Boomo Bugg Show 110325 (JIP)

[0:00] This is better. The competition is better. And I'd really like to hope they can get it straightened out. I'm not going to say I'm all 100% sure that they'll make the right choice, but if they'll go and find some young up-and-coming coach, you ain't got to pay him $10 million a year. Give him a great opportunity and let him, he's got some kind of lineage behind him and let him coach the football team. I think, I think that'll, that'll work out better than what's happened in the last two or three hours there.

Max, that was my question too. Who's going to do the hiring? Is it going to be John Cohen in a select group of boosters who've been basically cherry-picking the coaches that haven't worked out for years? And the other criteria one day they need to get away from, let's hire a coach who's beaten Alabama or who we think can beat Alabama. And Max, you're at your description. Now, he doesn't have a ton of experience yet, but as far as potential, Jon Sumrall is going to be on the short list, not only for Auburn, but a lot of these other openings.

I agree. I agree a hundred percent. He was, he's first on my list for Auburn right now, I'll be honest with you, but because I knew him well at Troy and I've watched what he's done at Tulane as well, but he's got all the credentials. I mean, you know, by his own admission to me, he's waiting on the Kentucky job and it may come open this year. I don't know. Of course, he's an Alabama guy. You know, he finished in his week, out of high school, played at Kentucky, but has had a really great career. He's proven himself.

Now, he got, he walked into a fire, walked into a firestorm this past weekend. I don't think anybody saw that coming. But the fact is, I'm not sure if we saw this happen to Lane Kiffin last year, at this time of year, when your name is being circulated everywhere, you get a little distracted. I'll be honest with you at that level. And so I, you know, I judge would be a great choice for them, but again, understand you guys, you can't walk into the job and take it on their terms.

They got to take him on his terms. And if they don't do that, it's going to be the same thing we've seen for the last 10 years there. Yeah. Max, obviously they're going to throw a lot of names out there and see what sticks. We know the usual candidates. So obviously Lane's name's been mentioned. You're in Mississippi. I can't see that, but who knows? I mean, at the end of the day, money talks and BS walks, but your thoughts about that, some other names, Charles Kelly, now Jack State.

He's a heck of a recruiter. He's been in Auburn and Alabama. And of course, the other name that played at Alabama, and I think he's now Clemson, Dalbo. Your thoughts about some of the other guys who are on the list. I don't think it's going to be late going to Auburn. They had that shot three, you know, three years ago. And that fell through. I'll be honest with you about Lee. And I've been back to Oxford the last couple of weeks and visited and talked to a lot of people.

But here's, I think, one or two things is going to happen. He's going to stay at Ole Miss or he's going to Florida. I don't think there's any choices out there. I know a great deal about the offer that's laid over the table. I had seen the contract from Florida, but it's lucrative, guys. It's backed by one guy that could write. Well, I'll just tell you what he told him. I won't give you the name of who he is. Everybody will know who he is. But he said he would guarantee up to $15 million a year for 10 years if that's what he took to get it there.

So he's got the money in the bank to do it. I'll tell you that. So I'll just say it. And I don't think going to Florida is the money all about. I think he sees what he's been able to do at Ole Miss if he makes the money. And I think he's a different guy at 50 years old than he was at 35. I think he's got some other goals there. He's got some family obligations he's put himself back into. I know his son is a sophomore, and he stepped on the field the last two weeks and won the two ballgames.

He's going to put Oxford in the state championship arena as a sophomore. And he's already told his dad, you can go to Florida if you want to, but I'm staying in Oxford. Because he's going to be the start quarterback for the next two years and probably be a college prospect on top of that. So, I mean, these are all the things I think that work behind those decisions. And we'll see. I think we've got some time to, you know, to really pull through it. And I really hope that we've already said this, that whoever the group is that hires the coaches going to Auburn, that they'll hire the guy on his credentials and say, here are the keys to the office.

Go hire your own staff. You know, get somebody in charge of the portal. And good luck. But I hope you win football. Thanks. We talked about this last week. Oklahoma and Tennessee may be an elimination game for the college football playoff. Tennessee's two corners have been hurt since the preseason, Ricky Weeks and Jamal McCoy. That's really hurt them. And I give Oklahoma a lot of credit. This was Venable's first three-road win against an AP Top 25 team in his career. But material looked a little bit better.

[5:22] The Oklahoma defense played well in the comeback. That was an impressive win by Oklahoma and Knoxville. Well, it was. I don't think he's in a doubt. And I think that really, I think, I think Coach Heupel really thought he had the ball game board. I watched that ball game. And I thought he, from a sideline position, I thought he thought he'd done enough to win the football game, be honest with you. But he didn't. And, of course, you know what happens there. The frustration starts, in particular, when you get to this board.

And for some reason, though, I don't get a good feel about Oklahoma. I think they're going to get beat at the end by Texas. And, you know, I really believe that, no, not by Texas. I looked at the schedule the other day. I think they, I think they, Alabama, that's who they got to, that's, yeah, that's the next to the last game, I believe. But anyway, bottom line is, I think Alabama wins and keeps them out of the playoff. I just, for some reason, I think A&M is the team that everybody better be watching it in the playoffs before it's all over.

But, and I think I picked up somewhere where, you know, I know when this happens, guys, is like Coach Heupel, when you lose a big ball game like that, you probably should have won. And there, all of a sudden, your name starts to, well, is he, does he have another job in Bud? You know, has he been contacted by people? I had no insight on that whatsoever, but that is not unusual. We know this in today's marketplace for high-profile coaches. He's done a good job, you know.

He brought back Tennessee, back to be very competitive, something I think after the Pruitt era that they had fallen off for a while. So, you know what, though, if we sit here and talk about all these things, what a great opportunity it is to talk about college football at the Southeastern Conference. I mean, I can't wait to everybody, guys. I'll be honest with you. Amen to that, Max. Listen, bud, I can't tell you much. We look forward to our Monday meetings every week to get your great insight into the SEC.

A lot of things going on right now, Max. It's going to be a very interesting November to see where we end up in Atlanta for everything said and done. Have a great week. It's going to be another fun slate starting Saturday, Max. Let's do this again next Monday. I'd love to do it, guys. Thank you all so much here. Hey, listen, the door's always open. Just give us a knock. Max Allen hooking up with us. The one and the only. Coming up, he has been looking at it and saying, if it was a local weatherman, it could get stormy.

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For more information, visit Guthrie'sChicken.com. Hello again, everybody. I'm Roger Hoover. As we get ready for the season opener for Alabama women's basketball, here are some thoughts from the head coach of the Crimson Tide, Christy Curry. So excited for the season ahead, and I think everyone this time of year is tired of practicing, so it's game time. And I think that's going to be a lot of fun to see this team and see how that can continue to evolve. Yeah, what has changed the most for your team, where we are now?

What has the journey been like for this group? It's been amazing. You know, we've had a phenomenal summer. Our kids came in and all really, you know, worked at it, and we've been able to build our chemistry, spend a lot of time together on the court, off the court with development, and just, you know, continue to set the tone with our culture every day. I'm a firm believer that culture doesn't graduate, and from on the court to off the court, it's been fun to see our seven new faces blend in with our eight returnees.

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Men's team will face North Dakota at 7 p.m. with radio coverage starting at 6. Crimson Tide Today is brought to you by Guthrie's. Crimson Tide Today is a production of the Crimson Tide Sports Network from Learfield. The score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg. On 93.9, the score. The score. Welcome back in. It is a privilege for us to say hello to Brian Matthews. He's a senior editor for AuburnSports.com. Brian, welcome in. It's been about a week since the last time we talked. Has anything been happening in your backyard since then?

How are you? Yeah. I mean, the baseball team had their inter-squad World Series. That was very exciting. Yeah. And then there was an exhibition basketball game. I hope y'all did it right. There you go. But other than that, it's been really quiet. Let's talk about the quiet part first. All right. Brian, by now, everybody knows the news. Where do you start? You know this program better than anybody we know inside and out. I think a lot of folks saying, why did it take you so long to do it?

Where do you start picking up the reaction to the news over the weekend? Well, I think it was inevitable as soon as that, you know, final whistle blew in the Kentucky game. It was in 10-3 at home, only scoring one offensive touchdown in eight straight quarters against the two worst defenses in the SEC. It's just unsustainable. And we expected it to come at some point Sunday, and it did. I would say the mood is – I think most Auburn fans are ready for this. I think in some ways they feel betrayed by free.

That's not a really nice word, but, you know, I think he delivered on the part about recruiting and building a roster and increasing Auburn's talent level. He did that. But the part about him bringing in, you know, a high-powered offense, you know, an exciting passing offense, he completely missed the mark on that completely, totally. And, you know, I think people are just fed up with watching Auburn go out there offensively and, you know, not being able to get a first down, not being able to get a third down, not being able to complete a pass, you know, more than 10 yards down the field.

It just – it wears you down a little bit. John Coyne is going to be having a press conference, Auburn's athletic director, I believe, at 1.30. And I'm guessing he will lay out his criteria for the next code. I'm going to be curious to see if he will be making the decision alone or he will put together, quote, a search committee of faculty, former players, coaches, et cetera. Brian, what have you heard is for is the selection process where Auburn might be going in the criteria? I have not heard that yet, but this hire is going to define his time at Auburn, right?

[16:18] Yep. He better put himself in charge of whatever, you know, they decide to call it because his, you know, his paycheck and, you know, his time at Auburn is going to depend on getting this right. You know, he's not going to get a second chance out on a next head coach. This is going to be it for him. I don't mean to be mean about it, but that's just the way it is. Business. You know, he stepped out and made a really surprising hire in Brian Harrison and Buddy.

As soon as that backfired, they were both out of here really quick. So, this is an important hire for him. He needs to take charge of it. He needs to be the one responsible for it. Yeah, I was going to say, I think we were talking about a few years ago, you know, when they're going through the process of hiring you frees. And I think a lot of that process had been handled before he actually got here and got into it. But I think he had like a 15 or 16 point, you know, list of things he's looking for, if I remember correctly.

So, I would expect something similar this time. Sorry, Brian. Brian Matthews, senior at AuburnSports.com. Brian, you know the criticism from a lot of folks. The AD is the one who's going to be announcing it, but it seems that there have been a lot of cooks in the kitchen over the years when it comes to this point of the program. How true are those stories and what lessons, if any, have they learned? It's been, I know this, an expensive lesson over the years. Have they learned their lesson to sit here and say, let's get the right guy and let that guy make that decision and go from there?

Well, we're about to find out, right? And I think that's one of the reasons that he waited an extra week or two to do something, to shorten this time period, to keep those giant egos, those certain people who cannot help themselves, but assert themselves in this process where they don't belong, at least in a public way. Okay, so we'll see how it goes. I think that's what he would like to happen, and I'm sure he's going to talk to a lot of people about how this is viewed and how to conduct yourself and the best way to go about things and still be a part of it, right?

He can still do all that in some way, but they don't need a coach at an in-state school declaring that he turned down the job when he was offered by somebody who wasn't actually the decision made. However it goes through, Auburn doesn't need that kind of stuff going on right now. So we'll see how that goes. That'll be an interesting thing to watch over the next, I guess, four weeks. I'm thinking, you know, as long as the coach they want is finishing up his season, at the same time Auburn does, I think you can point to that Iron Bowl weekend as a sort of a, maybe not a hard deadline, but a pretty soft deadline.

Let me ask you this. Everybody's got a coaching list, coaching hot board, 1.0, whatever. I know you've got one, too. Legitimate, legitimate candidates. John Summerall, I've heard from a lot of people, DJ Durkin, but his tenure at Maryland was not very good. When he was the coach there, Summerall, I know a lot of people like, but John Summerall is going to be on a short list of a lot of schools. Two former coaches at Auburn, and I know we'll hear this a good bit the next two weeks.

Brett Lashley, now at SMU, who got a two-year contract extension last week, now paying him around $10 million. Kenny Dillingham of Arizona State, he is young at 35, but got Arizona at the Sun Devils to a playoff last year. Would those guys be legitimately on the potential list? I think the guys you mentioned are, and you know, a lot of times when you get out of the gates on the hot board, coaching hot board, you want to use your shotgun and post right, you want to make sure you get every possible candidate on that list, and know it's going to narrow down as we move forward.

You know, Auburn's not going to pick their coach this week, right? We've got four weeks at least to go, I would say. So there's going to be some ups and downs and bends and, you know, all those things. But, yeah, I think those guys that you mentioned are definite candidates. I think John Summerall is a guy that has been talked about for months and months as a guy that seems like he would be a good fit here at Auburn. Just his makeup, the way he handles business, the way he reminds some people in the business of Pat Dye.

I think that probably resonates with a lot of Auburn people. And, of course, he has ties to the state. I believe he's from Huntsville, Detroit, has SEC experience as a linebacker at Kentucky and an assistant at Kentucky. So he's got a lot of those things, you know, that would fit the mold of what Auburn might be looking for and the past has been looking for in the next head coach. Brian Matthews, senior editor at AuburnSports.com. Back to Hugh. A lot of folks say, I don't want to answer this question day one.

[21:31] Where did Hugh get off track? Because he keeps preaching. He's always chasing that carrot, it seemed, over his tenure there. Auburn is going. We're so close. We're so close. It's almost like rinse and repeat. You know, close is good in horseshoes and hand grenades, but it ain't good when you're an SEC head coach making that kind of money. Your thoughts about Hugh's wrapping it up and saying, basically, if I'm interpreting him correctly, I inherited a mess. I've got us this close. The next guy is going to take us to the next top, thanks to the foundations I've laid.

Maybe there's a lot of truth to that, but you're closer to it than any of us, Brian. Your thoughts about that, and was it basically from day one, just not a good fit from day one? No, I wouldn't say that at all. I would say you can point to one decision he made as being really the focal point of his downfall, and that was after hiring Philip Montgomery to be an offensive coordinator, coming in and saying that he recognizes the size of his job and the importance of his job and the changes that are happening in college football, that he needed to be over the program and not be involved in the offense.

And then, you know, after really less than a year, probably mid-season that first year, making that decision that he needed to be the guy in charge of the offense, it's what he does. And, you know, I think the program has suffered since. I think he's done a lot of good things as far as building the talent. I like a lot of the off-the-field hires he's made and personnel, excuse me, and analysis, you know, those guys. I think this program is strong in some areas. So I just think offensive passed him by.

He was unable to be able to look in the mirror and see that, that he was the problem, that it was his offense that was the problem. He was not close. The only reason that Auburn was in those games was because the defense was keeping him in the game. His offense was not getting close to getting better. It was getting worse, in my opinion. So, yeah, there was no such thing as we're so close. When I heard that, I heard somebody that was not really connected to reality in regards to this year's football team.

Auburn's still got games to play. They're going to Nashville to play an emesis in Vanderbilt. Is there a relief factor around the team? What is their mindset? You know, we saw Florida with an interim coach play Georgia to the hilt down at the fourth quarter. We don't know what LSU is going to do with Alabama. Sometimes teams come out fired up. You know, I'm going to be curious to see who actually calls plays. Is it going to be one that says the coach instead of three?

What do you think happens? What's the mindset for the players and how do you think they're going to react Saturday? Yeah, I think my first question to Durkin is going to be, are you calling plays on first down, second down, or third down? Well, I haven't had a chance to talk to a bunch of players so far, right? But this is what I'll say. DJ Durkin is a very inspirational coach and leader. You see the defense, the way they play for him, the passion they play with, the intensity they play with, the toughness, all those things, right?

So I think with him taking over this program, he is going to bring some of that to the offense. It's probably too late, you know, to turn them into, you know, some high-powered, 35 points-a-game type unit. But I think you'll see the team respond to him and really come out and play really, really hard. So I think that's one thing you can expect, just a little bit more passion from the team overall and not just the defense with DJ Durkin in charge. Brian, as I used to say in Brooklyn, wait until next year, in this case, wait until basketball season.

Wait! It's tonight. Your thoughts about coming up on a, speaking of a brand-new era, is a brand-new era for Auburn basketball? Well, I'm personally excited for football season to be over and to be able to go to basketball full-time. I bet. But, I mean, I just think it's an incredible year of change for Auburn, and I think it's going to still be exciting, too, and fulfilling. You've got a brand-new coach. You've got 10 new players out of 11. I mean, you would think that this team is going to have some moments where things don't go well, and they learn from, and they get better over time.

And, man, they could be really excited when we get to February and March, but we'll see when we get there how it looks. But I'm just looking for a lot of excitement from this team this year with so many new players and so much unknown about Stephen Pearl as a coach and, you know, how these players are going to, you know, play together and, you know, who's going to end up being the stars on the team. And that kind of stuff, we know Todd Pettiford obviously is going to be one, and I think Keyshawn Hall will be one, too.

Certainly it looks like it. But still, there's a lot to be figured out with this team. Well, you're going to have the latest coverage of John Cohen's press conference and his criteria for the next coach, maybe even a little bit of a timeline. Going to have basketball covered tonight. Recruiting is still going on. Hard to believe we are now one month away from early signing date or, quite frankly, national signing date, to be honest with you. All that stuff going on, B-MAT, where can we get online and get all the latest Monday musings, another good article, again this morning.

[27:09] Where can we get online and get all the stuff? Check us out, AuburnSports.com, part of the Rivals on 3 network. You can sign up for just $1 and get all our coverage of the coaching search. We've already cranked out a bunch of content and stories. We'll have a lot more from today's press conference with Dirk and the AD. So, that'll be big for us. And you can follow me on Twitter, slash X, at B-MAT-A-U. Beginning of November, to remember for sure. Brian, listen, man, thanks so much, and have a good week, okay?

I appreciate you guys. Thank you, bud. Brian Matthews, senior editor, AuburnSports.com. A couple of notes about Alabama, in case you missed the Oklahoma game, kicking at 2.30. And Drake, Herpatrick Jr., baby, suspended indefinitely after a rough weekend, arrested over the weekend. Three counts of reckless endangerment, one count of attempting to elude, and speeding not a good week for the Dreyster. No, he has been suspended indefinitely for the reasons you just alluded to. Coming up the next hour, what else is going on in Tuscaloosa? The Redfish, William Redfish, Bartlett's going to be on board.

John Ferrari setting the stage. What a weekend in Jacksonville. And Ben Thomas, are you ready for some playoff action high school football? BT's setting the stage. And more straight ahead of the Boom on Bug Show. Stay with us. Hey, Scholes. I know you do anything for a win on game day and for an ice-cold Bud Light. Because whether you're tailgating in the parking lot or parked on the couch, sitting on your lucky stool at the bar, or standing in the fan section all game long, a win isn't a win without the clean, crisp taste of Bud Light.

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And the stakes, oh, those are crystal clear. With only 95 calories and superior smooth taste, it's the ultimate trophy. Superior is worth playing for. Michelob Ultra, superior light beer. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2025. Andrews Bush, Michelob Ultra, light beer, St. Louis, Missouri. 1819 News. President Trump took to social media this past Sunday to specifically endorse congressional races here in Alabama. Trump expressed his strong support for four Republicans who are seeking re-election to the U.S. House. Those are Congressman Robert Adderholt, Dale Strong, Gary Palmer, and Mike Rogers. Trump praised all four congressmen for their service to the America First agenda and said that these are congressional members who will not let their constituents down.

Trump did not include Barry Moore in his post since Moore is now running in the Republican primary for the Senate seat that will be filled in 2026 after Tommy Tuberville leaves that seat to run for the governorship of Alabama. I'll be back with more Alabama stories after this. Are you enjoying 1819 News? If so, consider joining 1819 News as a member. As a nonprofit news organization, we depend on the support of Alabamians like you. Memberships start out as little as $5 a month and you'll get access to exclusive content only offered to our members.

You'll be supporting independent journalism done by people who cherish Alabama values. Become a member today by visiting 1819news.com and clicking Become a Member. That's 1819news.com and click Become a Member today. A shooting in Montgomery over the weekend has claimed the life of two people and may be a case of murder-suicide. The shooting occurred on Saturday night near Perry Hill Road. A woman was found dead at the scene from a gunshot wound. A man also injured by gunfire was taken to a nearby hospital where he later died.

Police say one of the gunshot victims had a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The former head football coach for the Auburn Tigers, Hugh Freeze, has released a public statement following his weekend termination from that job. Freeze says that he is grateful for his time at Auburn, calling it a great honor. Freeze says that he was welcomed by the Auburn community and appreciates its traditions, integrity, and deep love for one another. Freeze also thanked the football players for their heart, commitment, and fight for the game. I'm Andrea Tice.

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Tomorrow sunny with a high around 70. Tomorrow night mostly clear with a low near 45. And for your Wednesday sunny with a high around 70. Your weather from 93.9 The Score. Now, get ready to roll Shoals, Decatur, Athens, and all of Northwest Alabama and Southern Tennessee. It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice. The Boomo Bugg Show. Your exclusive inside track to the Tide. Tigers, Tennessee, and the rest of the SEC. Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in. Our turn to the Boomo Bugg Show.

[37:52] I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird. Thank you so much for giving us a street ride around the Tennessee Valley. And with that, we say hello to the BT Express. Ben Thomas got that high school scene set there at AL.com. Ben, welcome in. Poof! Just like that, the regular season in high school football is gone. How are you? Hey, doing good. How are you guys doing? Hey, Boone. Probably, if you went out to Florence High, it'd be a sweet and bittersweet story. Good that the playoffs are here.

Bad that you've got to travel basically between 350 and 400 miles. Thank goodness it's not a six-hour trip. I looked at it on the map. Ben, it's only five hours and 59 minutes. The good news is Florence is in. The bad news is, Ben, where are you with guys who've got to travel that far and spend that kind of money to play in the playoffs? Yeah, well, if they've got to go through Birmingham, that might tack on some more time along the way. Because that traffic is bad in there.

But I think about this today. I'm guessing, what are there, 16, 7A teams in the playoff? I'm guessing 12 of them are probably not happy. Because the Region 2 and Region 3 teams are not happy because they're playing each other. And a lot of those matchups are normally reserved for the second or third round of 7A. And, of course, the two teams that travel from Region 4 and Region 1, that would be, obviously, Florence and Austin up your way, and then down here, Daphne and Fairhope. Like you mentioned, they've got to go a long way.

Spend some money. I'm going to do a story, hopefully, later on in the week on exactly what are the travel plans. You're going a day early. You know, you're taking a charter bus. What are your plans to make that happen? I mean, we knew this was coming. I mean, there's advantages and disadvantages. I mean, you know, a lot of the teams in the North and, you know, some other teams that didn't get to host playoff games were for this current rotation, which has led us to this point just for this year.

I mean, this is the only year in the next couple of years. And if we have a separation of private schools, maybe for the foreseeable future where the Huntsville and Mobile teams are going to match up. But the bright spot, the bad news is, yeah, you've got to travel a long way. But the good news is, you know, somebody, some teams who haven't won a playoff game in a while are going to win one this year, probably. Probably the one riding a chick is the least happiest about it all.

But let's just be that as it may. There's not a whole lot we can do about it now. As far as Chalk Talk, Florence takes on Baker. That's in your backyard. Florence is in our backyard. What can you tell us about Baker High? Well, they're really good. I mean, you know a little bit about them because Juan Johnson was their coach last year. And he is now the James Clemens coach. And he had an excellent year last year. They promoted Eric Scott, the defensive coordinator, to be the head coach there.

And he's done a really good job. They've got a lot of weapons. Their quarterback is a junior, tall junior, Tate Graham, who's been excellent this year. They've got a good receiver named Katori and Katori Marion, who I think has about 10 touchdown receptions. And then a really good running back, Speedy Wheeler. His name's Speedy. That's a good name for a running back, Speedy Wheeler. He's got our old nickname, right, Ben? Yeah. So they were the region champs. You know, they lost two games in September, one to the reigning 4A champ, Jackson, and then Daphne beat them.

They kind of came back from behind and beat them in the second half. But they've won five straight going into the playoffs. They beat Mary G. Montgomery, which most people thought was the region favorite they'd won it the last couple years. And then they end the season by beating Viger, you know, the second-ranked team in Class 5A. So it's a good Baker team. Defensively, they're, you know, average to good, but offensively really good. Yeah, BT, they're ranked number 14 in your Power 25 rankings, which came out today.

And by the way, number 20 is Hartsell. Number 13 is Morris Hill. Number five is Muscle Shoals. And there are three teams. Actually, Hamilton finished 10-0, too. I'll add them. But West Morgan, Muscle Shoals, and Morris Hill finished the regular season. 10-0. West Morgan does beat Desser in that great showdown. They had 13-7 West Morgan now, I believe, with 34 consecutive regular season wins. They've won an amazing 45 games in the last three years. Muscle Shoals beats Austin. The Austin quarterback got hurt and actually took off the field with an ambulance.

But it was a neck injury. But I hear that he's doing much better. The Trojans will be playing Mae Jemison. And Ezekiel Harris, the Auburn commitment, is on that team. Morris Hill has a very impressive win over Scottsboro, 41-14. They're going to be playing former Decatur coach Jerry Edcock's team, Whitesburg Christian. But, BT, there are others who have to stay. But when you go through a regular season and finish 10-0, that's still special. Yeah, I think there were 20 teams, maybe 21 if you count Patricia in the AISA, that finished undefeated regular season.

[43:20] So that is special. I think you mentioned Ezekiel Harris. I believe he flipped to Tennessee, from Auburn to Tennessee earlier. That's right, Ben. You're right. He's committed to the balls. Yeah, and, you know, good for Jerry Edcock. You know, a long-time Decatur coach getting Whitesburg Christian in the playoff for the first time. Unfortunately, probably going to be a short trip. Yeah, because you've got to play Brett's Morris Hill team. But, you know, at least they're there. You've got to start somewhere. And they've got them in there.

So I'm proud for Jerry to do that. Very good guy. Very good football coach. And, you know, the Power 25 is going to get interesting from here, because next week you're going to start having some teams in there that we believe are good, but who season's over with, because particularly, as I mentioned, in that 7A, you've got the Region 2 and Region 3 teams matching up. And how about number two, Central Phoenix City, number one, by the way, in the Sportswriters 7A rankings, hosting Hoover. Hoover and Central Phoenix City in a first-round matchup, and then Vestavia Hills and Auburn in a first-round matchup.

Vestavia Hills beat Auburn pretty handily earlier in the season in Vestavia. So we'll see if Auburn can turn the tables there. And then in another rematch, Thompson hosting Carver Montgomery. Thompson beat them in the first game of the year. So some good matchups in 7A. As I said, it seems like almost everybody is unhappy except for maybe Sparkman and James Clemens and Baker and Mary G. Montgomery, who are the host teams in the Region 1 and Region 4. But at least, you know, the good thing is we've got some different matchups.

We're going to see some different matchups in the next couple of rounds. And in the championship, we're going to definitely see a different matchup, because if they make it that far, Thompson and Central Phoenix City will play in the state semifinals and not in the finals as they end up the last two years. It's all about that draw, is it not? Ben Thomas has got it all covered there at ale.com. They're not going to be going to the other end of the state as far as the south, but they're going about as far as you can to the east in the state.

Brooks, on this side of Alabama, rocking and rolling. Winners of 7 out of the last 8. Hammering East Lawrence 56-20. Their reward, they will travel to the backyard of the Group Alabama. Plainview's on top of the mountain there from Fort Payne in Rainesville. And one, Jeremy Pruitt, who next year will probably be an analyst at Jack State, getting a green lap in the NCAA to come back in, show cause and all. But Plainview, reaping the benefits of the Pruitt boys, dad and son. Your thoughts about Brooks and Plainview?

Well, I feel like I'm in a time warp with Plainview because I was, when I was in Gadsden, Dale Pruitt was the head coach of Plainview. I mean, Jeremy was the quarterback. And that was a long time ago, you know, too long for me to think about. But, yeah, Brooks has got a long trip. You know, they started 0-2, and, of course, one of those was a loss to West Morgan, the other to Hatton. And then they lost to Deshler. I mean, you talk about a team that's lost to three good opponents.

That's what Brooks has done. And it's amazing. I think, if I'm not mistaken, I think Dale may have been, I think this may be his third time back at Plainview as the coach. Is that right? At least. And they are, you know, I saw them the year I covered them early in my career. They were in the state championship game the year Jeremy was quarterback, and they played at Dallas County. That's when we were still playing, you know, at, you know, team sites, home and home or whatever.

And they got really killed by Dallas County in Plannersville. And they're always going to cover a state championship game at Plannersville. But this looks like to be, this looks, unfortunately for Brooks, this looks to be one of his better teams. I mean, they're 10-0. They scored 452 points, outscored, you know, held the opponents to 175. And I don't know what the deal with Jeremy is. I mean, I don't know if he, when that starts, that he's going to be at Jacksonville State. But you would think that he'll, he would be there for the playoff run anyway.

Mr. Football, I know that was mentioned a couple, a lot of times over the weekend. Trent Seaborne now on Alabama Commitment. Again, Ben, it seemed like he's been a Thompson for 10 years. 2,600 yards, 24 touchdowns. Tank Jones, we talked about him a lot. They're recruiting St. Paul's. He's had another monster year. Corey Barber, another Clay Chalk of a receiver. They're number one in your power rankings. I think they may end up playing Muscle Shoals at some time in the next two or three weeks. And Xavier Crowell, who is a highlight reel every Friday.

Then you got Duckworth in there, too. And there are about six or seven others you can add. Mr. Football is going to be pretty spicy this year. It really is. And there's a freshman quarterback at Southside Selma who's not getting a lot of attention. Cole Moody is his name, and he's put up video game numbers. So he may be in the mix. You know, Mr. Football is a yearly award. So, in other words, it's for that year. If it was a career award, I would have to think Trent Seaborne would be.

[48:34] I mean, the guy, as we've talked about, he's in line to start more varsity, 7-8 varsity football games. I think he probably already has, but he's going to hold that record for a long, long time. I think, in my mind, Corey Barber, the wide receiver from Clay Chalk, depending on how long Clay plays, is a leading candidate. And I think maybe the two, and it may depend on if they face off again, but you mentioned Xavier Crowell, the Alabama commit. I mean, the guy, you can't tackle the guy.

It's unbelievable. And my only thought about Jackson is, do they have too many stars? I mean, when they get down to there, all the guys are going to be wanting the ball. Because I think if they just hand it to Crowell and then play off that, it's going to be hard to stop. They will, you know, if the bracket works out the way it looks, they will have to go to St. Michael in the semifinals, and then you'd have another second matchup of Gunnar Rivers versus Xavier Crowell.

And that might be, you know, the winner of that game. Gunnar Rivers, who, by the way, went to Auburn, official visit to Auburn this weekend. I'm sure he was not thrilled with that. None of us were with what he saw. Or maybe he was. Maybe he thought he could come in and help him. He actually was intercepted three times the other night, a couple of tip passes. Those were only four total interceptions for him this year against 40-something touchdown passes for the son of Phillip Rivers.

So a lot of good contenders. A lot of people have had great years. I'm sure, forgive me if I'm not mentioning somebody, but it's going to be, again, I always say this, the playoffs play a large part in my mind in Mr. Football. I mean, I think one person has won Mr. Football whose team didn't make the playoffs. The further you get in the playoffs and the better your performance, in my mind. Now, obviously, there's going to be 18 other voters or so, but in my mind, there's a large percentage placed on that.

Man, before you jump off, how good is Seaborn, in your opinion, at the next level? He's small by SEC standards, but obviously the guy has got a resume, as you mentioned, at the Yang Yang. And the other part of that is the impact, and it all depends on who they hire. Your thoughts about Auburn, only a month away, the impact on Auburn's class coming up with the news over the weekend. Well, I mean, with Seaborn, two things about him. Yeah, he's maybe not the prototypical guy like you've got Ty Sensen in there right now, but he's a winner, number one.

I mean, he's got a chance to win, what, four state titles in five years or something like that. And he's playing in a Mark Freeman offense, which most quarterbacks do well in a Mark Freeman offense. And he's also very accurate and very smart. And he comes from a family who, you know, groomed him at this point from a long time. You saw pictures of him with the tang of Iloas and stuff early on in his career. I mean, this has been his goal. So I think he'll be fine at Alabama.

I mean, he's a great, great kid. I say kid, I guess I should say young man. But he'll represent Alabama well on and off the field. And Auburn, I think, I just think we're in a different time now. I mean, I think, you know, five years ago, if you fire a coach in midseason or late in the season, you say, oh, boy, the recruiting class is going to be gone. It's going to take them five years to rebuild. But now you rebuild basically in a year with the portal.

You got the money. Yeah. I mean, even if you lose recruits. So we'll see where they go. I mean, I would personally like to see him hire Jon Sumrall from Tulane, Coach Detroit, the Huntsville native, really good guy, really good football coach. I think he could come in there and maybe be at Dalek for that program. I mean, you know, instead of hiring somebody who's been around, you know, the same old names that we hear every time there's a coaching search. I would like to see him go that route.

And I think, look, Auburn's proven they've got NIO money. They can spend it. I mean, whoever comes in there and the roster, that's what's so frustrating about Hugh Freeze. He elevated the talent on the team. I mean, when he came in there after Brian Harsin, they couldn't compete with teams like Georgia and Alabama. Now they have the talent to compete with them. They just can't win any of those games for whatever the reason. But I'm sure y'all are going to examine that later on in the show.

Yeah, BT, Huntsville, 7-3, best record in Region 4. They don't make the playoffs. So where Alice Full missed the playoffs for the first time in 29 years. Sweetwater for 20 years. Pickens County, 20, Spanish Fort, 17 in a row. So a lot of preannual teams that make the playoffs, they're not in there this year. As you mentioned, they're going to be a lot of new, once we get down to quarterfinals and semifinals, a lot of new teams are going to be in playoffs. Big week, BT, previewing games, the regions. What else you got on the table this week?

[53:40] Well, we covered the volleyball tournament last week. And then we got basketball tips off. They can officially start playing on Thursday. I know that's huge in North Alabama, obviously. We're going to have, Thomas is going to have, Thomas is taking a couple of days off. He's up in Gatlinburg, but he'll be up. He'll be back later in the week. But we've got, he's doing some storylines for North Alabama on basketball tomorrow. And then we'll have Birmingham and Mobile later in the week. Of course, flag football playoff start this week as well.

That's a growing sport. And obviously, we're continuing our best in Bama recruiting thing on Thursday that Randy Kennedy does for us. So, a lot going on. You can just follow us at joedale.com and follow all that stuff. Or follow me at BenThomasPreps. And we'll try and keep you updated the best we can. Sounds great. If Thomas says Ben to Gatlinburg, he'll come back hungry. He's broke. Ben, listen, have a great week. And thanks so much for your time today. Maybe Hugh Freeze can give him some of his money.

There you go. Oh, my goodness. Or Kelly or Napier. He keeps that free money coming in. Ben Thomas got it all covered there at al.com. Speaking of interim, what about the Gata and the Dawgs matchup over the weekend? John Ferrari on deck. Stay with us. An official message from Medicare. Medicare plans change from one year to the next. And this year, it's important for you to review your current coverage and compare all your options during Medicare open enrollment. Compare health plans, drug coverage, and costs.

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Exactly. So bundle your renters in Auto and save with Progressive. And protect the things that make sense to you. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates and other insurers not available in all states or situations covered subject to policy terms and conditions. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. The Score. Welcome back in. It is an absolute pleasure for us to say hello to the man at Sunshine State, John Ferrari. He's visited there at CBS Sports Radio, 1420 WAOC, 1240 WLFOY, in a place called St. Augustine, Florida.

And why wait? You can check him out anytime online at 965sports.com. John, welcome in. Good to see you survive the border war over the weekend. How are you? Doing great, Harold. Always great to be on with you and Brett. And, yeah, we survived another one, the last one for three years in Duval County, unfortunately. Oh, my goodness. Yeah, it is coming back in 2028. And, unfortunately, from the Florida Gator perspective, guys, it was more of the same in the end. Kirby Hart found a way again.

I'll be honest. It was a much better game than I thought going in, though. I did not expect this to come down to the final seven minutes, which is what this came down to. A couple of critical third and fourth and shorts that Florida couldn't convert. They had a lot of opportunities. They just couldn't get it done. And then when Georgia needed to put the hammer down, Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs, as always, at least during his tenure, did. And so, it was a close game, but in the end, a lot of the reasons why Billy Napier is not there anymore popped back up during that game on Saturday.

Yeah, Kirby's going to kill every Georgia fan. This is the same script he uses every time. Slow start and dramatic finish. He's going to kill every one of their fans. That's the case. I think football now is, as they say, parody is the name of the game. But let's talk about the elephant in the room here, number one, John. Like a lot of schools, Florida's shopping. Your thoughts on that? And the effect of having an interim coach, let's face it, Florida came out. The players, I'm sure, in the locker room coming out of the opening run, they had their hair on fire because, listen, nobody respects us.

It's the same old speech. And they did. They played like crazy in that first half and then well into the second half. Your thoughts just about teams now with an interim coach and how things have changed from, obviously, a program that needed to change, Florida, Auburn. And we can go on LSU and et cetera, Arkansas. But the reason I'm bringing it up, Alabama's going to be facing that same principle this weekend with LSU. Normally, Harold, interim coaches, you get that initial charge, as you mentioned. But then in the end, the reason there is an interim coach cropped back up for these teams.

Yeah, the cream rises. And that, in my mind, is what happened with Florida on Saturday. I liked the game plan. Initially, it was better than what we saw with Billy Napier. They took more shots down the field, for instance. But I thought Jaden Baugh should have got the ball more. He only got 15 touches in that game. He's their best player right now, clearly, at running back. And especially on that critical series in the late fourth or mid-fourth quarter, when they had a chance to go up by 10, I think Baugh not only should have got the ball on fourth down, but I would have fed him the ball both times.

Make them stop him twice. He's your best player. And then the other thing, DJ Lagwe, he honestly has just looked like an average quarterback for a good chunk of this year. Now, he showed you glimpses early on with the first touchdown pass to Eugene Wilson. And, by the way, Eugene Wilson must have came out of the witness protection program, guys, because where has he been all year? We didn't see that with Billy Napier, but he had a season day on Saturday with nine receptions over 100 yards.

[1:04:01] But a lot of the same issues came up in the end for Florida, which is why they're in the coaching carousel with, I think every other team in college football other than Georgia and Alabama is looking for a head coach right now, guys. But that's why Florida's got to get the right guy moving forward, because Georgia has won eight out of the last ten in this series. There were actually empty seats in the stadium on Saturday, which saddened me, which I think is a lot of the Billy Napier effect on Florida right now and the fact that mentally folks are going into this game, including yours truly speaking, thinking Florida's not going to win this.

And it shouldn't be that way. Georgia hasn't won five in a row since the late 70s, early 80s, but now they have. So whoever the next head coach is for Florida, first and foremost, just like it was back with the old ball coach in the 90s, they've got to find a way to start beating Georgia again, because if they don't do that, they can't get to where they want to go in the other goals that they want to achieve. So that's going to be the first mission, whoever the next head coach is.

Yeah, John, Florida was two out of 11 on third down. They came into the game ranked last in the SEC in 128th nationally in converting third downs. And I agree with you, Langway had an opportunity, not just the long past the start of it, which was reviewed. He had three or four receivers open that if he would have made to throw the ball where it needed to be, those would have been big plays. Speaking of legitimate candidates, Lane Kiffin seems to be, number one, is for its potential coaches.

And, John, I've heard the speculation about the offer on the table is $13.5 million a year for six years, $81 million fully guaranteed. And I know some of that speculation, but is that anywhere near the ballpark in number two, is Lane the number one, as far as the search, is the number one target? Well, I'll start with number two first, Brett. And I heard this from some folks that actually went to the Florida-Georgia Hall of Fame banquet on Friday, which they have every Friday in Jacksonville before the Florida-Georgia game.

Scott Strickland was there. And some of the folks said they asked him point-blank, get us Lane Kiffin. And his response was, we're trying. We're doing everything we can. So normally an AD doesn't come out and say that to folks, but that's what I was told. I wasn't there myself. So I think he is the number one target. There's no doubt in my mind about that. I think the $81 million is factual, too. I haven't seen that, but I think that's correct. And I think this just comes down to one thing in my mind.

Does Lane Kiffin want to stay at Ole Miss, where he's established a pretty good program and they're going to be in the college football playoff this year, I think, guys. Or does he want a bigger fish, as they say, Florida, which has had a national brand. The brand's right now damaged, but that doesn't mean it can't go back with the right guy, back to glory. And so that, to me, is what this all comes down to. Does Lane Kiffin want the job or not in the end?

I'm fully convinced of that because I think the boosters, after what happened last time, and what I mean is the stories are Billy Napier was the only one that was even interviewed from Scott Strickland. Whether that's true or not, I don't know. My gut tells me it was. And that this did not work out the way it obviously should have. And he also hired Dan Mullen. He's had two strikes. The boosters are putting a lot of emphasis on we need a big name. We need somebody with an established resume.

Lane Kiffin is 52-19 at Ole Miss. That's at Ole Miss. I know he's had issues in the past. I think he's matured. He's 50 years old now. We're all different when we're 50 than when we're 30, guys. We just are. We're crazy here. And not just what happened in the past. But, yeah, exactly. So, I think he's the perfect choice for Florida at the perfect time. They need somebody that can get this brand back and that can have Florida score points. Because you mentioned that statistic on third down, Brett.

And they only scored 20 points on Saturday against Georgia. They only scored 20 points last year against Georgia. You're not beating the Georgia Bulldogs. Scoring 20 points, guys. I don't care who you are. You're not doing it. So, I think Kiffin's the target. I think it's, like I said, going to come down to whether he wants it or not. And if he doesn't take it, then I think it's almost anybody's guess. I know I've heard Eli Drinkwich's name mentioned a number of times. I'm not so sure it's as simple as that if Lane Kiffin turns it down.

[1:09:37] But from the Florida perspective and from yours truly, because I think it'd be a blast to have him to cover, I am really hoping he accepts the job in early December. Because I think if he takes the job, what's going to happen, he's going to stay with Ole Miss, obviously, and coach the playoff. And as he should, by the way. But I think after the Mississippi State game, there'll be an agreement where he'll accept it with the condition that he's going to stay through the playoff with Ole Miss.

But then after that, he will be Florida's next head coach if he accepts it. Well, it's going to be very interesting. Jed Fish, the Washington head football coach, is a Florida graduate and worked with Spurrier. I'm going to be interesting if Kiffin turns it down, if Jed Fish is anywhere on the second, third, or fourth. And I'm like you, I think Drinkwich is number two. John, always enjoy the conversation, my friend. Where can we get online and listen to your show? Well, before that, I did want to mention the highlight of that Florida-Georgia day was I got to have lunch with a television celebrity, Brett.

And I think you know him quite well. Yes, I do. Who was also in the press box, as well as Terry Norvell. Let me mention his name, too. But Brother Brent, that was great to be with those guys on Saturday. And you can follow me online at JF underscore sports now, sports now, X slash Twitter, and on 1240news.com or 102.1 or 1240 from 4 to 6 in St. Augustine today. And guys, always an honor and a pleasure to be on. And it's going to be an interesting month of December, not only for Florida, but all of college football, like I said, other than Georgia and Alabama, I think everybody's got an opening right now.

Exactly. John, as always, I echo those sentiments. Thanks so much for your time today. Let's do it again soon. Okay, buddy? Thanks for having me, guys, as always. Thank you, bud. John Farhaggan with us, 965sports.com. I meant to ask John if he had, I'm sure he got an autograph from your brother, and I wonder if he's cashed out yet on eBay. Can we get him on the next time to find out? We'll double-check that, yes. He may even retire. Who knows? Coming up, what's going on down in Tuscaloosa?

If it's quiet this time of the year, it must be good. Redfish next. Stay with us. Roll Tide, Alabama fans. This is Key, the Cypress Creek Indoor Range. Alabama football has the proudest football tradition in the country. We got that from great facilities, the top athletes in the nation, and focused practices. At Cypress Creek Indoor Range, we have all three. As the show's largest gun store, we have a great selection of firearms and accessories for all your shooting needs. Our staff is second to none in knowledge, service, and training, and we have a nationally recognized indoor range to allow you to practice on your own or take one of our many classes or private lessons.

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[1:14:57] Troy lost for the first time in the Sun Belt, falling to Arkansas State 23-10. The Trojans are 4-1 in Sun Belt play. South Alabama lost to Louisiana 31-22. South Alabama is 1-4 in the conference. North Alabama lost on the road at Utah Tech in overtime 34-33. In college basketball season openers tonight, the Auburn Tigers are set to take on Bethune-Cookman. Alabama will take on North Dakota. Troy is on the road to play at Kent State, while South Alabama is at Toledo. Progressive is helping veterans drive their lives forward with its Keys to Progress program.

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The Score. Welcome back in. It is always a pleasure to have kick off the whole week when it comes time to it, the Redfish. William Redfish, Barger, former University of Alabama offensive lineman, now co-host of BAM's radio. Redfish, welcome in. How are you? I'm good, guys. How about y'all? Hey, William. Man, it's a crazy, crazy time in the SEC. William, when's the last time you remember? Here we are kicking off November, and a full 25% of SEC schools are shopping for a head coach. Your thoughts about that, the effect it has on a player, and the fact that Alabama, we know this, have no idea how it's going to wind up, but at least half of the remaining teams on the schedule in a regular season, they'll be facing an interim coach starting this weekend against LSU, William.

Yeah, I don't ever remember a time where, you know, there's been this many jobs open at the 1st of November, especially, you know, SEC schools. You know, I mean, it's one of those deals, I mean, if, you know, half of the stuff that you read, and the majority of it has been negative as it pertains to, you know, Brian Kelly at LSU, I mean, you know, I've seen, you know, instances where that kind of, you know, galvanizes the team. If he really was, you know, that dysfunctional and that, you know, disliked by his own staff and players, then, you know, you might see a, you know, a rejuvenated LSU team when they, when they walk into Bryant-Denny Saturday night, you know, I don't know if that fixes all of their, you know, issues that they have.

I think they've got a, you know, they've got a starting quarterback that's pretty beat up. They've got an offensive line that's been, you know, playing freshmen at left tackle and right tackle, and, you know, they've had a, you know, difficulty protecting the quarterback and, you know, establishing a run game. So, you know, that may be what the game comes down to Saturday night is, you know, you've got two programs that have, you know, had a difficulty establishing a consistent running game and the one that's able to do it the most or the best Saturday night might be the one that wins the game.

William, speaking of establishing a run game, I know we've talked with you about this multiple times during the course of the season. The bye week, Courtney, has helped. I hear the injured folks are doing much better, and particularly Lundsir Brooks. Isaiah Horton, I heard again, Kane Womack said, Coye Russo is coming back sooner than later, which certainly is good news, but every time I read an article about Bama after the off week, well, can they fix the flaw of not being able to run the ball consistently?

And we know this is a pass-first offense. William, quite frankly, I think they have actually tried to stay committed to the run. South Carolina's front seven is actually very good, but people keep asking the same question over and over again. Your thoughts of improving a traditional run game for Alabama? Well, you know, in the context that Ryan Grubb and Kalen DeBoer want to execute one at, you know, I don't know if it is fixable, at least for this season. It might be that they need, you know, a couple of different type of offensive linemen to make it work.

[1:20:21] You know, I think we talked about this last week or the week before. You know, Jaden Roberts is an outstanding, you know, run blocker, but, you know, he's more physically suited to a zone blocking scheme. You know, he operates better when he goes in a straight line. And, you know, he's not the best puller in the world. He's not really athletic in space. So, you know, you almost kind of negate his strength with the way that, you know, and I'm not asking, you know, Ryan Grubb and Kalen DeBoer to change their philosophy because of a right guard.

But, you know, I think some of it might not be, you know, rectifiable. Now, certainly, I don't think that LSU's front seven is, you know, the one you have to concern yourself about is two weeks from this Saturday. I agree. You know, I'm a big, big fan and student of Brent Venables and, you know, consider him probably the best front seven, you know, guy that executes what he wants to do. But, you know, we'll just have to wait and see. I mean, I think at times, you know, there's been times where Alabama's gotten into the red zone and, you know, they've done pretty well with some stretch and some zone plays outside the tackle box, you know, and getting the guys outside.

So, you know, maybe that's the answer. Maybe you test the edge and, you know, loosen them up that way. And at some point, I think you're going to see some guys on other teams back out of that box a little bit trying to count for, you know, what you've already mentioned, it being a pass-first offense. In a huddle with William Redfish, Barger. A lot of folks have been saying that they love the idea of Proctor being in the game and doing his thing, scoring, or at least get him in position to score with Caden Proctor, the running back slash wide receiver.

But a lot of folks are saying when you get down that deep, could you maybe shuffle the deck a little bit and use him as a decoy, a little play action to Caden Proctor and work off of that? Your thoughts about how do you use Caden Proctor now that the novelty may be a little bit old? It got old for me about a month ago. Yeah. You know, we just got through talking about, you know, how to improve the running game. And, you know, I think the best way that you improve it is you leave your 360-pound left tackle at left tackle.

Exactly. Right. That's a start. And, you know, there's plenty of other guys that I think might have a little bit more shake and bake to them that you can get the ball to in space while he's doing what he's built to do. But, you know, nobody's paying me a couple million dollars a year to make that call. But, you know, and you might see it at this point. I think that's about the only thing they've probably got left in their pocket is maybe using him as a decoy.

But, you know, I'd much rather see Jeremy Bernard getting the ball down there inside when the field gets condensed. And, you know, I've seen him 10-plus times find a way to make, you know, his targets work. So that would be my easy answer, at least, as far as getting 74 more involved in the go-line short yardage offense than he already has been. William, what we've talked about, one of the positives about this team is they played a lot of players. They're slowly bringing some of these guys along.

Kyle Womick talked a little bit about that today. Keyon Keeley, London Simmons, who has been a very pleasant surprise. Edrick Hill, who I've seen more of lately. Pierre has just come into his own. QB Reese, a couple of special teams play. On the defensive side of the ball, William, who would you like to see a player get a little more development, a little more playing time? Well, you just mentioned one, and we haven't had a chance to really talk about him. But I know he's a guy that the coaches are eyeing as a potential starter at inside linebacker next year, and that's QB Reese.

Yeah. Now, maybe he's not fully digested and absorbed the playbook yet. Maybe that's one of the reasons why. They've been a little bit outside of the transfer from Colorado. They've been pretty persistent, I guess, or stubborn, I should say, in doing some more substituting there at the two inside linebacker spots. And that could be why, despite Reese being a guy that's caught their eye, his minutes, at least in meaningful time, has kind of been relegated to special teams. But, you know, despite the, you know, the rotation and, you know, guys that you may want to see more of.

And, you know, I would certainly put Keelan Keeley in that group as well. I think the, and certainly this isn't by design, but I think the way that the season has played out for the whole team, not just one side of the ball, is, and, you know, you credit the other team as well. But sometimes by Alabama's ineffectiveness, you know, they've kind of backed themselves into a corner at times during games and have had to play with their back against the wall and make them come from behind attempts on offense and have some late, you know, late game stops to preserve games.

[1:25:44] And, you know, that's how you improve. That's how you get better. And that's going to serve them well if, in fact, they do make the college football playoff. I'm not saying I want to see them do it every week because it would make my life a lot less anxiety-ridden. But as far as building, you know, character and experience and being able to not have the moment be too big for a team, I think they've already accomplished that so far this season. William, your thoughts about this team, you're better qualified than anybody listening right now to answer this question because you've been there literally in the trenches.

They've got four games remaining in the regular season. Three of them are at home. Two of them against interim coaches. I don't think it could set up much better. Three of the four at home. And then you've got to play that last game in a place where unpredictable is a mild word to put it down the plains. But what is your biggest fear as far? Could it be the intangibles or what is your biggest fear heading down the stretch here for Alabama to finish what they've started?

Well, to me, I mean, right now, at least on paper, you know, and granted, the next opponent is always the most dangerous. But we're in a position where we can kind of speculate and look down the road. You know, to me, I've had this Oklahoma game circled for a long time. But now, for more reasons than just the Brent Venables front seven, you know, now it looks like quarterback John Mateer is getting 100% healthy. He's getting back to where he's running the ball more. He's improvising more.

He does a, you know, a pretty good Johnny Manziel impersonation at times with the way he wheels and deals that offense. So, you know, I think that's going to be the biggest challenge. Now, I feel better about, you know, Alabama being able to meet and overcome that challenge with it being at home. But just the way this thing's trending right now, to me, Oklahoma looks easily like the biggest threat. I think you're exactly right. Yeah, Mateer's running ability is what really separated him to me in the Tennessee game.

He looked healthy and running with some reckless abandon. We all enjoy the insight on Monday. Have a great week. Let's do this again with you real soon. Thanks, guys. I always enjoy talking with you. Absolutely. William, Redfish Barger summing up Alabama. Just wanted to touch on UNA real quick, too. Tough loss for the Lions. They're going to be playing West Georgia next week, but lost in overtime to Utah Tech, 34-33. Destin Wade, redshirt sophomore quarterback, combined 303 yards, running the ball, passing the ball. Hugh Salon ran 400, his second 100-yard game.

Seth Hampton, nine tackles. Brian Dilworth with a key interception in the game, too. But unfortunately, UNA Perilbug did not be able to make one more play to miss the next point. It lost 34-33 in overtime. And now something of an old flash in the past as they come home this weekend, take on old nemesis West Georgia out at Brawley Stadium. Get out if you can. Three o'clock kicks. Let's hope the weather will cooperate. BB, obviously a huge week ahead. Got an eye on the Plains coming up tonight, the beginning of the basketball season.

Tomorrow night, the first big pullout. So, as I say, BB, are you ready for a lot of action? If so, are you ready to buckle up? Yeah, it's going to be an incredible week. In fact, you alluded to it, the first college football playoff poll going to be released tomorrow night. It's going to be interesting to see where Alabama and the SEC teams will fall. Reach down and rip off the knives. We've got it all covered for you right here on 93.9 The Score. It's going to take care of us for now.

On behalf of BB, Greg, James Blair, the entire crew here, Harold Bogg, thank you so much for your time today. That's what we're doing tomorrow, noon to two with the Boomo Bugg Show, back here on Sports Radio, 93.9 The Score.