Chris and Katie Usrey are the creators and owners Gamechanger Hangover Patches. They are native Southerners from Louisiana who grew up just like you — looking forward to Friday night mixers, Saturday game days and Sunday brunch. Chris went to Ole Miss and Katie to LSU, but Oxford is her favorite place to watch an LSU football or baseball game. Going from college to careers and starting a family, their social events expanded to include happy hours with co-workers and long boozy client dinners, girls’ nights out or guys’ trips that included a lot of drinking. Even in a house divided, one thing everyone can agree on is that hangovers suck.
As they got older, they got more responsibility, so they had to get smarter. They did their research on scientifically proven ingredients to help prevent hangovers and aid in recovery so they could be as productive as possible. They
But there was a problem — it was either 10 pills and capsules before and after drinking or drinking nasty concoctions that smelled, tasted terrible and lingered unpleasantly.
When the COVID lockdown started and work slowed down, they were both staying home and drinking more. After using a competing patch that didn’t work, the idea came to them to put their hangover remedy ingredients onto a transdermal patch. They made the patches for themselves; but, they were really excited about how well they worked and believed that other people like them needed a hangover patch that really worked too. That’s how GameChanger came to be.
Gamechanger Patches are the only two-patch system available in the market. The WarmUp Patch is used before or while you drink and the OverTime patch is used after you have been drinking and while you sleep.
They designed GameChanger patches based on the science of preventing hangovers, to include the highest quality ingredients sourced by the reputable manufacturers in the United States and the UK. They researched the potent ingredients that include enzymes, nutrients, vitamins and minerals that are effective in protecting your liver and metabolizing alcohol to stop hangovers before they start. Gamechanger was the first patch to focus on Glutathione, which supplements and increases the production of the enzyme made by the liver to protect itself.
The OverTime patch also include Glutathione PLUS DHM and highly potent ingredients to help you metabolize alcohol while you sleep PLUS melatonin, L-theanine and Hemp extract to help you sleep better so you wake up feeling refreshed. You can use one or both patches based on when and how much you are drinking.
They believe in the potency, effectiveness and the science of GameChanger so much that we patented them. Try it for yourself at GameChangerPatch.com. Enter Promo Code RebelGrove20 at checkout for 20 percent off your purchase.
1. The talent has always been there for Braylon Sanders.
The consistency — specifically, the consistency of health — hasn’t been. Injuries have nagged Sanders off and on since he arrived at Ole Miss in 2017. Four years later, however, the Hogansville, Ga., product has emerged as the likely No. 1 option in Lane Kiffin’s passing attack. And the second-year Ole Miss coach isn’t slow-playing Sanders’ importance to the 2021 Rebels.
“Braylon can play all over the place,” Kiffin said earlier in the week. “I think he’s extremely talented. If he can have a good year, from a height, weight, speed, ball-skills standpoint, he’s a potential first-round draft pick. You saw the plays he made a year ago. He just didn’t have that many opportunities with injuries and other situations. I look for him to have a really good year.”
With Elijah Moore gone to the New York Jets, Sanders knows it’s his job to step up this fall. He had 15 catches for 376 yards and four touchdowns a season ago, and he knows his team and his future professional hopes need a much bigger final tally this fall.
“I’m feeling the best I can be right now,” Sanders said. “I’m doing my part by staying in the training room every day and letting Pat (Jernigan) and his staff work on me and doing a little bit at home myself.
“Of course, I’m always going to have that confidence that I can be that guy. We also have other guys in that room who can also be that guy, so anybody can be the No. 1, but if it’s me, God bless and I’ll be ready for the opportunity.”
Sanders arrived at Ole Miss in time to witness the end of DK Metcalf and A.J. Brown’s storied college careers. Instead of pouting about a lack of playing time, he observed and took notes.
“Having those guys when I first came in was a blessing,” Sanders said. “For these young guys, when they come in, I just try to do the same things those guys did for me — slowing the game down some for them and showing them some tips for how to get off press (coverage) and what to do when a guy’s in what position and things like that.
“Coming in as a freshman and seeing all those guys in front of me, I knew I was going to have to wait my turn. I just knew I had to keep my head down, keep fighting, keep working and keep pushing. Hard work pays off all the time.”
The goal this fall, Sanders said, isn’t difficult to define. He knew late last season he planned to return for another year in Oxford, and he knew why.
“Hopefully win a championship and be the next big receiver coming out of here,” Sanders said.
2. Sanders isn’t the only wide receiver in Oxford to notice a difference in quarterback Matt Corral this fall camp.
Sanders has been friends with Corral since arriving at Ole Miss. They were mutual friends with former Ole Miss wide receiver DaMarkus Lodge, and they hit it off immediately. Sanders said he’s seen Corral grow during his time at Ole Miss.
“It’s been a journey for him,” Sanders said. “Freshman year, he didn’t say much. As time went on, he just broke out of his shell. Now you can tell he’s that guy and he’s going to be that leader on the field for us this year.”
Sanders was one of several players to go to Corral’s home in California this summer for some extended training. The trip, Sanders said, was “just to get the chemistry right.”
California “was different for me, coming from the country, going out west, but it was fun and we just did a little work on the field and in the gym, training. It was fun.”
Fellow wide receiver Jonathan Mingo said he’s seen a change in Corral as well. He’s now the vocal leader at practice, in the huddle and off the field. He’s also improved as a player, Mingo said.
“He’s improved his body,” Mingo said. “The mechanics of his arm have gotten way better. I’m excited to see him play.”
3. In what has to be the best thing Ole Miss fans have heard in years, the Rebels’ defense has been the story of the early portion of fall camp.
Specifically, Ole Miss’ defensive secondary, which was scary thin and frighteningly bad over the past two seasons, has been making plays day after day, at times completely disrupting the Rebels’ explosive offense.
“We didn’t have a really good feeling about what we were doing last year, so it was hard to go out and give it your all,” Ole Miss safety A.J. Finely said. “We had to think through a lot of things. Now we’re out there flying around, knowing what we have to do.”
Depth is also fast becoming a strength, especially on the back end of Ole Miss’ defense. The Rebels are routinely playing six defensive backs at a time, and they have the depth of talent needed to pull it off.
“We just have a lot of guys back there,” Finley said. “We have a lot of guys making plays and we’re trying to get them all out there. So we’re putting them all out there so we can make plays.”
“I think having a full year with spring practice and also having a year with the scheme, everyone is understanding and getting into the little details of our scheme and things like that,” safety Jake Springer added. “The defense is playing really close and really fast and physical and we’re just hungry. We’re just hungry to show people what we’ve got this year.”
The role of safeties in this defense is to just “make plays,” Springer said.
“We’re just trying to make our room be as versatile as possible and play well,” Springer said. “There are a lot of guys out there. That’s the motto in our room. We’re just playmakers. We want to go out there and play with as much effort and intensity as possible.
“I think there are a lot of good things in our defense’s future. If we keep with the same momentum we have right now, I think we’ll have a lot of good things come for us this season and we can help our offense win games.”
Finley knows critics will question Ole Miss’ defense until it proves them wrong. There’s no denying the statistics from 2020, when the Rebels’ defense failed to stop anyone outside of Vanderbilt. However, a year later, he doesn’t want to just make the jump from bad to average. Finley wants excellence.
“Me personally, I want to be the best college football defense there is,” Finley said. “So if you don’t look out like that, you’re not going to get there, so I feel that’s how you have to look at it to get there.”
4. Ole Miss’ offensive line is emerging as a strength this month, and not only because of the top-level talent in several spots. For the first time in a while, the Rebels are developing some quality depth up front, typically a necessity over the course of a long, physical season.
Guard-turned-tackle Jeremy James gave a lot of the credit to new offensive line coach Jake Thornton, who came to Oxford long after spring drills were completed.
“It’s going really well,” James said. “He’s brought a lot of energy and excitement to the room. He’s got guys going the right way.”
Utah transfer Orlando Umana is the starting center, but if he needs a break or goes down for any length of time, guard Ben Brown will shift to center. Versatility and depth are critical, and there is some emerging optimism in that regard.
“There’s a few of them who have really stepped up,” James said. “Cedric Melton has looked really good. Reece (McIntyre) has looked really good. Tobias (Braun) has really stepped up. I mean, they’re all coming along, really.”
5. One of the problems with covering fall camp is it can be easy to paint too rosy of a picture of the team you cover.
I saw Ole Miss practice Monday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday this past week, and for the most part, our coverage has been positive in nature.
I do, however, have some concerns about this team. Such as:
— In general, I like the receiving corps, but it’s not as deep as one would prefer. Sanders is special. Mingo is inconsistent. So is Dannis Jackson. Dontario Drummond has great hands. John Rhys Plumlee is nursing an injury. So is Bralon Brown, who looked absolutely miserable sitting in the stadium Sunday watching his teammates. Brown was well on his way to earning very early playing time before a hamstring injury. The talent is there and there’s some depth, but I can’t help but wonder if the Rebels are a receiver short.
— I worry a bit about tight end. Chase Rogers is a strong blocker, but I’m not yet convinced he can be a real threat in the passing game. I think Hudson Wolfe will be a great player, but I’m not convinced that will show in 2021.
— Does Ole Miss have a presence off the defensive edge? Can the Rebels get to the quarterback? In this league, that’s critical, and so far, I’m not sure I see it. Sam Williams can be that guy, but he’s got to become a more consistent presence. If he doesn’t, I do harbor some worry regarding this team’s ability to get off the field on third down.
— I wonder if there’s enough speed at linebacker. There’s talent there, and I think MoMo Sanogo, Mark Robinson, Chase Campbell, Lakia Henry and Austin Keys is a really solid group, but you’d love to see a guy with supreme lateral speed able to make some plays in the open field and off the edge.
— There’s a ton of talent in the secondary, and I’ll admit this might be the old man in me coming out, but I do wonder if playing six defensive backs on the field at the same time as frequently as I’ve seen in the past week will work against SEC running games. I’ve covered this league for a while, and it’s my observation that teams that don’t have enough size up front can get beaten down over the course of a game.
6. I could never be trusted to have an Associated Press Top 25 vote, not with my strong fandom/bias and my lack of traditional media qualifications. But if I did, here’s what my preseason Top 25 ballot would look like:
1. Alabama
2. Oklahoma
3. Georgia
4. Ohio State
5. Clemson
6. Texas A&M
7. Iowa State
8. North Carolina
9. Cincinnati
10. Notre Dame
11. Oregon
12. Miami
13. Iowa
14. Wisconsin
15. Kentucky
16. Florida
17. USC
18. Penn State
19. Washington
20. Ole Miss
21. LSU
22. Utah
23. Northwestern
24. Indiana
25. Arizona State
7. This week on my college football prediction tour, I’m focused on the Big Ten.
Big Ten East:
1. Ohio State
2. Penn State
3. Indiana
4. Michigan
5. Maryland
6. Michigan State
7. Rutgers
Big Ten West:
1. Iowa
2. Wisconsin
3. Northwestern
4. Nebraska
5. Minnesota
6. Purdue
7. Illinois
Big Ten Champion: Ohio State
8. This week in my sure-to-go-wrong NFL predictions, I’m shifting to the NFC. Specifically, here are my NFC West thoughts heading into 2021:
1. Los Angeles Rams (11-6) — I’ve always been big on Matthew Stafford, and I’m betting he makes me look smart this fall. Yes, I know that’ll be a first, but Stafford has a huge arm and will thrive will a bevy of weapons at his disposal.
2. Seattle Seahawks (10-7) — It’s hard to pick against Russell Wilson, DK Metcalf and Co., but I’m not convinced the Seahawks have enough defense to win the division. I think the Rams are slightly better.
3. San Francisco 49ers (9-8) — Everything is in place to contend except for the quarterback position. Are you willing to bet on Jimmy Garappolo? I’m not, but man, if he’s good, the Niners are a potential beast.
4. Arizona Cardinals (8-9) — In any other division, the Cardinals could possibly contend.
9. It’s time to eat. Here’s our resident Parisian chef, Burton Webb, with Taste of the Place, Lesson 99 — TOTP, Lesson 99 — Coconut Energy Balls.
With a little changing or near changing of the seasons, you will at times, need an energy boost. This is one of my favorite things to make because I love coconut, they are easy to make, and you can freeze them.
Tidbit #1: Yes, you can substitute all peanut butter for the coconut oil in this recipe if you would like. Yet, use a higher quality than Jiffy.
Tidbit #2: This is a lazy work recipe, which means, you need a few minutes to put it together but a few hours to soak the nuts and let the mixture chill before forming into balls.
Tidbit #3: Add chocolate chips if you would like as well. Just 1 tbsp of dark chocolate chips.
Things you will need:
4 People
Glass of water
Preparation time – 10 minutes
1st rest time – 1 hour
2nd rest time – 1 hour
Utensils needed:
Worksurface and chef’s knife
2 small mixing bowls
Faucet
Fridge and freezer
Measuring cups
Ziplock bag
Ingredients needed:
1.75 cups cashews
4 Dates
2 Tbsp coconut oil
2 Tbsp p-nut butter
4 Tbsp coconut flakes (for rolling)
Water
Instructions:
Mise en Place
Step 1: Place your nuts in 1 of the mixing bowls and pour over it warm water. Let sit for 1 hour. In the other mixing bowl, slice the dates into tiny pieces and add the coconut oil as well. Mix and set to the side.
Step 2: Drain the water off of the cashews using your hand and then place them on your work surface. Rough chop all of them and then mix in with the ingredients in the other mixing bowl. Place in the fridge to let sit for 1 hour.
Get your roll on
Step 3: Portion out equal-sized balls for each using your hands and then roll in the coconut flakes. Place the balls in the ziplock bag and put them in the freezer for storage. Take out 10 minutes before you need it and you’re good to go for that energy boost. They are also mighty handy for tailgating. Just an FYI.
From the Mississippian in Paris, Bon Snack!
10. We’ll have coverage of Ole Miss football, football recruiting and whatever else may come up this week on RebelGrove.com. Until then, here are some links of interest to me — and hopefully, to you — for your reading pleasure:
He lost his father and his brother, but Sam Ehlinger believes in pinholes of hope
SEC to finalize COVID-19 forfeit policy closer to Week 1 games: Commissioner – The Athletic
Buying ‘The Next Round’ has never been this easy – al.com
Oakland Athletics analyst brings astrophysics expertise to baseball
Why Everything We Thought About Drugs Was Wrong – by Michael Shellenberger – Michael Shellenberger
How California landlords are left struggling when renters stop paying
The Vanishing Legacy of Barack Obama
When COVID-19 Puts Kids at Risk, Parents May Overreact – The Atlantic
Children born during pandemic have lower IQs, US study finds | Coronavirus | The Guardian
