Transcript
Speaker: Welcome everybody into another edition of Warm Weather Fans the Sunbelt Podcast. I am your host Brian Stone joined once again by Zeke Palermo and Matt Migas. We are here for our second round of Sunbelt previews. Today we are talking about the Georgia Southern Eagles and Southern Miss. We will talk offense, defense, ah any coaching changes, um and then sort of scheduling. And then we'll talk over, you know, over unders predictions for this season as well. Take a look at that in depth. ah Want to start off real quick, throw it around. Matt, how's it going? ah Actually, you know what, I'm gonna go ahead and break the like fourth wall of podcasting. We just recorded our first episode, and we're doubling up because I'm going out of town next week. So
Speaker: Nothing has changed with you in the last hour that we've been sitting here. well So how's it going? But umm I'm gonna foreshadow. on I'm hoping that by the time this episode airs out to the masses ah that I'm sleeping very little ah from dominating on EA Sports College Football 25. But ah man, it's good. Anytime we get to sit here and talk about the Georgia Southern Eagles, you know, getting after that ass, fun.
Speaker: So ah we had kind of talked about it before we started recording between episodes, but I actually since I will I will be out of town. I won't be able to play the game like right when it comes out. I'm I'm not going to be back until two days after it drops, so I'll be able to play it. I'll be able to play it what the Thursday? next Thursday when when when when you're here this Thursday when you're hearing this but like I will be in South Carolina on the beach so I won't be near a ah um an Xbox at that point Zeke again nothing's changed with you in the last hour other than now you're shuffling ah Pokemon cards as if you were a blackjack dealer how's it going with you I'm pretty good as you just alluded to in between episodes I came out as a competitive Pokemon player to you guys
Speaker: We support you buddy. And I appreciate that. What means the world? LGBTQ. ah Plus minus equals you. Thank you for your bravery Zeke. I really appreciate that you had the bravery to come out to us on the show. Nerd is cool guys. Nerd is cool. My name is Zeke and I play Pokemon. Hi Zeke.
Speaker: So now we've got all of that out the way. ah Let's go ahead and jump into the two teams we're talking about today. So let's start off with George Southern. Kind of, don I say kind of, another sort of an underwhelming season for Clay Helton and company, um, more, more because of how the season went rather than the result. Like they started very hot and then hit like a rough patch in their schedule. And I think they lost five of their last six. Uh, I believe I'd have to go back and double check their schedule, but it was, uh, it was not good. Um,
Speaker: you know, they they really backslid in the second half of the season, Texas State losses to Texas State, Marshall, Old Dominion and App and Ohio. So you lost all of those games to end the season. um You know, Davis Brin, let's start with the quarterback position. and And I know we always start with this, but it truly is in this offense. It is the most important position on the field. And you saw why last year with Davis b Brin, where if you have the guy who is the FBS leader in interceptions thrown, it's very difficult to win games in the air raid offense.
Speaker: So we kind of talked about it in the Marshall episode with Cole Pennington now entering ah an air raid scheme. Having not been an efficient passer, you you see what that looks like. Just go back a year and look at Georgia Southern and Davis Brin and be like, oh boy, like if this is what awaits Marshall, like it's going to be a rough 2024 season. So They kind of have a number of guys ah who are in the mix at the quarterback position. um You got JC French who played sparingly kind of in relief of Bryn last year when Bryn was really stinking it up. Like it took a lot to get him off the field, but there were times where they just were like, we need anything. The Wisconsin game, ah he came in a little bit in the App State game. JC French throws a touchdown, immediately breaks his arm. He's done. So he, you know, that it was it was just a mess. You've got,
Speaker: David Dallas in the room. You've got Dexter Williams, who's a transfer from Indiana, who has not really played college football, like torn to ACLs. So who knows what he looks like athletically and especially in an air raid scheme. ah Zeke, I want to throw it to you. I kind of can add my two cents because I follow this team obviously the closest. But what how do you kind of foresee the quarterback position playing out for them, given how important it is in this type of scheme they run? Uh, they're looking for anyone that doesn't throw interceptions, and if you can step on a football field and not throw interceptions, you're good. It's really cut and dry for me here, um, because
Speaker: I don't know like I I'm not gonna sit here and say that I I can espouse what makes a ah Like an air raid very pass heavy offense successful But I think it is like a misnomer that you need an elite quarterback You just need a guy that can throw the ball Well enough like the the volume of yards doesn't necessarily come from depth or from complexity of throws it comes from volume ah Broadly speaking and I think that that is certainly the case for Georgia Southern so it's like jc french is going to come in and i think he's probably going to be like the first guy to get a chance um brian you would know that better than either of us would whether or not that's the case but
Speaker: We're not Georgia Southern is not in a position where like, yeah, Davis Brent had one of the worst college passing years I've ever seen out of a quarterback, but they don't need to jump to Patrick Mahomes. You know, they don't need this to be ah like a Caleb Williams season. Out of JC French or whoever it is They just need a guy who doesn't turn the ball over who is comfortable checking down Who's comfortable with five six yards and is able to do that 35 to 40 times a game so in terms of names, I I'm not gonna Try to posit who I think on the depth start is gonna be that guy like I said, I would assume French gets the first chance at that but the expectation is
Speaker: or the, and the need is not for like an all Sunbelt first teamer and all American. Like you don't need a Heisman here. You just need someone who's not going to throw for interceptions in a game, which is what we saw from Davis Brin at least once, if not twice last season. So to double down on quickly on on what Zeke said, he's absolutely right. Because if you look at their weapons, And Brian, obviously you're gonna attest to this. I am super impressed.
Speaker: with what they've got back. I mean, Jaylen White, OJ Arnold, Daylen Cobb is back. You bring in Terrence Gibbs, who is ah was a highly sought after transfer. Derwin Burgess, you bring in a guy from Oklahoma at wide receiver in LV Bunkley Shelton. That's a mouthful of a name. um But look, just again, going back to the weapons, you bring in a tight end from Auburn. you've got guys for insert quarterback here to get the football to. So I agree with Zeke 100%. You don't need a Kyle Vantreese that rewrote the record books for you, right? You need a need a Ben Woldridge kind of guy, right? One that can just kind of steadily keep the team
Speaker: competing each and every week. um Takes care of the football, makes smart decisions, doesn't really do anything flashy. And I think JC French is that guy. Um, you know, he's a guy that when he saw the field, again, sparingly, I liked what I saw. Um, and he's still a young guy. He's a guy that you can develop as a sophomore, turn him into a two to three year starter for you under Clay Helton. Um, and by the time his senior year rolls around in Stadesboro, you've got a well oiled machine.
Speaker: So I think if you're Clay Helton, you've got to look at this five offensive starters returning and this load of weapons that you have and and make the smart decision here, not necessarily the flashy decision. Go with the guy that's going to get the job done the best, which again, in my opinion, I think it's French, um, and get over this six win hump that after the first two years, Clay Helton hasn't been able to get over.
Speaker: So I definitely agree with you guys about the weapons. I like Daylen Cobb a lot. He produced for Georgia Southern last year. Derwin Burgess has been a producer for two years ah despite what happened last year kind of culminating with the the quarterback position. I will say JC French, I know JC French and Dexter Williams on paper are also projected to have a mobility aspect to them that the last two quarterbacks in Vantreese and Bryn just didn't have that in their game. Like Bryn
Speaker: Uh, Vantrice was really good at navigating the pocket and kind of avoiding pressure and stepping up into the pocket like when he needed to. Brynn had no sense of pass rush. He panicked when he saw a rusher come free or felt like a rusher was coming free, but he was ah he was just a statue. So, like, you can't mix being a statue in the pocket with also having no pocket presence. Like, that is just a recipe totally for disaster. And that's how you get those weird passes he was throwing by the time he was like shell shocked at the end of the season where you're just hitting defenders in the numbers here because you're so scared of like oh my god there's a rusher coming off the backside and in reality it's like you probably had another two seconds that you could have processed and made like a decent throw but you're so scared to get hit
Speaker: that you're just mentally, you're just done. I mean, it's like it's a little bit like, you know, to make a pro comp like the Patriots with Mack Jones, where it was like at a certain point, he just didn't trust the line and he was just making stupid throws. Now, now we're eating Brin or Mack Jones or whoever the most talented. No, absolutely not. Like there have definitely been better quarterbacks. But again, you can't be a statue and then also not have pocket presence. And like those are the two things that really killed are in and the Eagles last year and you know defensively they have not really rounded into form yet if they are going to so we'll we'll get to that side of the ball but
Speaker: As far as playmakers go, I like Tyler f Fromm at the at the tight end position. 6 .5, 2 .45 could be a big red zone target. They've kind of missed that ah last year. They've still got Bo Johnson at the tight end position who can play a little bit as well. He's not a he's more of kind of like a H -back type where he's kind of a move tight end versus, you know, Fromm is more of the standard like in line can block and then kind of chip out and go. ah
Speaker: And then, you know, I really felt bad for both of these guys last year, but I i thought Jalen White and OJ Arnold were really underserved by the the types of, ski you know, play calling that they had. um And, you know, there were specific games where I remember the Marshall game, Jalen White had 100 yards rushing in the first quarter. I think he got eight carries the rest of the game. like how that is just like coaching malpractice to me where it's like how can you look at this thing that's working and go we're not doing that anymore we're done with that so i i just i i never understand that like i know i'm not a coach i'm not smart enough to be an offensive coordinator but that just seems like a common sense thing it's like if something's working why would you go away from it just for the sake of doing so so like that's that's it for me is like and we'll let's go ahead and actually talk about the coaching change so Ryan Applin comes in and is now the new offensive coordinator having been the tight ends coach and the passing game coordinator also spent time before Georgia Southern at Arkansas State
Speaker: I assume the offense is going to look similar to to what it did under Brian Ellis. I wish he would work in running the football a little bit more. like We don't need to be 80 -20 with the pass. A 65 -35, 60 -40 split would be refreshing at this point. so like Get Jaylen, you know, you've got a quarterback who's inexperienced, no matter who they go with. Like Dexter Williams hasn't played, JC French hasn't played. get Get the ball into the hands of the playmakers, but also run the football and take some of the heat off of the quarterback position when, you know, you're trying to break these guys in. So there's that. Offensive line wise, did you have anything to add kind of on the skill position stuff before I i kind of talk about my concern on the offensive line?
Speaker: Not particularly although because you were talking about scheme and kind of splits a How long until Georgia Southern Plays like a balanced offense will that ever happen in program history because before ah You know before we got where we are now they were playing football the way God intended ah And now they're throwing the ball more times than should be legal so are we ever going to hit like a good medium with this program i don't ah if they do it's not going to be with clay hilton the at the helm um i don't know why they're so against doing it like ah again there have been times where a run seems to be working and then they're like enough of that
Speaker: back to what we were doing a week ago and you're you're just sitting there going but why like i i just need an explanation like i don't i don't really care what the reasoning is i just need a reason and you can it seems to again be malpractice but i think Brian Elis, the previous offensive coordinator, I think he kind of saw the writing on the wall a little bit. like I guarantee the Titans coach at Alabama makes more what he made as offensive coordinator, but also he went from running an entire offense to coaching a non -skill, but like a weird skill position at Alabama cannot be a
Speaker: better career move unless yeah they're play calling duties that you could potentially take over or something. It just seems weird, career wise, but if Helton's in his ear going, hey man, it's not working. Like you may need to find something so but somewhere else to be. Like, that's fine. You know, it happens. but Offensive line wise, I wanted to ask you about this Zeke because Bryson Broadway is the penciled in starter at the left tackle spot. He came over from Georgia State, played 10 games last year. What? Oh sorry, in 22. I didn't really see Broadway play a lot last year. like
Speaker: You know, he was kind of in and out. What, what do you remember? Do you remember anything from him when he was at Georgia state? Did he play left tackle? I can't, I can't remember. Uh, I believe he did play mostly tackle. Um, obviously that Georgia state offensive line, uh, particularly at the tackle position has been very strong the past several years. And since I've been, um, you know, following them. Broadway is I mean he's just big. I don't think he clocks over 300 But he's big I I believe he surpasses 6 -4 again. I've got Phil Steele open in front of me I can look can I? Yes, it's 5 to 90 late. He's a big guy um which I I don't know what like you guys really want out of your tackles in the southern system if that mauling type is what you're gunning for but
Speaker: i Think what he comes from a ah program that in recent history has a very strong um offensive line pedigree and played ah played good time like I Don't think he started last year. I don't believe but he did play Significantly and he didn't play it at tackle. um Okay, like I think he should be more than good enough to hold down left tackle for Southern it's just gonna be like he comes from a team where they like to run the ball more you know, there could be technique issues with that there could be you know, just like so schematic differences, but I think he has what it takes to be like the cornerstone of that offensive line and
Speaker: Yeah. So the, my main concern on the offensive line are the tackles because Broadway is, is kicking out at left tackle. They get the North Carolina transfer, Justin. Can you, can you, can you, I don't, I don't know how that's pronounced a hundred percent. So the interior of their line is mostly still kind of intact. So with like Pichon Wimbly and Chandler Strong, ah you know, you get Caleb Cook who played sparingly, but, you know, generally you can kind of figure out the inside of the line. Like you can kind of shuffle some pieces around and figure it out. The tackles are kind of out on an island by themselves. And it's really tough when you're having to pass block as much as they do. So that's my one main concern is can they hold up? Matt, do you think that like
Speaker: the offensive line offensively, you know, we, we talked about quarterback, their inexperience there. It kind of is what it is. You kind of have to figure it out over time. Do you think other than that, the offensive line is sort of could be the Achilles heel for the Eagles or do you see that as an area of concern? Yeah, I definitely do. um As you know, last year you'd only lost two starters. Now this year you're only returning two starters, plus you have a new off offensive line coach. um Now, could that turn out to be a huge benefit? Certainly. um But it's just one of those things where ah unfortunately we kind of have to see it play out um but before we can really make any real
Speaker: you know, judgment. According to Phil Still's projections, you've got two sophomores starting, two juniors, and then one senior, the senior being Bryson Broadway. um So there's a little bit of experience there. um But look, I just, I have to bring this up. And we've talked about intriguing names in in college football before. um There is a gentleman on the Georgia Southern offensive line. ah He is a freshman. And his name is as follows. ah Zeke, I want to watch your face while I say this name because Brian already knows where I'm going. um King Triton. Samuel. I think it's Samuela. Samuel. Is his first name King Triton?
Speaker: K -I -N -G -D -R -I -N. Like Little Mermaid King Triton. Yeah, but like all one word. King Triton. Yeah. That is tough. That is tough. That's awesome. I can't substantiate this, but the Sunbelt might asked to has to have the best names. He's '4", he's 6 '4", 3 '10". He's a behemoth. He's a behemoth.
Speaker: King Triton, let's go.
Speaker: um So, yeah, I think now Zach Langford comes in and he's their new offensive line coach. They really did succeed in 2022 when Richard Owens came over from UAB. He moved on. I think he ended up at Louisville in the offensive line coach there. And you've seen that if If any of you guys have watched Louisville, they've really like kind of leveled up offensively from where they were pre -brom. So he he has been, he was like a real boon for them when they were kind of struggling, you know, offensive line wise, kind of shuffling those guys and coaching them up and putting the right units on the field. Last year they take a step back without him. So now you get
Speaker: like for hopefully he can figure things out with the the tackle situation that has to be sorted before you know anything else defensively is where i think I think at the quarterback position, I think if you look at a sophomore in JC French and he has an okay season, but you kind of see signs of of hope that you feel okay about, I think you can live with that. Defensively, if they're giving up north of 30 and a half points a game or 30 points per game again,
Speaker: That's what's the nail in clay Hilton's coffin coaching wise here is going to be if their defense can keep teams to. twenty seven 2725 around there I think. you can you can look at that and the quarterback situations kind of each in a vacuum and say we really improved here obviously the quarterback needs to be more experienced but we we have to we can't keep plugging these transfer portal fifth year senior guys in with no continuity and then being like what are we going to do at quarterback next year so props to finally coming around to kind of the
Speaker: solution that most Southern fans had kind of come to at the end of the Van Tries thing, which is this was nice. Let's get someone in who we feel like could start for multiple years with us that could grow. And they're just doing that now, even though last season was in the trash halfway through, they should have just put French in regardless of whether they felt he was ready or, you know, he could produce or whatever it last year was dead. They should have just said, screw it. you know, what whatever happens happens. It doesn't matter if we're six and six or we're five and seven or whatever, or an eight, it doesn't really matter at that point other than a bowl game. We need to get this guy some experience. So I think but their mismanagement of the quarterback position last year is gonna hurt this year because you've got French coming in with no experience. And this offensive line, the tackle spots could be a little shaky. Defensively, I think they have some talent
Speaker: But you can look at this unit on paper and go, oh, I like a couple of guys here and there. But if they don't come together as a group and play better than they have the last two years, it won't matter because they'll be on their next head coach next year. So especially when with when you kind of project the offense to take a little bit of a step back from where they even were last year. so
Speaker: I'm going to single out my one guy and then I'm going to throw it over to Matt and kind of see what he has to say because he was rubbing his hands together. When I, when I brought up the defense, Marques Watson, Trent at the middle linebacker spot feels like he's played for this team for 18 consecutive seasons. He feels like he should be retiring from the NFL and he's back for another season with Georgia Southern. Like he's gotten injured. He's gotten the COVID exemption where I think we're legitimately on year like six or seven. of him being on the team. So, like, this has been a long time. He's played a lot, but struggled through some things. Matt, what do you foresee out of this defense? do you Who do you like? You know, what what do you kind of... Do you think they get better? Do you think they stay the same as they have been the last two years? but From an experience standpoint, I mean, I love this group.
Speaker: I mean, Davion Rhodes, you brought up Watson Trent. Latrell Bullard had a nice year last year. Tyrell Davis in the secondary is is a guy that that really jumps off the page at you. ah i mean And, you know, even further down, you know, look at a guy like MJ Stroud, look at a guy like Cam Williams. These are guys that, you know, they may not have started last year. They got serious reps and made impacts ah for this Georgia Southern defense. Now, I agree with you, Brian. I think that the issue is not talent. It's clearly there.
Speaker: can they put it together? um And now how much of that is you have, even in his third year, you still have a super inexperienced defensive coordinator in Brandon Bailey. He's the youngest defensive coordinator in college football. Like how much does that play into this, right? um But look, you know, I'm really interested to see, we say all the time that, you know, Eventually, talent prevails, right? It may not happen right away, but at some point, talent's going to win. And in in a league like the Sunbelt, you can see talent winning even more so than, you know, the SEC, right? um So I mean, I'm really interested to see how much, if they don't mesh, how much does their talent alone carry them?
Speaker: because you look at last year, you gave up 30 and a half points per game, almost 400 yards per game. That was an improvement from 22, but it's still not great. How do you get back to the 20 .8 that you gave up in 2020? How do you get back to that? um And I think that that's going to be the biggest thing to figure out for Georgia Southern, because if they can figure out the defense and keep games low scoring, I think you're gonna have a big year in Statesborough. but you have you you can't give up 30 plus points a game and and expect to be an 8 -1 football team. So the thing for me, I was not super thrilled ah with the Brandon Bailey hire when it happened. And I know you kind of touched on that about his inexperience. I wasn't thrilled about the hire for that specific reason because I felt like with a defense that looked as hopeless as they did after, what was it, 22,
Speaker: I was um I felt like they needed an experience hand to kind of bring what they had talent wise together. And I didn't feel like last year, I know things went bad with Brandy threw a ton of picks that put them in some really bad spots. But I didn't feel like they were overly They played well together as a group. I didn't feel like they meshed. It felt like the second level, especially, which is weird because you look at Watson Trent and go, Oh, this guy's good. But like, it just felt like they were constantly getting gashed on like medium breaking routes, running the football. They, if, if a team broke through the first line of defense, the defensive line, it just felt like hopeless. Like the secondary came along.
Speaker: The second, the second line wave with the the linebackers just never felt like they kind of came together and played as a unit. So that was one of the reasons when they hired him, I was like, I mean, maybe you got a good look at him when you lost to Buffalo in that bowl game a couple of years ago, but like. Oh man, like you need a guy who's been like, I've been coaching for 20 years and I know I've seen everything and I can at least get them to respectability. We haven't even seen that yet out of them. Like in the Hilton tenure, like you mentioned 2020, uh, Matt, that was.
Speaker: Lunsford second to last season so like when you're like what what happened there well they had a different total staff and everything like i think watson tran was on that team but they had scott sloane at dc they were running a 3 -4 scheme like there was ah it was a totally different situation so My concern is if that inexperience with Bailey rears its head again, then you're just back in the exact same spot you were in last year with a um less experienced quarterback at the FBS level, which is not really a place you want to be at. um Zeke, did you have anything to kind of add on the defensive side of the ball? This conversation has made me curious where you guys land on this.
Speaker: Scheme plays a very large part in offensive success. You can scheme offensive players to be good Obviously, there's like a baseline. You need to be X amount of good if you want to produce at Y level is defense More so reliant on just individual talent ah and perhaps player cohesion than offenses and if so How like how does that relate to this team because I like eight defensive starters returning is ridiculous I don't think Georgia Southern's defense was that bad last year They just were put in a cruddy situation Where they had four or five extra possessions they had to deal with because of the turnover issues and your poor offense so I curious where you guys stand on that and I
Speaker: Like, does does that play a factor here for Georgia Southern's defense in this upcoming season? I think it does. um Because I agree with you. you can You can finagle an offensive scheme to wherever your talent is, right? Like, if you're loaded at running back but your receivers aren't very good, obviously you're going to run the football. Defense, it kind of doesn't matter whether you know you know you line up with three down linemen or you line up with four. If you don't have the talent, it doesn't really matter. And so I think with with Georgia Southern, you have the talent that's there. The the biggest issue is, can you get 11 guys to play together?
Speaker: um So, yeah, I think that it is more important to have that individual talent and cohesion than to really be truly worried about, you know, the type of formations and and the way you're lining up and, you know, things like that. um You know, can they get this group to gel? Can leaders like Watson Trent, who Brian says has been there in eternity, but still somehow a junior? can Can he be vocal on the football field and you know rally the other 10 guys around him to play together? and And if that's the case, like I said earlier, I think they can have a ton of success. But no, I would agree that ah talent and cohesion is more important defensively, for sure.
Speaker: And the um I mean, I know I'm eating the the dead horse just talking about how bad the quarterback situation was last year, but you could really tell by the end of the season, the app game, um Ohio, Ohio last year in the in the Myrtle Beach Bowl was starting like third stringers because their entire team had transferred out and the defense got absolutely smoked. like it was ah you could tell that they were just done with it they were done with the season they were done having to like try to recover from all the mistakes Brin made but it was just like a body language kind of like attitude thing that you could tell after a while they were just kind of throwing up their hands and being like it
Speaker: I think I said it after the app game. I was like, if we just declined a bowl invite, I wouldn't be upset. Like if that was the, if the, if the app state, crush like getting crushed by app state on the road was the last game of the season and I didn't have to watch them again, I'd have been totally fine with it. So I think the thing for me is like mentally, I still hang on that 2022 season where i I think I said this on the the underdog pod when Zeke and I were still doing it. If they had even fielded a FBS average de defense, if they were 70th, 65th in the country in 2022, they'd have won nine games.
Speaker: Like, that was how good the entries was. That was how good the offense was. Defensively, they could do nothing correct. So I think mentally, I'm still holding on to that and holding that against them, even though they've switched out pieces. They're not the same coordinators, like all of that sort of stuff. But mentally, I just can't I can't I can't break from that because it felt like they really wasted what should have been a really good season for them in Hilton's first year. So let's talk about the schedule.
Speaker: I think they have kind of a tough, they have a tough schedule, I think. That's the thing. So if the defense doesn't gel with this schedule, I think it's going to be really tough. Like their over under is set. um The over under is set at five and a half. um
Speaker: You know, I think if we if we've seen anything out of Helton, it's that he knows how to win six games and only six games. So if if all of this smoke that we think is right, the defense is supposed to improve, you can't get much worse than Davis Brin throwing nine million interceptions. If all of that is true, even with a tough schedule, you should be able to eke out six wins. and Am I wrong in thinking that? like No, no. um You're not. And look, I'm actually going to disagree with you a little bit on the schedule. I don't think their schedule is all that difficult. I mean, Boise State is not the same team that they have been in years past. um And they're coming to Paulson. Then you go to Nevada, another team who hasn't been very good over the last couple of years.
Speaker: So I think those first three games, Boise at Nevada, and then South Carolina State, Georgia Southern could win all three of those. I could see a world where Georgia Southern starts at season three and 0. And then Ole Miss is going to shellac you because they're going to be outstanding this year. um Georgia State, you know you never know. but what What kind of team is George state gonna have we'll talk about that in coming weeks, but like what are what are they gonna be? We'll figure that out Marshall we talked about them. That's a winnable game. I think James Madison could be a winnable game Old Dominion, South Alabama. I Mean the only game on their schedule that I look at and go It's a definite loss is I'll miss The other 11 games I think if they show up and play well they could win I
Speaker: So yeah, six, seven games, to me at least, doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility here. i i also just I also just think like, It's a tough start because you play Boise at home to start the season and Boise is bringing over that USC transfer. I think it's Malachi Nelson is his name. yeah um Who was like a big time recruit and stuff like that. I think if the defense doesn't Jill, I think that game could get ugly pretty quick. Like I know that they're usually pretty good at home.
Speaker: but they've never really faced a quarterback of that type of caliber so unless Boise State's just a wreck and Nelson's like not as good as advertised I just think it could get could get ugly in week one at home and I think from there you know you play at nevada south carolina state i think both of those are easily winnable games full miss is not is a money game it's not it's not winnable to me uh george's state i feel like is winnable game no offense zik like you guys are starting completely over uh with a guy and and we'll talk about them in the coming weeks but with a guy that a lot of people thought should have succeeded willie fritz at southern and
Speaker: If they lose to Georgia State in Del McGee's first season, it's going to be sour grapes, like big time, because there were a lot of people who hated the Tyson Summers hire and thought Del McGee should have gotten a shot after the the interim bowl win back in like 2015 or whatever it was. um But yeah, I mean, there's a lot of other teams on this schedule that are either trying to kind of reformat what they are and trying to figure it out with new coaches. And like Matt said, like, nobody app is obviously kind of the big dog in the East until someone unseats them. Like they were, they were the best team in the East last year, but that and Mississippi really strike me as the games where I'm like,
Speaker: You're probably not going to win those games. Like, let's be let's be totally honest. So I think an over of six wins is fine. I was actually laughing earlier when Matt was talking because I got tagged. Our account got tagged in a random tweet that someone projected so Georgia Southern to be three and nine this season, which I thought was weird. uh uh in the mid recording because i was like what is i was like what is this random account talking about and all of a sudden it was like oh three three and nine seems about right and i was like huh i was like if they're 30 and nine helton's gone by week five like right
Speaker: So, um, that'll, that'll pretty much do it Zeke sort of parting thoughts where we're, we're going to move on to Southern Miss here in a minute but do you have anything that we should kind of talk about before we move on. ah ah Not particularly I think. Georgia's like as we look up and down the schedule ending the season at Troy hosting or I'm sorry hosting Troy at coastal and then hosting app that could be an 0 in 3 finish um Which you know Brian you you give me a temperature read on this if Southern is in a precarious situation going into that by Or coming out of that by on November 9th and then play Troy coastal app
Speaker: Those are three very loseable games. we We don't know what Coastal is gonna be yet. ah We've talked about how Troy's like retooling in previous episodes. um And as you just said, App's kind of the de facto top dog. Those could be three losses. And if Southern's sitting at like four wins at that point, you finish out with like three losses. I think that final stretch could be a very, like that could be the the decider for clay help and moving forward. I mean, he's had his three years. He's had his time. I just, I think his time is running out and it it's just unfortunate. He drew like three tough games near the end there.
Speaker: I mean, I kind of said this, but like you saw last year, they will throw in the towel if they feel like it's they they are not a play. Helton does not bring a tough, like a mentally tough mindset to this team. Like if things are going well. Everything's great. No complaints. Everything's great. If things start to backslide, this team backslides. and So like if again, like you said, if they're in a if they're in a rough spot coming out of the by. I could see them. I mean, they they dropped five in a row last year. Like I think they they started the season six and two and then didn't win again for the rest of the season. So like ah if you can start a season six and two and throw in the towel,
Speaker: I mean, what what happens if it's if you're three and three, you know, so like that's that's kind of the way I see it. It's like they either need to unlock another level of like mental toughness or things need to be a breeze like that. That's just kind of the thing. So that's just kind of the way I feel about it. um All right. So let's move off of Georgia Southern. Let's start talking about the other Eagles in the conference, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, ah Will Hall. Fourth year went three and nine last season. I made reference to this when I was talking about Marshall in the last episode ah was getting a
Speaker: I don't know, I come to Jesus meeting on the field after one of their losses with the AD. They also, I think, had to put out a statement the way that Marshall did about Charles Huff being like, you know, this season wasn't what we hoped. We're, you know, Will Hall is going to be back, but we're aiming for better results. um Do you guys, okay ah I didn't ask this question with Charles Huff because again, you can still make the argument, you know, they were 500, they lost the full game. You know, it happens. Do you guys think with his track record, and I guess I could throw it to Matt first and then I want Zeke's opinion on this. Do you guys feel like after a three and nine season, it was the right decision to bring him back? Like throw all the buyout stuff out the window. Do you think they should have just cut bait when they, when they had a shot to last year? Yes.
Speaker: Absolutely. And look, I have no ill will towards Will Hall. At one point in time, fun fact, he was the offensive coordinator at UL in 2016 under Mark Cutsmith. But look, I mean, the guy is 13 and 24, three years. if If you're going to sit there and say, oh, you know, he's gone three and nine twice, but man, that one bowl win in 22 was a great time. I
Speaker: i
Speaker: It's interesting because I probably would have fired him, but then now in hindsight, if you fire him, do you get Tate Rottemacher?
Speaker: Is Tate Rottemacher good? I mean, he looked pretty good at Florida State. Did he? did I went back and looked at his stats last year. Did he look good?
Speaker: look good enough. Can I give you a stat and I want I want to throw it to Zeke to talk about the coaching thing. Can I give you a stat when I looked at Tate Rottamaker stats from last year? The two games that he threw over 20 passes he was 60 % completion percentage. One of those games he was 11 of 25. I think they played North Alabama.
Speaker: Like, he beat Florida, but was it him beating Florida, or was it the team of Florida State that beat Florida? Like, think about it. Right? But like, we're we're talking about Florida State and Southern Miss here. Well, that's that's the argument I'm making, which is if you don't have that level of talent surrounding you, are you going to be able to turn in a sub 60 completion percentage and go 11 of 25 for 120 yards and win games at Southern Miss? I think we've proven you can't, like with the quarterbacks they've had. So Zeke, I want to throw it to you do you. Do you feel that they should have moved on from Will Hall after last year?
Speaker: Yes, I've not once hid how I feel about University of Super Mid. He's done, he's done nothing to like prove that he can do anything with this program. And the frustrating thing about it is that Again, I've not been shy that I do not feel strongly about any of the weapons that Southern Misses had over the past three years, except for Frank Gore. But like if they just had a quarterback at any point, I would. I feel like I would like have had a better perspective on Southern Miss felt better about them as a team.
Speaker: And felt better about Will Hall the dude cannot find a quarterback I do not believe Kate wrote a makers the guy because why would a quarterback worth his salt want to play for Will Hall? Whose best quarterback at Southern Miss during his tenure is a running back Frank Gore out of the Wildcat was a better quarterback than anybody That's been under center for Southern Miss over the past three years It's I get it you are you this are you like are you out cuz you don't like Southern their fans got met him Well, they will be lashing out a little and But I but as I say this is I as I perhaps exaggerate and put on theatrics am I saying anything that's untrue am I wrong in saying that a guy transferring from Florida State and
Speaker: who Southern miss inspires confidence after there's a vacancy at Florida state that could have been his after Jordan Travis was injured and then went on to the NFL.
Speaker: I, I understand that there was money wrapped into it. Uh, and it's expensive to buy guys out of their contracts will haul And first of all, wearing a football suit, like or a suit during a football game, like he's Vince Lombardi. Why are we still doing that? I did bro thinks he's him. He's not. I, I don't see a reason they should have kept him around, but I understand that there's money involved and it just probably didn't make a ton of sense to pay him. However much they owed him. Yeah. Um,
Speaker: So we talked about Tate Rottamaker. I want to move on to that. I want to read off the exact stats, or the stats rather, that i that I was kind of talking about with Matt earlier. So the two games he started that he played after Jordan Travis got injured. He beat North Alabama. They won 58 -13. He was 13 of 23 for two 17 and two touchdowns. That's whatever. But he completed 56 % of his passes, which against North Alabama and you've got what three draft picks at receiver who ended up getting drafted ah for Florida State. So you got like Johnny Wilson and all those, you know, all those guys. Um, then.
Speaker: against Florida in the last game of the season 12 of 25 he's putting up tour dates like he's a like he's hosting a concert 12 of 25 134 and no touchdowns 48 % completion percentage like and I'm kind of leaning a little bit towards what Zeke is talking about which is yeah If he would, if he's good, why couldn't he find a better landing spot than Southern Miss? A. B. Guy worth his salt. His wife, a coach that could be fired. Five games into the season. You know what I mean? Like that seems like a precarious position to kind of put yourself in. Plus you're a junior, so you have another level, another year of eligibility after this. So.
Speaker: there's a chance you have to transfer again if Will Hall gets fired and and and end up at your third school in three years so that's all of those things kind of lead me to believe that like we shouldn't just blindly be like this guy played at x spot therefore he must be good because i i just don't i don't think because you played at You know, we saw it with kind of Chase Bryce, right? Like, played at Clemson behind Trevor Lawrence. Great. Was he good with App State? Not really. Like, he was fine, but he wasn't like, oh my god, this guy's crushing it in the Sunbelt. So like, I'm kind of weary to get caught up in the fallacy of like, this guy played at X program and started two games. Like, he must be the answer at quarterback. Like,
Speaker: He might just be a fine middle of the pack, Sunbelt quarterback. Like we don't know. All right. I mean, I don't, I don't think, I don't think he's going to be the answer to all their problems, but I mean, I think he's going to be better than Billy wilds. Like, I think, I think, I think the Southern Miss offense under Tate Rotomaker could be improved. Do I think it's going to be enough to where will Hall saves his job? No, because you don't have Frank Gore anymore. um I mean, I don't know who Drake Clark is. i just i'm They returned four offensive starters. I don't think that's gonna get the job done. um And I'm just, I don't know. I look at this roster and I look at what they've done ah last year. And I'm just not at all impressed with any of their position groups.
Speaker: ah Outside of and I know obviously we'll dive into it a little deeper But outside of Dylan Lawrence coming back as their leading tackler from last year on defense Like who who do you look at and go? Oh, yeah, they'll be in good shape with him Nobody nobody <unk> There's nobody so I just I don't know it's hard to yeah even try to be you know unbiased when when you when you look at this because I don't see many positives looking at this football program right now. No, like, even when you look through, if Rottemacher is a good, let's say Rottemacher is a good quarterback passes the eye test, i I think it's kind of the same deal with Marshall, which is, does he have the weapons to be successful? Right. Like, no. So like, ah unless one of these receivers
Speaker: step up and like actually make a difference I think it's going to be tough to be like we're just going to have to piece together a bunch of guys that can catch the ball somehow and we don't know where the production's coming from because there is zero like proven production from any of these guys like at any of their previous stops so it's like even if Rottemacher is let's say he's I don't even know. Like Ben Woldridge, we brought up on the last episode, like or I think it was this episode. I can't remember. We recorded him back to back. It's blurring together for me. But like if he is a Ben Woldridge level quarterback, but he has nobody to throw to, and they don't have a running game that that really scares anybody anymore without Frank Gore, like what could he really do?
Speaker: right you know Zeke, I know you, I know you hate Southern Miss with a passion. So like, do you want to, do you want to speak on, on the the offensive, like I'm saying an air skill positions because it's kind of the same deal as Marshall, which is where's the skill coming from? Yeah. um I'll say this as a positive, they recruited really well. Phil Steele has Southern Miss as his best Sunbelt recruiting class. They've got guys that, again, this is Phil Steele's rankings, um but they they have several recruits that were in the top 100 at their position.
Speaker: Um, Greg nunnery is a guy on the offensive line who, uh, played JUCO last year, uh, but was exceptional was first team all conference. Like that they brought in talent. Um, at least from a recruiting standpoint, will hall's not going to be here next year to develop it. um And I think You asked if I was lashing out I think the frustration here is that there are pieces that could be worthwhile Like Tate Rota maker was at one point in FSU quarterback So whether or not he is good enough to be good at Southern Miss He was at one point good enough for Florida State
Speaker: so why are we So why are we spending the year like with this incredible recruiting class? Again, it it was Will Hall's recruiting class. So if he leaves, you can't guarantee that the same guy's signed. But why? Why why are we doing this? Because we know after two, three, and nine years in three seasons, how how good does he have to be to like confidently say, Will Hall's our guy? And I think that's my frustration here is that like It just feels like we're sitting here with our hands in our pants in Hattiesburg because like what are what are we doing? What is the future here? It feels like there is none. Like it's going to take three years for these recruits to become football players.
Speaker: i That's what I had to add. Thank you. I think he either needs guy. You're like, I've said my piece. Thank you. And then just like sat down. ah i I think he either needs some of these guys to be impact guys right away. And, you know, to your point, he a may not be able to ah enjoy the kind of fruits of his labor if this season doesn't go well, because he's going to be gone and be. what What does this really great Sunbelt recruiting class even mean? If he leaves, they might leave too.
Speaker: you know ah they might be like well my coach is gone and that opens up like you know transfers all the time like we saw it with James Madison we saw it with like a lot of these schools where it's like the second the coach is gone they're like what am I still doing here like time to try to go get you know a starting job or even like a little bit of a check somewhere with NIL stuff so like I I don't know. um You know, the one thing Phil Steele has to say that is positive on the offensive side of the ball, he likes their offensive line. um You know, you return, what, three starters on the offensive line. Dante Lucas, Zach Conti, and Gabe Cavazos? Cavazos? On the offensive line, he said, you know, Phil Steele's like, I like the experience they have there.
Speaker: um But if you don't have any weapons and the quarterback is like, you know, struggling to throw to guys that are not really open, what what good is having seven seconds to throw if nobody gets open, you know? filmmaker's not exactly the most ah elusive guy back there, so... You know, who knows? Um, either you guys have anything to add on the offensive line before we move to defense? Okay, cool. So let let yeah, let's actually talk to about the defensive side of the ball. You know, we we we talked about coach speak on the last episode and how sometimes it means absolutely nothing and sometimes there's actually some substance behind it.
Speaker: Will Hall expects this team to have a good defense from what he said and they may need to if they're going to win more than three, four games this year. So, Matt, maybe take me through who you're looking at on the defensive side of the ball and why why do you think that Will Hall is so high on the defensive unit this year? I mean, ah it's got to start with Dylan Lawrence, right? I mean, 78 tackles last year. He only had one sack. um So I mean in terms of sack production, you got to look at jello clemens five and a half sacks last year. He had a past breakup 31 total tackles. So it really is, you know, right there in that line backing core, uh, for, for me, that there's going to be the strength for them. Uh, MJ Daniels is a guy that played at Ole Miss before transferring to.
Speaker: Southern Miss last year, ah had three interceptions a year ago in Hattiesburg. So I mean, there's pieces, don't get me wrong. But again, it kind of goes back to the Georgia Southern thing. Is there cohesion? Is there a chemistry there? Because that's so important on the defensive side of the football. um And I just don't see it. and And I haven't seen it. You know, the last couple of years. um I mean, we're talking about a defense that gave up 36 points a game last year. That's insane. Um, 400 total yards of offense game as as well. So you've really got to get those numbers way down. And how do you do that? When you are only returning six starters and really only two of them on paper look really good. Not going to be easy.
Speaker: Yeah, um it it's one of those things where it's like, yes, you return five starters, but unit is so bad. What do those five starters mean? You know, it's one thing when you're returning five starters from a really good defense. Like if James Madison or Troy brought back five starters, we'd be like, Hey man, these new coaches, they've got something to hang their hat on with, with Southern Miss. You're like, do you want to bring back five starters or do you just have to, just to fill out your, you know, kind of have guys to throw out there that have some experience. So, um,
Speaker: Yeah, man. Zeke, do you have anything else on the defense? I had something on the schedule that I wanted to talk about, but defensively, i don't I don't really have a lot to add. It's a big wait and see situation for me. And if the offense is still bad, I'm not even sure the defense quality matters. Yeah, hit just hit me with the schedule. Well, the the schedule take I have is, I think in the first four games, we're going to know how this season's going to go for them, because at Kentucky it's not a winnable game I personally I think they're probably gonna get smoked at Kentucky in the opener but that you know everybody plays a money game against the SEC like it happens but the fuck the next three you've got southeast Louisiana who's an FCS team that should be a win if it's ugly
Speaker: That might be some real reason for concern. Can you play South Florida at home and then at Jacksonville State? I think we're going to know after the first four games whether this is going to be a total tire fire of a season or if it's going to be a one that we can go, okay, maybe they've kind of figured some things out, turned a corner. But I think the more of it more so than other teams, I think we're going to know very early on what kind of Southern Miss team we're looking at. So they've got to buy after those first four, which I think is interesting.
Speaker: do Is that built in so that if you win an ugly one against Southeast Louisiana, you have an excuse to fire the coach? Is that why you have a week five bye? And then the same thing, then you play four games all in conference and then you have another bye before you finish out the season. Which first of all, I love this. Four games by four games by four games. Beautiful. I don't know why more teams don't do this. Makes so much sense. You've got two break points in the schedule where after those first four, you know, you really get to see like, all right, can we beat Southeast Louisiana? Can we beat a new school Jacksonville State? um You know, how does Conference USA's USF match up?
Speaker: say Who survives that now you've got Louisiana? ULM who's you know expected to be the bottom of the barrel this year? Arkansas State never know what you get with them James Madison was incredible last year could a Kind of 50 50 they'll they'll be a bowl team at the very least, but we don't know much more than that I see two weeks Will Hall has Scheduled on his calendar and he he's told his wife already like these are the weeks that we need to be scheduling tours and other towns because I just I I don't know man it Again, it just boggles my mind that we're wasting a year on a guy who's had two three and nine years I don't care that he went seven and six in 2022 I don't
Speaker: Do you think ah he's telling his wife, hey, babe, go ahead and book that sweet and Acapulco for November 2nd? Because I'm not going to be. I'm going to be collecting a buyout and i drinks are on. Do we actually. Do we actually think he's going to make it to November 2nd? I think so. I think he gets out at the very least two and two out of those first games like I. But again, but again. But again. OK, I'm gonna play devil's advocate here. Let's say you're two and two. Let's say you're two and two and your two wins are.
Speaker: Ugly, you know, three point win over southeastern Louisiana and then a overtime win against Jacksonville State. Does that give you? Don't get me wrong, Jacksonville State was good last year. I saw firsthand. They whooped up on UL and the New Orleans Bowl.
Speaker: But like, what kind of two and two are you? Honestly, with the with the state of this football program, I think they would be thrilled to be two and two after the first four. like are you high to Are you competitive? rs very high Are you competitive with Kentucky and then beat USF? Cause if that's the case, then you might be feeling pretty good about being doing two like Brian saying, but if it's an ugly two and two, or even worse, if he's one and three after the first four and his only way to Southeastern Louisiana. There's a real shot of that. Yeah. you Bye. Bye. look Because the other thing too is unless
Speaker: Unless one of these losses in these four game chunks are really bad and ugly, teams love to fire coaches on like going into an off week to feel like, okay, well we have basically two weeks to prepare for this next game and get the, the inter interim like kind of up to speed and get like everybody together and stuff like that. So I think what's most likely. is that he does go two and two. I've not been particularly high on South Florida ah at all ever, I don't think. like Skip Holtz, I think, is the last guy I can think of that coached at South Florida, maybe.
Speaker: ah and I guess Charlie was Charlie strong there. I guess he was there. Somebody like somebody like that was there, ah like a red thread. But I think they beat Southeast Louisiana and USF. I think they get beat by Kentucky and Jacksonville State. I think they're two and two. I think he keeps his job. Now, the real question is, the reason I circled November 2nd, is there a chance he drops an ugly one to like? ULM or like Arkansas State and then all of a sudden it's like okay but we still have to play James Madison on the 26th do we cut bait now or do we suffer through that James Madison game and just sort of eat it and then get our interim like up to speed let's say October 22nd they they lose it James Madison it's 41 to 17 I think he's gone
Speaker: October 27th like at 9 a .m. I think they make the announcement and they spend two weeks getting prepared for Marshall on November 9th which is the reason I circled the second which because like I think that stack of conference games is really gonna tell you kind of where he stands in their eyes I think so with that said the over unders four and a half are you guys I'm taking the under I think they win four games taking the under as well
Speaker: Under, you've got Southeast Louisiana. Like we said, you ought to win Jacksonville state. You probably should win ULM. You probably should win, but then like USF and Arkansas state are both winnable, but those are kind of coin flippy. i I think the ceiling is. al move I think you've got South Florida and Jacksonville State backward. I think the Jacksonville State game, they're going to get beat because of kind of what Matt said. Like I think Jacksonville State is a better team than South Florida. I think South Florida has kind of been an embarrassment, like as long as I can remember, except for like, I think they had one 10 win season once, but I think
Speaker: The South Florida game is winnable. I think ULM is winnable. I think Arkansas State is winnable. But if they don't win both of those games against ULM and Arkansas State and then beat one of USF Jacksonville State in so Southeast Louisiana, like, yeah, dude, he's probably gone after like, if they lose October 12th at ULM and it's a 10 point loss, say, I think he's gone the next day. Like I think it's a matter of when not if that, you know, so oh that's kind of where I. um All right, that pretty much wraps it up. We've hit on everything for Georgia, Southern and Southern Miss on this episode. Do we have any sort of parting thoughts, ah Matt Zeke, as we as we take off, you can go ahead and plug socials, whatever you want to. And we'll go ahead and get out of here.
Speaker: It's going to be a very intriguing year for Sunbelt football. um There's just, you know, we we've we've talked about it at several occasions throughout the two episodes that we recorded. There's just so many teams that have gone through so many changes. and There's just gonna be so many questions that need to be answered and they're gonna get answered early on And so I think the first unit of three four weeks of the season are gonna be so interesting To see what the how these teams start to shape up as they head into conference play So really looking forward to that first month of the season ah you can follow me on social media as always at me guys Matt on X I hold a similar opinion about this Sunbelt season in that I think
Speaker: Honestly, this is a bad this I think this will be a bad year for the Sunbelt and this is a bad year to have a bad year as we're in the midst of conference crap and TV deals. This is a bad year to look bad on a national stage. um I'm on Twitter ah at Zeke Palermo z e k e p a l e r m o. I incorrectly said earlier that USF is in conference USA. They're in the AAC. I got that wrong because I've been caught in the conference realignment jumble that you can do an NCAA 25. Be sure to tweet the show all of your NCAA Sunbelt achievements. All right. Um,
Speaker: Yeah, one time I got reamed out by someone on Twitter who was mad that I classified Old Dominion as an independent when they were in Conference USA for one season before they came to the Sunbelt. So people will come after you for the minorest of of mistakes, believe me. because they will um You can find the show on X at warm weather fans. ah Feel free to like, subscribe, You know, whatever all of the pod catchers, Apple, Spotify were on all of them. You can find me personally on X at watch the stone. Um, yeah, this has been great. We'll be back next week with another episode, two more teams. This has been weather fans podcast.
