Richard Cross, from Sports Talk Mississippi & SEC Network broadcaster, tells McElroy & Cubelic where the biggest problem is for Ole Miss & why he's changed his thinking on the Rebels' schedule
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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.

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So, remember, if you have a problem with your electrical, plumbing, heater, air, just pick up the phone and call the Bears. 205-497-BEAR. It's 497-BEAR. All right, Richard Cross covers Ole Miss and joining us here live on Radio Row, SEC Media Day. Does it feel different to you so far? Dallas? Not so far. It's like Paul said, this is a little bit of a rinse and repeat with, like, this hallway and how it's set up, but...

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 well,

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 reason why.

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.

You know, to me, the question when you're talking about, you know, is an offensive line great? It's 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 know, 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, you know, 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. I've been made aware of how big that 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, well, okay, what are you taking away for defenses? And are you going to focus on Juice Wells? And 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. Literally, it feels like two years ago. When I first looked at it, I was like, okay. Did you know Texas, although you were in the SEC this year also? There's buzz about that. I 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. 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. Okay.

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 know, you open up with the non-conference games, the road trip. The non-conference is a deal. Yeah, yeah. 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.

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 obviously think Arkansas is gettable. Then you have LSU. I think Florida's game is tough. I think the LSU game is 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 Vama 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, um...

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 and 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,

Michigan's going to be in that neighborhood. Michigan's going to be... Some people have Florida State and or Clemson in that neighborhood. Not me, but some people will. 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. Enjoyed it, dude. 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 McElroy and Kublik in the morning by subscribing to the podcast. Mythically, he's grown. He's almost like a little bit bigger than a

A player, right? Like the myth of Bo Jackson. Like, rate, and download the show from the Jock Cup or wherever you get your podcasts. When you have sports mixed with your pop culture, along with humor and celebrity interviews, your earbuds are enjoying the Rich Eisen Show. Good to see you, Bruce Feldman. The Big 12 landscape. I just know how Dion is, where he's coming from. His wins are measured differently.

The question is, as you said, it's got to go from four to eight. I think they can do that. It would be hard not to get better considering how bad they were on the offensive line last year. Now, their schedule actually feels harder this year than it was last year. Search for The Rich Eisen Show on YouTube or wherever you listen.