"An Eraser." The Ole Miss Linebacker Nobody Was Talking About. | OU Crossover With Jay Smith

Pete Golding called Keaton Thomas the best linebacker he can remember coaching. Golding was the defensive coordinator at Alabama. Read that sentence twice. Steven Willis joins Jay Smith of Locked On Sooners for a Locked On College Crossover ahead of Ole Miss–Oklahoma in Norman. IN THIS EPISODE: 🛡️ "An eraser." That's Golding's word for Thomas — a second-level player who makes mistakes disappear. Ole Miss hasn't had one in years; Chris Paul in 2024 is the last comparison. And Thomas is now five separate sources in ten days: Pick Six, Brett Ciancia, Harry Harrison out of the press box, Bryan Brown calling him a bell cow, and now the head coach. Plus the rumor inside the building: they think this defense can be 2024-level elite — the year Ole Miss led the nation in rush defense at 85.1 yards a game. 📋 Six of ten came back. Every national show ran the story about who followed Kiffin to Baton Rouge. Nobody ran this number: Ole Miss returned six of its ten assistants, the entire defensive staff, and both the offensive line coach and the quarterbacks coach — the two most important strategic pieces on offense that aren't a coordinator. And John David Baker is more Jeff Lebby than Charlie Weis Jr., was here from 2021-23 before Weis arrived, and took East Carolina from statistically the worst offense in college football to a top-15 unit. He's also the reason Jaxson Dart came to Ole Miss — and without those three years, there's probably no Trinidad Chambliss here at all. ♟️ The Troy Everett chess match. A former Oklahoma center is on this roster. Ole Miss goes to Norman in November. And there's genuine respect for the Venables defense all over that building. Last year Kiffin beat Oklahoma by inverting his entire offense in the rain — slowing down, waiting for the clock to stop, specifically to get the headset off. That won't work twice. So what's next? 🤝 And the honest part. Jay Smith picked Oklahoma. Ole Miss is 3-0 in this series against one of the proudest programs in the sport, and eventually the law of averages catches you. Plus: it apparently rains every single time Ole Miss goes to Norman. Also: why Suntarine Perkins gets overlooked, what his nickname actually is, and the Chucky Mullins Award. 🚨 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 🎧 Follow Jay Smith at Locked On Sooners. 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 John David Baker's coaching journey 05:51 Changes in Oklahoma football coaching 06:47 Coaching connections and team dynamics 10:04 New coaching impact on offense 15:27 Exciting new defensive lineup 18:22 Discussion on Pete Golding's impact 21:50 New talent and team strategy 25:21 Oklahoma's revamped wide receiver room 27:14 Discussion on Oklahoma's offensive line 29:59 Oklahoma's challenging football schedule JOIN THE EVERYDAYERS CLUB https://lockedonolemiss.supercast.com/ 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) Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms… 🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOOleMiss?sid=YouTube Locked On College Conferences, HBCU, Basketball & More 🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnCollege #OleMiss #OleMissFootball #CollegeFootball