I'm trying a new format for the Roundup. Let me know what you think.
Shack’s ready to rack - Decaturdaily.com
Freshman linebacker D.T. Shackelford really is a player to get excited about. Not only is he a legitimate talent at linebacker according to his magical four stars (they automatically make him good, dammit), but he is also a helluva person. Read the article, you'll see. He's unphased by shortcomings, a damn hard worker, and a great student. Long story short, he's better and more interesting than you.
The Man behind the Man | The Clarion-Ledger
Kent Austin is the key to Ole Miss' success both last season and this upcoming season. How do I know this?
"He knows how to get players open, how to call it and when to call it," McCluster said. "As far as play-calling, he's the man."
(...)
"Without Kent, we don't have the same success," Nutt said. "His background and intelligence have been so valuable. Like you saw from last season, he has the ability to pull the best out of people. We're lucky to have him."
(...)
"I'm afraid to interrupt him," Snead said. "I just try to soak up everything he says because he's a brilliant coach and anything I can learn from him I take."
Read that Clarion Ledger article and do your best to not get excited about the offense for this upcoming season. I posit it to be impossible.
Dan Mullen is Winning the War Against Proper Nouns
Leghumpin' Bullfraud head coach Dan MullenS has once again earned the ire of some and the ridicule of most of the Rebel faithful by referring to our university as "That School Up North" (or, for short, TSUN--which is literally the acronym some State fans have used online). Godfrey examines this interesting new nickname for the red and blue and proposes new vague-yet-easily-understood phrases for other Mississippi State related themes.
FanShots-and-Posts Roundup
We've got some good ones from the last few days.
- RedHighHeels, the most dedicated XX-chromosomed Cup fan, shared her experiences at the Rebel Ladies Football Forum (or whatever they call it) this past weekend here. If you'll notice, she also linked some pretty wacky YouTube videos which include one Dexter of McCluster making the loins of middle-aged white women quiver with a strip tease right after announcing his intentions to show Coach O just how good his recruiting classes really were (oh JAM). She also posted a fanshot linking to a video of a five minute news story on Houston Nutt's goofy SI cover. Here's the fun part though, the news story was put together and aired by a Fayetteville news station. The Arkansas obsession lives on.
- The Mahatma, the scholarly gentleman who brought you the super-badass Jevan Snead NCAA 2010 cover, shared with us an "inspirational" gr3gxxz poster which, honestly, is creepily more emo than I think he intended it to be.
- Loche linked a YouTube video of Da Lil Bastid and gr3gxxz giving their singing/rapping chops a whirl at an Oxford High School charity event for Angel Ranch. As entertaining as the video may (or may not) be, it's good to see our players actively pursuing charitable work.
- Finally, ARebel21 shared some clips and screen shots from NCAA 2010 involving our Rebels. Last night I saved a highlight of pixellated Dex running out of the Wild Rebel for a 30-something yard score. I may post that up for you non-gamers out there just so you can get a chance to see how well EA did with making this season's NCAA as realistic as ever.