Is Pete Golding Overselling This Ole Miss Defense? I Have to Ask. | Law & Order College Sports Unit

I've spent two shows this week building on what Pete Golding said about his defense. Today I want to ask the uncomfortable question about it.   Steven Willis is joined by Tom Vanderford, the Mayor of Corinth, for the last questions of fall camp. IN THIS EPISODE: 🤔 How couched is Pete Golding? He said Edwin Joseph reminds him of somebody he coached before and wouldn't say the name — and he was at Alabama, so everybody had fun with that Google search. He said Keaton Thomas is better than some of the linebackers he had there. If both are true, this defense is going to be amazing. But does he mean it, or is he in a position where he might be overexaggerating? I'm not saying he's lying — a head coach in August has every incentive to talk up his roster, and that's the job. But there's a difference between precise and generous, and I don't know yet which one he is. Tom's answer is the fair one: the truth gets told in the next few months, and what the transfers actually did at their old schools isn't a quote — it's film.   💰 70/30, and what it bought. Tom's heard the 2025 transfer class was roughly 70% offense, 30% defense — and this year it's about half and half. That's the cleanest explanation of the whole offseason. Ole Miss shopped the bargain bin at defensive back and Miami found the ceiling in the semifinal. Now it's Edwin Joseph (Florida State), Joenel Aguero (Georgia), Jay Crawford (Auburn), Sharif Denson (Florida). Ole Miss could always get these guys. They just weren't paying for them.   🛡️ And Joseph has been playing cornerback. He said so at his press conference Friday — and it tells you exactly where this is going. If your safeties can cover like corners, you don't have to protect them, and you can turn the front seven loose.   🧱 Plus the right tackle answer. Tom's hearing Kinsler has moved forward, with Curne still in it — the light bulb may not have come on, but it's starting to flicker. And nobody's talking about Troy Everett, who played center at Oklahoma... where they just lost their center in practice.   Also: why the drop-off on this roster is after 50 instead of after 22, and what the tight end room actually looks like.   🚨 THE EVERYDAY CLUB IS NOW ONE TIER — $8/MONTH, EVERYBODY GETS EVERYTHING: https://lockedonolemiss.supercast.com   🏠 THE OLE MISS HUB — every Locked On video, articles, the Discord and the Everyday Club in one place: olemisshub.com   💬 FREE DISCORD: https://discord.gg/KF3dtcQJhC   Locked On Ole Miss is your daily Ole Miss Rebels podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Hotty Toddy. 🦈 #HottyToddy #OleMiss #OleMissFootball   Episode Timestamps 00:00 Predicting Ole Miss as champions 04:12 Evaluating Keaton Thomas' Potential 07:51 Discussing Tight End Prospects 10:32 Casual fan shirt benefits 13:23 Recruiting new 4-star transfers 18:50 FanDuel Daily Dingers promo 20:34 Eligibility issues in college sports 25:19 Talking Ole Miss fall camp   Everydayer Club   If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub     Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!   Poncho Outdoors Go to https://ponchooutdoors.com/LOCKEDON  and enter your email to get $10 off and free shipping on your first order Odoo Great organizations win because operations matter. And that’s why you should get Odoo. Try for free today at https://Odoo.com/lockedon.  Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast   FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. From the opening whistle to the final kick, Let There Be Goals on FanDuel. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started now.    FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.