Latest / The Jake Wimberly Podcast / Michael Katz Interview

Transcript

Michael Katz Interview · The Jake Wimberly Podcast

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  Speaker 1: Okay, we're back.
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  Speaker 2: I'm ready.
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  Speaker 1: It's more The Afternoon Drive with Jake Riverlake. Where he's
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  Speaker 1: live and local. On Jackson Sports Authority. ESPN 105.9 The
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  Speaker 1: Zone and online at thezone1059. com.
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  Speaker 3: Taking you through your Wednesday brought to you by friends
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  Speaker 3: at Dr.
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  Speaker 2: Pepper.
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  Speaker 3: And, of course, get over to thezone1059. com and click on
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  Speaker 3: the big Dr. Pepper logo, Dr. Pepper College Football Sweepstakes.
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: Take Dr.
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  Speaker 3: Pepper with you wherever you go, to your tailgate, your
• 0:48
  Speaker 3: home gate, or your office, or take one to the house.
• 0:50
  Speaker 3: Put one in the car for the road, whatever you
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  Speaker 3: want to do. Do it at Dr.
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  Speaker 1: Pepper.
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  Speaker 3: You can click on that link, and, of course, it
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  Speaker 3: will take you a redirect where you can register for
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  Speaker 3: a chance to win the tickets to the college football
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  Speaker 3: playoff and to the national championship. Make sure you're also
• 1:03
  Speaker 3: following Michael Katz on X. Check him out, the Northeast
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  Speaker 3: Mississippi Daily Journal. Ole Miss with a big week one
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  Speaker 3: matchup coming up this weekend against Louisville. Katz, welcome in, brother.
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  Speaker 1: How are you doing?
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  Speaker 4: I'm just happy there's almost football here because I swear
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  Speaker 4: every day the news cycle gets crazier with some stuff
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  Speaker 4: happening in Baton Rouge. So I'm just glad that we
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  Speaker 4: are almost there.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, we've seen– before we get to Ole
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  Speaker 3: Miss and Louisville, let me get your take on this.
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  Speaker 3: We've seen times where, you know, like when the U
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  Speaker 3: was coming up and there was issues and you knew
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  Speaker 3: there was issues or Florida State and, you know, Shoe
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  Speaker 3: Gate or Tattoo Gate at Ohio State, you know, things
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  Speaker 3: just kind of burned and churned and then things happened.
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  Speaker 3: And then programs maybe because of culture just kind of collapsed. Man,
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  Speaker 3: they went in down there and they have just lit
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  Speaker 3: the whole place on fire in like four months down
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  Speaker 3: in Baton Rouge.
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  Speaker 4: I mean, it's just something new every day and it's
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  Speaker 4: not even always stuff that like, actually like happened recently.
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  Speaker 4: I mean, the latest stuff today from, you know, the
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  Speaker 4: excerpt of a book coming out, uh, was backing from
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  Speaker 4: stuff in Tuscaloosa and, uh, yeah, it's just, it's, there's
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  Speaker 4: always something and it's, you know, I, you gotta, it's,
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  Speaker 4: it's wild because, you know, this is a, an LSU
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  Speaker 4: program that is, uh, you know, they're a national power
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  Speaker 4: and then they take themselves really seriously and they don't accept,
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  Speaker 4: you know, bad seasons. We just saw that with Brian Kelly, uh,
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  Speaker 4: They fired him after eight, nine win seasons. If the
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  Speaker 4: shenanigans keep happening and they lose some games, it'll be
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  Speaker 4: interesting to see how long everyone puts up with it.
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  Speaker 3: Michael Katz on your radio. Get him on X. Check
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  Speaker 3: him out at the Northeast Mississippi Daily and, of course,
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  Speaker 3: on Facebook as well. Wednesday edition of the program. I
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  Speaker 3: totally agree. I would say that most of the country...
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  Speaker 3: is pulling for Clemson on this weekend on Saturday night.
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  Speaker 3: Most people probably don't even know who Zanini is, the
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  Speaker 3: new quarterback. They'll be pulling for him. So it'll be–
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  Speaker 3: if Clemson takes this thing into the fourth quarter, boy,
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  Speaker 3: there's going to be a lot of eyeballs on that
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  Speaker 3: ballgame come Saturday night.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, it was automatically going to be a
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  Speaker 2: very highly viewed game just with it being an LSU
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  Speaker 2: game and an LSU home game and obviously Lane's first–
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  Speaker 2: Game there.
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  Speaker 4: All eyes were going to be on it. But, man,
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  Speaker 4: if this thing is close, like you said in the fourth,
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  Speaker 4: it's going to be really, really interesting to see how
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  Speaker 4: that goes. Because, you know, when he was at Ole Miss,
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  Speaker 4: sometimes the close games didn't go Ole Miss' way. Last
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  Speaker 4: year they did, and I think that was a big
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  Speaker 4: reason why, you know, they were able to have the
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  Speaker 4: sort of season they did. They won those close games,
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  Speaker 4: but that has not always been the case. you know,
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  Speaker 4: we might see right away what, you know, what LSU is,
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  Speaker 4: what they have in store.
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  Speaker 3: All right, let's move forward, Ole Miss, with a big
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  Speaker 3: one coming up this weekend against the Louisville Cardinals. And
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  Speaker 3: you're looking at a team who's, you know, had some success,
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  Speaker 3: nine wins in 2024. In 2025, they went nine and four.
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  Speaker 3: They had a three-point loss to Virginia. They had a
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  Speaker 3: three-point loss to Cal, a one-point loss to Clemson. I mean,
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  Speaker 3: you know, Jeff Braum has had this team, you know,
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  Speaker 3: Right there in the ACC, the line in Vegas, depending
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  Speaker 3: on where you're shopping around, is anywhere from six to
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  Speaker 3: seven and a half. Just your initial thoughts on the
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  Speaker 3: opponent before we get into some specifics.
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  Speaker 4: I mean, they're really good. I mean, this is a
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  Speaker 4: really consistent program under Jeff Brom. It seems a little
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  Speaker 4: bit different because, you know, they've had new quarterbacks, each
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  Speaker 4: Brom's first three years, or different quarterbacks. But they all
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  Speaker 4: at least had some experience, you know, going back to
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  Speaker 4: Tyler Shuck and Miller Moss and guys like that. This
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  Speaker 4: is a little bit different because Lincoln Kienholz, you know,
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  Speaker 4: doesn't really have a ton of reps despite being, you know,
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  Speaker 4: a three-year guy at Ohio State. But he's super talented,
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  Speaker 4: and it always seems like the quarterback position is in
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  Speaker 4: pretty good hands there. They play good defense. I think
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  Speaker 4: that always gets sort of, you know, we always think
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  Speaker 4: about bomb teams in the offense. they always play really
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  Speaker 4: good defense, and then they run the ball really well.
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  Speaker 4: They've got two electric running backs, Isaac Brown and Keywon Brown,
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  Speaker 4: who would be 1A and 1A on most teams in
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  Speaker 4: the country, but you've got maybe as good of a
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  Speaker 4: duo as there is in the country, and you've got
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  Speaker 4: a quarterback who, yeah, there's not a lot of tape
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  Speaker 4: on him, but he runs. He's a good runner. He's
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  Speaker 4: going back to high school. He's got to run for
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  Speaker 4: like 1,400 yards his senior year, so This is a
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  Speaker 4: really good team. This is not a gimme by any stretch.
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  Speaker 4: I mean, it's a top 25 matchup, so I don't
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  Speaker 4: know if anyone is expecting this to be like an
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  Speaker 4: easy game or a game where someone cruises. That could happen,
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  Speaker 4: of course. But as of right now, I think this
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  Speaker 4: is going to be a really, really good game. You know,
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  Speaker 4: first games of the season are always a little bit weird.
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  Speaker 4: Knocking off the rough, you've got new coaches and people–
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  Speaker 4: and new positions, new players, all that sort of stuff.
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  Speaker 4: I think there's a chance this is a really good one.
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  Speaker 3: No, I agree with you. I think it has a
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  Speaker 3: chance to be a good one. And, you know, this
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  Speaker 3: would be, you know, if you're talking about college football
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  Speaker 3: playoff aspirations, which Ole Miss obviously has, to get a
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  Speaker 3: win like this right out the gate, I mean, that's
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  Speaker 3: a good look for the committee.
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  Speaker 4: Is it not? Absolutely. You know, non-conference, you know, with
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  Speaker 4: the nine-game SEC schedule, you don't get a ton of
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  Speaker 4: opportunities now. In the non-con, and when you do have
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  Speaker 4: non-conference games, a lot of teams have opted to, you know, play,
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  Speaker 4: I hate to use the term, buy games. But, you know,
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  Speaker 4: and Ole Miss has a couple of those on their schedule.
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  Speaker 4: Games that, at least at first glance, look like they're
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  Speaker 4: going to be fairly anticlimactic in, you know, Charlotte and Wofford.
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  Speaker 4: But to have a game like this on the schedule,
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  Speaker 4: I think, is really big. And then if you look
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  Speaker 4: at it from Louisville's perspective, too, this is huge for them.
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  Speaker 4: Even if they aren't able to win the ACC, if
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  Speaker 4: you're able to get a win over a top-ten Ole
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  Speaker 4: Miss team in a non-conference game, I think you're feeling
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  Speaker 4: really good. Let's not forget, I know every year is different,
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  Speaker 4: but this is a little team that beat Miami last
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  Speaker 4: year in Coral Gables. There's a lot at stake in
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  Speaker 4: this game for sure.
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  Speaker 3: What about injuries? Any updates on injuries or things of
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  Speaker 3: that nature?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, as you know, I know it's a
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  Speaker 4: new guy in charge, but trying to get a precise
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  Speaker 4: injury update is akin to trying to get the nuclear codes.
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  Speaker 4: But at least as of now, I don't think there's
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  Speaker 4: anything particularly serious. Obviously some camp stuff, guys getting banged up,
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  Speaker 4: but it sounds like the spots that they're not concerned
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  Speaker 4: about But they were having to kind of work through
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  Speaker 4: some depth issues at corner and at offensive line. But
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  Speaker 4: none of those sounded like they were going to be long-term.
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  Speaker 4: So I think all things considered, this should be a
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  Speaker 4: fairly full-strength team.
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  Speaker 3: Let me get you on your way with this. There
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  Speaker 3: was a report earlier today that I can't remember who
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  Speaker 3: put it out that said basically not only LSU, other
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  Speaker 3: teams are looking at possible players to return. There might
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  Speaker 3: have been one or two, maybe not. I can't remember
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  Speaker 3: that Ole Miss had or even Mississippi State or other
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  Speaker 3: teams in the SEC. rosters have to be finalized 24
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  Speaker 3: hours prior to kickoff so Ole.
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  Speaker 1: Miss gets an extra day.
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  Speaker 3: Is there any guys lingering out there if things go
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  Speaker 3: the way of the teams at the SEC court hearings tomorrow?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, I think at least from what we've
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  Speaker 4: heard and from what Pete Golding has said, you know,
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  Speaker 4: unless there was a major injury and They needed to
• 9:02
  Speaker 4: kind of go on the free agent market, and this
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  Speaker 4: was him talking about some of the Ole Miss players
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  Speaker 4: who were trying to come back for another year. It
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  Speaker 4: sounds like they don't want to change the construction of
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  Speaker 4: this roster. I think they would like this roster. I
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  Speaker 4: think that they're confident in the pieces that they've put
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  Speaker 4: together and You know, again, I know it's hard to
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  Speaker 4: tell what's going to happen if you bring in new pieces. But,
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  Speaker 4: you know, listen, I do think there is something to
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  Speaker 4: be said for chemistry. And if you're bringing in new guys,
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  Speaker 4: you know, the week of a game, you know, who
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  Speaker 4: knows what that does to a team. So I know
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  Speaker 4: coaches are always trying to get the best players that
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  Speaker 4: they possibly can on their rosters. And that's never going
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  Speaker 4: to be– that's never going to change. But at least
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  Speaker 4: as of now– it seems like Ole Miss is pretty
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  Speaker 4: confident in what they have. But, of course, that's famous
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  Speaker 4: last words.
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  Speaker 1: No doubt about it.
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  Speaker 3: He's Michael Katz. Get him on X. Check him out
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  Speaker 3: in northeast Mississippi. He'll have you teed up for Ole
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  Speaker 3: Miss and Louisville coming up this weekend. Katz, have a
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  Speaker 3: great Labor Day weekend. I know you're going to be traveling,
• 10:12
  Speaker 3: so be careful. Safe travels, and we'll talk to you soon.
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  Speaker 4: Appreciate you.
• 10:16
  Speaker 3: Thank you, brother. Appreciate it. Michael Katz jumping on your radio,
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  Speaker 3: talking Ole Miss. Louisville coming up this weekend. It's one
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  Speaker 3: of the biggest ones of the weekend. Should be a
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: great football game in Nashville, Tennessee. I know several of
• 10:26
  Speaker 3: you guys and girls are going to be headed up
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: to Nashville this weekend as well. We're brought to you
• 10:29
  Speaker 3: by the Gurkha Cigar Lounge. Get out and grab you
• 10:31
  Speaker 3: a stick or two. Take them with you to Nashville.
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: Take them to Starkville. Take them to the house or
• 10:35
  Speaker 3: have it on the property with a Michelob Ultra Bud Light.
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: Drink it responsibly, courtesy of Southern Beverage. Back in a moment.
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  Speaker 1: Do you stay up at night thinking about the lack
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  Speaker 1: of push from your team's offensive line? Do you spill
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: your Dr. Pepper arguing with your TV because pundits are
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  Speaker 1: torching your defense? You're not crazy. You're a fan, and
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: no college football fan can fan to their fullest without
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: the bold, one-of-a-kind taste of Dr.
• 10:56
  Speaker 4: Pepper.
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: It won't fix any of the problems we previously stated,
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: but it's delicious, and drinking it at a tailgate will
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: make you look like a ball-knower, which is a great
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: consolation prize for the lack of push your offensive line gets.
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: College football, it's a Pepper thing.