Latest / The Jake Wimberly Podcast / Michael Katz Interview

Transcript

Michael Katz Interview · The Jake Wimberly Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Okay, we're back. I'm ready.
• 0:01
  Speaker 2: It's more The Afternoon Drive with Jake Riverlake. Where he
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: is live and local.
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: On Jackson Sports Authority.
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: ESPN 105.9 The Zone and online at thezone1059. com. Taking you
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: through the Thursday brought to you by Mississippi Blood Services.
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  Speaker 2: A double red cell donation allows you to give twice
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  Speaker 2: the red blood cells. And one donation helping provide more
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  Speaker 2: of a life-saving blood product and the products needed in hospitals.
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  Speaker 2: Donate in August the rest of the month and you'll
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  Speaker 2: two $ 500 Visa gift cards and the Race to Save
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  Speaker 2: Lives back-to-school giveaway courtesy of Mississippi Blood Services. Give blood,
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: save lives. Donate with Mississippi Blood Services. Michael Katz, you
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: can give him a follow on ex-Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: Covers the SEC and Ole Miss. Katz, thank you, brother,
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: for taking some time. How are you?
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: I'm good. I'm just glad that it's almost time to
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: talk about actual games than all the what's called extracurriculars.
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: I said the same thing earlier. I was given another
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  Speaker 2: list of top quarterbacks in the SEC, and I said, hey,
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  Speaker 2: I know you guys are listed out like we have
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: filled the cup on lists, So next week we actually
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: get to get into ballgames. We quit this season for
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: a while, don't we?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, no, it's nice. And, you know, it seems like
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: there's always something going on in the courtroom or in
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: those sorts of situations that have to do with college
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  Speaker 1: football and still somehow have to do with Ole Miss.
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: And you can't get away from it. So I'm glad.
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: I think there's some FCS games on tonight if you're
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  Speaker 1: a sicko like me. But I know that the USC
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: alumni– My season personally starts on Saturday. I would say
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: I'm excited for it, but I'm more worried than anything.
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  Speaker 2: You should be excited. It should be a good year, hopefully,
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  Speaker 2: for SC and the Big Ten. Any thoughts on... We
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: run through these things in the offseason or even when
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: it's in the regular season and then it's like we
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  Speaker 2: hit fast forward on the tape. This whole week's been
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  Speaker 2: a blur with NFL players wanting to come back, and
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  Speaker 2: then the SEC and the Big Ten and Notre Dame
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  Speaker 2: and now the Big 12 and the ACC coming together
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  Speaker 2: essentially but separately and saying, hey, no players are coming back.
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  Speaker 2: We're not doing that. Well, now we've got lawsuits coming out.
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  Speaker 2: Any thoughts on this and how it maybe pertains to
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  Speaker 2: even Ole Miss? I would assume Ole Miss is in
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  Speaker 2: agreeance with the SEC because outside of Kiffin and LSU
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  Speaker 2: who abstained from a vote yesterday, everybody in the SEC
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  Speaker 2: voted for this 15-0.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's interesting because it's like just as soon as
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  Speaker 1: guys are ruled eligible and they're being put on waivers
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  Speaker 1: in the NFL, which again is just insane. If you
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: had told me this concept five years ago, I would
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: have been like, what are you even talking about? That
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: a guy who had signed an NFL contract was thinking
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: about coming back to school for another season. But it's
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  Speaker 1: like just as soon as that happens, The backlash started.
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  Speaker 1: It was like, okay, well, how long is this going
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  Speaker 1: to last? It lasted like a day or two. And
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  Speaker 1: then other than the conference, it stepped in. But now,
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  Speaker 1: of course, you've got lawsuits, and injunctions are probably on
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  Speaker 1: the way. That seems to be the– that's kind of
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  Speaker 1: the– I've gotten very– I'm very knowledgeable with injunctions these days,
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: given the last six months. But yeah, it's crazy. It
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  Speaker 1: just seems like there's always something new. Think about it.
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  Speaker 1: If you're North Carolina and TCU kick off on Saturday
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  Speaker 1: in Ireland and it's like, I don't know if this
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  Speaker 1: affects them, but what if there's a situation where one
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  Speaker 1: of the guys on the team is ineligible? There's just
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  Speaker 1: so many what-ifs right now and nobody really knows exactly
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  Speaker 1: what's what's right and what's wrong and what's good and
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  Speaker 1: what's bad for the sport. It's crazy. And then, of course,
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  Speaker 1: you know, it comes back to Ole Miss because, you know,
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  Speaker 1: Lane Kiffin was trying to get some former Ole Miss
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  Speaker 1: players who had signed NFL deals or been in camps
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  Speaker 1: to come to LSU. And, you know, Pete Golden's been
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  Speaker 1: pretty clear about, you know, his stance that, you know,
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  Speaker 1: they put this team together and unless it was an
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  Speaker 1: injury situation, They feel pretty good about the guys that
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  Speaker 1: they put together in the offseason. But, man, there's always something.
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  Speaker 1: It's like the few minutes that we're going to be
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  Speaker 1: on the phone, I'm waiting for another alert, and I
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  Speaker 1: have no idea what it's going to be.
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  Speaker 2: Michael Katz talking college football. It is Thursday. Make sure
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  Speaker 2: to get him on X. And, of course, check him
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  Speaker 2: out at the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Yeah, I agree
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  Speaker 2: with you. It's just like what's coming next, what's coming next.
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  Speaker 2: Let's shift gears and talk Ole Miss. Now I'm sure
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  Speaker 2: everybody's getting ready for game week, have been probably for
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  Speaker 2: the last several days, staffers probably for the last several weeks.
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  Speaker 2: Any injury news to report, or is everything kind of
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  Speaker 2: clear there on the injury front?
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  Speaker 1: When talking to Pete, I guess it was Monday, he
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  Speaker 1: said that the depth had kind of been tested a
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  Speaker 1: little bit during camp on the offensive line and the corners,
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  Speaker 1: I believe is what he said. Nothing that was going
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  Speaker 1: to be like long-term or like that, but I know
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  Speaker 1: they had had to kind of work around some stuff.
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: But it sounded like when it came time for the
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  Speaker 1: games to actually begin that they were going to be
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  Speaker 1: just fine. So, again, I think, you know, obviously we'll
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  Speaker 1: see when they line up and, you know, what's rumor
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  Speaker 1: and what isn't. But it sounds at least like they
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  Speaker 1: should be in a pretty good spot.
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  Speaker 2: When you look at certain guys that maybe have, you know,
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  Speaker 2: just the notes that you guys have, the accessibility that
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  Speaker 2: you have, and I know it's limited for most camps,
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  Speaker 2: any players that have stood out maybe that, you know,
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  Speaker 2: maybe at the beginning of camp you didn't have them
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: on the radar, but guys maybe now that you're hearing about?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, there's, I mean, I think probably the
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  Speaker 1: biggest one has been Therese Davis, who's going to take
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: over at left tackle. You know, almost tackled last year.
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  Speaker 1: were really, really good. I think they gave up a
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  Speaker 1: combined two sacks, Jaden Williams and Diego Pounds, all season long.
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  Speaker 1: They were really good on the edges, and so replacing
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  Speaker 1: both of them is no easy task, but Thread Davis
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  Speaker 1: is a guy who transferred from Maryland. He started two
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  Speaker 1: games as a true freshman there and then came over
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  Speaker 1: here and didn't play a ton last year, battled some
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  Speaker 1: injuries and whatnot, and he's only been playing football a
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  Speaker 1: few years. His dad is Ricky Davis, the former NBA player,
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  Speaker 1: so he was a basketball guy for a lot of
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: his career, so he's really just sort of getting started.
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  Speaker 1: He's been a guy that, to a man, everyone has
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  Speaker 1: said glowing things about him and the job that he's done.
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  Speaker 1: I think that receiver-wise, there's been a few guys who
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: have come up. We know what Deuce Alexander is and
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  Speaker 1: the impact that he can have. Jontae Cook's name has
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  Speaker 1: come up a lot, Horatio Fields, both transferers. And then
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  Speaker 1: freshman Samari Reed, or I guess retrofreshman, sophomore, I'm not
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: sure what the classification is anymore. But he's a young player.
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  Speaker 1: He's come up in conversations a lot. And then I
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  Speaker 1: think on the defensive side, just really that safety room
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  Speaker 1: has been talked about in pretty high regard. They brought
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  Speaker 1: in some new guys, Edwin Joseph from Florida State and
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  Speaker 1: Shreve Denson. from Florida. I think they feel really good
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  Speaker 1: about that, and in talking to both of them at
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  Speaker 1: various points over the last few weeks, it sounds like
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  Speaker 1: they really like what they've assembled in there.
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: Michael Katz talking to Ole Miss football. Rebs, get ready
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  Speaker 2: for the season opener next week versus Louisville, Thursday edition
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  Speaker 2: of the program. Any other notes before I ask you
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  Speaker 2: one SEC question? Any other notes to pass along from
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  Speaker 2: Ole Miss camp?
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  Speaker 1: Not really. I think everybody, including the guys in camp,
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  Speaker 1: are anxious to see another team and not line up
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  Speaker 1: against the same guys that they've had to go against. Obviously,
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  Speaker 1: for corners, seeing the same receivers every day, there are
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  Speaker 1: some positives to it, but I'm sure eventually you're looking
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  Speaker 1: forward to seeing somebody new. I think everybody's ready, and
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  Speaker 1: this is a Louisville team that is not to be
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  Speaker 1: taken lightly. I know they're ranked number 24, and I
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  Speaker 1: know they've got a new quarterback, and we'll see how
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  Speaker 1: that looks, but they've got two really good running backs.
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  Speaker 1: I think Brown is a baller. I think he averaged
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  Speaker 1: like eight-something yards to carry last year and had almost 1,000
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  Speaker 1: yards despite missing like three games. So that is not
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  Speaker 1: a gimme game. So I think it sounds like everybody's ready,
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  Speaker 1: and I think to have a first game where you
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  Speaker 1: can get hyped for it, and obviously every first game
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  Speaker 1: teams are going to say that they're excited regardless of
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  Speaker 1: if it's the FCS team, if it's Georgia State, whoever
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  Speaker 1: it is. But I think that when it's a quality opponent,
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  Speaker 1: everybody is ready to go and lock in.
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  Speaker 2: Hey, have you picked a SEC championship matchup just for fun?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's really hard for me to pick against Georgia
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  Speaker 1: just because I know they've got a lot of new,
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  Speaker 1: but Kirby Smart always does this, and it always ends up,
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  Speaker 1: for the most part, going his way. I know Texas
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  Speaker 1: is a really popular pick, and I think Texas is really,
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  Speaker 1: really talented, but I think so much of it depends
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  Speaker 1: on is there another year for Arch Manning. It's been
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: a weird few weeks with social media saying, oh, he's
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: looked terrible at practice, and then some people being like, no,
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: he's looked awesome. I think the truth is usually somewhere
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: in the middle of what you hear. I think that
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  Speaker 1: if he is as good as he's supposed to be,
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  Speaker 1: I think Texas has a chance to be stellar. I
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  Speaker 1: wouldn't be surprised if that is the matchup, but it's
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  Speaker 1: just so hard for me to pick against Kirby Smart
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  Speaker 1: in Georgia. They've got a veteran quarterback. Gunnar Stockton is
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  Speaker 1: so underrated. He's really good. Ole Miss fans know how
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  Speaker 1: good he is. It's hard for me to go against Georgia.
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: Good stuff, as always, from Michael Katz. Get him on X.
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: Check him out, Northeast Mississippi Daily. Katz, try to get
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: a little rest. Enjoy your USC Trojans this weekend, and
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: we'll do it again next week. It'll be game week.
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: Sounds good, man. Talk to you later.
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: Thanks so much. Michael Katz on your radio, brought to
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: you by Mississippi Blood Services. The race to save lives
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: continues this month. Donate at Mississippi Blood Services. Donate in
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: the center or in Oxford or in Flowood or one
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: of the mobile blood drives through the end of August,
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: and you'll be automatically entered for a chance to win
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: one of two $ 500 Visa gift cards and the Race
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: to Save Lives Back to School Giveaway. Every donation helps
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: replenish the blood supply for local hospitals and patients who
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: depend on life-saving transfusions every day. Find a center near
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: you or more information. Go to msblood.com. More in just
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: a bit.