those games and getting them in there, and and and I think we'll be able to close them out and win. So um, yeah, it we, you know, our team's gonna be a tough, gritty team, man. I mean, we're not gonna be very flashy, I don't think, but um man, the you know, the toughness and grid, I think, will pull us through.
SPEAKER_05Coach, final question for you. Uh how long do you feel like with these this team, even though they are, as you said, tough and resilient, how long do you think it's gonna be realistic for them to get ready to adjust to what your system and what that you wanted to preach, at least from the uh the field?
SPEAKER_10Yeah, well, I think you know, it surprised me really how we went out and competed in the spring game. And so that kind of uh I think boosted the morale of everybody. And um, I'm looking for us to come out week one and compete. Um, and so you know, we talk about, you know, any any time that uh we're going out and and they're keeping score on the scoreboard, we're gonna give it everything we have to go out there and win the football game. And so yeah, I think they've picked it up really quickly, and and um we've got a really good class of seniors in there. These guys are really helping me set the foundation of our program for the for the years to come. And so, yeah, I'm looking forward to going out there week one and and getting a win and and uh and then trying to get some momentum and get a good run into the playoffs. And so, yeah, I'm I'm look very excited about our team. I think we're gonna probably surprise some people out there this year.
SPEAKER_05Coach, thank you very much. And from a fellow Rocket Shaw myself, we thank you very much, and uh, you know, we look forward to following you, and we'll uh get back in touch with you whenever we can uh get you on.
SPEAKER_10Yeah, sounds great, Hunter. Thanks for having me on.
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SPEAKER_05Now I would love to introduce one of my good friends in coaching, someone that I have known for 15 and a half years or more, St. Patrick Catholic head coach Nate Increpera. Coach, the last two weeks seem to have been an interesting for your football team. At least not so much for them on the field, but for for you as the coaching staff. With the news of the recent multiplier and the Irish plan to move up following the classification determination eventually, give me your thoughts.
SPEAKER_03I can't believe it's been that long. Yeah, I guess we uh we got the inf we got that information on May 29th, I think. Um I don't think any of us were aware that this was being considered. Um I think we're still at the beginning of the death, and and um I think uh the most obvious pride. So um we'll look at it, and then we're gonna we're gonna look at it. Um you know, as part of the diet is I guess there's three schools that are gonna impact you know, resurrection, favorite heart, and ourselves. So um I think we're gonna get together and talk about it a little bit and see exactly how this is gonna impact us and you know what our next steps will be.
SPEAKER_05I know this is an early question, and I realize that most coaches don't want to talk about this until you know after you know the process begins, but is and I'm not sure exactly that you're a hundred percent knowledgeable at the whole athletic department, but just from the football perspective, do you believe your team right now at this second is ready for the increase in classification size?
SPEAKER_03Well, I think you know as a school of athletics, you're recognizing this is something that we're gonna we're gonna look at for all of our sports, not not just with uh with football. I think you know, I think we start getting up into the the larger classification, the the roster size is bigger. You know, I think you know we've enjoyed a lot of here and African and a lot of our forward, and I think uh a lot of that is you know the dedication and hard work of our players and our our coaches and you know, I don't know that um I I think we just been fortunate the you know the past several years to have a lot of things come together so you know I I don't I don't know.
SPEAKER_05I don't know if that I know it's an early question and you know you haven't really had a whole lot of time and obviously it's you know dealing with you know you're not even sure what that team's gonna be like next year but it was just an early you know question at least for guys you know I I think at the end of the day you know you you can only put 11 players on the field you know uh but it does impact you you know the depth and it impacts you know when you when you go against teams that have you know much bigger roster sizes you know and I I think we're gonna end up with the numbers that we have in in 4A I think you know if you look at the number we turned in last time I think we turned in like 330 something and I know that is that would put us close to you know the the bottom portion of potentially 5A I don't know that that would actually happen.
SPEAKER_03I don't know what numbers are going to turn in. I think the smallest 5A school last go around was was um was like 50 601 maybe yeah and and I think the time before that it might have been like 470. So if you look at the top end of 5A like those schools I think are at like 680 690 so essentially you're putting a a school with that's turned in like a a 330 340 number and with a school that's putting in you know six eighty six ninety that's I don't know how I don't know how fair and balanced that would be yeah but I mean exactly exactly a little you know I think most a lot of states are using like a one two or a one three um multiplier.
SPEAKER_05I think a one five high but what Stan saws did in the past was usually a one three or something like that.
SPEAKER_03So yeah but uh I think because that's an all-boys school I think they double it and I don't know if that's gonna um I had heard that they were just gonna stick with that multiplier but even from that standpoint I think our our our population you know if that's gonna be something to look at I think our male population is smaller than our female population. So you know like I said I don't know there's uh a lot of things we would have to look at and see you know where we would go from here. On to this year, which I know that's the most important thing on to this year what's the main difference between last year's playoff team and this year's team well I mean I think a lot of it is um you know the you know coaches always talk about buying I think you know the kids our players kind of bought into the uh the idea that you know we're gonna show up and compete every Friday night and I think we did that enough times to work our way into the playoffs. We still have a long way to go. I think we did a good job of getting some kids in the building that were not playing football. We've gotten those guys out. So our our our numbers have increased um gosh almost twofold you know I think we had like when I showed up I think we had like twenty two players and I think we've doubled that by now so you know getting getting the the players in the program getting the kids out retaining those kids from from junior high to high school I think um you know getting we created an opportunity to where those guys are are working out and and doing things and got to me involved um and created that culture and then that's a big thing for me you have to create that culture in the weight room and I think we've done that you know over the past year or so on understanding that you know what you need to do to prepare and setting a standard for yourself and holding yourself and holding each other accountable that's something that uh that the kids have taken to you know the past 24 months and you know I felt like we've come a long way coach from what you've seen this year so far what are the strengths of this team? I mean are offensively uh defensively you know tackling you know catching throwing give me what your strengths are with this team so far you I I think we did um I think we did a good job at times running the football I I think you know matter what what level you're what level you're playing this game at you've got to be able to run the ball you've got to be able to stop the run and um I think defensively our guys have come around I mean it's that it's that process of you know as an organization we try to develop football players regardless of what your position is we're gonna teach you how to run block tackle and do the things that need to be need to execute on Friday night and I think taking that approach we've you know developed some some uh some depth some guys that can play a couple different spots and I think when you do that I think kids get a a better understanding of the game. So I think our football IQ has improved a lot um you know the discipline I think is getting there where we need to be the taking ownership of your responsibilities not just not just as it relates to football but as it relates to the classroom doing the right things in the building I think the kids have come a long way I think we'll be able to run the ball. You know we've got a couple backs that I think are gonna be pretty good. Our offensive line play's gotten gotten uh much better and and and then defensively I think we've we've got a little tip on our shoulder a little bit we play we play defense with a little bit of an attitude um we're starting to embrace the physical aspects of the game in a way that I like so I think in those areas we've made uh we've made a lot of strides division play talk to me about because I know it was a little bit different for you know setup but as far as division play this year just talk to me and let me know what do you how do you think you match up with the other teams in your division well I mean I think our division is very solid you know Stanislaws has a new coaching staff uh you know coming in I think they've always had you know I'm I'm well well aware of the the the customs that they have over there and how they how they are how they develop young men um they're gonna be tough Kyoto and West Marion are are gonna be you know reloading I think they've they've lost some seniors um but uh you know they're they're just physical athletic football teams um and then PCS PCS you know they're extremely well coached they're gonna have probably one of the better quarterbacks in the state so we're gonna have a work cut out for us um you know I think we'll be better I think we've got you know a lot of guys that are returning that have played some meaningful downs of football and that's important to um to have that experience when you get into district play but we're still gonna have a lot of young guys playing yeah potentially we're gonna have you know a bunch of a lot of sophomores playing on the offensive line so you know a lot of guys get played some meaningful downs of football but um but it'll be it'll be uh you're gonna have to fight every week in that district there's no there's nobody that that's gonna be able to rust on your laurels.
SPEAKER_05Do you think the young guys are ready for varsity football?
SPEAKER_03Uh you know I I think they are I think um you know we've what we're asking them to do I think is is consummate with with a sophomore meaning like we're not we're not gonna be very complex in our scheme. We're not gonna do things that uh we're not gonna try to outwit you we're gonna be we're gonna try to be a physical football team and uh put those guys in a position to be successful.
SPEAKER_07Coach we appreciate you much we thank you very much and we hope to have you during the season on as much as is possible to it AC it's always good it's always good to sit down and talk to you guys thank you appreciate it good friend and uh you take care of yourself we'll talk to you soon thank you AC we'll talk to you soon looking for trusted legal guidance on the Mississippi Gulf Coast Joseph Kelly attorney at law has been serving the coast since 1993 helping families protect what matters most from estate planning to securing your legacy Joseph Kelly provides experienced personalized legal services designed around your unique needs with decades of knowledge and estate law you can plan with confidence knowing your wishes will be honored and your family protected. Call Joseph Kelly Attorney at law today at 2284673400 or visit the office at 114 Main Street Suite 102 in Bay St. Louis Joseph Kelly Attorney at law here for you serving the Mississippi Gulf Coast since 1993.
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SPEAKER_05And we will move to our next guest who really doesn't need any introduction from me is my good friend and Super Talk news reporter Caleb Sailors. Caleb covers all of the Mississippi colleges along with all the news for the state's largest media syndicate Super Talk Mississippi News on Supertalk.fm and has the statewide scoreboard show for Friday night football to report the scores during high school football season. How are you my friend? I can't complain how about yourself well I hope you're doing a lot better than old misses right now but uh yeah of course that uh that's kind of closed it out here I've saw it's uh 12 to eight and there's two outs at least on uh the the bottom of the ninth and uh you know just talk to me about you know it I'm not saying anything one way or the other but then being in the loser bracket talk talk to me about where they go from here if you know this is the end of the season what's going to happen to the team after that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah I mean Olmus is going to aggressively hit the portal. I mean Olmus already got Halsney from La Tech a first baseman or infielder he could play kind of multiple positions in the infield um committed. So they're they're already aggressively rebuilding got a pitcher from South Carolina upstate and then are trending to get a catcher out of TCU and so they're they're going to aggressively hit the portal and have to replace a lot of guys I mean Judd Udermark and Will Furnace those are four year seniors that have been at Ole Miss since you know right after the 2022 season got there in 2023 and have played ever since then and now their their runs come to an end and and Ole Miss is also going to have to replace you know all three of its starting uh weekend rotation most likely I mean Hunter Elliott could come back but the chances of that happening are slim but they're losing Taylor Rabe. He's draft eligible Cade Townsend who's projected to be a first round pick so they're gonna have to aggressively hit the portal but you know they'll they'll find guys and build a roster but yeah you know Ole Miss is they got to Omaha for the first time since 2022 and it's looking like that run has quickly come to an end.
SPEAKER_05Yeah you know that was uh it's definitely yeah I think the game just got done actually Troy pulling it out 12-8 and of course that Troy team who has been a really hot team you know all the way across the board and you know I I don't think you know should feel bad about that because they they've been they played they they beat the the mess out of Florida obviously this but um so they have three pretty good I thought the rotation the starting rotation was pretty good this year um you know are those guys all coming I mean if any of those guys have the opportunity to come back will they and how many players do you should expect from the old Miss baseball team going to go in the any of the Major League draft in July I mean yeah yeah like I like I was saying earlier I don't think Ole Miss is going to keep any of it starting weekend rotation Hunter Elliott, Taylor Reigns, Kade Townsend I expect all those guys to be gone.
SPEAKER_02Several guys going to the draft those three specifically Will Furnace and Judd Udermark will go to the draft too I mean that's kind of their only option at this point unless they want to maybe sell insurance or something but and there will be other guys with an opportunity to go to the draft. Dom Decker comes to mind as second baseman for the Rebels I I would expect him back at Olmus next year. But if he does get a good draft grade then that's another guy they could lose Will Libert a left-handed pitcher who ended who began the season as the Sunday starter and then it didn't wind up sticking that way. They ended up going to Taylor Rave on Sundays but he's another guy too that if he gets a favorable draft grade he could be gone a Hudson Calhoun reliever same way. But if not those guys could come back and then Ole Miss it will probably retain Owen Payno at shortstop and Hayden Federico who's been the center fielder though there's been word that he's been tampered with pretty hard by some other SEC programs but it'll it'll be a rebuild for sure. Austin Foley catcher uh has some pro prospects but is is expected to come back and we'll see what happens there.
SPEAKER_05Well not meaning to end the the season for you because I obviously wanted the the old Miss Rebels to be able a little bit farther in the baseball season but for you and me both this is the incoming of college football season on the horizon.
SPEAKER_02The SEC released its upcoming college football times this week was there anything that shocked you from the in-state schools or them playing on the road or anything as such repeat that question for me Hunter I I didn't catch the tail end of that the the SEC of course released the college football times this week was there anything that shocked you from the in-state schools on the timing wise or on the road this year you can just give me your perspective on that at least um when the SEC released the schedule uh earlier last week yeah I mean kind of kind of par for the course I nothing out of the ordinary from what I expected I've obviously Ole Miss gets a couple of night games early in the season. Actually all three first games are going to be at night the Rebels will play Louisville at night on a Sunday in Nashville and then get the home opener versus Charlotte at night and then um and then Ole Miss will play LSU of course at night though that might be a little dangerous in Oxford that one hunter and then there's a lot of those flexed windows where we'll see what time those games end up. Ole Miss did get a couple of morning games that Auburn game comes to mind and that kind of screamed 11 o'clock anyway but it what it what I did see though is how many games they're expected to play on ESPN and ABC. And it shows that you know Ole Miss is one of the premier tickets in college football this year. I mean especially with Trinidad Chambless and Keywan Lacey coming back and then all eyes being on Pete Golding and how he kind of handles year one as a head coach. You know, one of the things I took away is that the slots were kind of put in an advantageous position for Ole Miss to be in the prime time slot, whether it be 230 in the afternoon where people are kind of relaxing, getting settled in or at night where literally all eyes are on college football.
SPEAKER_05The NCAA has been conducting an investigation and some prominent college football individuals like Nick Saban made some recent comments about Ole Miss to Congress on some of the problems at least with their program I guess more of an editorialized thing than anything else. Give me your thoughts about his comments and about you know kind of the NCAA kind of starting to look for something at least in the uh the the sanctioned level and uh putting putting something a priority that people need to look more at Ole Miss at what's going on.
SPEAKER_02Yeah I thought Nick Sabin's comments especially the shots that he took at Ole Miss were beyond disingenuous. I mean Nick Saban is a guy who was you know I mean if you if you were around Alabama football circles you know that that that thing was not above board all the time especially with you know new recruits getting brand new vehicles and you know the alleged handshake agreements where you know cash was allegedly being transferred from a bad man to a player. So a lot of sanctimony him taking a shot at Pete Golding for you know allegedly tampering with Luke Farelli out of out of Clemson. I mean this is nothing that no college football coach has done in at the highest level especially ones that have been successful. So it seemed like it was out of place. And then for him to take a shot at how Trinidad Chambless got his injunction too I mean this is a a case that was ruled that Trinidad Chambliss had a legitimate reason to seek an injunction had a legitimate reason to vie for an extra year of eligibility as he only played you know two and a half full seasons of college football. And so I thought some of I I understand where Nick statement is coming from in the sense that you know there does need to be a sense of order in college football. The game has kind of gotten carried away with regard to the transfer portal, endless transfers and tampering I get that those things have run him up but but to take aim at one specific program when every other program is doing these same exact things while also not admitting that you did the same exact things when you were a head coach it it just fell on deaf ears to me and it it probably fell on deaf ears to a lot of people who looked at Saban and said Buddy you were the the king of doing this.
SPEAKER_05Exactly Kill do you have any expectations of any marquee moves made before the SCC media days in July and if you do let me know.
SPEAKER_02Later this week Southeast Louisiana um this is is trending you know for for some high level uh prospects out of the high school ranks Caden Moss offensive tackle from Jackson Academy comes to mind a couple of offensive linemen but as for any kind of fireworks or any you know big revelations before SET Media Days I really don't think that's going to happen. I think we'll hit a lull to where we kind of have an eerie calm like a odd quiet uh before we get to SET Media Days and then all the fireworks will erupt on what does Lane Kippin say at SET Media Days and how does Pete Golding respond and you know and then some of the other sideshows as well.
SPEAKER_05Phil we feel very good always to talk to you let everybody know how they can kind of get in touch with you.
SPEAKER_14Yeah you can find me on X Caleb Saylor's STM and then you can find me by searching my name on any other social media platform and most importantly you can find all my work at supertalk.fm take care my friend thanks honor many the best and now my next guest is someone that I talk to virtually every week the WGSO radio host we're in the red zone and breakfast with the Bayou Bengals my friend Mitch Gibbs Mitch what are the some of the expectations about LSU and what they are lacking to carry them over the to the top to the playoff level because as you and I have spoken about that's a concern you know that for most of the LSU coaches and things that there's a little bit too much expectations that they're gonna win 10 11 games being the playoff getting to the championship give me your uh your thoughts well the um yeah the I think that the fans need to be um careful about expectations because you're bringing in a lot of new players you got a new coach head coach who's very good at the portal and I think they did fairly well but these are guys that have really never played with each other and you know you get a new quarterback you know Nussmeyer's gone and so um and and then the SEC I think has become more of a uh uh there's more balance in the SEC so I don't think you're you get as many easy games I think everybody can be challenging although you don't have to play like an Alabama Georgia who was like very difficult to beat as you know LSU's record was not great when Saban was at Alabama and so uh I would be guarded I I list them as a bubble uh um team in terms of making the playoffs I know we're gonna have 12 at least this year uh I'm not sold on Lane Giffin completely either so I kind of disagree with some of my peers in the media uh I think he's a guy that you know obviously he's confident you're gonna win a bunch of games with him but uh he's never won an SEC championship he's never uh been in the playoffs before and so uh you know you got to got get all these new players that have to you know work together so you would think LSU will get better later in the season uh the only problem is they get to play Clemson the first week of the season I know it's at home and it's a revenge game because they beat Clemson last year in the other Death Valley. And then you got to play Ole Miss early in the season on the road and Lane Kibben's already kind of Fired up the base, uh, which it which I didn't think was a really great idea. I mean, all the way left was not great. And then he threw out some other stuff. And so uh that's gonna be really tough. So they had really two tough games in the first what four games of the year, playing Clemson and Ole Miss. So uh man, if they get through those two games and they're undefeated, then we could be talking about a different situation. But I don't think that's gonna, I think they're gonna lose at least one of those to Ole Miss. So uh I think everybody should say, you know, the first year it's gonna be a transition period, and uh, you know, if if they make it, it's like Lanyap or Gravy that they make the tournament. I don't think it's probably gonna happen. And uh, I think you just have to be a little more patient, even though you're bringing in Lane Kiff.
SPEAKER_05Is this why you think that Ed Orchon was brought in to help recruiting purposes? Because as you know, Kiffin's been great in the transfer portal, but among the high school ranks, he is not even close to being the top level.
SPEAKER_14I think a lot of decisions LSU's made is because there's a lot of frustration. I think whether it's with basketball or football, that uh, you know, you know, what is the standard at LSU? I don't know about basketball, but in football, it's like we should be competing for a national championship every year. And they spent a lot of money with Brian Kellen. He was not, it was a not only was it on-the-field disaster, it was a PR disaster as well. And then they, you know, they had to pay him a lot of money to move on, they had to pay Lane Kiven. And right, Lane Kibben's strength is obviously the portal, but it's not great uh with recruiting high school kids. And we know that uh wherever he's been, Orgeron's been fantastic with recruiting. That's that's his probably his best skill. So that was done for that. But it's it's it's just interesting that LG's bringing in uh like uh they're bringing in offensive, uh, I mean, a uh a uh uh a new basketball coach who they've fired, and they're bringing in a uh uh uh ex-football coach they fired to be their their uh they got to work on on uh you know bringing in players, so recruiting expert or whatever. So it it just sounds to me LSU really wants to win badly, and they're willing to work out a deal with anybody to get to that position.
SPEAKER_05His Tulane decided on a quarterback, you know, as you know, Will Hall struggled during his time at USM. How much you know, talk to me about that at least when quarterback. Well, I don't think there's a question after that.
SPEAKER_14Yeah, they they they lost a guy who was really progressing, the uh transfer from BYU. And now I think there's like a three quarterback battle for the starting position, and and yeah, Will Hall didn't it didn't go well at Southern Miss. And I think that's one of the criticisms was they really were not very good offensively, and so it was you know, and again, this was a situation where uh Tulane thought they had Blake Baker to who was the LSU defensive coordinator, and you know, I guess you gotta get get Lane, give Laden Kiffin credit. Uh if Blake Baker's the right guy, and I don't think LSU's defense was that great at times. You could argue injuries, whatever. Perkins was pretty healthy most of the season, but I mean there were games where LSU's defense did not look great. I'm not a big Blake Baker guy, but they they kept him, and that's what Tulane's first choice was. And I think Tulane should have hired uh Billy Napier, the old UL coach, who uh you know it didn't work out at Florida. I think Tulane would have worked out, I think he would have been a great pick, and so now they don't they're in with Will Hall because it was kind of the 11th hour kind of situation. So uh, you know, they got the new practice facility, right? They got the bubble right off Claiborne, so they're spending money on the program. And Tulane does have my, they don't have LSU money, but they got money, and uh, you know, it's it's almost like the Saints situation, uh, where I say the NFC South is very winnable because it's not that great. I think Tulane's conference is not that good either, and so that helps Tulane as well. But I think I see Tulane being um in I still think Tulane could is gonna lose a couple more games than they have in the past. They might be able to win the conference, I don't know, but I think they're an 8 and 14, maybe. I'm guessing.
SPEAKER_05How long do you think the athletic department donors will give Will Hall to provide some type of quality team for the Green Wave?
SPEAKER_14I mean, in the old days, I would have thought he would have a lot more um flew a lot more flexibility, had it, we would have more time. But you know, Tulane's been uh, you know, they've had two good coaches that have uh maybe inflated their expectations. And so now I think the uh, and then the with the the more money they're spending on on football with a new practice facility, I think there's gonna be more pressure on Will Hall. Uh I just think that this could be a transition coach. If in uh and and so, with all that said, yeah, I think that if things don't go well, this guy might not be here that many years. And um, and then you you but the problem is is is Tulane was was going through two very good coaches and had a lot of success. I mean, they were in the cot won the cotton bowl with one of the coaches, the other coach, they made the playoff tournament. If things don't go well with Will Hall, they're not gonna be in the same position, the leverage position that they were uh going into. And it's and it's awkward the fact that Tulane could even get their first choice to be head coach after all the success they've had in the last several years. So that would really concern me if Will Hall doesn't work out that that Tulane is gonna have a tough time attracting a big name coach. That's why I think Billy Napier would have been a better fit uh for the for being the Tulane head coach.
SPEAKER_05What is the top detail the the Kellen Moore New Orleans Saints need to be focusing on, improving?
SPEAKER_14I would say the running game. I mean, they brought in this the the uh the the left guard from Buffalo, uh, who everybody is raving about. Um, you know, uh they've drafted what excluding this past draft, I think four of the last five drafts, they drafted an offensive lineman in the first round. So they should be pretty strong um, you know, on the offensive line. Uh and uh and they didn't run the ball well at all last year. And then they brought in Travis Etienne, who, when he's healthy, has been very good. He had a good year last year with um Jacksonville, makes me wonder why he left. I guess maybe the Saints offered him more money. Uh, and then Kamara's situation is so awkward because you know they don't they haven't really made a decision on Kamara. Kamar shows up at OTAs a couple of weeks ago. Um, and a lot of people think he might not be on the roster, but I kind of feel like he's got one more year in his contract, and Travis Santian's had an injury history, so I would probably think uh the Saints should keep Kamara, but Kamar might think, you know, if if you're not really sold on me, just release me and let me play for, you know, try out for somebody else. But they got to run the ball better because you know that the whole thing about last year was one side you're like, oh well the Tal Chick was throwing the ball well, he developed um, you know, because he he didn't start in the beginning of the season, he was making all the right passes, and uh and he didn't have much of a running game, but then he was playing nobody really, and so you you kind of figure out which way is it gonna be. We're gonna find out whether this year, I think whether the Saints, whether Tyler Shuck is really gonna be the franchise quarterback, or was it just kind of a mirage in the sense that the competition wasn't that good? Because even though I don't think the schedule's that that difficult, the first two weeks are gonna be difficult because it's gonna be at Detroit and at um Baltimore. So uh, but I would say running, if you ask me, one thing that really needs to improve is running game. They got to run the they shucks not gonna be good enough to to get over the hump with with no running game, so that requires the health of Travis Etienne, and um they're just gonna end their offensive line to run block.
SPEAKER_05Mitch tell everybody how they can contact you.
SPEAKER_14Yeah, so we uh I'm still doing the show in New Orleans State. We had a great show. I know you participated at uh PJ's coffee on Canal Boulevard, which was really cool in the in the Lake View area, and uh gonna wrap up June and then take a little break uh in July, and then we'll be back in August to be doing the uh, of course, the Saints radio show in the red zone 17th season. Uh really proud of that. And then LSU, I think I've been 11 or 12 years now, breakfast with the Bayou Bengals will be, of course, the the Saints show will be on at lunchtime, which I like that Friday at lunch, again, you know, you know, discussing the uh upcoming games at Premier Nissan and Mattering on Veterans right off the I-10. And then we're gonna be doing it at this Irish pub in Covington, the LSU football show in the morning. And uh that'll be starting, they'll both be starting in Saturday, uh in August, and that'll be the first Friday and first Saturday uh of the of the month of August because we're we're getting closer to, as you know, we got meaty days coming up in SEC in Tampa Bay, Florida, and then we've got uh Saints training camp going on, mini camps uh going on this week. So we're getting closer and closer to college and pro football.
SPEAKER_05Thank you, my friend. Thank you. Finally, let me introduce one of my good friends, the big easy Crescent City Sports Writer, Les East. Les has won Louisiana Sports Writer of the Year multiple times. Les, how are you, my friend? Doing well, Hunter. How are you? I'm doing well. Les, how are the OTAs for the New Orleans Saints coming along this year? And is there anything that we're learning?
SPEAKER_13Uh, I don't think we're learning a whole lot, uh, but that's not a bad thing because I don't think you ever learn a whole lot of OTAs, at least not anything that's good. You know, somebody could get hurt, somebody could make a lot of mistakes, and a red flag goes up. But it's really hard for people to stand out in a positive way. These guys are running around without uh pads or helmets. The uh the main reason for the workouts that they have is to get their fundamentals uh back in shape and to get the timing down in units so that when training camp gets here, they can start immediately practicing at a fast pace where everything is second nature to them. So this is really as basic as anything can get. No one's really gotten a serious injury, though they are holding back a bunch of people out of a out of an abundance of precaution. So some guys have been missing, but uh it's really hard for people to stand out this time of year, but nothing has stood out in a negative way. Uh, so I think that's a positive.
SPEAKER_05This was a heavy offensive weapon draft for the Saints. Talk to me about why they went down this road rather than focusing on something defense, a young defensive staff building something from the interior.
SPEAKER_13Yeah, I think there were a couple of reasons for that. One, last year the defense was uh ahead of the offense. It had a uh a pretty good season, a very good second half of the season. And so they need to get the offense up to speed with the defense. Also, the most encouraging thing from last season was the way Tyler Shuck played in those last nine games. So their best chance to make a leap this year and perhaps even get to the playoffs is maximizing what Tyler Shuck can do. But he didn't have enough weapons last year. So they uh they bolstered the offensive line, they added a lot of skill at wide receiver in the uh draft, especially. Uh they added Travis H in as a running back, and uh they strengthened the tight end position. So they went all in on trying to take full advantage of what they have in Tyler Shuck, and that's clearly their greatest hope um for having a breakthrough season this year.
SPEAKER_05Based on the schedule, Les, how big are these road matchups start to start the season, including with Detroit and Baltimore?
SPEAKER_13Yeah, I think it's important in in sort of uh intangible way. I mean, you know, every game counts the same ultimately, except division games because of tiebreakers. But if you start off 0-2 versus 1-1 or 2-0, that can be psychologically damaging. It can be harmful to your confidence. And so getting off to a good start is always important. And with the the two teams they're gonna open up with, I believe it's with Detroit and Baltimore, uh, who both figure to be good teams, opening with them on the road is very challenging. So uh yeah, you always want to get off to a good start. But I think if they can get off to a good start at least one and one in these first two games, that would be significant for them to build momentum uh as the season gets going. And certainly a two-0 start would be tremendous.
SPEAKER_05True, true. As you you know, the there's their schedule at least is pretty optional after it goes from the first two. So I think you're certainly right about that. The NFC South Division appears to be pretty wide open. Uh, give me your thoughts about that. I mean, unless if you've seen something that I haven't, but it looks to me like the the Falcons and Tampa are in a lot of question about their own franchise, and I'm still not really even sure where Carolina's at, but the Saints look like they could be moving in the right direction. Talk to me about that.
SPEAKER_13Yeah, I think they are, and uh, I think they have as good a chance as anybody to win the division. You might even say that there's potential for them to have more of an upward trajectory than anybody else. You know, Carolina's a team to watch because they're young, they have a young quarterback, uh, still a relatively young head coach. They broke through last year to win the division, although it wasn't because they were great. It was because they were slightly better than everybody else in a mediocre division. Falcons are going through a major transition at coach and quarterback. Uh in Tampa, maybe where the Saints were about four years ago. The Saints had won four straight uh division titles, and then uh, you know, Drew Brees leaves, Sean Payton leaves, and all of a sudden they've been in a rebuilding mode. Well, Tampa's kind of uh on the hot seat after winning four straight division titles. They didn't make the playoffs last year. Uh their coach is on the hot seat. Uh nobody's sure if Baker Mayfield's gonna be the answer going forward, even though he's had a nice few seasons there. So a lot of question marks with both Atlanta and Tampa Bay. Uh Carolina's breakthrough last year, I think, was uh encouraging for them, but they they still have a lot of question marks. So I think the Saints are right there in good shape to win this division and maybe be the team to watch over the next few seasons because of Tyler Shuck and also how much younger this roster has gotten in a short period of time, as well as having Kellen Moore, who looks like a bright young head coach entering just his second season.
SPEAKER_05Finally, uh final question for you, Les. Uh, has Tyler Shuck developed some type of chemistry, uh, whether it be OTAs, whether it be mini-camps, anything as such with the the new wide receiver unit as a whole?
SPEAKER_13Yeah, he definitely has. He's kind of taken uh the leadership role as the quarterback should, uh putting together workouts with these guys. They've been working out at local high school sometimes when they haven't been at Saints Camp, uh doing team activities. They've been uh he's been gathering up the wide receivers and they've been working together. You know, they drafted three guys, they traded for two guys last season. Uh Jalen Polk didn't play at all because of injuries, and Devon Vayle didn't get to play a whole lot, and then Chris Olave has been limited in uh OTAs. So that there's a lot to be accomplished there in terms of timing and familiarity, and he's done a good job of getting everybody together as much as he can so that they can uh hit the ground running at the end of July when training camp begins. Things overall, there's reason to be a lot more optimistic this year than the last few years, although the the this is not a team that's guaranteed anything, but it's legitimate to feel better about them at this time of year.
SPEAKER_05Tell everybody how they can contact you, my friend.
SPEAKER_13Yeah, thanks, Hunter. They uh they can find me on Facebook. I'm on X at Les Underscore East. And as far as CrescentCitesports.com, I've already filed the first three installments of a 10-part series analyzing the roster as we lead up to the start of training camp. So if folks haven't seen that, they can go back and read the first three, and the fourth one will be posting this week as they have a mini camp Tuesday and Wednesday to conclude the off-season program. We thank you very much, my friend.
SPEAKER_05We look forward to hearing from you again.
SPEAKER_13Thanks, Hunter. Always a pleasure.
SPEAKER_05We gratefully appreciate you listening to this podcast, and Jeff, we thank you again. Okay, uh, definitely think this was a good one. Uh, we had a lot of good information, uh, you know, a lot of uh middle of America route type things, and so uh I think that I did uh follow the song correctly with most of the guests and everything as such.
SPEAKER_04So it's a great song. You couldn't go wrong. There was no way you could do that, and thank you. You know, so it's such an awesome song. Uh, while you were doing this, I was sitting here reading an article on ESPN.com that even though the uh trophy hasn't gotten cold on the Knicks win, they got three teams already predicting to beat them in the playoffs thing. It's like, come on, y'all. Like, just just let them be the champs for a day. It's hadn't even been 48 hours. So one of those teams is San Antonio, and I'm like, mmm, did did y'all they they just really beat San Antonio? Oklahoma, San Antonio, and the Celtics all have a better chance than the Knicks. So there you go.
SPEAKER_05And uh, you know, I bet uh I bet they can't wait until the New York City parade, because that that I bet that's gonna be pretty huge, this is what I what I like about your show, man.
SPEAKER_04It's just it it's not pontificating and uh uh trying to be controversial. It's just people talking about sports. It's good. You know, you do a great job with it.
SPEAKER_05We thank you. We want to thank all of our sponsors, Jeff, including the Beau Revage.
SPEAKER_04Boy, there's a bunch of them. Yeah, there is lengthy list.
SPEAKER_05The Beau Revage Resort and Casino in Biloxi, nine toes brewery in Pasker's Chand, O'Dwyer Realty Agent, Stephanie Mankowitz, Joseph Kelly's attorney at law, the Coast Casual in Pasker's Chand, the insurance barn in Gulfport, and the Mississippi Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo at Jones Park in Gulfport on the July 4th weekend, and finally the U.S. Marine Inc. Make sure you follow us on the gazebozzette.com where the podcast will be posted next week. As also, Jeff, now we're on YouTube, and I think you can find us under the Gazebo Gazette Productions. Am I correct?
SPEAKER_04Yes, sir. That's how you look it up. You can you can search it up. So we're under Gazebo Gazette Productions, is our homepage there, or you can just search HD Experience and it'll pop up. There you go.
SPEAKER_05There you go. And as well as on Facebook.com backslash the real gazebo Gazette, or we're on X and Gazebo Gazette is the handle. The HD Experience is available on all podcasts, including Apple, Spotify, iHeart, Amazon Music, and anything we're not on, you let us know and we'll fix it. But we're under the HD Experience tagline. Signing out, this is Hunter Dawkins. I'm the host of the HD Experience, and we'll catch you on the flip side.