Just got back from the Road Dawgs Tour event in Houston. Arnett & Selmon were there and it was more of a moderated event run by Bart Gregory. It was put together well but all of the questions were asked by Bart and no open Q&A from the audience. Overall, I enjoyed it. Here are some things I took away:
1) Arnett was very personable and really working the crowd. About 30 min before the actual event started, he was walking the room, introducing himself, and taking pics on request. He spent a couple of minutes with each group he talked to and actually answered some pretty specific questions about players, schemes, etc when asked. This was 100% off the cuff and the crowd response was all positive. Very different than the presence Mullen and Moorhead had at previous events.
2) Arnett & Selmon both talked about how special Starkville and MSU are. Could‘ve just been saying what we want to hear, but it sounded like both genuinely enjoy the town & university.
3) Selmon talked a lot about all of the athletic programs and the successes we‘re having, but he never said the words the words “baseball” or “Lemonis”.
4) Both Arnett & Selmon spoke to the importance of NIL. Arnett’s specific comments were “We can find and develop great players - If you can’t do that in our recruiting footprint, you’re not much of a coach The reason we need NIL is to keep those players on our campus after everyone else sees how good they are.” He specifically used Forbes as an example - 3 star recruit that we developed into a 1st round pick. We don’t need NIL to sign those guys, but we do need it to keep them. Arnett & Selmon both said the best way we can support the athletic department is by supporting the Bulldog Initiative. Personally, I don’t like NIL and what it’s doing to college athletics, but it’s good to see we have administration & HC’s that are embracing it instead of lamenting and downplaying it like Cohen did.
5) After the event, I talked to a younger alum. He told me he approached Selmon, introduced himself, and asked him to do him a favor - keep a close eye on the baseball program. He said Selmon “gave a small chuckle and quickly excused himself.”
Overall, a good event and one of the best Road Dawg Tours I’ve attended.
1) Arnett was very personable and really working the crowd. About 30 min before the actual event started, he was walking the room, introducing himself, and taking pics on request. He spent a couple of minutes with each group he talked to and actually answered some pretty specific questions about players, schemes, etc when asked. This was 100% off the cuff and the crowd response was all positive. Very different than the presence Mullen and Moorhead had at previous events.
2) Arnett & Selmon both talked about how special Starkville and MSU are. Could‘ve just been saying what we want to hear, but it sounded like both genuinely enjoy the town & university.
3) Selmon talked a lot about all of the athletic programs and the successes we‘re having, but he never said the words the words “baseball” or “Lemonis”.
4) Both Arnett & Selmon spoke to the importance of NIL. Arnett’s specific comments were “We can find and develop great players - If you can’t do that in our recruiting footprint, you’re not much of a coach The reason we need NIL is to keep those players on our campus after everyone else sees how good they are.” He specifically used Forbes as an example - 3 star recruit that we developed into a 1st round pick. We don’t need NIL to sign those guys, but we do need it to keep them. Arnett & Selmon both said the best way we can support the athletic department is by supporting the Bulldog Initiative. Personally, I don’t like NIL and what it’s doing to college athletics, but it’s good to see we have administration & HC’s that are embracing it instead of lamenting and downplaying it like Cohen did.
5) After the event, I talked to a younger alum. He told me he approached Selmon, introduced himself, and asked him to do him a favor - keep a close eye on the baseball program. He said Selmon “gave a small chuckle and quickly excused himself.”
Overall, a good event and one of the best Road Dawg Tours I’ve attended.
