1. With Mayers, Wahl, and Turner getting drafted and still having a year of eligibility left, do you see any of them potentially returning for their senior season?
David Collier (@DavidLCollier): The only one they have a shot at is Bobby Wahl. Both Mike Mayers and Stuart Turner went too high in the draft for them to turn it down. However, Wahl’s unexpected slide down the board could get him back to Oxford. If he returned, he would use his leverage in negotiations, but another 10 win season in the SEC could prove to scouts that he deserves to be taken in the first couple of rounds.
Tyler Bischoff (@Tyler_RSR): The big question mark is Bobby Wahl. By falling to the 5th round, Wahl lost over a million dollars in expected signing bonus. This makes his decision to return much more likely than originally anticipated. If I were in Wahl’s position, I would go pro. Getting to the top level of professional baseball is a long process and coming back would prohibit that process by a year.
John Luke McCord (@JLgrindin): Mayers and Turner are definitely gone. Nothing left for them to come back and prove. As for Wahl, it could get interesting. He slipped to the fifth round and that was much lower than he was projected. Some feel it is because he projects as a closer, and if that is so, he should not come back because he will be drafted about the same next year as well, if he feels that he could improve his stock as a starter or just wants to finish his college experience he could very well come back. He has a decision to make, but I would be shocked if he does come back.
2. After having Sam Kendricks named a national champion in track and field, non-“Big 3” sports got some recognition at Ole Miss. What do you think will help smaller sports gain more attention?
Collier: More championships. Unfortunately for the smaller sports, the only way to get attention is to continue to win. Head coach Billy Chadwick’s success running the men’s tennis team has certainly made them the most popular smaller sport on campus.
Bischoff: Winning. Fans do not care about the small sports unless they are winning. It was cool to get a sombrero on Cinco de Mayo day at a softball game in 2012, but promotions won’t keep fans interested. Winning does. If a smaller sport isn’t successful, most fans treat it as if it doesn’t exist.
McCord: Really, as strange as it sounds, the “Big 3” have to continue the momentum they have in keeping the Ole Miss brand in the public eye and the non-”Big 3” need to keep winning and it will allow people to see all the successful parts of the Ole Miss athletics department.
3. The Ole Miss football team has been given quite a bit of attention this offseason and is projected to have another decent year. Although it is very early, where do you see the Rebels finishing?
Collier: There’s obviously a lot of factors that will go into their success this season. Will Bo Wallace be 100 percent when the season begins? Can Nick Brassell get eligible? How much will the freshmen contribute? We won’t know for sure, but right now, I see Ole Miss winning against Vanderbilt, Southeast Missouri, Idaho, Arkansas, Troy, Missouri and Mississippi State with a chance against Texas and Auburn on the road and Texas A&M and LSU at home. Right now, I’ll predict an 8-4 record.
Bischoff: Hugh Freeze has said himself that next year’s team could be a better team but have a worse record than the 2012 squad. He is spot on. Ole Miss pulled in a top 10 recruiting class but so did a handful of other SEC schools. Ole Miss will not have a mega increase in wins as some fans suspect. They will finish around the .500 mark as they did last year.
McCord: I feel like Ole Miss will finish anywhere from third to sixth in the SEC West. I feel like this could be a six- to eight-win team, and if it is around last year’s win total, then people should not be discouraged. The SEC West will be even tougher this year than last year. Texas A&M will be a national championship contender, Alabama is the favorite to win the national championship, LSU is beatable for Ole Miss but still a very, very talented team, and then teams like Auburn and Arkansas will be improved and Mississippi State will be as good as they were last year. So seven wins again in 2013 would really be an improvement from last season.
4. What sport do you think the Ole Miss fan base will be most excited for next season?
Collier: It has to be football. Basketball is a close second with the animated Marshall Henderson leading the charge, but Hugh Freeze has put Ole Miss football in the national spotlight. A top five recruiting class, strong finish to 2012 and a pace to sellout season tickets make football the obvious choice.
Bischoff: Football. It will always be football. Baseball and basketball could win national championships, but football would still reign supreme in Oxford. With Hugh Freeze and Ross Bjork running the show, Ole Miss fans have let their expectations for next year’s football team run rampant. Finally beating Dan Mullen, winning a bowl game and securing a top recruiting class have the fan base ready to blow.
McCord: Basketball will have people’s attention and people will be observing Mike Bianco with lots of interest next year, but clearly football has captured and grabbed the interest of every Rebel fan and the excitement Hugh Freeze has brought feels like it did in the 2008 and 2009 seasons. The football team will be the team that Rebel fans will be most excited to see.
