As spring practice winds down for Ole Miss football, the general takeaways from the last month are awash in generalities because Pete Golding and company ain’t here to play specifics.
However, if you read between the lines and have your double secret sources, the general takeaways align with the questions we had going into the spring. As we assumed:
- Finding two starting offensive tackles* will be an ongoing process
- Defense has a chance to be good, but they need consistency
- Overall, the team is a work in progress, which any coach in America would also say
*Carius Curne deciding to be an idiot and get himself arrested may have sorted this process out a little. Curne would not have started if the season began
last week, but he may have the highest ceiling among the tackle options. We can also assume he’s officially out of chances due to noted idiocy combined with his less than diplomatic approach to endearing himself to teammates and coaches.
While we could keep speaking in generalities and use phrases like “the light needs to come on,” “he’s flashed,” and “he may have turned a corner,” let’s not. Preseason practice (don’t call it fall camp!) will reveal the truth about every player.
Instead of generalities, let’s focus on things we know. For example, what starting right guard Patrick Kutas will listen to on game days in 2026.
In an interview with Billy Watkins of MSScoreboard, Kutas was asked about how he fires himself up on game days to find the gear to destroy what’s in front of him. His response:
“I don’t really have to get psyched up,” he said. “It’s just in me. I mean, I’m getting fired up and all that, but most of the time that’s during warmups. On game days, I’m usually calm, listen to stuff like Fleetwood Mac. I don’t have to find a place to go and get ready to play with intensity. That’s just what I do.”
In other words:
“Prior to warmups, I’m calm and listen to Fleetwood Mac. I was born in 2004. Please do not do an entire post about this. Yes, I’m looking at you, Gray of Red Cup Rebellion dot com.”
Can’t do it, Patrick! You said Fleetwood Mac to keep you calm! And probably only the slower, emotional songs!
BRIEF ASIDE: A reminder that baseball pitcher Terry Hayes Jr. picked “The Chain” as his walk-in song, which is also an inspired or deranged choice.
So let’s fast forward to September 6th when Ole Miss is in Nashville to play Louisville to open the season. It’s early Sunday afternoon, and Patrick Kutas is trying to stay calm before a 6:30 kickoff.
He puts on his headphones or inserts his Air Pods, picks up his phone, and finds his game day playlist. It’s probably called “Stevie and the Crew Get My Mind Right,” or “A Deranged or Genius Way to Keep Me Calm.”
He taps play and LETS THE CALM WASH OVER HIM.
BANGER.
NO ONE LOOK AT ME.
I’M NOT CRYING, TRINIDAD, JUST STAYING CALM.
TIME CASTS A SPELL ON YOU BUT YOU WON’T FORGET ME
I KNOW I COULD’VE LOVED YOU BUT YOU WOULD NOT LET ME
Elite stuff from Patrick Kutas. My kingdom for a karaoke performance where he runs through his Fleetwood Mac playlist and sings “Silver Springs” with everything he’s got.
