SEC Media Days 2019: Here are the Ole Miss highlights from their time in Hoover

TALKIN’ SEASON BACK!

College football isn’t back yet but SEC Media Days is finally here so let’s overreact to answers to bland questions, make fashion accusations about student-athletes, and laugh at the fact that Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt still may or may not know what asparagus is.

But, before we do that, here are the things that you might have missed from the Rebels’ time in the Yellowhammer State.

Matt Luke wins 90’s country music trivia all the time.

Our happy-go-lucky, tarp-wearing head coach is not only an expert on blood types and whether or not you are kin, he is also apparently a huge fan of stadium country.

The family network seems to think that he is a big fan of Mr. Tritt. But, just off the top of my head, these are the tracks that I think coach Luke jams out to on Jackson Avenue in the morning when he’s heading to the Manning Center Sonic:

• “Chattahoochee” - Alan Jackson
• “Strawberry Wine” - Deanna Carter
• “Meet in the Middle” - Diamond Rio
• “Write This Down” - George Strait
• “Maybe It Was Memphis” - Pam Tillis
• “Friends in Low Places” - Garth Brooks
• “Wide Open Spaces” - Dixie Chicks
• “Neon Moon” - Brooks & Dunn
• “Any Man of Mine” - Shania Twain
• “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” - Toby Keith

So in case there’s a bar in Oxford or the surrounding areas that is doing 90’s country trivia or karaoke, y’all know who to call.

Momo Sanogo was rockin’ some bling.

Ole Miss’ leading tackler from 2018 is back in Oxford and he was chosen by Luke to accompany him to Hoover for media days. And before leaving Oxford, Sanogo made the point to get him some good-looking jewelry to impress all the journalists that were there to interview him about his plans to fix the Landshark defense.

Cabell Philpott from IMG Audio met with Sanogo and noticed the bling on his wrist and was quite complimentary. But now, one can’t help but think that the NCAA is going to start snooping around again, trying to figure out how Momo was able to afford such a modest piece of ice.

Tisk tisk, Momo, now we’re back to square one.

SPOILER ALERT: Matt Corral has swagger.

The redshirt freshman quarterback and new starter in Oxford made the trip to Hoover with Luke and Sanogo and did not disappoint the folks who think that the Ventura, Calif. native reminds them a lot of former Ole Miss signal caller and Indianapolis Colt Chad Kelly.

Now, I would be lying if I said I didn’t want our quarterback to think the Rebs will go 12-0 under his watch, make it to Atlanta for the first time in program history, and challenge for a spot in the College Football Playoff. But, I’ll settle for “going to surprise a lot of people this year” to equal “running an efficient offense under new offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez and potentially getting back to a bowl game for the first time since 2016”.

There’s no doubt the new Ole Miss starter has plenty of moxy, but hearing him say that seems to be much more than media days talk and more about how he is comfortable with Rodriguez’s new offense and the confidence he has in his teammates to run it.

Alex Givens informs us that his QB ain’t bout that bullshit.

The senior offensive tackle spoke with the Ole Miss Spirit’s Ben Garrett while in Hoover with his two teammates and head coaches. He mostly talked about the rebuild of the offensive line. After all, they are replacing three starters off last year’s squad that helped pave the way for SEC newcomer Scottie Phillips’ breakout season.

But, he also talked with Garrett about his quarterback and how his give a fuck button has been broken for quite some time.

“He brings a nasty attitude, and you love to see that as an offensive lineman,” he said. “That’s how I am out there. He doesn’t take any crap from anyone. It’s good to see.”

I can’t speak for everyone obviously, but last year’s Egg Bowl was never close so it was quite refreshing to see not only some fight, but some attitude and toughness from the quarterback.

Givens mentioned how Rodriguez has plenty of that same energy and that he hopes that the offense embodies that same style in 2019.

“It was eye-opening,” Givens said about Corral bowing up on literally the entire Mississippi State defense. “I liked it. It got me going.”