By Bradford Perkins

Ole Miss journalism student

The popular SEC Network program SEC Nation came to Oxford for the weekend of the Georgia/Ole Miss football game, where the Rebels won with a score of 28-10.

The day before the game, students had the privilege of having a set tour with a few key individuals talking about the industry and what it takes to be a part of it.

Going into this game, hype was in the air as it would be the biggest win of head coach Lane Kiffin’s career and for the school, which brought SEC Nation and the Paul Finebaum Show’s attention to come to Oxford for the weekend while the popular College Gameday was in Baton Rouge for the Alabama/LSU game.

Blair Wortsmith, an Ole Miss alum and SEC Nation Fan Experience Producer for ESPN, had the privilege of giving the students a tour of the set and also talking about the industry and internship opportunities.

“I’m a very firm believer in what is for you, not what is not for you. Work hard, put yourself out there, ask questions, and say yes to opportunities, you don’t have to be the most linear for it,” Wortsmith said.

Baron Miller, coordinating producer for SEC Network/ESPN, described his job as “hectic” while having some fun along with it.

“The days leading up to getting out to the site can be stressful —just figuring everything out, where we’re going, how we’re getting there. Talent issues, all that stuff. But once I’m here and just getting the creative part out there, that’s fun,” Miller said.

Ryan McGee, popular sports writer/broadcaster and co-host of Marty & McGee shared his story to the group of students. Starting off his career with ambitions of being on TV, he took a detour as a writer at ESPN.

It wasn’t an easy start for McGee, he reminisced about a “boot camp” experience that involved long hours and intense training.

“I had a kid who spent six months yelled at for running around. And then, at the end of six months, he gets to stay,” McGee said, reflecting on the start of his career.

As McGee looked back on his early days, he emphasized the value of kindness in a highly competitive industry. He pointed out that while some believe it’s necessary to be ruthless to succeed, he’s found that collaboration and respect have served him well.

“The biggest thing I would tell myself is it’s cool to be nice,” McGee said. ““There’s a lot of people that are going to try to tell you that you’ve got to climb over people with a ladder. That is not true.”

McGee touched on the changing landscape of sports media, noting the importance of adapting in a shrinking industry. During his time, he wrote long-form stories, which is rare in today’s fast-paced media world.

“It’s important that somebody does the best job they can of what happened that night in that game,” McGee said, underscoring his commitment to documenting the sport’s history.

The SEC Network team encouraged the students to be on the lookout for any opportunities when it comes to internships, even if that means going through the challenging application process. Wortsmith mentioned that Linkedin can be “soul-sucking” but also a helpful tool. She highlighted aligning one’s resume with job descriptions, even using AI to match keywords.

“A lot of employers, even before they actually look at you, are running (the resume) through an automated generator, so you want as many words and phrases that you have in your resume and your materials to sync up with what the employer is looking for,” Wortsmith said.