Ross Bjork has an extra month to respond to the NCAA, the Diamondbears swept their midweek set and Big Rob is shopping for a new pet.
If you were buying a pet panther, what would you name it? Such questions rarely arise for mere plebes such as us, especially those of us who can’t be bothered to stay assiduously up to date on all things Ole Miss sports. That’s why your weekly news roundup is here. Let’s get to it.
1. Ole Miss’ response deadline to the NCAA’s Notice of Allegations has been pushed back 30 days.
Athletics Director Ross Bjork announced Thursday that Ole Miss received a deadline extension of 30 days on their response to the Notice of Allegations levied against the program back in January. The fact that the extension was requested by a third party (presumably a former coach or coaches no longer associated with the school) is important to note, and our guy Michael Borkey breaks down what it means in Thursday night’s Facebook Live chat.
Once the school’s response is submitted in late May, another 60 day review process transpires on the NCAA’s end, followed by a hearing and final decision on punishment, which could last as long as six weeks. That would place the very public and much-anticipated announcement of punishment smack in the middle of August, just weeks before the 2016 football season begins.
2. Laremy Tunsil’s draft spot fell again, through no fault of his own.
It’s the fault of the Browns and the Eagles, really. The Browns, who held the second overall pick at this year’s NFL Draft, saw a chance to haul in a trawl of later round picks in exchange for their first round spot, and Philadelphia was more than happy to take that offer. A similar circumstance went down a couple weeks ago when the Titans traded their first overall pick down to the Rams in exchange for a treasure trove of later round picks.
All of this is to say that Tunsil, the best blocker in this year’s draft, almost certainly won’t be drafted first or second. It appears that the Rams’ and Eagle’s motives in trading up involve going after quarterbacks, which would push Tunsil down to the third overall pick to the Chargers and perhaps as far sixth to the Ravens.
3. Ole Miss baseball pulled off the midweek sweep.
“Sweep” in the sense that they won their Tuesday night tilt against Memphis, 7-0, and Wednesday nighter against Murray State, 8-3 (all while we made delicious, diner-style smash burgers). The Diamond Rebs are now 10-1 in their midweek outings this season, and this week’s scoring fest brings a jolt of offense to the boys, who scored just six runs in their series loss to Alabama last weekend. Next up: Auburn, who is terrible (18-19, 5-10 SEC).
4. Robert Nkemdiche wants to buy a panther.
Seth Wickersham’s sprawling interview feature on Nkemdiche has many notable anecdotes about the future NFLer, from his love of Mountain Dew to his very bad bowling technique. Those who have followed Big Rob with even a passing interest will find little of surprise here, not least his desire to purchase a damn pet panther upon signing with a pro squad.
It’s actually perfectly indicative of Nkemdiche’s hilarious and at times perplexing persona that he should mention this to an ESPN journo on the eve of the most important day of his professional life, and it’s surprising he didn’t provide the name he’s already picked out for it.