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Episode 72-Wayne Madkin and Kentucky Game Preview · Johnny's World

0:22
SPEAKER_02: Welcome back to a new episode of the Johnny's World Podcast.
0:25
SPEAKER_02: This is BW here.
0:27
SPEAKER_02: I'm here with my esteemed colleague Johnny.
0:29
SPEAKER_02: How are we doing tonight, Johnny?
0:31
SPEAKER_03: Spooky.
0:32
SPEAKER_03: BW, spooky.
0:34
SPEAKER_03: Halloween.
0:34
SPEAKER_03: Halloween.
0:35
SPEAKER_03: Spooky indeed.
0:36
SPEAKER_03: It was last night.
0:37
SPEAKER_03: As we record this, Halloween was last night.
0:41
SPEAKER_03: And um cold weather.
0:43
SPEAKER_03: Uh cold weather.
0:44
SPEAKER_03: You did some trick-or-treating, huh?
0:45
SPEAKER_03: In the cold.
0:46
SPEAKER_02: Yes, sir.
0:47
SPEAKER_02: Did a little trick-or-treat in the cold.
0:48
SPEAKER_02: It wasn't as bad as I thought.
0:50
SPEAKER_02: Wind wasn't really blowing too bad.
0:51
SPEAKER_02: So gotta layer up, Johnny.
0:53
SPEAKER_02: You know, uh, learn from my dad, the wagon.
0:56
SPEAKER_02: He uh he taught me the ways.
0:58
SPEAKER_02: Uh he used to take uh when you go hunting, you have to take like five or six pairs of underwear and three or four socks, and and you're good to go.
1:06
SPEAKER_02: So followed the protocol last night, and we were just fine.
1:10
SPEAKER_02: That's awesome.
1:11
SPEAKER_03: You uh I heard you tell me you have some spooks coming out, like some spooky stuff.
1:15
SPEAKER_03: People jumping in.
1:17
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I tell you, Carrierville knows how to do up Halloween.
1:20
SPEAKER_02: There's some really good houses around here.
1:22
SPEAKER_02: They've got a uh a map that the town posts, and it's got all the houses that have all the cool stuff.
1:28
SPEAKER_02: And so you know me, I don't really like like to be scared, but I something got me last night.
1:34
SPEAKER_02: Something jumped out at me and got me, but it's all right.
1:36
SPEAKER_02: Wasn't too bad.
1:38
SPEAKER_03: That's good.
1:38
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, there was some spooky stuff here.
1:40
SPEAKER_03: Uh um went to um on campus at Mississippi State, uh, Allen Hall, sixth floor of Allen Hall, the offices, uh graduate studies.
1:49
SPEAKER_03: I'll give them a shout-out in case anybody listens.
1:52
SPEAKER_03: Um, they've been doing this haunted house.
1:54
SPEAKER_03: I didn't realize this every year, but um I saw it yesterday, like literally it was from I think 10 or 11 until two.
2:02
SPEAKER_03: And I saw it online about 12.
2:04
SPEAKER_03: Someone posted about it.
2:05
SPEAKER_03: So I messaged the person I saw and I was like, what is this?
2:08
SPEAKER_03: And they said, Oh, yeah, it's uh today and it ends at two.
2:10
SPEAKER_03: So I literally got up there about one.
2:12
SPEAKER_03: And um, man, I'm so glad I did.
2:14
SPEAKER_03: You know, I I told you I went to uh Halloween Horror Nights with our friend of the program, Juan Valdez, and and uh we went to all the haunted houses there.
2:24
SPEAKER_03: And I tell you what, the one at Mississippi State was the one that scared me the most.
2:27
SPEAKER_03: People were jumping out behind doors, and it was it was talking about spooky, it was really spooky, but uh it was so much fun um doing something like that on Halloween, and then and then got back and me and Bo took a ride and saw the trick-or-treaters in the neighborhood.
2:42
SPEAKER_03: And uh usually I sleep outside on the porch the night of Halloween and uh with the fire going with Bo and watch a scary movie, but too cold to sleep outside last night, man.
2:53
SPEAKER_03: It was uh I would have been frozen if I'd done that.
2:55
SPEAKER_03: But anyway, it was uh another fun year of Halloween, and now we're into the into noon month, uh November.
3:02
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, you got a you got a birthday coming up tomorrow, so happy birthday.
3:05
SPEAKER_03: Uh a day or you gotta check out some top golf, huh?
3:10
SPEAKER_02: I am, yeah.
3:11
SPEAKER_02: We just got top golf here in Memphis.
3:13
SPEAKER_02: So I think it opened about a week ago.
3:15
SPEAKER_02: So I'm gonna head over there tomorrow evening and get some dinner and see see how we do.
3:19
SPEAKER_02: I've never been looking forward to it.
3:21
SPEAKER_02: But uh also speaking of freezing, I'm going on a camping trip Friday evening.
3:27
SPEAKER_02: My daughter and I are going camping, and it's been about I don't know, 30 years since I've been camping.
3:33
SPEAKER_02: So we're gonna see.
3:34
SPEAKER_02: I I may freeze to death out there.
3:36
SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
3:37
SPEAKER_03: Take the advice of the wagon, like you said, pack a bunch of uh underwear and everything.
3:41
SPEAKER_03: Yep, yep.
3:43
SPEAKER_02: I got a tent, air mattress.
3:45
SPEAKER_02: Uh we'll we'll see.
3:47
SPEAKER_02: Where are we camping at?
3:50
SPEAKER_02: It's somewhere around uh it's like hour and a half, two hours east of here, close to the Shiloh battlefield, actually.
3:57
SPEAKER_02: So there could be some ghosts over there, Johnny.
3:59
SPEAKER_02: I'm I'm a little concerned.
4:00
SPEAKER_02: I may get awoken in the middle of the night by some creepy sounds or something.
4:04
SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
4:05
SPEAKER_02: Yeah I'm I'm gonna try to put on a brave face so my daughter doesn't know I'm scared, but I am a little worried about that.
4:11
SPEAKER_03: If there's a battlefield, you never know.
4:12
SPEAKER_03: Those those uh soldiers might come out from uh from from the ground.
4:17
SPEAKER_03: Uh you never know.
4:19
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, the Vicksburg battlefield.
4:20
SPEAKER_03: I know that there's um always hauntings in Vicksburg, so yeah, I don't know.
4:26
SPEAKER_03: Speaking of hauntings, you know, I don't know about the you know, Mississippi State football stadium is buried under ancient burial Indian burial ground.
4:33
SPEAKER_03: And you know, they say all these years that's why our football program has been haunted by these Indian goats.
4:38
SPEAKER_03: So I don't know if uh if that's gonna change, but it sure would like to uh to get a win this weekend.
4:44
SPEAKER_03: Uh I don't know if you'll be watching the game this weekend, uh being camping, but uh it's gonna be a must-win situation.
4:51
SPEAKER_03: Uh last weekend I went to went to the plains of Auburn and went on a bus trip with some uh alumni people at Mississippi State.
5:00
SPEAKER_03: And man, it was a fun trip.
5:02
SPEAKER_03: Um getting to see, I know we had talked about last week about seeing the Eagle fly.
5:07
SPEAKER_03: That was literally ended up being the highlight of the trip.
5:09
SPEAKER_03: Uh they opened up a little kennel from it and it literally flies across the stadium, lands at midfield.
5:16
SPEAKER_03: Coolest thing ever, probably the coolest thing at an athletic sporting event you'll see.
5:21
SPEAKER_03: But not the coolest thing was the play on the field by the Bulldogs.
5:24
SPEAKER_03: Just absolutely terrible.
5:26
SPEAKER_03: Just terrible.
5:27
SPEAKER_03: Didn't even cut it.
5:28
SPEAKER_03: It was just absolutely awful play calling all around, just an embarrassment.
5:32
SPEAKER_03: So uh I don't know what to think.
5:34
SPEAKER_03: Uh got Kentucky coming in, and it is a must-win.
5:37
SPEAKER_03: We keep saying we got that Southern Miss game in the bag.
5:40
SPEAKER_03: That's I'm not sure if we do or not, but I I feel confident that we do.
5:44
SPEAKER_03: Um, so that would be five wins, and you have to beat somebody.
5:47
SPEAKER_03: Ole Miss not looking like you're gonna win.
5:49
SPEAKER_03: At AM's not looking like you're gonna win.
5:51
SPEAKER_03: So this is do or die.
5:53
SPEAKER_03: Saturday night, Davis Wade, Kentucky Wildcats, and where Kentucky has had a uh tough time playing.
6:00
SPEAKER_03: I don't think they've beaten Mississippi State at Scott Field since 2008.
6:05
SPEAKER_03: Um, and then we can't win in Lexington.
6:07
SPEAKER_03: So hopefully that trend stays and that that they can't win because um to get to a ball game would be huge for this program, and you really need to get a win here um because it doesn't look like wins are coming in the future.
6:21
SPEAKER_03: So, did you get the chance to watch the Albert game by chance?
6:24
SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah, I watched it.
6:25
SPEAKER_02: And you know, I was uh I had a bad feeling pretty much the very start of the game.
6:31
SPEAKER_02: I can't remember exactly what what it was, but one of the announcers said something about how Hugh Freeze was getting back to his roots, they were gonna play tempo, the offense was gonna be looking a little different today.
6:42
SPEAKER_02: And I said, you know what?
6:44
SPEAKER_02: We're not gonna be able to stop them.
6:46
SPEAKER_02: And and and I had been worried about it all week because everybody had been talking about how bad their offense was, they were horrible, horrible, horrible.
6:53
SPEAKER_02: And then they they say that with the tempo thing coming, and I just as soon as I heard that, I said, I don't even know why I picked us to win this.
7:02
SPEAKER_02: This is about to be ugly, and it was ugly as can be.
7:05
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, you know, we said last week on the podcast, we said we both picked state to win, and we both were like, Why are we doing this?
7:11
SPEAKER_03: And and you and I think you're the one that said it.
7:13
SPEAKER_03: You're like, you know, they're they're talking about how bad their passing game is, and this quarterback's gonna come out in here and just freaking just throw lights out on us, and sure enough, he did.
7:22
SPEAKER_03: It's exactly what happened.
7:24
SPEAKER_03: So uh I wasn't really surprised doing that.
7:27
SPEAKER_03: I'm just glad that I'm not doing the Johnny Locks anymore, because if I'd taken to the that to the casino, I would have lost.
7:32
SPEAKER_03: So uh, but who you know, you never can tell.
7:36
SPEAKER_03: If we had picked state to lose, we might have won.
7:38
SPEAKER_03: So it's just the weirdest thing how that works.
7:41
SPEAKER_03: But uh, but Kentucky, like I said, it's just uh do or die.
7:46
SPEAKER_03: I think I had this at the beginning, I don't remember what you picked at the beginning of the season.
7:49
SPEAKER_03: I had this as a win, and I actually felt confident in it being a win, and uh, just don't feel that confident anymore.
7:56
SPEAKER_03: I don't know what what are your thoughts.
7:57
SPEAKER_03: Uh, I know our scores were a little off from this past weekend.
8:00
SPEAKER_03: I I had it's 13-7 over Auburn, and they scored definitely more than seven points.
8:05
SPEAKER_03: So uh what what what are your thoughts on the game this weekend and and score prediction on it?
8:09
SPEAKER_03: And I'll give you mine and and then we'll bring on our guest.
8:13
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you know, you know, Johnny, I I was thinking back at it.
8:16
SPEAKER_02: I'm I'm pretty sure I had us losing last week at the beginning of the seasons.
8:20
SPEAKER_02: I said we're gonna lose to Auburn because I just felt like Hugh Freeze, we we could never do play good against him, and I I had us winning this game at Kentucky.
8:28
SPEAKER_02: And before we started talking here, I I had thought maybe I was gonna pick us again, but I'm just reminded of what I said last week.
8:38
SPEAKER_02: I said I said if I pick us to win and we don't win, I'm not picking us again, and I'm not picking us, Johnny.
8:44
SPEAKER_02: I I just I don't see how we can do it.
8:47
SPEAKER_02: I I think it will be a close game.
8:50
SPEAKER_02: We've just looked so bad.
8:51
SPEAKER_02: I just I don't think we have it in us right now, uh unless Zach Arnett gets some fire under him, starts coaching like he was coaching before he became the head coach.
9:03
SPEAKER_02: I don't know if if somebody just lights a fire under him, because there's definitely flashes of good things.
9:09
SPEAKER_02: It's just we cannot seem to put it together.
9:12
SPEAKER_02: Uh it's it's like, oh man, we'll get you know a 30 or 40 yard run, everything looks great, and then penalty, and you know, it's third and 16, and then you know, you're punting again, and and just all the stuff like that.
9:23
SPEAKER_02: So I feel like it's going to be 28-21 Kentucky.
9:29
SPEAKER_03: 28-21 Kentucky.
9:31
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
9:31
SPEAKER_03: Well, we're we're not gonna be uh exactly right on our picks, uh uh agreeing on the exact score, but we're at the same mindset.
9:38
SPEAKER_03: I I feel just like you, man.
9:39
SPEAKER_03: I I was gonna pick state last, I picked state at the beginning of the season.
9:43
SPEAKER_03: I did pick them as lost to Auburn at the beginning of the season as well.
9:46
SPEAKER_03: I changed my pick last week.
9:47
SPEAKER_03: And uh depending on the game last week, if if we'd won, I probably wasn't gonna pick us, but and I was gonna pick us even if we lost when we lost to Auburn.
9:56
SPEAKER_03: But the way we lost to Auburn and seeing that in person, we can't beat another another opponent, and we're gonna have trouble getting Southern Miss if we play like we did the other day, just absolutely terrible play calling.
10:06
SPEAKER_03: And and uh so I'm going with Kentucky on this as well.
10:10
SPEAKER_03: Uh deep down in me, I want to pick Mississippi State.
10:13
SPEAKER_03: Um, I mean, we got the the 98 team there representing us that that only team in the state of Mississippi that's ever uh won at SEC West and represented Mississippi State in the state of Mississippi and Atlanta will be in tennis as they're honoring the 98 team, and our friend Wayne Madkin will be on the show in a little while on our interview.
10:32
SPEAKER_03: And uh I feel like if we had him in there in that 98 team, we might have a chance.
10:36
SPEAKER_03: But the the team that I saw on the field the other day has no chance of beating beating Kentucky.
10:42
SPEAKER_03: And that's sad to say, uh, I just don't see unless something miraculously happens.
10:47
SPEAKER_03: Um, like I said, if we put the 98 team in there, but uh we're just we're not gonna win.
10:52
SPEAKER_03: I just don't feel it.
10:53
SPEAKER_03: And I don't even think it's gonna be close, PW.
10:55
SPEAKER_03: I think our team, uh, if we if we come out and and Kentucky scores, gets up on a couple scores, I think we fold, and then I think it ends up being a blowout.
11:04
SPEAKER_03: Hopefully that doesn't take happen, but um, I'm gonna say Kentucky wins 34 to 13.
11:14
SPEAKER_03: 34-13 is my final.
11:16
SPEAKER_03: I think uh I think that's what's gonna happen.
11:18
SPEAKER_03: I think Kentucky's gonna jump out, and then I don't think we're gonna recover.
11:22
SPEAKER_03: Um but I hope I'm wrong.
11:24
SPEAKER_03: You know, I'm maybe reverse reverse psychology will help us in this case, but just witnessing what I saw in person the other day it was just uh one of the worst.
11:32
SPEAKER_03: It brought us back to the chrome days when we struggled so bad um without offense back back in the day, and it it just seems like that's happening all over again.
11:41
SPEAKER_03: Hate to say that, but um just until the until it gets better, I I just don't see it.
11:46
SPEAKER_03: So I don't know what it is, man, because it's the same same players, but as we say with uh without Coach Leach and the air raid, it just changes the whole dynamics of the team.
11:58
SPEAKER_03: And just Arnett, I really like the guy a lot, but he just seems lost out there.
12:02
SPEAKER_03: If you see him on the on the TV when you're watching it, he doesn't look like he knows what he's doing.
12:07
SPEAKER_03: I hear all the time people saying that he he's not the same guy, like people from within the program talking about how he's not the same guy as he was last year with that uh mentality of just just being a you know tough guy, you know, that tough guy image that he has portrays.
12:24
SPEAKER_03: Like it seems like everyone's saying that he's listening to all these different people.
12:28
SPEAKER_03: Like, you don't need to do that in, for instance, the injuries at the beginning of the season, he would talk about players' injuries, and now he's now he doesn't even say he's everybody's day-to-day.
12:35
SPEAKER_03: So it seems like uh people are are telling him things to do right and left.
12:40
SPEAKER_03: He's listening to other people, not being true to himself.
12:43
SPEAKER_03: And it seems like that might be an issue uh as far as coaching the team.
12:48
SPEAKER_03: I don't know.
12:49
SPEAKER_03: Something's up, something's going on.
12:50
SPEAKER_03: It's not the same Zach Gornett as we're we're used to seeing that uh real tense guy, uh intense guy.
12:56
SPEAKER_03: And so I I don't know what it is, but uh unless things change, uh I foresee the same result as what I saw last uh Saturday.
13:04
SPEAKER_03: And and uh sad to see, man, because like I said, Wayne Madkin and the team will be there, Coach Harold will be there, and uh they did something that even Dak Prescott and Dan Mellon can do, and that was when the SEC West.
13:16
SPEAKER_03: And and uh that's a huge, huge, huge accomplishment.
13:19
SPEAKER_03: You know, yeah, being number one was was awesome when we were with Dak and everything, but uh the way we kind of faltered the end of that year kind of put a damper in it.
13:28
SPEAKER_03: So in my opinion, of course I'm biased because I I was I felt like I was part of that team because I used to travel with the team, Coach Cheryl, and I was so close to that that group and that team.
13:37
SPEAKER_03: And uh man, that's my favorite, favorite team in Mississippi State history, 98, 99 uh years, uh, the year of the comebacks in 99, and then that 98 season where we we tore.
13:49
SPEAKER_03: We I was talking to Wayne today.
13:50
SPEAKER_03: We were talking about how we never tear they never even let us tear down the goalpost anymore.
13:55
SPEAKER_03: We don't really have a reason to now, but man, we were tearing down the goalposts right and left when they were there in 90 from from like 96 when we beat Alabama for the first time since in 16 years, and then in 98, 99, 2000, we were tearing them down.
14:08
SPEAKER_03: Heck, we even tore them down when we beat Ole Mess in '99.
14:10
SPEAKER_03: And uh, but that but that real special one, which we'll stay uh listened to the interview with Wayne, we talked about is that Arkansas game with uh Brian Hazelwood kicked that uh field goal at the end and and it and it and made us in the lead.
14:23
SPEAKER_03: Uh, we're I guess we were tied in the West, and then we sealed the deal in Oxford the next week and took home the the Western Division Championship.
14:31
SPEAKER_03: And that's a huge, such a huge accomplishment, even though, yeah, we did win that championship.
14:35
SPEAKER_03: But um, you know, it's one of those things we always talk about with the big dogs and the SEC.
14:41
SPEAKER_03: We're playing Tennessee, and Tennessee won that game.
14:43
SPEAKER_03: They're gonna play for the National Championship.
14:45
SPEAKER_03: So you're kind of like having to fight two battles against the refs and the and the opponent you're playing because they don't want the little team to upset the the big team for the for the money dollars and all that sort of stuff.
14:58
SPEAKER_03: It's just that's just the way it is, the college sports.
15:00
SPEAKER_03: And so you kind of play with a chip on your shoulder, and and that's what they did.
15:04
SPEAKER_03: No one picked Mississippi State to win the win the West that year, and they came out and and just dominated.
15:09
SPEAKER_03: And and uh they're a team that will be, remember, we're talking about it 25 years later.
15:13
SPEAKER_03: Hard to believe, so hard to believe.
15:15
SPEAKER_03: It seems like that was just yesterday.
15:17
SPEAKER_03: It's we're getting old, man.
15:18
SPEAKER_03: How is that 25 years ago?
15:20
SPEAKER_03: I don't know.
15:20
SPEAKER_03: But uh yeah, I'm just happy that they're gonna be honored.
15:23
SPEAKER_03: And man, that interlocking, I didn't talk to Wayne about it, but I know he's gonna be happy and and everybody's gonna be so pumped.
15:28
SPEAKER_03: Uh, when you see that interlocking MSU, you you think of Wayne Madkin, you think of uh Fred Smoot, you think of uh um Kevin Prentice, Disinzo Miller, JJ Johnson, all these uh star players we had back in the late 90s with Coach Cheryl.
15:42
SPEAKER_03: You think of Coach Cheryl, Jolie Dunn, you think of all those those guys when you see that, and man, it is so awesome to see us uh breaking back out that MSU interlock MSU logo on the helmets and the jerseys.
15:54
SPEAKER_03: Have you seen the jerseys PW?
15:56
SPEAKER_03: Man, they look fantastic.
15:58
SPEAKER_03: Look just like they did back in the day.
16:00
SPEAKER_03: And uh they always said, hey, we can't do that.
16:03
SPEAKER_03: We can't Nike owns that logo.
16:05
SPEAKER_03: And then we found out this summer when they unveiled it that Nike really never did own that logo.
16:09
SPEAKER_03: That's just uh something the the athletic department said to get away from that logo and go to the banner.
16:14
SPEAKER_03: But um, it seems like they've they're going away from the banner M with the state script, which is which is cool.
16:19
SPEAKER_03: I like State Script, but man, the Interlock MSU is my favorite all-time logo, and uh I really feel like it needs to stick with Mississippi State.
16:28
SPEAKER_03: Some people say, no, that's only for those those years, you know.
16:31
SPEAKER_03: But y'all just are all nostalgic about it because of how well we did in that time.
16:36
SPEAKER_03: But I just feel like, yeah, that is true.
16:38
SPEAKER_03: That's why we love it so much because we had so much success and won the West in it.
16:41
SPEAKER_03: But also, man, it just defines Mississippi State football, in my opinion.
16:44
SPEAKER_03: And I just feel like that's gonna be a permanent logo, but I don't think that's what they're gonna do.
16:48
SPEAKER_03: But I do feel like if we do get the win against Kentucky somehow in these uniforms, we might see them again come out for maybe the egg bowl.
16:55
SPEAKER_03: Um, I didn't hear that, but um but yeah, wearing those uniforms and having those guys there, Coach Sheryl and everyone, man, it would be so good to get a win, uh, especially for for all of them in attendance and how how much success they had and what they did for Mississippi, not only Mississippi, the state of Mississippi, uh winning the Western Division.
17:14
SPEAKER_03: So uh so it's gonna be win or lose, we're gonna look good.
17:17
SPEAKER_03: Hey, you know what Dion's saying, we look good, you feel good, you play good.
17:21
SPEAKER_03: So uh we're gonna be looking good, so maybe we'll play good in them.
17:24
SPEAKER_03: But um, regardless, it's gonna be a be a good night having those guys back on campus and uh and and hopefully the football team can can represent them in the in the right way.
17:36
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
17:36
SPEAKER_02: Well, Johnny, I got two more things to say.
17:39
SPEAKER_02: Uh number one, we'll get this one out of the way real quick.
17:42
SPEAKER_02: Uh Maroon Friday, you need to um reach out to us if you're listening to this, because you won the pick'em.
17:51
SPEAKER_02: You beat me by one point, and you get a free bag of johnnypacker.net coffee, but we can't send it to you if you don't reach out to us.
18:00
SPEAKER_02: You signed up and you hid your email address, so nobody knows how to reach out to you.
18:04
SPEAKER_02: We think you're on Six Packs Peak.
18:06
SPEAKER_02: Johnny made a post on there.
18:08
SPEAKER_02: Crickets, if you want some coffee, reach out to us, or I'm just gonna drink it.
18:13
SPEAKER_02: Second, second one here, Zach Arnett.
18:17
SPEAKER_02: I doubt he's listening to this show.
18:20
SPEAKER_02: Maybe somebody connected to Zach Arnett is listening to this show.
18:23
SPEAKER_02: But the key to victory going forward, Zach Arnett, you need to watch Rocky III.
18:29
SPEAKER_02: Rocky III, for those of you who don't remember, it's when he fights Mr.
18:33
SPEAKER_02: T.
18:35
SPEAKER_02: At the beginning of this of the show, he gets into a fight with Hulk Hogan, and it makes Mickey mad.
18:41
SPEAKER_02: Mickey's his trainer.
18:43
SPEAKER_02: Mickey ends up dying, has a heart attack, and Rocky is despondent.
18:48
SPEAKER_02: He doesn't know what's going on.
18:49
SPEAKER_02: He's he's messed up, he's he's he's just going through the motions, and he goes and fights Mr.
18:54
SPEAKER_02: T, and Mr.
18:55
SPEAKER_02: Mr.
18:55
SPEAKER_02: T just just takes him out.
18:57
SPEAKER_02: So then he's down and out, and then Apollo Creed comes in.
19:02
SPEAKER_02: Apollo starts coaching him back up.
19:04
SPEAKER_02: He gets him in shape, he gets him faster, he gets him ready to go.
19:08
SPEAKER_02: But the ghost of Mickey is always behind.
19:12
SPEAKER_02: He's always calling to Rocky.
19:13
SPEAKER_02: Rocky is stirring up, he's getting the emotion back, and then he comes back and he beats up Mr.
19:19
SPEAKER_02: T and wins it back.
19:20
SPEAKER_02: So Zach Arnett, it's a great motivational movie.
19:24
SPEAKER_02: Go back and watch Rocky III.
19:26
SPEAKER_02: You will not be disappointed.
19:27
SPEAKER_02: You'll get your mojo back.
19:29
SPEAKER_02: Go run up some stairs, listen to Eye of the Tiger, do what you got to do, but get the mojo back.
19:35
SPEAKER_02: Where'd it get?
19:37
SPEAKER_02: Bring it back.
19:38
SPEAKER_03: It got me fired up, man.
19:39
SPEAKER_03: I want to go watch Mr.
19:40
SPEAKER_03: T and Rocky III.
19:42
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I mean, and like Mickey, uh Coach Leach could be the Mickey character in the story, right?
19:47
SPEAKER_03: I mean, that all adds up.
19:49
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, he needs some mojo, he needs that momentum, and yeah, that I I agree a hundred percent with you on that.
19:55
SPEAKER_03: So, yeah, someone out there listening, get get get get a copy of uh Rocky III, put it in for Zach Garnett, and let's have a different Zach Garnett on that field Saturday night, and let's see that bulldog mentality he so uh shared with us the past few years, Coach Leach, and turn it up and and beat those Kentucky Wildcats, and that would be a great night.
20:15
SPEAKER_02: Yes, sir.
20:16
SPEAKER_03: All right, good call, BW.
20:18
SPEAKER_03: That was good, man.
20:18
SPEAKER_03: I like that.
20:19
SPEAKER_03: I like that.
20:20
SPEAKER_03: You know, we need to see some of that.
20:22
SPEAKER_02: And we got a great guest.
20:23
SPEAKER_02: Uh uh, I was not on the interview, so I'm looking forward to hearing that one.
20:27
SPEAKER_02: Uh, you recorded earlier today, so y'all stay tuned for Wayne Madkins.
20:31
SPEAKER_03: Wayne Madkin, yep.
20:32
SPEAKER_03: Uh Mississippi State's uh uh SEC Western Division 1998 Championship Quarterback.
20:38
SPEAKER_03: So uh one and only I'll listen to the show and uh I hope y'all have a great day and go dogs.
20:45
SPEAKER_03: Go dogs.
20:46
SPEAKER_03: Okay, welcome back to a brand new edition of the Johnny's World Podcast.
20:50
SPEAKER_03: It's Johnny here.
20:51
SPEAKER_03: Uh my co-host BW is uh is working today, treating people's eyeballs.
20:55
SPEAKER_03: So I'm I'm doing it solo today, but uh proud to have uh the guests that we have on today, especially with the weekend we have coming up and start Vegas.
21:03
SPEAKER_03: Uh iron the uh 1998 SEC Western Division Championship team.
21:08
SPEAKER_03: And uh so so happy to have this guest on.
21:11
SPEAKER_03: He is the quarterback of the 1998 Western Division Champion, Mississippi State Bulldogs, Wayne Madkin.
21:17
SPEAKER_03: Welcome to Johnny's World.
21:18
SPEAKER_03: Really appreciate you joining us today.
21:20
SPEAKER_00: Hey, how are you doing?
21:21
SPEAKER_00: Glad to be here.
21:22
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I'm doing good.
21:24
SPEAKER_03: Well, Wayne, just uh kind of tell uh tell the uh listeners out there um uh what you're up to these days.
21:31
SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, you know, I'm I'm in west, I'm in Mississippi.
21:34
SPEAKER_00: Um I live in Clinton, Mississippi, and uh you know, I'm working for a um uh electric company, um, doing some really cool stuff there.
21:44
SPEAKER_00: Um the EV EVs and everything like that.
21:48
SPEAKER_00: So um and uh in it, all this new electrification that's coming to the market, so uh it's pretty mean meaningful to me as far as that is concerned, and just raising kids.
21:59
SPEAKER_00: So uh just trying to.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: Trying to live the American dream, man.
22:02
SPEAKER_03: I hear you.
22:03
SPEAKER_03: How many kids you got?
22:04
SPEAKER_03: I saw your son at the I get when he got honored on the field this year.
22:07
SPEAKER_03: He he looks just like you, man.
22:09
SPEAKER_03: I bet people tell you that.
22:11
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, a lot.
22:13
SPEAKER_00: And uh, you know, so I I couldn't tell who was getting honored, me or him, because he was having like having a lot of good, he was having a lot of fun with that.
22:20
SPEAKER_03: So I bet I saw y'all were in the in the locker room and everything, yeah.
22:25
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we uh yeah, so uh, you know, we wear barely make it back because he's in baseball and playing basketball and football.
22:33
SPEAKER_00: So so when I got him, it was I wanted he never really had a chance to kind of see my old stomping ground.
22:39
SPEAKER_00: So I wanted to give him the the feeling and stuff like that.
22:42
SPEAKER_00: So he he kind of he kind of knew but didn't know that you know his his daddy used to, he's always been used to be able to do a couple of things, but uh, but it was good to get him back into the back office a little bit.
22:56
SPEAKER_00: And you know, they guys still got a couple of pictures up there um that's got me on and everything.
23:01
SPEAKER_00: So he gets to see that, and you know, having your offspring and being able to see some of the good teams you were on that time, it's it it matters, especially when you get to my age.
23:16
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I I know, I know that was a proud moment.
23:19
SPEAKER_03: Well, uh let's take it back a little bit and just tell tell us how uh how you ended up at Mississippi State.
23:25
SPEAKER_03: I know you're you're from Huntsville, Alabama, so what brought you to start for and and tell us a little bit about that.
23:32
SPEAKER_00: Well, it's a long story.
23:33
SPEAKER_00: Everybody knows that recruiting is not a uh not a science, right?
23:37
SPEAKER_00: So but coming out of Alabama, you know, I was you know highly recruited.
23:43
SPEAKER_00: Um and uh, you know, I had, you know, I was fortunate.
23:46
SPEAKER_00: I tell people sometimes that people who listen is uh, you know, the people that recruited me, you know, Alabama are recruiting me, and but mostly the guys that recruited me, they they end up becoming head coaches.
23:59
SPEAKER_00: Um so for example, Debo, um Debo.
24:03
SPEAKER_00: Um Debo was at Alabama, he recruited me in Alabama, really wanted me to come to Alabama.
24:08
SPEAKER_00: And then you had Jimbo at Auburn.
24:10
SPEAKER_00: He he was the quarterback coach at Auburn.
24:12
SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, he he really wanted to uh he really wanted me at Auburn there.
24:17
SPEAKER_00: Um and then a guy named Guy Morris, he was he ended up becoming the head coach for Kentucky, but he was in Mississippi State, and he was the original person that was recruiting me for Mississippi State, but he went, he went, he went, um, he went silent for like two, maybe about two or three weeks, because he was calling me consistently.
24:38
SPEAKER_00: And I kind of had my eyes on, you know, Mississippi State, because Mississippi State had a history of playing um black quarterbacks.
24:46
SPEAKER_00: Um so, you know, during that time I didn't know, you know, what were they gonna, you know, decide to, you know, put me at one, you know, people want to try to not give me an opportunity or play me at receiver or something like that.
25:00
SPEAKER_00: Right.
25:01
SPEAKER_00: Um but um but he um he went silent.
25:06
SPEAKER_00: So I thought, oh wow.
25:07
SPEAKER_00: So so then all of a sudden he finally called like two weeks later and said, hey man, you you ready to come up?
25:13
SPEAKER_00: I was like, yeah, so what's talk real?
25:15
SPEAKER_00: You know, you know, and and uh, you know, I I just got back from, I think I got back from Tennessee because Coke Cutcliffe recruited me at Tennessee.
25:24
SPEAKER_00: And um, and you know, Tennessee had T Martin at the time, but T wasn't playing because Peyton was still Peyton was still finishing up.
25:34
SPEAKER_00: So, but me and T was like a year apart, so I was a little bit hesitant of doing Tennessee, even though they really, you know, Phillip and and Cutcliffe really wanted me to come there.
25:45
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I, you know, it was it was a little bit too close of a uh you know with T there, and he's an Alabama boy, and uh he ended up you know doing great things, obviously.
25:55
SPEAKER_00: But um, but he said, yeah, come on.
25:57
SPEAKER_00: I said, yeah, so when how far is Mississippi?
25:59
SPEAKER_00: He said, no, I'm not in Mississippi State no more.
26:01
SPEAKER_00: I'm in Kentucky.
26:02
SPEAKER_00: We want you to come down to Kentucky.
26:04
SPEAKER_00: And I just I just met up with one of my um, I just met up with one of my buddies from um from Baldosa named Hal Mummy.
26:13
SPEAKER_00: And I'm telling you, he I want him to come.
26:15
SPEAKER_00: We're coming down, we coming to you, we coming down to check you out, and we want to um, you know, he wanna check you out.
26:22
SPEAKER_00: And lo and behold, like two days later, him and Hal Mummy flew down to Huntsville, Alabama, and and uh and came to check me out.
26:30
SPEAKER_00: And I tell you what, uh Hal was literally like you remembered him.
26:36
SPEAKER_00: You know, he he had a towel on his shoulder, yeah, and he came in there in the locker room and he first straight thing he went to the chalkboard and kind of drew up some X's nose, and I guess wanted to see where my head was, you know.
26:48
SPEAKER_00: And uh so I answered those questions and you know, did that right.
26:51
SPEAKER_00: He said, okay, we want to offer you a scholarship on the on the spot.
26:55
SPEAKER_00: Now at that time, you know, he had um Tim Cast was in Kentucky.
27:00
SPEAKER_01: Right.
27:00
SPEAKER_00: Look, Tim's gonna be our quarterback, you know, but Tim's only gonna be there for a couple of years because uh uh you know he don't really like school.
27:08
SPEAKER_00: So he's gonna go to the NFL and that give you about two years, and we're gonna throw, we're gonna throw it out the bus, and you're gonna you're gonna make you gonna make a lot of numbers and and so forth.
27:16
SPEAKER_00: And I like this guy, he like he he was almost like car sales.
27:20
SPEAKER_00: I said, I don't know if I can trust him, you know.
27:22
SPEAKER_00: But anyhow, long story short, that was that was that.
27:25
SPEAKER_00: And um, but uh, but yeah, I had a so that's that's what happened.
27:31
SPEAKER_00: So then at that time, Mississippi State was really kind of figuring out, oh, we just lost guy.
27:37
SPEAKER_00: So I called Mississippi State.
27:38
SPEAKER_00: I said, hey, y'all still recruiting me.
27:41
SPEAKER_00: And he's oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
27:43
SPEAKER_00: So they they came down and and you know the rest is kind of history.
27:47
SPEAKER_03: So you called Mississippi State, how about that?
27:50
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
27:52
SPEAKER_03: Amazing.
27:53
SPEAKER_03: That's amazing.
27:54
SPEAKER_03: So uh so you go back to to 98.
27:56
SPEAKER_03: So was that your freshman red shirt freshman year or what were 98 was my red shirt freshman year.
28:03
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
28:04
SPEAKER_03: Redshirt freshman year, and uh and you kind of get thrown into the fire as a red shirt freshman, and and uh I can't remember.
28:11
SPEAKER_03: Did you start did it middle of the season or when when did you start that year?
28:17
SPEAKER_00: Um actually the second game of the season gets well, no, I came in at Oklahoma State.
28:23
SPEAKER_00: Uh-huh.
28:23
SPEAKER_00: I think Matt Matt played that game, and then uh I came in at Oklahoma State, and Oklahoma State put a pound on those, and I came in, I think, around the second, third quarter, and then in the following week, uh, I think that's when the change happened.
28:38
SPEAKER_00: Um but um yeah, so um so yeah, I think uh Vanderbilt then then Vanderbilt we played four quarterbacks, and I was the last quarterback to get in.
28:54
SPEAKER_00: I never forget that.
28:55
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
28:56
SPEAKER_00: But uh I tell people a lot, like um, you know, it was you know Matt, then Rob Morton came in, got his shot, um, and then Kevin Love came in at quarterback.
29:10
SPEAKER_00: Kevin Love came in at quarterback and he came in and he got one series.
29:16
SPEAKER_00: And um, and I tell people this that too, I said, like if Kevin Love went all the way down and scored, you know, drove the team down the score, you know, I may you you may not have, you know, I'm you may not have heard of Wayne Mackinac, you know.
29:31
SPEAKER_00: I probably I probably end up uh transferring or something like that or losing the unit.
29:37
SPEAKER_00: Um yeah.
29:39
SPEAKER_00: So um, but they end he ended up going three and out.
29:43
SPEAKER_00: And then I was at that time I was I was I was uh a little bit I was a little bit uh heated so to speak.
29:55
SPEAKER_00: And um and then I finally got in and they put Kevin at receiver and then and then we we kind of the rest is history.
30:06
SPEAKER_03: So wow.
30:08
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so that was uh that was the Vanity game, huh?
30:12
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think I may I may got a little messed up there, but uh uh uh um you know the old age starting to kick in.
30:19
SPEAKER_00: But I do remember it was it was a Vanderbilt game when that happened.
30:23
SPEAKER_03: So well that year obviously it was so special that we're gonna like I said, we're gonna be honored at this weekend.
30:29
SPEAKER_03: I wanted I do want to talk about a loss in that year.
30:31
SPEAKER_03: I uh because I remember I was uh good friends with Coach Cheryl.
30:34
SPEAKER_03: I got to travel the team, some of the games, and one of the games I went with was uh was the LSU game that year in '98.
30:41
SPEAKER_03: And we lost that game.
30:42
SPEAKER_03: And it seems like once we lost that game, it it seems like the season switched around.
30:48
SPEAKER_03: Like we just ended up getting momentum after that, and then started rolling the rest of the year.
30:53
SPEAKER_03: And um, was it something about that loss that motivates y'all to to get back on the bus and keep keep keep grinding or or or what what what do you remember about that game?
31:04
SPEAKER_03: Tell me about the Arbon game.
31:05
SPEAKER_03: I didn't sorry.
31:06
SPEAKER_03: The LSU game in '98.
31:08
SPEAKER_03: We played at LSU and and got beat in that game, but but it just seems like after that game, we turned it up a different level, and then after that it was it was on for the rest of the season.
31:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, you know, LSU always had uh, you know, mashed up well with us.
31:23
SPEAKER_00: It was always a hard-fought game.
31:25
SPEAKER_00: But I think it all, I think it really began in that summer, um where we where we were able to put a lot of things together.
31:35
SPEAKER_00: You know, the the tenacity and the and the sustainability of that team was unpeckable.
31:41
SPEAKER_00: You know, that's for us one as far as sustainability.
31:43
SPEAKER_00: That's the biggest, that's the most sustainable team, you know, as far as leadership with seniors that I've been on.
31:50
SPEAKER_00: Um, and that's saying a lot.
31:52
SPEAKER_00: Um, but even though we lost that game, you know, there wasn't any doubt in neither one of our minds, particularly our senior minds, that we weren't going to continue to fight.
32:02
SPEAKER_00: I mean, it was just in our DNA to continue to fight.
32:05
SPEAKER_00: We were in every game.
32:06
SPEAKER_00: We always believe we were in every game.
32:09
SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, and and and so by even though the LSU game came close and we end up, you know, we ended up losing it, it did not, you know, it didn't, you know, it didn't didn't it didn't hamper our our goals and ambition.
32:24
SPEAKER_00: And we just we just kept building on those games, stacking, stacking quality games on quality games and everything to start to mesh.
32:31
SPEAKER_03: So yeah.
32:34
SPEAKER_03: It it seems like teams that uh you see that uh or really good teams if they drop a game or something that and then that they use as a as a building tool for the rest of the season.
32:44
SPEAKER_03: I feel like that's what happened that game because as the season went on, you know, just got better and better and better.
32:49
SPEAKER_03: And um, I do want to talk about the the Arkansas game.
32:52
SPEAKER_03: I know everybody talks about that game, but I remember being to that game, and gosh, I remember you completing a pass uh towards the end of the game.
32:59
SPEAKER_03: It was uh can't remember if it was third or fourth down.
33:02
SPEAKER_03: I mean, and we were we were right at the end of the game and and keep the drive alive.
33:06
SPEAKER_03: And then uh obviously um Hazelwood uh kicks the field goal and we rushed the field.
33:12
SPEAKER_03: And man, what a day! What a day for Mississippi State.
33:14
SPEAKER_03: That was uh that was an amazing game.
33:16
SPEAKER_03: Just talk about any memories about that game.
33:18
SPEAKER_03: Um, did y'all know going in, y'all are gonna win this?
33:21
SPEAKER_03: Or um just just go go uh let's walk down memory lane on that game if you don't mind the 98 Arkansas game.
33:28
SPEAKER_00: Well, I mean, you know, first we remember Arkansas had a really good team that year, and they actually had Tennessee, who was the the the national championship that year won, but Clint Storner, the quarterback, actually, you know, kind of uh stumbled on the ball and fumbled the ball late in the game.
33:51
SPEAKER_00: And it turned the whole dynamics of it, right?
33:55
SPEAKER_00: And then so here we are with this Arkansas team that was was was was doggone good coming into um coming into Starville.
34:05
SPEAKER_00: And again, we they were highly, we respected them, but we didn't fear them.
34:10
SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, we it was a tough game.
34:12
SPEAKER_00: They had a really great defense.
34:14
SPEAKER_00: Um, and it was a you know heavyweight knockout fight.
34:17
SPEAKER_00: And um, but one thing that I remember I remember is that, you know, we knew we still were in it.
34:25
SPEAKER_00: We we knew we were still in it.
34:27
SPEAKER_00: And uh, you know, that four from 15, you know, it was four from 15.
34:31
SPEAKER_00: And um that's what I'm thinking.
34:33
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I couldn't remember what it was, the four and fifteen, you're right.
34:36
SPEAKER_00: It was four from fifteen, and uh, and uh we just kept pounding.
34:40
SPEAKER_00: We just kept pounding, kept pounding, and uh, you know, Kevin Cooper caught it across the middle.
34:46
SPEAKER_00: And then I had about two or three people on my on my shirt, you know, they they went on an all-out blitz, and uh, I just had to get enough time to to get Kevin to come across on that on that on that square end.
34:57
SPEAKER_00: And uh, you know, the rest is history we were able for uh you know Brian, Brian to to go in and hit that hit that hit that bang winning field going.
35:06
SPEAKER_03: Right.
35:07
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that was just uh gosh, amazing day.
35:09
SPEAKER_03: And then and then you go in, and so what we uh I guess we we tied we tied for the West on that one, then eventually clinched it in Oxford uh on Thanksgiving night '98.
35:20
SPEAKER_03: What was it like uh winning the West in Oxford on on Mrs.
35:25
SPEAKER_03: Field?
35:25
SPEAKER_03: That was I'm sure that was amazing, amazing feeling.
35:28
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, well, obviously, if you're able to win the SEC West, which are a home home state rival, right?
35:35
SPEAKER_00: You get not only do you get the win, but you you know you get to rub it in a little bit too.
35:40
SPEAKER_00: So uh, you know, that was a that was a moment, you know, that was a moment.
35:45
SPEAKER_00: And you know, I I recall, you know, JJ Johnson.
35:48
SPEAKER_00: I mean, he he ran like a beast that night.
35:50
SPEAKER_00: He had a hamstring issue, but he he you know, he taped it up and you know, and he left it all out on the field.
35:58
SPEAKER_00: Um my defense play it's it's you know awesome.
36:02
SPEAKER_00: Um, and um, you know, that's one of those feelings that um, you know, that's one of those feelings that comes once in a lifetime, particularly in SEC.
36:12
SPEAKER_00: You know, and uh and especially for Mississippi Stone.
36:16
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, talk about JJ Johnson being a teammate.
36:19
SPEAKER_03: That guy played through some injuries, he was tough, grounded it out.
36:22
SPEAKER_03: Just I I heard Coach Cheryl say one time if he had played at Mississippi State four years, I mean, there'd be no question everybody would talk about him as the greatest running back in state history.
36:31
SPEAKER_03: He he what was him, what was he like being a teammate?
36:33
SPEAKER_03: Just seems like he put it on the line for y'all.
36:36
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, first of all, you know, JJ is an Alabama boy, so he really took uh hold to um, you know, we we had a we had a connection automatically.
36:47
SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, JJ was, you know, as far as football, he was one of the hardest workers out there.
36:52
SPEAKER_00: I remember when I was getting recruited, I came in there with that spring just to check everything out.
36:58
SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, at that time, this was when Kiefer was still, you know, still alive and he was playing fullback.
37:06
SPEAKER_00: So he was getting his body ready to play fullback, you know.
37:11
SPEAKER_00: And, you know, so this he was a bigger guy.
37:14
unknown: Right.
37:14
SPEAKER_00: And then had that tragedy come that summer, um, and he had to go on a regiment to basically knock off I you know, I want to say 30 pounds.
37:26
SPEAKER_00: Wow, you know, to go from a fullback to a tailback.
37:31
SPEAKER_00: And uh uh, you know, he did it, and he got lean and uh he he became a he became a power machine um for us and a bell cow for us.
37:42
SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
37:43
SPEAKER_00: But no, he had to he had to work ethic and he he he uh he did a lot of good great things for us.
37:50
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, you know, when you have that that bell cow like you're talking about, and just feeding them like you you feel confident, you know, when you need that extra yard, he's gonna get it for you.
37:58
SPEAKER_03: And feel like you all had that with him.
38:00
SPEAKER_03: Uh let's talk about uh the what everybody wants to talk about.
38:03
SPEAKER_03: You know, you win the West.
38:04
SPEAKER_03: So as of today, all these years later, y'all are still the only team in the state of Mississippi to play for the SEC Championship game.
38:12
SPEAKER_03: And and what was it like playing in that game?
38:14
SPEAKER_03: Man, we had that game, it was so close to the end.
38:17
SPEAKER_03: Uh, and then Tennessee obviously goes on to win the national championship.
38:20
SPEAKER_03: But going in that fourth quarter, we had that lead.
38:22
SPEAKER_03: Kevin Prentice, I remember running that pack.
38:24
SPEAKER_03: And uh just talk a little about going in the game, what what it felt like being there, representing Mississippi, not just Mississippi State, but the Mississippi on the grand stage in Atlanta.
38:33
SPEAKER_00: Right.
38:34
SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, the SC championship game was so electric.
38:40
SPEAKER_00: You know, you you're in the best conference in the nation, and you're at the culmination of that conference game, and it was electric.
38:48
SPEAKER_00: We weren't, you know, for a lot of people, we weren't supposed to be there, didn't think we were gonna be there, so it was a lot of orange in that stadium.
38:56
SPEAKER_00: Um playing.
38:58
SPEAKER_00: A lot of rocky top playing in that stadium, but um, you know, you know, as far as the electricity of that game, it was something that was, you know, amazing to be a part and play.
39:12
SPEAKER_00: And and and on top of that, you know, you know, you know, some people say, some people say that uh, some people say that it was, you know, you know, we I think we should have won that game, you know.
39:24
SPEAKER_00: I think that wasn't a but at the same time, we actually won a lot of um, you know, uh people don't say this, but by us losing, we made it, it was more money made Mississippi State than actually winning because you know, Tennessee won the national championship, it made a bigger purse for the SEC, and we actually got, you know, as far as university, uh a bigger payday.
39:49
SPEAKER_00: Um we can kind of talk about that now since it's the NIL league, but but you know, I think that you know, we you know, it was, you know, you know, you got whispers, you know, we you know, I think, you know, you know, was it rigged?
40:02
SPEAKER_00: I don't think it was rigged, but you know, it it it it it was very close.
40:07
SPEAKER_00: We should have won that ball game.
40:09
SPEAKER_03: So yeah, yeah, you always hear that when the big boys are playing, you know, that they don't want little Mississippi State to come in there and and and screw it up for the big dogs, but man, you were right.
40:19
SPEAKER_03: We we were in there in that fourth quarter, that was one of you know, we've had so many good moments in Mississippi state history, you know, winning the baseball national championship with Dak getting us number one and all that.
40:29
SPEAKER_03: But that moment right there in that fourth quarter when we had that lead, man, we're I mean, I'll I'll never forget it.
40:36
SPEAKER_03: You can always just stick your chest out.
40:38
SPEAKER_03: No, we you know, we we were that close to winning the SEC championship, and that's a huge deal.
40:43
SPEAKER_03: People, you know, of course, if you're Georgia or somebody like, oh yeah, we go every year, but for Mississippi State, that was just a huge, huge ordeal, and it still is.
40:50
SPEAKER_03: I mean, we're still talking about it 25 years later.
40:52
SPEAKER_03: And um, good talking about that, uh are you I guess you're gonna be uh instartable this weekend for the game.
40:59
SPEAKER_03: What's it gonna be like reuniting with these teammates from 25 years ago?
41:03
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
41:04
SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna say one thing.
41:06
SPEAKER_00: It's you know, it's it's people don't know how hard it is to compete in the Western division.
41:11
SPEAKER_00: I mean, when you got like that, you know, you either I always say a long time ago, you either gonna be, if you got a good team or a great, you're either gonna be eight and four or ten and two.
41:20
SPEAKER_00: You very seldom see undefeated teams.
41:23
SPEAKER_00: I mean, you had Alabama kind of did it, he's passed, you know, they need those were elite teams, but you know, it's it's tough.
41:29
SPEAKER_00: And uh even when we went to number one that year, who did we lose to?
41:35
SPEAKER_00: Alabama no mess.
41:37
SPEAKER_00: It's hard, and we end up becoming 10 and 2, I believe.
41:41
SPEAKER_00: It is very, it is very hard to go undefeated, run the ranks in in the SEC West.
41:47
SPEAKER_00: So, but so what that team did in '98 is uh almost unheard of.
41:54
SPEAKER_00: And and we were able to beat the, you know, we I think we beat Alabama that year.
41:59
SPEAKER_00: We were able to do some things that we, you know, and we and we fought and scratched our way to get to the SC Championship game.
42:06
SPEAKER_00: And that's hard to do.
42:07
SPEAKER_00: And even 25, like you said, 25 years ago, nobody still had done it.
42:10
SPEAKER_00: Right.
42:10
SPEAKER_00: You know, we had a school, school said they, school said they were one West, but they didn't get to play in the Western business championship.
42:17
SPEAKER_00: So that's to me that you know, that's a little bit, you know, you you can debate that.
42:21
SPEAKER_00: That's debatable.
42:22
SPEAKER_00: But um, but yeah, so it'll be great to see those, those, especially those seniors, you know, see them, you know, and and talk to their families and introduce them to my family and see their family and just see how they're doing.
42:33
SPEAKER_00: It's it really is gonna kind of bring, you know, bring a smile to my face and seeing all the coaches come back and Coach Cheryl and all the, you know, and just remind this, it's just it'll be it's gonna be a great time.
42:46
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
42:47
SPEAKER_03: Speaking about uh Coach Cheryl, I like I want to ask you about him because I have a personal uh connection with him.
42:53
SPEAKER_03: He he he's just I can't say enough good things about him as a kid.
42:57
SPEAKER_03: I have uh cystic fibrosis and and he just kind of took me under my wing under his wing when he was a kid, let me travel with the team, and he still keeps up with I talked to him the other day, he still keeps up with me.
43:07
SPEAKER_03: And there's just a side to him that the public don't does not know about how how how caring he is and what what I mean.
43:15
SPEAKER_03: I can't say enough good things about him, but talk about uh that relationship you had with him being a coach and and just uh just I can't say enough good things.
43:23
SPEAKER_03: I want to hear what you have to say about Coach Cheryl.
43:25
SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, Coach Cheryl is a you know, he's a he's a players coach, um, and he he lets you know he lets uh he he treats the players like young men and become you know grown men.
43:39
SPEAKER_00: And um and and and and a lot of people don't know that about Coach Cheryl.
43:45
SPEAKER_00: And he he's done a lot of things um that has you know changed uh the projection of a lot of kids' lives or gave a lot of kids second chances or opportunities to go in and a productive person is in this society that people don't know about, you know, and you know, and people just like you know Saban, you know, was talking about, you know, you know, you know, giving kids a second chance, what do you want to do?
44:11
SPEAKER_00: Get, you know, get them off the street, let them go, and you know, and you know, Coach Eric was doing that before Coach Saban was even talking about that.
44:18
SPEAKER_00: You know, giving people the opportunity, you know, giving them that second chance, believing in them, allowing them, allowing them to uh to grow up as young men.
44:29
SPEAKER_00: Because we all probably when we was a certain age, we all got to say, man, back in the day, yeah, I was a knucklehead here and there.
44:36
SPEAKER_00: But but that's the thing.
44:38
SPEAKER_00: He he he's he he has an emotional side to him, right?
44:41
SPEAKER_00: No a lot of people don't know that he really loved clowns and right and and and taking you know you know and and um you know and and um and and need for um for giving back so right um and and so yeah that was really a plus of about coachero.
45:00
SPEAKER_03: Yeah absolutely um yeah and then and then real quick uh before you before we end this uh you know we build off that 98 season we win the West and then you go into 99 season and and we have the year of the comebacks I'll never forget that and just uh that was a uh amazing season we start off undefeated and and until we get to Alabama and and that was a special season but uh y'all had just so many games so many memorable games you think back at Mississippi State football for hundreds of years after how many years the program started that that little run that y'all had under Coach Cheryl will always be uh remembered um for all time for what y'all did for for Mississippi State football and I feel like that kind of uh set the path for what what Dak and his team did in 2014 and hopefully we can get back into that uh in in the future we're kind of struggling this year but uh but uh I I feel like eventually we can we can turn around what what are your thoughts on that yeah so you know people just don't again I already missed about how hard it is in the West but you know people got their money worth when they came and watched us you know it was it was it was you know they got every cent they play one minute you're mad like oh that's you know you you know you you go through all the stages of of your emotions with us yeah right so you get to talk about it you're still talking about 25 years from now ago and some people still gonna be talking about it because we we you know we were we we never stopped fighting and and we we took it through all the the stages of emotion you know oh my goodness what's going on we won you know and then you know and then you you get to talk about it on the way back home or tell you oh man you know but at the end of the day we won right we won exactly and those feelings you know people I tell I tell my son is people eventually forget the stats you know or how many games you won or at the end of the day they're gonna remember how you made them feel right during that particular time of their life you know and those 98 and even we're talking about 99 teams you know those were some really special times even though we didn't get to number one in the nation nation right for a couple of years but Dad Gummit it was it it was almost like a a portfolio of of of uh of hit albums that you just kind of can always go back and play back.
47:36
SPEAKER_03: I remember I felt this way in the first quarter uh second quarter I thought I was having a heart attack and this man I'm I'm kissing my my my I'm kissing the girl in the stadium you know and we won the game and we went out to the pike house and had a great time and we did you know what I'm saying yep it's very seldom I mean to the point where we were taking down goalposts every game they had to they had to stop people going on the field and tearing that goalposts right yeah yeah I I can't remember the last time we tore them down but gosh from from that from that series from I think it started in 96 when we beat Alabama for the first time since 1980 he came down but then when y'all are there you know you you knock off Florida it gets him down we we win the egg bowl okay yeah talking about what what we were talking about earlier you know we built that off of 98 99 and the goal post coming down like I said it came down when in 96 we beat Alabama and then y'all y'all took them down seems like every year we're tearing down goal posts it would be Florida it beat Arkansas to win the West taking it down and torn it down again even when we beat old miss in 99 and that that miraculous comeback gosh uh it came down but you just don't see it that much anymore but that run y'all had from 98 to to uh 99 2000 just was just un unbelievable and I don't know um we we hope one day that the Bullhawks can get back to that that momentum we had through y'all's time and and uh what are your thoughts you think we can get ever get back there yeah so it's you know again it's funny you know we went to number one right number one ranking for a period of a couple of weeks and people still recognize and remember what we done with that team and that shows you know and then like you said I really believe those were the cornerstone cornerstones of Mississippi State because guess what you had you know you had a little young Dak Prescott watching football like you know during them times on egg bowls right there people can actually envision themselves you know what I can go to Mississippi State you know right so I I believe that we we played a tremendous part of that success in in in in in coming years um of seeing that we were on TV every day we were on TV every weekend you know and and and like I said before time on egg on Thanksgiving it was only two football games on it was the Cowboys and it was the uh it was Mississippi State Bulldogs and O Miss so so we had a national audience and and um so you know and and then also you know with 9-11 you know we were the first game back oh yeah from 9-11 I mean the first collegiate football game back or first I think first if it's not close to one of the first athletics games back yeah absolutely before nine 9-11 so uh being able to capture the the national audience like that to where you see the the future Mississippi State greats uh you know stars being able to watch that helps a lot so I hope that hope that kind of clarifies it yeah absolutely it does and and uh like you said there could be future future quarterbacks out there uh wanting to be at Mississippi state watching games today and and uh and but y'all kind of set the foundation I guess uh for the for the future of the program and and and we're still talking about 25 years later and it seems like it's just yesterday gosh I can't believe it's been 25 years but um but so many good memories and uh and and holding on to something that that has yet to even be done all these years later by any team and by either state or old miss still haven't been able to do it um 25 years that later win the West like y'all did.
51:21
SPEAKER_03: So something to be always uh hold your hold your chest out for I know that y'all did it and uh can't say enough good things about you and and your team and Coach Cheryl and just everybody uh in general.
51:33
SPEAKER_03: So so glad y'all are getting honored this weekend and I know it's gonna be a a great time catching up with all your former teammates and and reliving the the glory days of Mississippi State football and hopefully we can get back there uh one of these days and win the West again so uh that's all I have you have anything else Wayne added in but uh other than that uh hopefully I'll see you this weekend and and go dog.
51:55
SPEAKER_03: Absolutely Hell State have a good one state take care Wayne all right all right