7-15-24 McElroy & Cubelic in the Morning Hour 1: SEC Media Days - Day 1: Clark Lea, Paul Finebaum, Richard Cross
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Welcome in. McElroy and Kubelik. SEC Media Days, Day 1. Jax 94.5. Appreciate you tuning in. Listen online at JaxFM.com. McElroy and I are going to be here live from Radio Row at SEC Media Days all week. Day 1. GMAC, welcome to Dallas. You're on the list with me already. Okay. Do you realize that you've already...

Because I didn't invite you to dinner last night? No, no, no. Dinner was out last night. It should have been out for me, too. You actually would have loved where I ordered food from. It's called Big Guy's Chicken and Rice. And literally, the logo is a guy that looks like he's 700 pounds. I was like, this is what I'm getting. That's me. It was pretty legit. The problem is it was coming from a really sketchy part of Dallas. So I'm glad that I didn't pick it up. Okay. But you got a Starbucks order.

I'm sorry. My order was asked for, and I figured yours was already. Mine was asked for, but I wasn't in the early wave.

I'm not sure why I was. They actually asked me to pick me up from the airport yesterday, too. Really? I've officially made it. Let's ride. The network's asking me if I need a ride from the airport. Let's go. I'm not going to lie, though. I haven't had hot coffee in a while. I'm an iced coffee guy. You're iced coffee every morning. I'm kind of digging the hot coffee change-up. Nothing like a good sweat to get media day started here in Dallas. I was hung out off the plane yesterday.

It doesn't have to be hotter than Alabama. And then all of a sudden you get here and it's hotter than it was. Texas is different, dude. This place is too hot. It's a concrete jungle, too. You know what's crazy? And I was talking to my Uber driver about this last night. I'm from Dallas. And I've spent a majority... Well, Alabama. I lived in Alabama longer than anywhere now. But outside of Alabama, I've spent more time in Dallas, Texas than any other place in the world. And I have never been to this part of Dallas.

Never? Never. My wife and I ate at Reunion Ball, that ball that's all lit up. Oh, yeah, yeah. The night that we got engaged, and that was the only time I've ever been in this part of Dallas. We obviously did go to Reunion Arena back in the day. That's where the Stars and the Mavs played, but that was for about three years prior to the American Airlines Center opening up.

But this part specifically, the Omni where we're at, never been here. Okay. I will say the setup pretty good. Radio Row is already cooking in full effect. We are a little bit down towards the end of the row, but we got a lot of folks set up, a lot of folks going. It feels like the attendance is going to be solid. I think you wondered how many people maybe from the eastern portion of the footprint of the conference would still come or not come.

We're going to have the folks from Tax Ag right next to us. They have like 17 cameras and halo lights, so they're all important. Oh, we got Lucci next to us? Well, I mean, he only actually shows up for about five minutes of show. But, yeah, he'll be there at some point. We'll have him hop on A&M Day a little bit later in the week. But anything that you're – I mean, just first impressions of SEC Media Days in Dallas. First impression is that this is by far –

The biggest accommodations we've ever had for a media day event. Like, it's not even close. I mean, and it's just not that surprising. I mean, Texas, everything is just big here. I think there's going to be a ton of folks here. This is probably the first media days that I've been looking forward to. I mean, like, really actually excited about in years. Partly probably because my school has a new head coach.

But I think the additions of Texas and Oklahoma have another layer of buzz. There's a whole new contingent of people that are going to be here. Like, for instance, our sister station, WTCK in Dallas, which is more lovingly known as The Ticket, probably one of the biggest in Cumulus' family.

They have eight different guys that are going to be doing shows live from here. And that's a Dallas radio station. So to think that they're now in the midst of the Rangers, which are a pretty good baseball team, and Dallas sports is basically pressing pause on everything else going on in order to

appropriately cover SEC Media Day. So I think it's just cool. There's just a different buzz this year than there's been in the past because it's kind of rinse and repeat with the other years. Absolutely. So we'll have a lot for you today. We've got Paul Feinbaum. He's going to join us here at our table in 10, 15 minutes. Just talk to him about his expectations, what's coming up today. When are you on television today? Oh,

I was supposed to go on at 9.30, or 9.05, but I'm now going on at 10.35, so I got some time. Clark Lee coming in, right out of the gate. What are we doing? We would love to get Clark on the show. How you doing, man? It's good to see you. Yeah, I can't keep up with all the schedules now, though, to be honest with you. It's wild. Good to see you, Coach. Right out of the gate. You want to put the headset on and go? Hop on, bud. Let's do it.

I can't keep up with the schedules now. I feel like with adding two teams, I feel like they've added 17 coaches. It's been hard to keep up. We won't get shut out this week. We've got Coach Lee. No. Coach, how are you doing today? We'll get the volume going here.

Am I right here? Yeah, there it is. Absolutely. I'm doing so well. How are you feeling? You look great. Have you guys been here since like four in the morning running the show? Not that early. We've been here about half an hour, I guess. A little bit later. What a fun time, huh? Absolutely. A little bit different here in Dallas. Got some new teams in the league. There's a lot of new for you also. A lot of new. I'm excited about your new offensive coordinator. Excited about the quarterback position. Had a chance to call that team a couple times last year and

some of the additions you've made to your staff. How is all that coming together for you so far? Well, it's a process. I mean, we've kind of taken the full plunge into what college football in 2024 looks like. We've got 53 new players. We've got new coaches, obviously. And so I said this yesterday to a group of Vandy supporters, just I think program building is –

has changed a lot, you know. I think team building, you know, is still the same. So we have to take the time to get to know each other and use the summer to build connection. And certainly part of that is connection with the new systems and language. But I think there's an interpersonal part of this that's important too. But all of it, you know, has been really encouraging. And I think one of my fears with the portal was,

You would somehow undermine the culture you've built internally. The guys that we've brought in have actually enhanced us. I think there's really been a positive change, having new attitudes, new approaches, new experiences. I think the guys that have come in have really appreciated the things that make our program unique. We've had a great summer.

Looking at the two guys in particular that are most notable to me outside of the players, Diego Pavia might be Cole's favorite player of all time. Yeah. You've been talking about him forever. He hasn't lined up at guard yet, so I don't know if I can get into that. We got a decent laugh out of them beating Pavia.

Auburn last year because that was Cole's favorite player and it beat his team. Super awkward moment for him and the show. But looking at Tim Beck and in addition to him, Jerry Kill. And those guys, I mean, Jerry Kill, to do what he did at New Mexico State is insane. I mean, anybody that knows that job is wild. So did you put an additional layer of importance on the fact that they could do it at a place where very few had and that's kind of

What maybe made them maybe even more attractive to you? I'm going to give you the long-form answer to this, if that's all right. We played Auburn, I think, the week prior to New Mexico State. I was at Syracuse back in the day. We played Minnesota when Jerry was there. It was right before he had to step away. It was in a bowl game. I'd always admired him as a guy that's built programs, and I think a part of that is always had a mind for –

you know, um, you know, wanting eventually to take my turn at Vanderbilt and knowing that, you know, he, he had a formula in his career that, that would work, you know, for what we need to do here at Vandy. Um, I ran into him a few years ago when he had just taken the New Mexico state job and had a chance to finally meet him and exchange numbers and just followed his progress. But, um,

When I saw that game, well, go back. One of the things I recognized in their year two is they opened the year with a loss against UMass. And when I saw that, I was hurt for Jerry. You know, I know he had a great first year, and I was hoping for him to build on it. They rattled off a bunch of wins in a row, including the win at Auburn. It came the week after we played them. And I just was like, I became obsessed with it because it's like there's the formula. You know, this is the anatomy of what it looks like.

And so I started to study the game. And I would watch the film from the first snap to the last, all three phases. And what I saw was a disciplined team that was well coached, that was tough.

Again, when I put the film on, I expected on offense to see some 6'5 quarterback that had fallen through the cracks. Instead, I saw Diego, and he throws a pick early in the game and suplexes the linebacker on the sideline. I thought, who in the world is this guy? Tim's offense was creative. It wasn't gimmicky. And so my goal at that point was to...

take the staff out to Las Cruces and visit with them in the offseason. I hadn't made decisions about staffing changes. As that came to the forefront of my mind and what I needed to do, it was very natural for me to look at New Mexico State and went out and interviewed Tim and felt really strongly about it and actually interacted with Jerry on that. It just worked out that it was time for Jerry too. So what a great thing for me and what a great thing for Vanderbilt to have those two guys on board. Obviously, Tim...

the offense and Jerry really serving as a senior advisor to me. He oversees a lot of the operational stuff offensively, allows me to focus on the defense, which is my responsibility now and

It's just been a great, it's great to have his perspective every day. You know, I think for me, look, I know we've done a lot of really good things and I feel really good about the process. We just haven't had the results yet. And so it's very easy for anyone who's built anything, whether it's a business or, you know, again, obviously a football program or whatever. You know, you can always start to have doubts creep in. And yet I always come back and say, man, we've done so many things the right way.

Having Jerry there in my hip pocket is just another person that can say, this is going really good, but hey, you might want to look at this. This is a place where we can strengthen.

And that's given me just peace of mind knowing that we're looking at all those operational systems. Everything that serves our program is being scrutinized, and it's moving us forward. So I'm grateful to have him. And, look, I'm going to be 43 in the fall. I tell Jerry all the time I feel like I've gotten about 20 years younger having him on my staff. I'm interested quickly. I know you need to run. You've got a lot going on today. From sort of a defensive lens, how do you look at that offense? Yeah.

You brought up creative but not sort of gimmicky. I feel like it's exactly what an offense is supposed to be. It's the ultimate take what you give us. It does have some options inside of it to force conflict defenders. It just...

But it's almost oversimplified when you watch it. Like, how could this not work? That's what I see when I watch it. It feels like it should work on every play almost. Yeah, it's the art of keeping the ball in play. And I think I was talking to Diego about this the other day. I see his style of play show up in our pass shell, you know, like –

You say take what the offense gives you or defense gives you. That's exactly what it is. It's knowing where to go with the ball when you need an escape. And then the run elements, you know, this was the number 14 rush offense in the country last year. And they did it in ways, again, it wasn't like they're reading the edge with the quarterback and having Diego outrun people. I mean, they found ways to...

create extra gaps with the quarterback run. They did it formationally. They did it with motions. And those are the things that we have to have, right? We got too stagnant. In fact, there was a study we did on unbalanced formations from a year ago. And in our league, I think we were second to last in the number of unbalanced formations we used. Well, we're not creating an advantage if we're not doing things like that to try to outnumber, to create a gap.

And those are the things they pay attention to. So it's been refreshing. It's been a pain in my butt to defend, you know. So I think that's always a good thing. If it's causing me stress, then it's going to cause someone else stress eventually. Coach, we appreciate the time. We're going to let you run. Thanks for stopping by. Always great. I love talking football with you. Yeah. This is a great way to start for me. So I appreciate you guys. Thanks a lot. Clark Lee, Vanderbilt head football coach, joining us next. Paul Feinbaum with us after the break. Live from SEC Media Days, McIlroy and Kubelik in the morning.

Catch up with all things McElroy and Kubrick in the morning by subscribing to the podcast. Mythically, he's grown. He's almost like a little bit bigger than...

A player, right? Like the myth of Bo Jackson. Like, rate, and download the show from the Jock Tap or wherever you get your podcasts. Michael Roy and Kubelik in the morning. Starting off with Clark Lee right out of the gate there. Vanderbilt head football coach. We'll now go to... I'm glad you saw him because I would have had to contort my body. I didn't see him. You're like, Clark Lee. I'm like, where is he? And he was already past me at that point. It must be like a bald thing.

That's it. We just know where each other are. That's how Paul just gravitated over here to the show. I thought that was my devil gang. Paul, first impressions of just SEC Media Days Dallas, which has never been done before. You've never had this. No, I mean, on one level, it looks very similar. It does. A lot of hungover.

sleepy-eyed radio guys just looking for the free coffee. That much hasn't changed, much like it was back in the day when I was a sports writer. But other than that, it has a big feel to it. No disrespect to

anywhere we've ever been before. I thought you were going to do it. My first apartment in Birmingham was in Hoover, so I'm about to start on them now. I thought you were about to throw some barbs at our city. I was about to be kind of sad. No, I love Hoover. I was back in Hoover a couple weeks ago with a lot of people. But the difference is you walk in and you don't see all those Alabama fans. Yeah.

That is definitely different. What are your expectations from the sort of the Oklahoma and Texas media contingency? Not the guys who cover the beat every day, but just the bigger, like Greg said, Dallas sports is going to kind of stop for a few days here, and a lot of it's going to focus in on media days. The ticket, like, you know, the ticket, the 1310 here in Dallas, that's one of the biggest radio stations in the country.

I just gave them a resume. Yeah, they have like 10 people that are credentialed and they're going to be here. No, I met their market manager in Austin two weeks ago. And, yeah, I mean, that was probably the thing I've noticed the most is that –

When you get a market like this, and for those who don't know, this is one of the greatest sports markets in the country. That is important because the SEC is in Austin now, but it needs to be very prominently in Dallas, Houston, places that really carry a lot of weight in the country. I was telling Cole in the first couple minutes of the show,

media days is kind of rinse and repeat and you can almost in the last seven or eight years kind of count on one hand how many really memorable moments there were uh i can remember one probably responsible for two or three of them you were sitting right next to me i've seen that picture a few times i was the long story short it just feels sometimes like the coaches now are super buttoned up they know we live in a world in which news travels fast and they just don't want to say anything and

And they're very, very guarded. But this year does have some buzz with the additions of Texas and Oklahoma and the amount of new faces that will be here. So of all the media days we've done together, Paul, this would be number 11 that you and I have been together. Where would this one rank for you? I think from an anticipation standpoint, it could be the biggest because, again,

We have been counting this down forever. And we all were here a couple weeks ago for the celebration. But again, it was fun in Austin and Norman. But it was also July 4th week, and a lot of people were scattered and lost.

This is different. I mean, people waking up this morning going, okay, flip on the SEC network, flip on you guys, flip on. They know the football season has finally arrived. This isn't a holiday week any longer. And so I think it's very high. Texas, Oklahoma is part of it. Nick Saban leaving Alabama is another part of it. The usual suspects that we've talked about.

all year long. But it isn't the start of the football season, but it is. And I know that sounds contradictory because we have this pretty long gap after this is over, but this is when it starts entering the mind of those who don't swim in it every day. People go, oh yeah, a

College football. And until now, it has not been on the radar at all. I think every year in the last three or four media days, Paul Feinbaum joining us live. He's with us each and every week thanks to Crane Works. We're curious about what Commissioner Sankey is going to say, wants to say, the points that he wants to hit. This college football landscape, Paul, is ever-changing. Is there anything that you feel like you really want him to address, feel like he needs to address today? Well, I think he'll hit all the hot points because, I mean, he is –

as you guys know better than anyone, it's just not the SEC commissioner. I mean, he's...

He's like the Fed chairman appearing in front of the Senate Banking Committee and what he says is going to move the market. So what he says today is going to be reacted to by Charlie Baker, the NCAA president, and everyone else. So I'm pretty sure we won't hear any surprises. I mean, I would like to hear as a fan, you know, where is the SEC moving in terms of its conference number? But that was seemingly...

addressed briefly in Destin and it just seems like it's on hold. This may be more of a television decision than a conference decision, but we'll get the nine games at some point.

But I think he'll spend a lot of time on Oklahoma and Texas because that's on his mind, in addition to the laundry list of NCAA issues, which are pretty large. You mentioned the nine-game conference schedule. It would be great to get confirmation that that's coming in 26. Just looking at the SEC schedule versus the Big Ten schedule and the amount of quality matchups, I just think there's more that can be had there. And I know, like you said, it's more television coverage.

We'll be right back.

Do you expect him to comment on anything like that today? No. I don't think he's going to say, no, we're out of the Florida State and Clemson sweepstakes. Yeah, I mean, I think that is one of the trickiest areas. And listen, Greg is...

very smart and he knows that's out there. I'm sure he's got a fairly standard line there that goes back to what you heard from him three years ago. And so I don't think even if asked, he's going to go very far or give very much away. So in the event in which the SEC did decide to expand, I'm sure you're probably talking to the same people I am,

What do you think would be at the top of their priority list as far as expansion is concerned? Well, Greg, you and I know some of the same people. And what they are saying – by the way, I'd like to find somebody new that you could talk to on that. That would be really nice. There really aren't very many people. First of all, the amount of people that –

know that is very small. But it's North Carolina at the top. And I think after that, it's a little bit unknown. There's a million different theories. Would North Carolina take someone with them? Or would they just sit around? But the one thing I feel pretty confident of, though, is that if something happens in the next couple of weeks, it won't be Florida State going to the SEC. I mean, it just seems like...

They have shot themselves in the foot on that. I don't think Clemson is in as bad a shape, but they are now lumped with Florida State. Paul, we were talking at dinner last night about the teams in the league this year. Georgia, I feel like, is separated a little bit from everybody else. You could take maybe Texas, Alabama, and then people would maybe exchange Missouri, Ole Miss as teams, maybe kind of Tier 2, knocking on the door of Tier 1. But that next group of teams feels like,

There's a logjam of teams that have a pretty big leeway between could be 9-10 win teams or could be 6-7 win teams if one or two things don't go well. Which of those teams interest you the most? Or which of those teams do you think has that chance to be knocking on the door of Tier 1 by the end of the season? I mean, it's literally like watching Turn 4 Talladega. I mean, you've got five cars coming around side-by-side training paint. I did cover NASCAR once, Greg.

Well, in fact, he knew about Turn 4. I was going to say, don't we have a Dallas track we could reference? Texas Motor Speedway. There you go. It's over in Denton, pretty close to where I grew up. I think it's probably Tennessee. I really like them. They have the same questions as everybody else, but that is a logjam. I was on a plane last week, and some guy said, hey, who do you like? And I go, Georgia. He goes, Georgia? What about LSU? I'm like, what? It was an LSU fan. But, I mean, I think that's the problem. You have fans from LSU, and

and from countless other schools who really believe, why aren't we in this? But right now, I think you're going to see the same three or four up here. I mean, Ole Miss is probably the most intriguing team. There's a negative to Ole Miss that they haven't been there. It has nothing to do with whether they will get there or not. But, I mean, they should be in it. I was talking to a former coach the other day, and he was pointing toward Eli Drinkwitz. Like he said, why aren't people talking more about him?

I think they are. But the problem is after the first two or three, and I think the most interesting thing is from going back to maybe late winter to now is where Alabama has come from. I mean, I think the fact that

that DeBoer has recruited at such an elite level, you no longer have to say, well, I think Alabama's in the playoffs. I mean, I think when you said that maybe a couple months ago, people said, no. But now it seems to fit very well. Well, Paul, we always appreciate you. I got one more. I want Paul to just make some headlines quickly. Honest question, when I think about this, I really don't know the answer. I really don't.

I look at the schedule that Texas and Oklahoma have played for the last 15 years, and it pales in comparison to the schedule they're going to face this year. With all due respect to the Big 12, it's just not the same. Texas is likely going to be second, maybe third, in these polls that come out here in the next couple days. Do you anticipate any growing pains for these two teams as they transition in?

There'll be some, and I totally agree with you on the Big 12. I'm not sure if you offer me $100 right now, I could probably name all the schools in the Big 12. I really just don't know, and frankly, I don't care. There's 16. Yeah, I mean, I know Colorado's in because I was asked the other day, do you think they'll make the playoffs? And I was laughing so hard I had to be rushed to the ER. So...

I can't imagine you ask that question. I think Oklahoma is maybe the school you're a little more concerned about. The folks in Norman are very realistic, though. They know who they are, but they also know that they're in a transitional period. But they like where they are. I think they'll be there. I think Texas is a playoff team. They may get upset by somebody, Greg, but I think they have enough.

that they can afford that. And that's really what this season's about. You can afford that loss. It's not over. You don't have to fight all the way back like we've seen Alabama over the years. They lose that early game maybe in 14 and 15 to Ole Miss, and they're literally up against the wall the rest of the way. Absolutely. Paul, always good stuff. Look forward to hanging the rest of the week. Thanks for stopping by this morning. Pleasure, guys.

There you go. Paul Feinbaum, ESPN, the SEC Network. You will see his show live from SEC Media Days all week. See him on the podium. I think he's listed to be with Saban at some point, just the two of them. That'll be good to kind of reminisce there. Reminisce. Well, they've been in a little dinghy before out on the lake. You mentioned something there at SEC Media Days that they've had a conversation about before. There's been a lot there that they've gone through. What year was that?

I'm going to guess 18. I don't know why I threw that number out, but I feel like that might be right. I've been doing this circuit for 11 years now. Honestly, I can't get over the fact that it's 11 years. Pat Smith just tweeted out that this is year 31 for him covering the SEC. It's a lot. It's a lot. That makes him 92.

He looks pretty good for 92. I would not have realized that he had started at 57, but I respect that. But I don't know. I can't believe how many of these have done, though. I know you probably feel the same way. It's just crazy. Time flies. It does. And I can confirm that the Texas heat feels very similar to the Alabama heat and humidity. It can be brutal. Don't let it affect your home and family. Keep them comfortable with an affordable train cooling system. Train is our official partner here at Jock's.

Recognize as America's most trusted brand 10 consecutive years. Find a comfort specialist near you at train.com. All right, so on the docket today, LSU Ole Miss, South Carolina, Vanderbilt. We've heard from Clark Lease. We've got one head coach out of the way on the show. Paul Feinbaum just joined us. He's with us every week thanks to Crane Works. Richard Cross can be with us a little bit later. We'll talk about this Ole Miss football team. It's one that...

I think it's difficult to find holes in sort of that next tier, tier three, Greg. We can talk about a lot of different teams and say, well, they don't have this or their depth here concerns me a little bit. If they only had that position. When you really start going through this Ole Miss roster, it's tough to find that spot that sort of makes you feel uncomfortable just from a roster perspective of picking them to be one of the better teams in the SEC. Yeah, and honestly, I think it's really, really tough. Kind of like what you asked Paul when you kind of set him up.

You get past Georgia at one. Like, Georgia, I think, will be, I don't know. If they're not a unanimous, they're going to be a unanimous. There's always a couple idiots that will vote Vanderbilt, you know, to win the SEC and whatnot. Which is fine. Yeah, whatever. I mean, but, like, you really think about, like, two through 11. The other day, I put out my top 25. I have 11 teams from the SEC in my top 25. And that is, like, you know me. I'm going to call it how I see it. Like, that's no inherent bias. I really believe that Auburn, who I have at number 25...

is a top 25 team. Whether or not their record will reflect that is TBD. But A&M, to me, top 25 team. Kentucky on the outside, but really close in that discussion to being a top 25 team. You really think about it, man. The depth of this league is absurd. And ranking teams 3 through 11...

It's going to be really, really unique for the first time in a while. I agree. It's one of those things where there's so many teams that if – listen, I understand from a quarterback perspective we could say this every year. If they were to lose a guy or two, that's going to make it much more difficult. But it just – not even quarterbacks, just other guys on other teams. Let's take Tennessee, for example. They lose Cade Mays, I think they're in trouble.

They lose their starting running back, I think they're in trouble. I think it's just going to be a significant downfall from what they have, what they need. Like Keenan Peely again. If they lose Peely again this year, I think they're in trouble. Not that that means they're going to be a 6 or 7 win football team, but if you're talking about competing for a spot in the playoff, it could be very different football teams. Like LSU defensively. They don't have a lot of room for error over there. They can't lose a lot of guys.

So I wonder from that perspective if that's what's going to be the difference between a lot of teams that excel and a lot of teams that are right there in that mix. Who's going to be able to move towards the top of the standings as the season progresses? If you're looking to move out of your home, though, or into a new home, it's pretty easy, GMAC. It's got to be Crocker Moving Services. They're a local company owned by an Iraq war veteran, Eric Crocker. Crocker believes in hiring moves you can trust to complete full background checks,

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It's crockermovingservices.com. Support your veterans by choosing Crocker Moving Services for your next move. All right, so we've got Richard Cross coming up later this hour. We're going to change speed a little bit in hour number two. The big boot cast, Sophie Hudson, Melanie Schenkel, are going to be with us. Talk some SEC football with them. Diehard SEC fans, if you haven't listened to the podcast before, it's funny. They're going to be an entertaining visit with us. And Greg Sankey at the podium at 9 o'clock this morning. We'll go live there and here. I asked Paul the question,

Is there a specific topic that you want to hear Commissioner Sankey address today? And just kind of get his opinion on where he is with it. Yeah, I mean, I really, really like, I feel like Congress is a disaster. So I'm not going to sit here and say that we're making major inroads in D.C. I just don't think anything's ever going to get done. It's an election year. Everything's shelved.

I just have a hard time thinking there's going to be a whole lot of transparency on that. I would like for him to pull back the curtain on the possibility of going to nine games. I think it's an inevitability. I think it's necessary. And nine games meaning the conference schedule. I'm over eight games. If you look at the conference matchups that the Big Ten has...

and the sheer quantity of conference matchups the Big Ten has compared to that of the SEC. Look, the matchups, to me, are more intriguing in the SEC, but there's more in the Big Ten. And I think you take the quality of the matchup and increase the volume,

we're cooking, um, in the SEC footprint. So I, I would like for that to happen. Uh, I'm sure he'll get asked about the possibility of realignment, but much like Paul, I, I don't anticipate a whole lot of clarity there. Um, I just don't know how much you can, like until Florida state and Clemson are available, how can you, how can you comment on them in good conscience? Like you just can't. So I don't anticipate anything there. Um,

I think you'll see with Sankey today, we saw Southwest introduces the official airline of the SEC yesterday. I think you're going to get another one of those today. Think Tots. I think you're going to get... So think Tots? Correct. I think you're going to get some news. You would know that. We're going to get some... I'm trying to get realignment scoop. You're trying to figure out who's the official tot of the SEC. Yeah.

We are birds of a feather. I love it. I think you'll get something that was really cool about watching the UFL this year that could be coming to the Southeastern Conference soon. I think you'll get some of that today.

But those are going to be minor. We'll have open microphones on the OCs and DCs. That's it, yeah. We're going to be listening in to Bobby Petrino call plays for Arkansas. It's going to be a blast. We'll listen in to what Kirby's saying to his quarterback when he comes off the field after a pick. That'd be perfect. No, that's really what I want to hear. I've lived that nightmare before. Why was Kirby bothering you after a pick? Because they probably were pitching a shutout and I gave him the short field. Who knows?

All right. More from SEC Media Days. Richard Cross will talk Ole Miss with us right after this on McIlroy-Kubelik in the morning. The capital of the sports talk nation. This is Jux 94.5 and JuxFM.com. Hurry and. All right.

All right, welcome back in. McIlroy and Kubelik in the morning live from SEC Media Days. Monday, July 15th, right here on JOX 94.5. Richard Cross joining us here in just a moment to talk some Ole Miss. We mentioned that roster, just trying to find holes in it. It's a little bit of a difficult practice.

We'll be right back.

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Still Dallas. It's Texas. It's a little different. We got the giant helmets this year. It's a new touch. The giant helmets are new. But travel was easy. It was Memphis, jump on an hour flight, get here, and boom. So that was nice. Speak for yourself. Connections in Atlanta delayed yesterday. We were talking about this Ole Miss roster before we went to break, and it feels like, Richard, that if you're just going roster, just players, and you're trying to pick holes in certain teams' rosters as players,

to find out where they're going to finish this season, it's difficult to really find a problem inside of this roster. What's most problematic to you, I guess, as far as this Ole Miss roster? I don't know if it's a problem, but I think a question going in is corner. You look up a guy that was a freshman two years ago, Davison Igbenoson, is now potentially a preseason All-American, preseason Big Ten guy at Ohio State. You'd love for him to still be in the mix. He's not.

Yeah.

And then, you know, if you could add one more piece at linebacker, I think there is maybe a little bit of a question there. I think they're going to be okay at that spot. But, you know, there's experience returning kind of in the secondary, just not necessarily at that corner spot. So that's probably where I would go for at least the areas that are a little bit of concern and you're kind of in wait-and-see mode at those spots. What about the offensive line?

I look at the additions that were made from Washington. I mean, I think they're fine players. I'm not going to sit here and say that they are. Hold on. Koleppo's a very different guy than what they've had. I'm not saying he's not. I just don't think he's Orlando Pace, 2.0, or Quentin Nelson. Okay, well, there's been two of those in the last 30 years. I think he's fine. I think he's solid. For sure. I think he's very solid. I just don't think he's going to necessarily...

be a guy that's going to move a ton of people off the ball in this league. I think he's a solid player, though. And the offensive line, I think, is something that I am a little curious about. Is it something that's keeping them up at night, or do they feel pretty good about it? I think they feel good about it because there's depth there that hasn't been there. I mean, you've got three guys that were starters a year ago that are probably going to be backups, but that's a ton of experience in the SEC. Now, were they good enough to be starters in the SEC? I guess that's a recent question.

But when you go, you know, the two guys from Washington, you had Jerquan Scott, and he comes in from Southern Miss. And so you might go, well, hold on, you added a group of five offensive linemen. He was really, really good in pass protection and, like, has allowed, what, two sacks in three years or something. He's super athletic. So I think they feel like they've got a bunch of experience on the offensive line.

To me, the question when you're talking about is an offensive line great, can you run the ball when

when you want to run the ball and the other team knows you're going to run the ball. And if you can do that, then now you've got an offensive line that you're talking Joe Moore award type stuff. Is that what this group is? Probably not. But I think with the experience you've got at quarterback, obviously there's some question with the running game, with the departure of Quenshawn Judkins and the weapons that they've got in the passing game, you're not asking an offensive line to hold defenses off for four and five seconds.

You've got a guy that knows what he wants to do with the football. He's got the pieces to get it to out there. And so they need to be better. And I guess it's kind of famously now, after that Georgia game a year ago, when Lane Kiffin said, if we want to compete for a championship, we've got to look like them. Because we don't look like them right now. They look a whole lot more like a Georgia or a vintage Alabama or LSU offensive line than they have in the past.

First Joe Moore Award shout-out, 744, day one, GMAC. You're welcome. Nate Koleppo and Julius Bulow. Do you guys get a piece of the trophy if you transfer? You get your own personal trophy that they can take with them to Oxford and have them. It'll be there. Wow. It would be hard to carry the big trophy. You're not going to get that big one. I've been made aware of how big that thing is.

What do you know? What is the status? What are you hearing about Juice Wills? Because we know this ride that he was on in Columbia last year was a little bit weird at times.

But when he's going and he's good, there's not a lot of guys in the country that are better than he is. And I think the question is whether or not he's healthy. Didn't do anything in the spring. Supposedly, and they're not super forthcoming with injury information, he has progressed well and has been moving, working with guys during the summer. I think they expect him to be full go when camp starts here in a few weeks. I mean, to me...

That's a pretty important piece. We did a deal where we kind of ranked our ten most important players for Ole Miss a couple of weeks ago, and I had him in that group of ten because of –

If you've got a fully healthy and motivated and engaged Juice Wells, that surely makes things easier for Trey Harris. Surely it makes things easier for Jordan Watkins. And now you throw Caden Priestcorn into the mix at the tight end spot. And a couple of young guys that didn't do a whole lot a year ago. Aiden Williams in particular is one that stands out. Then...

it kind of becomes, okay, what are you taking away for defenses? Are you going to focus on Juice Wells? I think he's the one that gives you more of the ability to kind of take the top off. Not that Trey Harris can't do that, but to me there are some pretty significant weapons there. What about as far as the schedule is concerned? I look at the schedule, and at first, when I first looked at it,

granted when was it when did they release it I don't know it feels like a year ago I believe it feels like two years ago when I first looked at it I was like okay do you know Texas although you were in the SEC this year also there's buzz about that can't cannot quite confirm it but I have sources out on the prowl here in Dallas telling me whether or not they're going to play an SEC schedule

It feels like forever ago since I looked. When I first looked at the schedule, I was like, okay, that's manageable. Now that we've gotten a little bit closer, maybe I'm just feeling differently about different teams. I feel like the schedule is much more difficult than I originally thought. Not saying it's as hard as Georgia's, who has to go on the road to Texas, Bama, and Ole Miss. But I think it's a little bit more daunting. So how do you feel about the schedule more so than kind of the team?

I think it sets up well. You open up with the non-conference games, the road trip. The non-conference is a deal. Let's not even waste time on that. So they should win all four of those with the road trip being to Wake Forest. Yeah. Should win them convincingly. Should. Yeah.

Yeah. You get into league play and you get Kentucky at home. That's a game that you feel like you should win. The road trips are, what, South Carolina and Florida. South Carolina, Florida, and Arkansas. I just think Arkansas is gettable. And then you have LSU. I think Florida's game's tough. I think the LSU game's tough. And then I think having to play Oklahoma at home is challenging as well, along with Georgia. So I think it's a tougher schedule than I...

I just think maybe it's partly changed because I feel a little better about Florida and I feel a little better about Oklahoma than I did when we first got the schedule released. You know, I actually feel a little better about Florida as well. I did their spring game and kind of saw them. And I know there are a lot of people that are really down on Billy, and I get that. I think Ole Miss probably gets Florida at a good time in that it's at the end of the year. Now, you might prefer not to play that game the week before the Egg Bowl. Yeah. But the Egg Bowl a day later this year, it's not Thanksgiving Day. So...

Look, what are you looking at, right? I mean, what is the goal? The goal for Ole Miss, bar none this year, is to be in the college football playoff. And that's kind of a – Ten and two gets in there. Yeah. Ten and two. The non-conference could hurt them, but I think ten and two gets in there. Don't you think? I don't think there's any question. I just think, look, after last year's experience –

with Florida State and Bama and the non-conference debacle. But that was for four spots. I get it. Not for 12. I get it. I don't disagree with you. I just think if you have a 9-3 that played a ridiculously tough schedule in the non-conference...

versus an 8-4, or a 10-2 that played this non-conference schedule. I could see it being brought up against them. Yeah. But I still think it's hard. It's hard to imagine a team in the SEC that goes 10-2 doesn't make it. But they're also starting from a good place, right? They're not starting outside the top 25, and they kind of climb into the edge of it because they went 4-0 and it's nobody in the non-conference, and say they got to 7-0. I mean, this is a team that's going to start in the top 10, probably in the top 7. At the lowest, I think. Yeah. I mean.

I mean, it feels like six or seven is probably where they're going to be when, you know, whatever polls come out. Seven feels right. Okay. Don't you think? Yeah, I think so. I mean, Ohio State, Georgia, Texas. Ohio State, Georgia, Texas. Oregon. Oregon, Bama. Some people are going to have Alabama up there. And then they're going to be right there alongside Missouri, Notre Dame, Penn State, Alabama.

Michigan's going to be in that neighborhood. Michigan's going to be... Some people have Florida State and or Clemson in that neighborhood. Missouri's a team that's not being talked about enough because of the schedule that they play this year. I mean, there are a couple of speed bumps in there, obviously.

But that schedule, I mean, if they're what we think they're going to be, and kind of a carryover from a year ago. They've got that long runway like Ole Miss does early to be able to figure things out. Richard, always great stuff, man. Thanks for hopping on. Good visiting with you guys. We'll catch up again soon. Richard Cross joining us to talk some Ole Miss. We'll be back with more from day one, SEC Media Days, live on Radio Row in Dallas right after this. Catch up with all things McIlroy and Kivlik in the morning by subscribing to the podcast. Mythically, he's grown. He's almost like a little bit bigger than a 30-year-old.

A player, right? Like the myth of Bo Jackson. Like, rate, and download the show from the Jock Tap or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, welcome back in. SEC Media Days, day one, live from Dallas, 7.54 a.m.

Monday, July 15th on JOX 94.5. Next hour, Sophie Hudson, Melanie Schenkel from the Big Bootcast could be with us. I'm sure other guests will stop by. Greg Sankey live from the podium at 9 a.m. Gary Stokin gives us an update from the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at 9.45 as well. Give you some insight into the Kubik family. Well documented that I've had some sleeping issues, mainly because of my back in the past.

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Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, who we've talked a little bit about today. LSU going to be here today, GMAC, and that's a team that I think we've got some questions about, but also some areas that we feel really good about. Is there something specific you'd kind of like to see Brian Kelly address today about his football team? I'm curious a little bit about what they're going to do defensively. Maybe a little bit more from a scheme standpoint.

And outside of this, oh, we're moving Harold Perkins to middle linebacker. I'm just a little more curious about how that's going to work. Well, not so much that, but as much as identity-wise, last year's unit was a read and react unit. What's this year's unit going to be? Are they going to pin their ears back and go? Because that's what I think they're going to be. And if that's what they become, that should actually suit them really well.

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We'll go into LSU just a little bit more. South Carolina also here day one as well. Live from Radio Row in Dallas, SEC Media Days 2024, McElroy and Kublik in the morning. More after this. This is McElroy and Kublik in the morning. At your job, do you ever have to deal with a nose roller? How about a snub pulley?

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