College football fans across the country got a close up look at SEC Media Days of the type of coach Pete Golding is.
He’s an honest, cut-through-the-BS type of coach and it showed several times Wednesday. Whether talking about Lane Kiffin or tampering, Golding spoke his mind even when the words weren’t what he was “coached” to say.
It’s a breath of fresh air in an environment where coaches and players try not to be controversial, provide bulletin board material for rivals and, to be blunt, be boring.
Golding didn’t provide a lot of bulletin board material (Will Echoles took care of that) but the coach everyone else saw in Tampa, Fla. is one most Ole Miss fans and media are used to seeing.
For instance, Golding has been open about his defense’s lack of depth being a reason Ole Miss lost the College Football Playoff semifinal game against Miami. Specifically, he’s talked about depth along the defensive line.
“I didn’t feel like we had enough depth on the defensive line, especially inside, to stay fresh late in games,” Golding said Wednesday. “I thought that really hurt us.”
The Rebels brought in some older, more experienced defensive linemen to add some depth along the defensive line. One of those additions was Jaheim Oatis, who spent last season at Colorado after a couple years at Alabama.
While talking about Oatis and the portal recruiting pitch given, Golding’s personality showed back up.
“My message to Jaheim was, ‘I love you. I know what type of player you can be. But there’s a reason you haven’t been that player up to this point. You haven’t decided how good you want to be, and hard hasn’t been very good to you,’” Golding said. “I was concerned. I told him, ‘Do not come here if you aren’t coming to work extremely hard because my foot is going to be up your ass every day. This is your last shot. It’s your senior year.’”
Honest. Direct. No bull manure. That’s who Golding is. But it’s also telling that Oatis picked Ole Miss after hearing that. While we haven’t seen Oatis in a game-like setting for Ole Miss, he seems to have taken Golding’s words to heart.
“He’s surrounded by good guys in that room who hold him accountable. He gets to watch players like Will Echoles and Kam Franklin do things the right way consistently, and he says, ‘I want to be like that,’” Golding said. “I really like where Jaheim is right now. I fully expect him to have a significant role throughout the season.”
Whether Oatis is a significant contributor or not, what Golding said gives fans and media an insight into who he is. It’s an insight into how he’ll grow and build the program and take it to even more new heights.
Just don’t let those four letter words bother you too much.
