Fox & Hound is a bar and grill nestled within the north Mississippi city of Southaven. There’s nothing spectacular about it. It’s obtained a pool desk or two, some dart boards and serves burgers, wings and buckets of chilly beer.
However now, Fox & Hound will likely be recognized for one thing else.
It’s the place Mike Leach satisfied Zach Arnett to affix his employees at Mississippi State. In a most Leach transfer, the coach employed Arnett throughout a greater than three-hour telephone name at a bar.
“He was sitting over there within the nook and obtained on the telephone with Arnett making an attempt to get him because the coordinator,” recollects Brad Peterson, then the highschool relations director for Leach. “Me and [assistant] Mason Miller shot pool and threw darts ready on him to get off the telephone!”
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Almost three years later, Arnett is the highest Dawg in Starkville.
Mississippi State is anticipated to raise Arnett as its everlasting head coach in a transfer more likely to be made official Thursday, sources inform Sports activities Illustrated. Officers have spent the final 24 hours in critical dialogue about how selling Arnett would stabilize this system in a time of grief, every week earlier than signing day and amid the switch portal insanity.
Zach Arnett has earned the belief wanted to steer Mississippi State soccer after Mike Leach’s sudden loss of life.
Joe Robbins/Getty Photos
The 36-year-old would be the youngest head coach within the SEC, three years youthful than Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz. Arnett is similar age, when employed, as a former Mississippi State coach: Dan Mullen.
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Arnett, who simply accomplished his third season as Mississippi State’s defensive coordinator, was named interim coach when Leach was hospitalized after a cardiac-related emergency on Sunday morning. He died Monday evening in a passing that rocked the school recreation.
Mississippi State elevates some of the sought-after younger up-and-coming defensive minds within the recreation. During the last two years, a number of powerhouse packages have flirted with Arnett, leading to his whopper of a contract. Arnett was set to make $1.2 million per yr on a contract that was prolonged over the summer time by way of the 2024 season. In line with 247Sports, it was the longest contract ever given to a coordinator on the college. He is set to obtain one other sizable pay bump together with his elevation to move coach.
Arnett’s first orders of enterprise will likely be to retain gamers, signal new ones and decide a future for Mississippi State’s offense. The Bulldogs have been working Leach’s Air Raid scheme with gamers recruited and constructed for the system, together with star quarterback Will Rogers. Leach served as his personal offensive coordinator and referred to as performs.
Leach introduced Arnett to Starkville in January of 2020, luring him away from Syracuse, the place he’d simply been employed 11 days prior. Arnett is a New Mexico native who performed linebacker at UNM for longtime coach Rocky Lengthy. He coached underneath Lengthy as a graduate assistant, place coach and eventually coordinator over Lengthy’s nine-year tenure at San Diego State.
Arnett was a four-time educational all-conference honoree at New Mexico and recorded greater than 200 tackles his senior season. He began his profession there as a two-sport athlete earlier than dropping baseball (he was a catcher).
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“He was not very huge. He was a bit undersized for being a linebacker,” Lengthy says. “He was fairly athletic. He’s solely about 5-foot-10 and was taking part in inside linebacker for us. He wasn’t tremendous quick however might change instructions. As all good linebackers can do, he’d acknowledge a play and react as he was alleged to.”
Lengthy had a task in Arnett’s hiring at Mississippi State. Leach and Lengthy have a relationship that dates again to Leach’s days at Texas Tech, the place in 2004 the Pink Raiders misplaced to Lengthy’s Lobos, 27–24. Leach turned enamored with Lengthy’s 3-3-5 protection.
“From that second on, we turned associates,” Lengthy says.
So, when searching for a coordinator, Leach referred to as Lengthy. Lengthy prompt Arnett. After which Leach, from that bar, referred to as Arnett.
Whereas Peterson and Miller shot pool and darts, Leach talked to Arnett for greater than three hours. And the telephone name didn’t finish when the coaches left the bar.
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“We lastly obtained coach out of there and he was nonetheless on the telephone with him after which he was on the telephone within the elevator after which he walked into his lodge room on the telephone,” laughs Peterson.
DELLENGER: ‘The Most Attention-grabbing Man Alive’: Tales Paint Leach’s Life Image
In three years in Starkville, Arnett has constructed sturdy relationships in a talent-rich state. In truth, when information emerged Wednesday that he’d be promoted to the full-time head coach, he was out recruiting.
“He’s actually good. The youngsters actually like him. Onerous-nosed,” says Peterson, now out of the teaching enterprise. “He’s obtained a lot widespread sense. He’s a humble man. He’s what you might be searching for. He’ll do an excellent job.
“He understands Mississippi State recruiting. You get guys in right here not from the South and the SEC and so they don’t perceive Mississippi recruiting. He does.”
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Arnett is believed to be the primary SEC coach of Hispanic descent. He’s the second minority coach that Mississippi State has employed, becoming a member of Sylvester Croom (2004). Mississippi State and Vanderbilt (James Franklin, Derek Mason) are believed to be the one two SEC colleges to have employed a number of minority head soccer coaches.
In an interview with SI earlier Wednesday, Mississippi State president Mark Keenum mentioned of Arnett: “I’ve admired him and his function as our defensive coordinator. He’s carried out an excellent job.”
It was an all-Mississippi recruiting race for four-star safety Cortez Thomas.
It made sense, too. Thomas, who goes to Holmes County High School, hails from Lexington, Mississippi, and he clearly wanted to stay in-state to play college ball.
Despite 13 other offers, Ole Miss and Mississippi State were his top two schools.
The Bulldogs had an early edge for Thomas, admittedly, but there was a shakeup in Starkville that saw head coach Zach Arnett fired just 10 games into his first season. Jeff Lebby, former Oklahoma offensive coordinator, took over as new head coach, but that shakeup ultimately gave an edge to Lane Kiffin and the Rebels.
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“At first, I was leaning more towards Mississippi State until the coaching staff changed,” Thomas told On3’s Chad Simmons. “Mississippi State is always a great school to go to, but Ole Miss is more about business and I feel like that’s where I need to go.”
If the “business” of college football is winning, which it ultimately is, Kiffin has had Ole Miss on track. Entering his fifth season with the Rebels, he has a 34-15 overall record and is coming off an 11-2 season with a win in the Peach Bowl over Penn State.
“Lane Kiffin is all about winning. I’m pretty sure every athlete wants to play for a winning team,” Cortez said. “From what I’ve heard and seen so far, he’s a great person.”
According to the 247Sports composite, Thomas is the No. 18 safety in the 2025 class. He’s Kiffin’s 10th commitment for the cycle.
Courtesy National Weather Service, Pleasant Hill, Mo.
The “mighty Mississippi” and the “mighty Missouri” are both on the rise.
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A flood warning is now in effect for the entire length of the Missouri River in the Show-Me State, from north of the Iowa border all the way to where it flows into the Mississippi River north of St. Louis. Flood warnings are also in effect for several tributaries of the Missouri.
The Mississippi River is under a flood warning as well, from Cape Girardeau northward into Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
Heavy rains have been pushing through portions of Missouri most of the week. Workers in northeastern Missouri’s Hannibal have install five flood walls and the town of Clarksville downriver has been building a barrier the past few days to keep the Mississippi from flooding downtown.
Minor flooding on the Mississippi is forecast for Cape Girardeau. KFVS-TV reports that the river is expected to crest at 35.5 feet on July 10th, which is not high enough for the city to close its floodgate.
All that extra moisture will likely make it feel especially hot in parts of the state. An Excessive Heat Warning is in effect Thursday for the Bootheel counties of Dunklin and Pemiscot. North of the Bootheel, a large stretch of southern Missouri is under a Heat Advisory. Heat indices could reach between 105 and 110 degrees in the advisory area and climb higher than 110 degrees in the Bootheel.
Grab a watermelon from the grocery store and put it on ice. It will be chilled in time to enjoy while you’re watching fireworks tonight.
In my humble opinion watermelon should be the official food of the Fourth of July. On a steamy hot day, there is surely nothing better than biting into a wedge of ice cold watermelon. Mark Twain even said those who have tasted watermelon “know what angels eat.” How fortunate we are in Mississippi that peak watermelon season runs from mid-June to mid-July, when temperatures are soaring. There’s just no better treat to eat on a hot summer day.
Most large, seeded watermelons grown in Mississippi are Royal Sweet, 720 or Starbright. All have rich, red flesh that is sweet and juicy. There are also smaller “personal watermelons” and watermelons with yellow-flesh. But really, they’re all delicious.
According to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, watermelon production, and consumption, has been on the rise in the past few decades. The organization estimates that Americans eat 15.5 pounds of watermelon per person each year. That’s a lot of watermelon seeds to spit out.
Surprisingly Mississippi doesn’t produce as many watermelons as you may think. There are just a few dozen watermelon farmers in the state, and the output is less than one percent of the United States market share, according to USDA data. But there is plenty to go around, and for most people, the quality is more important than the quantity, and we grow delicious watermelons in Mississippi.
They are so good, in fact, that they are celebrated with a festival each year in Mize, Mississippi. Mize is located in Smith County, which arguably grows the best watermelons on earth. For 46 years, the Mize Watermelon Festival has been held in downtown Mize, and it keeps getting bigger every year. This year’s festival will bel held July 19 and 20 and will feature some top-tier entertainment.
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Josh Gracin and Karley Nichols will perform on Saturday. Mike Cockrell from the Discovery Channel’s hit show Moonshiners will be at the festival. Mike is a Mize native, and he loves coming home to support the Volunteer Fire Department, the recipient of the proceeds of the festival.
It’s not too late to enjoy a watermelon today. Grab one from the grocery store and put it on ice. It will be chilled in time to enjoy while you’re watching fireworks tonight.
Top Ten Watermelon Facts
You will not grow a watermelon out of your head if you swallow a seed.
The U.S. Watermelon Speed-Eating & Seed-Spitting Championships held the first Saturday after Labor Day in September on the grounds of Chandler Park in Pardeeville, Wisconsin. There are rules. You can see them here (in case you want to hold your own backyard competition).
There is no wrong way to cut a watermelon. They are equally delicious cut into wedges, cubes, sticks, balls, or boats.
Watermelon is both a fruit and a vegetable, belonging to the same family as cucumbers, pumpkins and squash.
Watermelons live up to their name. They are composed of 92% water.
Watermelons are grown in 96 countries.
The heaviest watermelon recorded weighed 350.5 pounds, grown by Chris Kent in Sevierville, Tennessee. It was verified by the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth on October 4, 2013.
Watermelon has only about 40 calories per cup.
Watermelon does not contain any bad fat or cholesterol.
In ancient Egypt, watermelons were placed in burial tombs to nourish the soul after they had passed.
Watermelon Lime Tajin Mocktails
And finally, here’s to the perfect Fourth of July drink from whataboutwatermelon!
Ingredients
1 cup seedless Watermelon, diced and semi-frozen
1/2 c Water
Juice from one Lime (or to taste), plus more for rimming the glasses
Pinch of sugar or honey (if needed)
Small Lime Wedge (for garnish)
Tajin Seasoning (for rimming the glass)
Instructions
Cut the watermelon into slices or “steaks” and then into cubes. Partially freeze on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Using lime juice to adhere, rim the glass with Tajin seasoning. I find that placing the seasoning powder on a flat plate gives the most even coverage. Set aside.
Add the watermelon, about half as much water, a pinch of sugar (or drizzle of honey) and lime juice (to taste) to the blender. Puree until completely smooth.
Add to your mini glasses and garnish with a small wedge of lime.
Serve immediately.
Writer’s Note: A little vodka, gin, or tequila wouldn’t hurt.
