Boomo Bugg Show 010726

[0:00] 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 Tigers, Tennessee and the rest of the SEC. Now your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Good afternoon and welcome in to the Boomo Bugg Show. I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird. Thank you so much for giving us free ride around the Tennessee Valley. BB, welcome in and trust me Alabama fans, if you're there, you don't want to go anywhere, rip the knobs off the sucker and the aftermath of the insane game on the plane. Good afternoon, welcome in and how are you?

Happy Wednesday to you and the listeners. Ty Simpson declares for the NFL and we'll discuss that throughout the show and Bama just picked up its field transfer, former USC standout defensive lineman, Devin Tompkins. Mr. College football, Tony Barnhart will give us his opinion on the final four and delighted once again to bring in Scarbo. Kevin is here right now to talk football and as Harold alluded to, to recount the wildest finish to the Texas A&M Auburn basketball game that featured a waved off buzzer beater in a defensive clinic compliments of Bucky Ball.

Uh, just call it a 10 pounds of sugar in a five pound sack. Uh, Scarbo is Kevin Scarbinsky. You can check out his podcast at Scarbo knows also the award winning columnist for the Birmingham news on the microphone for all the great calls and the Alabama high school athletic association, super finals, whether it be football, basketball, you name it, Kevin Scarbinsky. Welcome in. How are you? Well, happy new year guys. Good thing. Nothing, uh, interesting or controversial has happened so far in the first week of 2026. Oh my gosh. Where do we start? Kevin? Obviously you want to get to a whole new meaning to Murphy's law, the game on the planes, but when you see a quarterback at Alabama declaring for the draft, that is major news.

I don't think anybody is shocked. I don't think anyone was surprised. It was pretty evident that if Ty got positive feedback from the NFL, that he was likely going to be a first round pick, that he would go that route and he would turn pro. He's been in college a long time and he got banged up, uh, pretty seriously the second half of the season decision for him to move on and start the next phase of his career in the NFL and an Alabama fan should be, should remember him fondly. Uh, he's, he did a fantastic job this year.

He showed loyalty to the program before he became the starting quarterback, which is becoming an increasingly rare commodity in college sports these days. And then when he got his turn, he was ready for his moment. And, and we'll always wonder, at least I'll, I will always wonder what he might've achieved this year. He had an outstanding season, but what might he have? Yeah. Second half of the season. Obviously you want to talk more about that, but as we mentioned so many things going on, what that may mean for Alabama, they're adding coaches, Derek Nix coming over from Auburn. That's now official, all kinds of transfer information.

But, uh, obviously, uh, the game last night, Kevin, we've seen a lot of ball games, your, your thoughts about Bucky ball coming back to the state of Alabama, you know, Bucky personally. And I, I think a lot of folks thought that was going to be a wild game, but did anybody envision it being that wild of a game? Well, no. And with about 13 minutes left in the second half, it was becoming a snoozer at Auburn was up 16. And, and clearly A&M has is shorthanded on its roster. Uh, it's best inside player.

Maybe it's best player overall, the transfer from Indiana. He got hurt earlier in the year. He's out for the season, Bucky had to put together a roster late. Uh, because I think he was the last power for head coach to get a new job or power five, I should say in basketball to get a new job. So he had to cobble together a roster. Uh, but man, did that thing flip? And if you followed Bucky's work at Mountain Brook and at Samford university, you were not surprised because they stayed some memorable comebacks at both of those places.

Nothing quite as astonishing. I think is this one, but because that, I don't know that there are very few games I've seen that have flipped as completely as that one did. When you think that Texas A&M scored 45 points in the first 27 minutes of the game and they scored another 45 points in the last 13 minutes of the game and they, and they showed you exactly what Bucky ball is. It's intensity. It's pressure. It's creating turnovers and sharing the ball. It's hitting threes. It's making you play fast faster than you can play comfortably. Uh, even Steven Pearl admitted that Auburn got fatigued in that second half. And that's exactly what Bucky wants to do to other teams. So, and of course the ending, I don't even know where to begin with the ending because I still need some explanations from some people.

[5:44] Kevin, I saw a couple of clips. I know one clip that was basically facing him. It looked like the ball left his hand in time. I mean, then I saw another clip a couple of times today was posted on X to where you could see the clock at down to zero. And it looked like the ball again, all of these were a little bit grainy, but I thought you could distinctly tell that the ball was still in his hand or in his fingertips. But, uh, listen, I understand Auburn being upset and I agree with you. There was absolutely no excuse in throwing water bottles. Uh, some 60 year old guy literally had a cup in his hand and threw it over his shoulder to the officials in, in the Texas A&M coming out. Uh, I understand the disappointment, but I'm like you at the, the, uh, defensive clinic.

I would be concerned about, but, uh, no, it was an amazing, uh, last minute to play. Unfortunately, the Auburn crowd didn't handle it too well. No, no, they didn't. Uh, and, and give Auburn credit though, because they, they staged a furious comeback of their own in the last minute itself. Uh, when it looked like that they were dead in the water and the game was already over, um, they didn't quit. They, they, they pushed it to the wire, but the, the behavior of the crowd, and that's unacceptable from any crowd at any time for any reason, you just don't throw things on the floor. Uh, you don't throw things at officials.

I don't care how egregious you might think the call was. And you pointed it out. I can't tell you how many different screenshots I've seen today on social media that appear to show contradictory conclusions. The, one of the most interesting things I saw, and I don't, haven't heard as much discussion about it today, but late last night on the SEC network, after the game, they showed a wide angle that appeared to show that the clock in the corner, if you were looking at it from behind Keyshawn Murphy or three quarters court, uh, from behind Keyshawn Murphy, not directly behind the clock in the corner may have said 0.1 seconds left, but the clock on the backboard said 0.0 and, and the light was on, on the backboard. And that's, I understand the official clock that matters most.

So it appeared there may have been a clock discrepancy between one, one clock and the other. And let, and let's just say this to make this clear, they put, what was it? 0.7 seconds back on the clock. I'm not sure if that was the right determination or not. After they, they apparently messed up the free throw ruling because of the, if the free throw did on, on replay s***, did hit the rim barely, but it did hit the rim. And they never should have stopped the clock there. And that last key by Auburn should have been the end of the game. So Bucky McMillan was right about that.

But to catch the, if you follow the sequence, Keyshawn Murphy catches the ball with his back to the basket. He turns, he dips the ball down below his waist. He brings the ball back up over his head and releases it and do that in 0.7 seconds. I'm sorry. I know Keyshawn Murphy's a great athlete. I saw him play in high school. I saw, I saw him try out for a travel ball team with my son who was in awe the whole time watching some of the athletes.

J.D. Davidson was another one that was there that day. And so, and I watched those, those, you know, these are great athletes, but you can't do that in 0.7 seconds. So the clock operator was very slow on the trigger finger on that last sequence as well. Either then or it's AI. We're not sure. We'll double check on that. Either way, Kevin, Auburn is off to an 0-2 start in a conference, losing on the road over time to a ranked Georgia team. Heartbreaker against Texas A&M. Your thoughts on the start and while we're on the roll here, one of the toughest venues to play anywhere, and you know this, at Vanderbilt, they are the highest ranked team for the SEC at number 11, taking on number 13, Alabama tonight.

Well, and how about Nate Oates throwing a little shade on Vanderbilt's schedule to this point, but he wasn't wrong. If you look at the metrics, Vanderbilt has not challenged itself the way that Alabama has, or that Auburn has for that matter. And that certainly has contributed to their hot start. You have to give them credit for taking advantage of the schedule that they set up and being very successful against it. But they're going to be tested tonight by a better team than they've played by far to date.

So we'll see if the Commodores are for real. We also know Memorial Magic is a real thing. We've seen very good teams go in there and lose over the years. Alabama, though, has been successful under Nate Oates recently up there in Nashville. So that should be a good one. And I think it's all pointing to the SEC as a group is not what it was last year. By any metrics you wanted to use in the history of college basketball, it's not that, but it's not that far below it.

[11:11] And Garth Glissman, the Associate Commissioner of SEC Basketball, he spoke to us at the Birmingham Tip-Off Club on Monday. And he said their projections are right now that they get nine or ten teams in the NCAA tournament, which would be the second most in SEC history after the 14, which is a record for all conferences that they sent last year. We could spend two hours on this next topic, and you wrote an article about it, and Alabama will rebound from this eventually. But 38-3 will resonate in Alabama's minds, and they have elephant memories, pardon the pun.

But 38-3 will resonate for years. As it should. And I said, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, that they ought to play the highlight tape or low-light tape on a reel on every screen in the football building from now until the start of next year. They ought to print T-shirts with the score on it, print posters with the score on it, plaster them on the walls. You shouldn't forget that. Because as good as Indiana has become, and give them all the credit in the world for what they've accomplished under Kurt Signetti, there is no excuse for losing a playoff game 38-3.

You know, you're Alabama, you have a much better tradition than that. You're healthier than you've been in a long time. So injuries were not an excuse in that game. And yet, they looked completely outclassed. They looked outprepared. And the entire Alabama season almost boiled down to that fourth-and-one decision. When you're down only three-to-nothing, but you feel like you have to gamble at the end of the first quarter, beginning of the second quarter. So that decision, and then the call itself. You've got fourth-and-one. You've got an offensive line averaging well north of 300 yards a man.

300 pounds a man, I should say. And you've got to make one yard, and your play call is a jet-motion pop pass to a wide receiver. Kevin, here's the bottom line. That's the highlight of that. It's not the highlight yet. Yeah, it underscores what you're saying. The seventh season in a nutshell, right? Yeah. We know where they've been. The question is where. Lessons learned both in Tuscaloosa and Auburn. Your thoughts about now that the offseason is here. We know that Alabama obviously did not hit the Alabama standard.

We know Auburn's got a big changing of the guard. Is it University of South Florida now and the University of North Florida in Auburn? Well, Alex Golesh is trying to follow the Kurt Signetti blueprint, isn't he? Where you bring a bunch of your guys because they know you, they know your style, they know your culture. That certainly can help with a transition. I would caution Auburn fans. Look, enthusiasm is great. You should be excited about your new coach and your new quarterback in particular. I think he's a big-time player.

But those guys didn't exactly dominate the American Conference. They finished fourth last year. And the one thing about Alex Golesh is record time there. And he did good things. He improved the program, no doubt. But he didn't perform well or his team didn't perform well against the better teams in the conference. And that's the thing that concerns me, how well that will translate from South Florida to Auburn against a much higher level of competition than they faced in the American. But again, it did work for Kurt Signetti.

But if it were easy, Kurt Signetti wouldn't have been the first one to do it. Absolutely. Well, listen, we can't think of a better way to start the year than talking to you. Appreciate the great job that you do on the Super 7. Next time we turn around, Kevin, it's going to be Birmingham for the state championships and all the great job Alabama Public TV has done with that. But where can we get online and get all of Kevin Scarbinsky's great stuff? Well, the best thing to do is follow me on Twitter or X at Kevin Scarbinsky.

We have some fun there. I love to be live tweeting the semifinal playoff games. And we have some spirited conversations back and forth during those live sessions. But also, you can keep up with my columns on AL.com and the Birmingham News. That's an online subscription publication now. I hope people will check it out. And my relatively new podcast, you can go to YouTube, Kevin Scarbinsky-ScarboKnows. I have a new episode up about what happened to Alabama in passing. They go from here. Kevin, I echo those sentiments from Brett Beaird.

Listen, man, thanks so much. 2026. Hope it's going to be an even better year than 25. And let's do it again as soon as possible, my friend. Sounds good, guys. Let's all have a great new year. Thanks, bud. Yeah, absolutely. Kevin Scarbinsky, again, check him out. It's called ScarboKnows. Coming up, speaking of the Auburn Tigers, Nathan King, the latest on deck. Stay with us. This is Miranda Haddock with the Florence Education Foundation. We invite you to support our Friends of the Foundation campaign. As a friend of the Foundation, you can contribute any amount to help fund classroom needs in Florence City schools.

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Order online at ConecuhSausage.com. Hello again, everybody. I'm Roger Hoover. Here are thoughts from men's basketball head coach Nate Oates as Alabama prepares for a top 15 showdown against Vanderbilt. Look, we got a great start to conference play, getting the win against Kentucky. I think first time in school history, we won four straight against them, so really good game. Started 1-0, but I told the guys today, like, you can't win a league championship if you're not going to go on the road and win games. You win your home games, you go 500, so we got to go on the road and win, and we get the best team in the league on the road, right out of the gate.

Beating them would go a long ways, because we're going to be competing with them for a league championship at the end of it. You know, if we could beat them at their place, we'd have the tiebreaker, we'd give them a loss, you know, we get a win, and it's a road win. You're going to have to go win road wins to win a league championship, so, you know, and we're banged up right now. So we were, you know, we weren't able to practice quite as hard or as competitive, maybe.

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Join us tomorrow for Crimson Drive, driven by NASCAR, streaming live at 2 p.m. Central on all CTSN social media platforms at UA underscore CTSN. Crimson Tide Today is brought to you by Conecuh Sausage. 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 an absolute pleasure for us to welcome the man, Nathan King. He's got Auburn cover there for you. 24-7 Sports, part of the Auburn Undercover Network.

Nathan, welcome in. How are you? I am doing very well. How are you guys? Good. Well, just when we thought we had seen everything, Nathan, along comes the ending of that game of the Plains last night. Where do you start breaking it down, and is chaos still raining on the Plains today? Yeah, I mean, you start breaking it down with the fact that Auburn was on the phone with the SEC League office right after the game, and Stephen Farrell was late to his press conference because he was having those conversations.

[21:48] Auburn AD John Cohen was in the building. They had a long conversation afterwards. Look, they're not attempting to change the outcome or anything like that. I just think there was a lot of confusion about what is an indistinguishable, indisputable call there at the very end, because when you look at a bunch of different angles, I still have yet to see one that tells me concretely one way or another what happened there at the end of the game. So it was obviously a snap judgment call in the moment by those officials, and if you're Auburn, you're feeling like, here we go again, right?

I mean, you've had so many of these types of situations where you feel like the game has been in the hands of the officiating. The one that really comes to mind is the Georgia ending in football when it looked like Jackson Arnold may have scored, and there wasn't anything necessarily indisputable in that one either. But at the same time, if you're Auburn, you shouldn't have been in that position in the first place. You had a team seed in the second half of that game, and you let it slip away.

And look, Stephen Pearl said afterwards, he said, look, you know, we've got, there's really only one choice what to do. You know, you can't pouch, you've got to move forward, you know, and do an SEC play. You've got a lot of difficult games coming up. You've got to improve quickly and get ready for Arkansas on Saturday. Yeah, that's what I was going to mention. Again, it should have been handled better by the officials, not only on the inbound play for the last second shot, but also the free throw for Texas A&M.

Did it graze the rim? Did it not? Should it have stopped the clock? Again, a lot of questions there. Auburn was certainly in control of the game, leading by 16, and then you saw the epitome of buckyball as far as defense hitting threes to Texas A&M. Their credit, they went on a 33-6 run, and then Auburn comes back in the last three minutes. I believe it was 14-3 at one point. Obviously, Auburn's got a lot to work on, and I'm sure Stephen Pearl's talked about that, but second half of games, a game of runs, A&M very impressive, but to Auburn's credit, they came back.

Yeah, I mean, it was the turnovers that did Auburn in. Auburn actually only had five turnovers in the second half, but Texas A&M scored 15 points off of those. Wow. You get three points a pop every time you turn the ball over. Four of those were sort of three-on-one loose ball, three-pointers. The other one was an and-one. And three of those came in quick succession. I mean, I have never seen a team score nine points that quickly. It was an 11-0 run for Texas A&M in the span of 28 seconds.

So Auburn's 16-point lead. It only took five minutes, five minutes and 13 seconds of game time for Auburn's 16-point lead to completely evaporate. Wow. So yeah, I mean, look, it's kind of what's ailed this Auburn team so far this season. It's not necessarily any one area. It's just been lack of consistency. You know, they've not been able to upkeep things throughout 40 minutes of play. You know, the lineups continue to be, you know, affected. Like we saw Todd Pettiford have to come off the bench. Once again, with the disciplinary issue, you saw, you know, Auburn forward Filip Yovic not play in the second half with an apparent lower body injury.

We'll see, you know, what his status is moving forward. But they've had to kind of move around lineups, play guys, you know, a lot. They've seen Pearl said, you know, they were probably getting gassed in the second half with that Texas A&M press that you mentioned. And so, look, at the end of the day, this is not at all how Auburn wanted to start STC competition. These are a couple good teams, but, you know, you've got to beat a team. A team like Texas A&M at home if you want to be a tournament team, if you're Auburn.

And so, on that note, Arkansas serves as such a massive opportunity, not only for Auburn to get a quad one win, you know, for their resume and get back in the tournament hunt because they're clearly a bubble team right now. You know, it's also get some wind back in your sails and get some confidence moving forward in the early stage of the league play. Good thing about basketball, it's a marathon as opposed to a sprint. Nathan King in the huddle with us. Nathan, obviously, first-year coach for basketball and coming up a first-year coach for football.

Your thoughts to date about the new era for the gridirons and the planes? Yeah, I mean, you knew that Alex Golesh was going to prioritize his USF guys. It makes a lot of sense that in the first few days of the portal, those have been the majority of transfer additions. And the domino you were waiting on was Byron Brown at quarterback. You know, we believe from the day Alex Golesh got hired that this was likely going to happen and they make it happen yesterday morning. And you sort of saw why that took a while.

I know it was difficult for fans to wait on that because, you know, nowadays, if something doesn't happen, things can change in an instant. So I get why people were a little antsy. But Auburn wanted a big rollout for him. He was at the basketball game last night. He was the celebrity, you know, letter holder in that, you know, that we did an interview with him yesterday, you know, in the building. They wanted to get that out. Took a lot of different videos of him on campus.

[27:11] And he was in Auburn's building all day yesterday. And as I understand it, still today, he's here and he's helping recruit. He's meeting transfer guys. Noah Rogers is an NC statewide receiver transfer who actually played with Byron Brown in high school in North Carolina. But he's here ready to meet him. The Ohio State offensive guard starter is on campus today. Byron Brown wanted to stay and meet him as well, along with being with his other USF guys. And so, you know, we talked about this on the show, I think, last week, right?

Like, there was a difficult waiting period for Auburn fans before this portal opened up because all you could do was lose. That was literally your only option. You know, the portal wasn't open. The only thing that could happen is guys could say that they're leaving. And so it was tough for Auburn fans to kind of wait through that and see a bunch of their guys go, particularly a guy like Cam Coleman. But things have, you know, started to shift in the other way because Alex Gullis and company have done a pretty good job getting players in so far.

You've got your centerpiece in Byron Brown and now you try to build around him. Listen, God bless you if you're having to cover this. What seems like every 15 minutes. But let me check with you. Auburn's very latest is Forrest Transfers. Former Michigan State left tackle Stanton, Rammel, or Bell, originally from Thompson, 6'7", 3-3-12. And then Chase Nimrod, I believe, committed or signed last night from South Florida. I believe he is the ninth South Florida player. Fred Gaskin, the third, was the eighth. I think Nimrod may be the ninth.

And I know people say, well, is this going to be South Florida North? Kurt Signetti did a pretty good job bringing James Madison players in, too. And we kind of see the result of that. They're very familiar with the staff. The Auburn staff and analyst Gold, which knows their strength and weaknesses, catches up a little bit on the transfer portal. Yeah. I mean, you're exactly right. It is a lot of USF guys. You know, my counterpoint on that, kind of like you were mentioning, with people concerned about so many USF players trying to play in the SEC.

You know, USF had as many SEC wins as Auburn did last year. So I think they did a pretty decent job in that department. I just, you know, I think most people realize what you said is, you know, like Kurt Signetti. And nowadays, that's kind of what you do if you're a new coach. But, you know, Auburn has to realize where they are. They've lost. They've had five straight losing seasons. And if you want to completely overhaul things with guys who have been successful at the group of six level, it's not the worst idea, considering you haven't had lots of success.

But, yeah, Stanton Ramel, you mentioned, you know, an Alabama native from Thompson, started at left tackle for two seasons when he wasn't injured at Michigan State. That's one you were waiting on because the offensive line kind of felt like the odd man out so far. Like, you're getting all these exciting players on offense, and obviously you need an O-line. So they're going to start hitting that really hard. Some other guys to monitor there, but the Ohio State guard is still on campus. If you're Auburn, you'd like to reel him in.

And then, yeah, Chaz Nimrod signed last night at like 11.30 p.m. He gets a vote. That one's been done forever. There's a lot of these guys from USF that it's kind of a formality at this point. Like, their plan was always to follow Alex Golesh and their receivers coach, in particular, Cody Burns. The other one is Keyshawn Singleton, who is USF's leading receiver. Last year, he has not signed or committed to Auburn yet. I think that's just a matter of time. I would be very, very, very surprised if he does not end up at Auburn.

If you get him and you get a guy like Noah Rogers, the NC State transfer that I mentioned, he's a former five-star recruit who started his career at Ohio State, then went to play closer to home at NC State. You get him, you're good. Your receiver room is done. You have overhauled this thing in very short order. I think that would be five total USF transfers at wide receiver, not to mention a few guys coming back from last season, and not to mention Noah Rogers, like I just said.

I think now you've gotten the cornerstones of your offense. You wanted to get all your USF guys in as quickly as possible. The next few days, you're going to start to see the shift to the lines of scrimmage. You're going to start to see offensive line has already ramped up a little bit. Defensive line, they've got a couple, the Oklahoma State transfer and the North Texas transfer will decide later this week, and so they're going to start to ramp things up there on the defensive line of scrimmage.

Well, good luck following it. You and Jason Caldwell and Phillip Marshall and Christian Clemente have got your work cut out for January. We always enjoy the discussion. You've got a lot of stuff going on, transfer portal, basketball, men's and women's baseball are going to be here. Jason's going to be busy with that, but always a delight to talk with you. Where can we get online and get all the good stuff? Yeah, for sure. Appreciate you guys and auburnundercover.com. Like you said, it's the time of year where, I mean, shoot, I treated myself to sleeping in this morning until around 8.30, and I woke up and felt like an entire day and passed in the portal.

[32:31] So, if you want to keep track of everything, it's chaotic for fans, but we're going to have it all covered for you guys. That's auburnundercover.com. Much deserved rest. Get some more of it, Nathan. Listen, man, thanks for your time today and stay safe, okay? Appreciate you guys. Y'all do the fun. Thank you, bud. Thank you, buddy. Nathan King, who's going to win this vision there with 24-7 sports, Auburn Undercover. Time to head on down to Titan. What a day. Ron York trying to keep up with the latest.

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While the Commodores are ranked 11th. On Tuesday night, Auburn fell at home to Texas A&M 90-88. They were outscored by 12 points in the second half. They led the Aggies by 10 at halftime. Keyshawn Hall had 32 points. Kevin Overton with 16. But Auburn drops to 9 at 6. 0-2 in the SEC. They'll face 15th-ranked Arkansas on Saturday. North Alabama on the road to face Eastern Kentucky on Thursday night. The Lions have lost four straight games, losing Saturday to Florida Gulf Coast in Florence. They're 5-8 on the season and 0-2 in the Atlantic Sun.

The sports update brought to you by Progressive. Bundle auto and home, renters or condo and save with Progressive. I'm Tony D'Aziri on 93.9 The Score. Billy, your gas light's on. We need to stop and fill up. No way, Jen. Gas around here is too expensive. We can make it a little further. Billy, listen to your big sister. You don't need to drive all over searching for the lowest gas prices. Do what I do and use Upside. Upside? Do you live under a rock, Billy? Upside is the hottest cash back app out there.

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Could it be that Rodney Orr's got time to talk to us with all the fish he's got to fry down in Tuscaloosa today? Well, his mini transfers that his Alabama has brought in for, to be exact, it seems like in the last 15 minutes, and covering everything else, I know he is quite busy. Rodney, we are flattered. We are honored. We are humbled that you can take time out of a busy day there as founder and editor of tighterinsider.com, and your book is called Bigger Than Bama.

You may want to add a chapter or two after today. Rodney, welcome in. How are you? How's it going, guys? Doing all right? Busy is the name of the game. Let's start with the, pardon the pun, the elephant in the room. I don't know that people are very shocked with the news out of the Ty Simpson camp, Rodney. No, I mean, again, it was, it was interesting. I think I saw where Pete Thamel had the report that his dad, Jason Simpson, course coach at UT Martin, said that every general manager in the league gave him a first-round grade.

So, you know what? You can't pass that up. No. No. That's an opportunity. Yeah. You know, there's really no need to come back. If you're going to be a first-round draft pick, you have to go. And, you know, good for Ty. I hope it all works out well for you. Yeah, and the thing is, his legacy is going to be one that's mixed because people are going to say blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But the other side of the coin, we get the criticisms, but he may be the last of a dying breed.

People with choices, five-star status, staying and paying his dues and coming out, taking the shots literally and still trying to take a lick and keep on coming back. That's, let's face it, we live in the world where everything moves forward like water in a stream. Now that Ty basically looks like he's going to go to greener pastures in the NFL, first-round money. Your thoughts, no matter who gets a starting job, Alabama's going to have a brand-new quarterback next year. Your thoughts, starting with that, a lot to get to today, but let's start with the obvious.

Your thoughts about the quarterback situation in the offseason heading in to next season? Well, I think it's going to be an interesting scenario. My question is, I don't know where Austin Mack stands academically in terms of graduating, but perhaps he sticks around for the spring and battles it out with Keelan Russell for that starting job. I understand Mack was second in the pecking order. He played in the Rose Bowl, but listen, you guys have heard the buzz behind the scenes. You know what they're saying, and it's that Keelan Russell is a future superstar.

So we'll see. We'll see about that, but obviously Keelan will be here in the spring. We'll see if Mack, again, here's the thing. There's no spring portal, so if he's not on track to graduate before next season, he's kind of taking a risk, if you ask me. Yeah. If I'm not going ahead and getting in the portal. Now, again, if he is on track to graduate, he can graduate and transfer at any point as a grad transfer. So that'll be an opportunity for him there. We'll just see, you know, how that unfolds.

And then, of course, you've got a couple of freshmen who I think are really talented, Jett Tamala and Tayden Calwa from Utah. But so that's pretty much the way it is. And, you know, if you made me guess now, Harold and Brett, I'm not going to shy away from it. I would think that this is Keelan Russell's opportunity to kind of be the guy. Rodney, 19, I believe, and counting the guys who have mentioned on social media that they're walking out the door and going somewhere else.

I think Rico Scott has decided to come back. But the commitments, Alabama picked up at least one announced on social media. Devin or Devon Tompkins considered to be the number three defensive lineman transferring from USC. Josh Ford was the first one. It seems like that was two years ago. Transferred from Oklahoma State. Hollywood Smothers, everybody's seen clips on him. They're quite impressed from North Carolina State. Caleb Woodson, the linebacker transferred from Virginia Tech, seems to be quite impressive, too. Kane Strayhorn, offensive lineman. His dad is very well-known.

Michigan State, Nick Saban roots there. Ron, your thoughts so far on not so much who Alabama's losing, but who they're bringing in? Well, I mean, it looks like to be a really good group, I mean, so far. Yeah, I mean, obviously, the guys that you mentioned, they all have some really good credentials. And, you know, Tompkins is big on the defensive line. And Strayhorn's huge on the offensive line because you need guys at those positions. And actually, I think they need a minimum of four guys on the offensive line right now.

[43:03] I mean, when you look at it, they have about 10 or 11. I guess if you include the true freshman that signed in this class, you probably want at least 14 or 15, probably 15. You know, again, some people go 16 on the offensive line. But I do think they need at least three more besides Strayhorn, it's my opinion. Because you're losing, you know, obviously you're losing Proctor, you're losing Dewberry, you're losing Relford, you're losing Wilkins Formby, you're losing Jaden Roberts. You know, and plus you had a bunch of backups that left.

So, you're losing some guys up front on the offensive side. So, I think, like I said, three more at least, I would say, three more. Now, if you can get Jacarius Peek from North Carolina State, who's supposed to be visiting here soon, he may be the number one left tackle in this whole transfer portal. And that would be a huge, huge addition. Obviously, you're recruiting some other guys as well. But on the defensive line, I would say that you need to sign at least a couple of more as well.

Because you're losing those top three across the board. So, I would think that at least a couple of more. And I'm not talking about edge guys in terms of, you know, outside linebacker types. I'm talking about legitimate defensive linemen. On your tighter insider.com. Rodney, it's not who you got if you're a fan. It's who you don't have, but shopping and maybe can get, you know how that works. Nobody knows that better than you there. But, Saturday and insider.com. A couple of names that really are intriguing to a lot of Alabama fans.

Obviously, Cam Coleman. What are you hearing as far as probably the top guy in the portal coming out of Auburn? I've seen back and forth as far as the visit. And then you mentioned the defense. Mr. Ross, an edge rusher out of Tennessee. What are you hearing about those two names? Well, I mean, again, I know that obviously Cam Coleman is maybe the number one player in the portal, they say. You know, he's Texas A&M, Texas. He's been at Texas Tech. You know, we'll see what happens.

If he comes in for the visit, that's what kind of has been a buzz. And I know that I got something yesterday that one of the Texas mods, after his visit to Texas, kind of said he felt like Alabama may be trending. So, you know, I really don't know what that is or if that's a fact. You know, you never really know in this deal, the way these offers are handed out. But so, you know, again, Alabama needs receivers. I think they need at least two.

You know, it's just me. He would be a fantastic one to add to the class, for sure. And then, you know, Ross, you know, you lose, you lost to Noah Carter. And, you know, Quay Rousseau at that wolf position, I assume that's where they would play him. You know, I didn't watch him that much at Tennessee, so I don't know how much he grew or how big he is right now. But anyway, he would be an edge guy. And, you know, again, my understanding is he was planning on visiting or expected to visit.

I haven't heard anything new on him. But the other thing, too, that might influence that is, it's now official, Derek Nix. Looks like he is a wide receiver's coach who was one of his disciples last year, Coleman at Auburn. Your thoughts about that news and how that might influence Coleman's final decision. Yeah, I mean, it could. I mean, it certainly could have a, you know, big impact on it. You know, I saw someone that covers Auburn that said, claimed to know Coleman's father really, really well.

And just said, look, this isn't all about money. I know the family. It's not all about money, so it's not going to be necessarily the biggest offer. I guess we'll see about that. But so Derek Nix certainly could be a factor. You know, again, you know, Cam Coleman, you know, he's been in school two years now. Yeah. He's probably got some designs on the NFL, and development's probably really important to him. So I would think that, you know, he certainly would have a lot of trust in Derek Nix.

Ronnie, some of the other offensive linemen, Jimothy Lewis, Mississippi State, I know he came in earlier this week. DJ Chester, who's been at LSU two or three years, he's coming in tomorrow. Texas State offensive lineman, Brock Riker, I believe Alabama's extended an offer to him and someone close to in our area, Adam Watford from North Alabama, from UNA, is a tremendous punter. I believe they have talked, they've communicated, we'll see where that goes, but certainly the priority is the line of scrimmage, but you always need a kicker.

But yeah, I've noticed three other offensive linemen, and I'm like you, they've got to get at least four or five. Yeah, yeah, and you mentioned the punter, I think he averaged like 46 yards a punt. You know, again, these punters are hard to figure out, Harold and Brett, because I know a lot of people complained about Blake Dowd this year, but you know, he was a two-time All-American at the Colorado School of Mines, and he was averaging 46 yards a punt. And I know the altitude up there, you know, is something different, but you know, he was a very successful punter.

[48:33] And plus you have Alex Esparov, I assume Alex's knee is better, getting better. You know, I know that he really injured it significantly, and that was why he didn't play this year. He was limited, I know, heading into the year, so, you know, we'll see. He was the number one, or one of the top punters in the country coming out of Fresno. So, but yes, a punter certainly is a need, in my opinion. Well, you jump off, Rodney, talking basketball, it's showtime tonight. One of the top-ranked team matchups in the country, number 11 Vanderbilt, hosting number 13 Alabama.

Your thoughts about the b-ball team so far? Well, I mean, I think they're about right on, you know, target right now, in terms of right on schedule, what people expected. And, you know, Harold and Brett, I'll be honest with you, I mean, this football thing has been so dominant in everything that, I mean, whether it's, you know, what happened in the Rose Bowl, which we didn't even talk about that. But, you know, and then this portal and everything, it's just been kind of overwhelming. Rodney, you had a good article on Tender and Sider.

Above all else, DeBoer needs to find consistency in performance. He reminds me a little bit of Bill Curry. I remember distinctly Alabama losing to Memphis in mid-October before Tennessee, 17-15. And, Rodney, they turn around the next week and run number three Tennessee off the field. In the bookend losses this year, I know you've heard all nauseam. They did some very good things in between winning eight in a row. They won five games on the road in the SEC. It should be complimented for that. They won two more games.

But the point you keep making is they have just got to quit laying an egg. It may be half an egg, but it was a full egg in Pasadena, I believe. And your point's well made. Kael and DeBoer have just got to become more consistent. Yeah, you know, again, it does remind me of what you referred to as Bill Curry. I remember that, especially that season, 87. He beat LSU down in Baton Rouge. Of course, Tommy Hodgson was injured, but still, he played a little. And, you know, they really pulled off an upset down there against LSU.

And this was the next week and just got hammered at Notre Dame. Right. So, I mean, it does have that kind of same pattern to it where, you know, again, you saw it last year. You write it off as a first year. I mean, I think that's a fair thing to do. Right. Then you come back this year and you lay the egg to start the season. And then you kind of get on that run. And it's a really nice run. And you're thinking they turn the corner.

And then they really kind of beat themselves, I think, here in Tuscaloosa with the Oklahoma game and all the turnovers. Yep. And, you know, sometimes that happens. But I just think really what kind of concerns people is that you got smoked by Georgia. You were never really in the game. Yep. And then you come back and you lay down against Indiana. Yep. Yep. You know, where even Herbstreit basically said Alabama looks like they quit. Yep. And so I think there's definitely a concern there. You know, when you lose by two touchdowns, three touchdowns, and five touchdowns, you know, Alabama fans, that's hard to swallow.

No question about it. Well, listen, always enjoy the conversation. Get a nap in today if you can. But in between that 30 minutes, there may be two more transfer guys commit. If you want the absolute latest on basketball, certainly the transfer portal Derek Nix made official today. And then that 24-7 message board, which I'm sure is just melting the keyboard with some of their comments. Ronnie, where can we get online for a very nominal price and get one of the absolute best sources about Alabama sports? Right.

It's tighterinsider.com. It's only $48 a year. You can get instant access with your credit card if you prefer. There is an address there to send a check. Gives you all our premium information. But also, it's our all sports forum right now. A lot of exchange going on there, whether it's basketball, certainly football, the portal, and all of that. So, you know, just a lot going on right now on tighterinsider.com. Also good to see and hear you feeling better, too, Rodney. Keep it up, and thanks so much for your time today.

Appreciate it, guys. Take care. Thank you, bud. Rodney Orr, founder and editor of tighterinsider.com. And again, his book is called Bigger Than Bama. Coming up in the next hour, more on Bama and Auburn with Drew DeArmond. And Tony Barnhart, Mr. College football himself, going to be on board. And you and a boss, Tony Pujol. And more spread ahead with a little bit more bunk shows. Stay with us. Hello, Shoals. It's Elmer Pierce from Garner Pierce Autos. Are you tired of being told that it will take two weeks to service your vehicle or even to look at it to tell you what's wrong with it?

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I'm totally fine. But I cope with losing with an ice-cold Dr. Pepper. Mmm, those 23 flavors are like so delicious. They totally wash away the pain of your college football team taking a big fat L. College football. It's a pepper thing. 1819 News. U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville says he doesn't trust the current vice president of Venezuela, who's now in charge after her boss, Nicolas Maduro, was captured by U.S. military forces. Tuberville was asked about Vice President Delce Rodriguez while on Newsmax, and he says that President Trump is very aware of Rodriguez, her past, and her current corruption.

No, she's as big a criminal as Maduro. So at the end of the day, President Trump knows it's got to be cleaned up. I don't know how it's going to happen, but he'll make sure that there's a free and fair election and let the people of Venezuela pick their president. That's what they did last time, but this dictator, Maduro, wouldn't leave. And when you control the military of any country, you control that country. And that especially is the case when you're involved in Central America. Rodriguez became the vice president in 2018 and has had a hand in the Venezuelan intelligence service.

Her father was a part of a militant left-wing Marxist party in that country. I'll be back with more Alabama stories after this. Some of the greatest blessings is just having the people that care about you, to have someone that's just going to love you and make you feel important. They encourage you to be in church. They encourage you to be in prayer. They encourage you to be in your Bible. Now it's a part of my day every day. My house parents planted seeds in me that you can see where those seeds have sprouted in my life and helped change my life.

Big Oak Ranch, a Christian home for children needing a chance. Governor Ivey has appointed Dr. Patricia Sims to the Alabama Port Authority Board. Sims is currently the president at Drake State Community and Technical College. She will represent the Northern District of the state of Alabama on this nine-member board. Sims has served on the board in the past, from 2020 to July of last year. I'm Andrea Tyson. For more news affecting Alabamians, go to 1819news.com. And while you're there, subscribe to the daily newsletter. Valley Broadcasting Corporation, WITK-FM, Rogersville, Athens, Decatur, The Shores.

[58:57] Sports Radio 93.9 The Score. High school basketball season is here, and as your home for Florence Falcons athletics, 93.9 The Score is proud to bring you a select lineup of games. This Friday, the Falcons go on the road to face the Athens Golden Eagles. Airtime is approximately 7.15 with a tip at 7.30. Here on 93.9 The Score. Florence Falcons basketball is brought to you by Florence Utilities, Florence City Schools, the law firm of Johnson, Pasteur, Medley & Virtual, North Alabama Bone & Joint Clinic, T&T Fireworks, Yogurt Mountain, Whataburger, Singing River Dentistry, Bank Independent, Lost Pizza, Irons Electric, Cypress Creek Range, and Hennigar Johnson & Layton Insurance.

Florence and Athens, this Friday night at approximately 7.15 on 93.9 The Score. Hey, Florence Falcons fans, can't make it to the games? Join Kevin Johnson and the rest of the Falcons radio crew streaming live on the 93.9 The Score app. Available for both Apple and Android users. Live streams are also available on your Amazon Alexa devices. Just ask Alexa to tune in to 93.9 The Score and go Falcons! 93.9 The Score weather. Today, partly sunny with a high around 65. Tonight, mostly cloudy with a low near 50. Tomorrow, mostly cloudy with possible gusty winds and a high around 70.

Tomorrow night, cloudy with a 60% chance of showers overnight and a low near 60. And for your Friday, showers and thunderstorms possible 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 tour to the Boomo Bugg Show.

I'm Harold Bugg alongside Redbeard. Thank you so much for giving us a free ride around the Tennessee Valley. And I can't think of a better way to tip off the second hour than saying hello to UNA Men's basketball coach, Tony Pujo. Coach, welcome in. How are you? How's it going, guys? Just doing all right. Great. Here on the bus here heading to Kentucky, like the famous philosopher Willie Nelson said, on the road again. You live on the road, Coach. Before we break down your next destination, how pleasant was it in so many ways?

What were the emotions last night if you had a chance to see the Auburn, in this case, Texas A&M game with a former top line, Jakari Lane, playing for the Aggies now in the SEC? I've been very proud of Jakari and his transition from North Alabama, Texas A&M. I think that staff has done a really good job of just utilizing his strength and his abilities. And Jakari is, you know, to me, it doesn't surprise me at all that he's continued to grow as a player, continued to grow as a leader for that team.

So, really proud of him. Great game, by the way. You know, obviously, that last possession, you know, everybody's talking about it. But, you know, I just thought it was a great game, a great road win. I know how hard it is to win on the road in the SEC. So, for them to be in that position, that was pretty awesome. Tony, I wanted to ask you about that a little bit, too. Steven Pearl, who obviously was upset after the game, and any coach would be, and he got in the press conference.

He said, you know, we talked with the SEC, and we did this, and we did that. But, look, guys, we've got another game. It's like overcoming controversy, and we wanted to talk with you about Cornelius in a minute. But, you face this all the time. Sometimes fans have the luxury of reviewing this and getting mad or talking about it for days. But, Tony, you've got another game. It's just like Steven Pearl said. Look, we've got another big game Saturday, and we've got to move on. Talk a little bit about the mental part of that.

Yeah, I think, you know, whenever you have a situation like that, and listen, I guarantee you there's two sides to that, right? Steven Pearl, I thought, was very, you know, just gracious in defeat, right? Like, he understands that even though he's got a tablet that shows a view, that those guys have other views that they look at, too, right? And I'll tell you right now, referee, one of the things that I've learned about referees, number one, they're human. But number two, number two, trust me, they want to get it right, okay?

So for them to go in there and take their time. Now, the one aspect, and again, you've got to look at their view as well, you know, if he would have made that call or have a discussion with the coach, you know, I guarantee you the thought process was, hey, it's going to be no good, and let's get out of here. And I think that's the issue that Steven would have liked. He would have liked the explanation, right? And maybe even an opportunity to say, hey, look, look at the view that I have.

[1:04:26] But at the end of the day, you can't, he's not going to go to your view. He's going to go with what he sees. And as far as his approach afterwards, right, he's absolutely 100% correct. You know what it is? What he's teaching those young men is, hey, man, sometimes things in life are not going to go your way. It's okay. You've got to get up the next day, and you've got to go back to work. UNA men's basketball coach, Tony Pujo. Coach, let's talk Lions, obviously taking on a very good team, Florida Gulf Coast, not the ending you want.

Talk to us about what you've learned so far and how challenging it is to knock off a good team, not Florida Gulf Coast, without your leading rebounder and second leading scorer in Cornelius Williams. Yeah, no, I'll be honest with you. Like I said, you know, whenever you miss a guy like Cornelius, obviously it just changes the dynamic of your approach. For us, Cornelius is such a vital asset in the rebounding category as well as scoring, but the rebounding most importantly. And, you know, credit to them.

They took advantage of that, and I think they were plus 13 on the boards, if not more. Our guys, what I loved about our guys was they didn't, they moved on, right? Like, you know, we talked to our guys that when we played Clemson, we played with Al Cornelius. He went down with an ankle injury early in the game, and we outscored Clemson in the second half. So I told them, you've done this before. So go out there and just compete. And, you know, a lot of credit needs to go to Florida Gulf Coast because they truly took advantage of that opportunity and just made plays, especially down the stretch.

Tony, that's what I was going to say again. I brought up adversity with this. And you're going to have every season, a lot of the games, you're going to have starters who foul out or they're injured. That's right. And you've got to be able to work around that. Some of it is communication, but it all goes back. You're such a fun meal coach. It's preparation. Tony, Penhall's always got plan B and C. If something happens to a starter, the next guy's going to step up. Talk a little bit about the preparation for that in practice, et cetera.

Giving information, right? But continuing to create confidence. It's still vital for coaches, right? We've got to make sure that we're not only from their opponent. But now you've got to create confidence because you are shorthanded. So now who's stepping in that role? How are we? What words are we using with them to create that type of confidence, to create that kind of focus that you're going to need? And sometimes it's not just one individual, it's multiple individuals. You've got to create confidence with multiple guys to come in and do their part because sometimes it's not going to be just one person.

It's got to be a multitude of guys. And I thought our guys for 35 minutes in that game did a tremendous job of staying in the game. We cut the lead down to four with about nine minutes to go, with about 5.50 to go. We were at the free throw line, you know, down six, again, to cut it to four. So to me, you know, our guys did what they had to do. I just, what I did was at the end of that game, with about 20 seconds left, I called a timeout.

And the game was pretty much already over. But I called a timeout to remind the guys that our job right now is to make sure that we are not, we're learning from the things in a game that can hurt us, the things that are keeping us from winning, the things that are keeping us from growing as a team. And that's my job, right? My job is, I don't make free throws, I don't take charges, I don't rebound the basketball. My job is to put out in front of them the things that I think help them and the things that I think that they need to learn from.

And we just got to keep growing as a team. That's my job. I've always looked at it like it's a team. Somebody's got to pitch it, somebody's got to catch it. It's a big jigsaw puzzle. Everybody's got a piece. And I have to use your illustration there. Coach, let me ask you this. Obviously, you mentioned you're on the road again to the Bluegrass State, and I mean the state, Eastern Kentucky, and then Bellarmine. Your thoughts about the matchups. And as a coach, especially if these two teams play two different styles of ball, you've got a Thursday, Saturday.

There ain't a whole lot of time in there to make those adjustments, are there? No, and again, I think every city presents its own conundrums, right? Like, if you go to Jacksonville, you're playing Jacksonville and North Florida, two different styles of play. A team that just grinds out games defensively, and a team that just showers you, tries to shower you with threes. In this scenario, it's the same. You've got a team that enjoys pressuring the basketball, playing 94 feet, and then you've got another team that wants to run offense for 30 seconds and wait until you fall asleep so that they can score on you.

[1:09:34] So, I mean, it's definitely a challenge, and that's, I think, the beauty of our league. That's the thing about this league, that it just creates so many of these opportunities for you as a coach to just kind of sharpen yourself and make sure that you get your guys ready to play. So, yeah, we're looking forward to this weekend. Right now, our focus is strictly on EKU on Thursday night. So, we haven't even talked about Bellarmine, and we're not going to do that until probably either late Thursday night or first thing Friday morning.

So, right now, our focus is to make sure that we lock in on taking care of the basketball, making sure that we understand the pace that they're going to play with, and then, again, just growing as a team, because that's what it's all about for us is the growth. Absolutely. Listen, before we go, do you have any suggestions on Monday nights for dinner? If anybody would like to go down downtown Florence, get some great pizza, get some pasta. I mean, again, they've got so many items on that menu.

I can't even mention all of them. Tell us about UNA basketball night at Lost Pizza. Yeah, no, I'll tell you right now, there's not a spot. It's my wife's favorite pizza spot. There's no question about it. It's second to none in our area. Lost Pizza, Chuck McCarty and Marcy McCarty, they run a tremendous, tremendous restaurant there. And, obviously, that night is a great night to not only hear from the women's basketball program and our program, but it's a night for us to connect again with the folks in our community that just are unbelievable supporters.

So we're very grateful, very thankful for the McCartys and what they do in our community with their restaurant, but also everybody in our community that comes out and supports our program. Coach, I don't mean to tell you what to do, but never argue with your wife about pizza or anything else, okay? Ooh, not my wife, not my wife. I'm never doing that. You're a smart man. Listen, safe travels, all the best, and let's do it again soon, okay? Guys, great being with you. Thank you, Tony.

Good luck. Coach Tony Pujol on his way to Kentucky. Coming up, what does Mr. College Football say about College Football 2026? Tony Barnhart on deck. Stay with us. At North Alabama Bone and Joint Clinic, our Shoals roots run deep. We provide quick access and familiar, friendly faces so you never have to feel just like a number. From sports medicine to joint replacement, expert care happens right here at home. As UNA Athletics' choice for orthopedics and the trusted orthopedic team of the Shoals' families for over 30 years, North Alabama Bone and Joint Clinic is here for you.

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Tony Barnhart, welcome in. How are you? I'm doing well, guys. It is a beautiful day here in Atlanta, Georgia. We've got a playoff game coming up on Friday. We've got another playoff game tomorrow night, and it's good. It's good. And, of course, Tony, all of us said this would be the Final Four back in August at Media Days here in Atlanta. Did I have that right, or was I wrong on that, too, Tony? I'll tell you a true story. I was in College Station, Texas, doing some research on a book, and I'm having lunch in a Texas bar.

That was the name of it, Texas Bar. And everybody there was dressed up at A&M Gap, as you would expect, okay? Except there was this one guy sitting right next to me who was covered head to toe in Indiana. And I said, there's got to be a story here. And he said, yep. He said, I'm telling you, we're going to be good again this year. We're going to be good again. I promise. I said, listen, you had your year, dude. That's never going to happen again.

Well, there you go. Tell you how smart I am. Let's talk about it, Tony. Obviously, I think we've got something in common. We've been doing this not in terms of years, but decades. My, oh, my, how the sport has changed. Your thoughts about it. We know where we've been. In your opinion, Tony, where are we and where are we going forward using that Indiana blueprint? Well, yeah, I think it's been good for college football. Because now, what is the Indiana, what the Vanderbilt has shown people, it gives you hope.

If you can hire the right coach, if you can finance the program to the level that you'd like it to, then you, too, could be at Indiana. You, too, could be at Vanderbilt. And I think it's good now. We've got to get the financial end of this thing straightened out. We can't have an open-ended. We've got to have a salary cap, some sort of structure in it. But, yeah, somebody pointed out to me that the, you know, during the BCS era, the SEC dominated the game, won seven in a row.

They won nine national championships of seven or whatever it was. And now everything's changed. And I think if we can get the financial end of this thing squared, it's going to be a lot of fun. Tony, let me ask you about the first game. Ole Miss at Miami, that was an incredible fourth quarter for Ole Miss and Trinidad Chambliss. Made five or six NFL throws on the run against a very good Georgia defense. Now they're lined up against maybe one of the most ferocious front sevens in college football, Bain Jr., Macedor.

[1:20:14] They're awfully good. They shut down Ohio State's run game and sank, as you're insane, five times. Miami's a little bit of a different animal. Georgia is very good. But Miami, certainly, they want to win the line of scrimmage. Can Ole Miss block that front seven of Miami? Your thoughts on Ole Miss, Miami, and the Fiesta Bowl? Miami is scary. They are scary. They are so strong and so physical. And they take you back to those old Miami teams, the 2001, 2002, when they got all these pros lined up.

And I think it's going to be tough. Now, there's no question that Trinidad Chambliss is the game changer. He's the X Factor for Ole Miss, obviously. And is Miami going to be able to track him down? And we shall see. But, guys, you know, usually in these games, it's a team that's the most physical, can run the ball, control the line of scrimmage. And that looks like, where I see it, that looks like Miami to me. Let's talk about whoever the winner of that game will face in the other matchup.

It's crazy, is it not, Tony? How many teams have faced each other again? And that's the case with Indiana and Oregon. Second time around, we know what happened with Georgia and Alabama, Oklahoma and Alabama, and others. Your thoughts about that side of the bracket? Here's the thing, guys. People are trying to sort of rationalize the behavior of Indiana. I'm sitting there looking at them play Alabama the other night. Alabama thought it before I thought it. The Alabama players said, hey, these guys are really good. They're not doing it with smoke and mirrors.

They're really good, and they're extremely well coached for crying out loud. And so I've just been very impressed with Indiana. Are they going to win? They've got a great chance to do it. And so it's going to be fun to watch, I'll tell you that. Tony, Ross Dellinger of Yahoo.com came out. He's been very good as far as following all of the potential changes. College football had an article yesterday about the college football calendar. And I know a lot of people have been concerned about that.

Greg, thank you, the SEC commissioner. I would like to eliminate the December early signing period. You know, would a summer one, which people have talked about for 20 years being vogue. But the future of week zero, will week zero become week one? Will the two semifinal games be played on New Year's Day down the road? The transfer portal, will it become a spring transfer portal? The OTAs, will spring football turn into May, June OTAs? Tony, your thoughts on trying to streamline the college football calendar? Oh, well, we've got to do it.

We can't squeeze everything in like right now. And one thing we didn't talk about, what are you going to do with the conference championship games? Yep. Is that going to be one of the games that has to go to squeeze all that we're talking about into a 14, 15-week period? And that's another thing, and we just lost Roy Kramer, and I would hate to give up a big part of his legacy. I'm not quite sure they know what they're going to do. Remember January 23rd. If they're going to change things, and they're going to change the playoff format and go from 12 to 16, they've got to make a decision by January 23rd.

Wow. Mr. College Football, Tony Barnhart. Tony, let's say, are the people having fun right now, agents and lawyers? I know the kid went from Georgia to Missouri. There's lawsuits there. My understanding is the kid's now left from Missouri. Is Missouri going to sue him for money? And then the big part to that is, now it looks like Lane Kiffin being Lane is basically facing some strong pushback when trying to bring in guys, contrary to the word of mouth. I think he's looking for the Washington quarterback and they're raising the stink.

Welcome to 2026. And is anybody having any fun in that regard besides the agents and lawyers? Well, they certainly won't have the most fun because they're getting paid extra time. And, yeah, we have got to get a handle on this stuff. What's amazing, the game itself is more popular than it's ever been. And it's as good as it's ever been. But a couple of things, and we have talked about this, guys, is they have got to come up with some sort of antitrust relief so that every time you make a decision, a tough decision, you're getting sued.

That's the problem. And they've got to come up with collective bargaining to create a salary cap. The NFL is so successful because they have a salary cap. They know what their costs are going to be before the season starts. And so it's just going to have to be done. And the collective bargaining, this thing, you know, you've got guys leaving every day going somewhere else. And I just think they've got to come up with collective bargaining. They've got to come up with an antitrust exemption. Tony, you are legendary when it comes to a media member.

[1:25:37] You can do everything as far as the broadcast side of it, the journalistic side of it. I actually thought about you when I saw this. I knew it was coming, and I'd forgotten it. When we get caught up in the season, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on New Year's Eve ended 157 years of printing. And we all know, Tony, where newspapers have been going for years. Now they've moved online, et cetera, et cetera. But I didn't know if you thought about that on New Year's Eve. You're so familiar with the paper in media.

Tony, your thoughts on another institution, at least as far as reading a paper from cover to cover. Unfortunately, one more is gone. All right. When I grew up, growing up in a little town called Union Point, Georgia, my mother subscribed to two daily newspapers, the Atlanta Constitution. There used to be a journal and a constitution. The Atlanta Constitution and the Athens Daily News, which is about 30 minutes away. And so the newspaper got in my blood early. I've written a couple of things and posted them on Facebook about it being a sad day.

I mean, to walk out on December 31st and pick up the paper in the driveway for the last time, that one. Now, intellectually, I get it. It costs too much money to print it and distribute it. I understand that. But I still miss, you know, we're about a week into it now. And I'm sure I'll adjust. I'm just not going to adjust right now. But I miss my plan in the daily newspaper. I really do. In your hand with a cup of coffee. Tony, before you drop off, speaking of things changing, your thoughts about going forward with the Blue Bloods, the Georgias, the Alabamas, the Ohio State, all on the couch, watching these new kids on the block, as the Eagles would say, competing for the championship.

Your thoughts about those programs and any thoughts about where Auburn is right now in baseball terms, what base they're on? Well, I read today that Auburn's got them a quarterback. They're bringing in a quarterback from UCF, USF. That's good. Very good numbers. And so that was a problem that has got to get solved. And it's going to be interesting for the Georgias and the Alabamas and all of them to be sitting there. See, I think it's good for college football. I think it's good to have these other schools involved and to give those schools hope.

And I just think it's a good thing. And they'll be like us, guys. They'll be sitting there watching. There you go. Without a newspaper. Yeah. Tony, thank you again. And I know you've heard this probably 40 times this year after the 50th year. Listen, enjoy your retirement. I have always, Harold and I, respect your class, your professionalism. You've done every aspect of the media right and done an incredible job with it. Listen, Godspeed. Enjoy retirement. Stay involved. And hopefully we can talk with you from time to time.

Congratulations on an incredible career. Well, thank you. I'm finishing up a book. I took a little tour around the SEC one last time during football season. I didn't go to many, many games. And that was a whole lot of fun. I had lunch with Barry Switzer in Norman, Oklahoma. Went to Midnight Yell at Texas A&M. It's 50, the working title of the book published by UGA Press is Mr. College Football, 50 Years of SEC Memories. And if all goes well, we'll have it out late November. Looking forward to it, Tony.

We'll have another chance to talk about that, hopefully down the road. But in the meantime, stay safe over there. And life without a newspaper is going to be a challenge. We've been in that world for a while now. So you can survive. It ain't easy. But thanks so much for your time today. All right. You bet. Take care, guys. Thank you, Tony. Mr. College Football, Tony Barnhart. Coming up, he's Double D. Drew DeArman on deck. Stay with us. Hey, Falcon fans. This is Keith at Cypress Creek Indoor Range.

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Tonight in Nashville, Alabama will face Vanderbilt in the top 25 matchup. The Crimson Tide are 13th. Commodores are 11th. Alabama coming off a win against Kentucky in Tuscaloosa Saturday. They're on a four-game win streak at 11-3. North Alabama on the road to face Eastern Kentucky Thursday. Lions have dropped four straight. They are 5-8 on the season coming off Saturday's loss to Florida Gulf Coast in Florence. The Sports Update brought to you by Progressive. Bundle auto and home, renters, or condo and save with Progressive. I'm Tony Deziri on 93-9, the score.

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So, we'll keep a close eye on that. Ty Simpson was rumored to be maybe shopping for the portal. He said, no, I'm not going to go to the portal. But right now, I'm not coming back to Alabama. He decides to go and declare for the NFL draft. Drew, your response? Well, I mean, I was told at the end of the season that there were three primary guys that were going to turn pro. Three of them have announced in the last few days. First was Parker Brailsford, who announced he was turning pro and not returning for his senior year.

The All-American center, who, you know, could be a first rounder, more likely a second, but should have a long career, had a heck of a two-year run at Alabama. And then, of course, Jaden Proctor, who, you know, his long-term future may be at right tackle, could be inside at guard. But I think he's another guy that definitely has a chance to go in the first round, had a very solid three-year run in Tuscaloosa. And then it was Todd Simpson. And I know that Mendoza, who's a heck of a player, may go number one overall.

[1:36:46] He might lead Indiana to a national championship. And then we all know Dante Moore from Oregon is another one that could be a first-rounder. And I know there's a speculation that he might return, but there's also speculation that, you know, I might, you know, go to Auburn someday and be an Auburn fan, which has never happened. No, we can declare that now. I mean, and again, no, I wasn't just joking about that. I mean, certainly Auburn's got an outstanding athletic program. But if anybody knows me, I mean, I've been an Alabama fan my entire life, if not in the media now.

But I'm just saying, if you have this opportunity, if you're a Dante Moore, to be a top two or top five pick in a NFL draft, I know he and Todd both actually have limited starting experience. But a lot of times you strike while I aren't Todd. Because I know there's been guys like Mitch Trubisky and, you know, that have not, you know, or Anne Richardson with Anthony Richardson with the Colts that have not succeeded. But, again, you know, the quarterback position is so valuable. And next year with Arch Manning and the other cavalcated QBs, you might not have a chance to be considered a top, you know, two to three guys in the position.

So you have to kind of strike while I aren't Todd. And I thought Todd made a wise decision. And he's an older guy. I mean, he's been there four years. He's already got a degree, working on a master's, and he's very, very smart. And I still don't think he gets enough credit for what he did at Alabama this year. That's right. So I think Bryce Young certainly didn't have the supporting cast. Asuatunga-Vailoa improved his brilliance. And I think Ty Simpson, he had to play through so many injuries.

We now have confirmed a back injury. We strongly suspected. Pursitis in the elbow. And then, of course, the cracked rib. He suffered in the Rose Bowl. He just didn't have a ton of help, yet he put up really good numbers. He's a coach's kid, which I think is tremendous. And I think in this draft, he'll be a top three at the position. And if he's drafted guys 20 through 32, which is kind of where I see him projected, you could go to a really good franchise. I'm just going to bring one up like the Rams, where, you know, you have a great head coach, Sean McVay, who's won a Super Bowl.

And, you know, Safford, he's a guy that's 37 years old, having a great year. But he's going to retire the next couple years. And if you're Ty Simpson and you end up with a team like that, he certainly needs to work on his deep ball. But he can end up in a really good situation. And in the NFL, long-term success is a lot of times, you know, not – it's kind of a situation of what kind of – where do you get drafted? What organization gives you a chance?

And is it a stable one and one with a good track record? I mean, just look, you know, at guys that have gone late in round one, you know, so like a Lamar Jackson, if you go to the right place, you can succeed long-term. And I think Ty made a good decision. And I think now it allows, I think, potentially Austin Mack to return, Keelon Russell, and them to fight it out with the two freshmen signees behind them in spring practice. Absolutely. D2, 19, or leaving the University of Alabama.

We know right now as of 1.42 central time, five are coming. The latest, Devin Tompkins, the defensive lineman, considered being the number three, but on three from USC, Caden Strayhorn transferred from Michigan. Caleb Woodson, who seems to be quite an inside linebacker for Virginia Tech. The second, Hollywood on the team, Hollywood Smothers, transferring from North Carolina State. I've seen some very impressive clips about him and Josh Ford. You've got the ball rolling, transferring from Oklahoma State. Still got a long way to go, but your thoughts on the first five to announce that they're coming to Alabama?

Well, I think they all have a chance to fill needs, certainly Hollywood Smothers. You know, you could compare it to a Jameer Gibbs-type situation where they wanted some big playability and someone that's experienced in that running back room. And he could potentially help you with a huge left tackle prospect in Jacarius Peake, who's supposed to visit now later in the week. Alabama could definitely use a proven left tackle. You know, and then it would allow, you know, for Jackson Lloyd to continue to develop at a slower pace.

He doesn't have to be accelerated. He's just going to be a redshirt freshman, and development is very important. And then it would allow Mike Carroll, you know, to be at right tackle. Or if you find another good tackle in the portal, or if Lloyd takes some major steps forward, potentially maybe Mike could do a Mike Johnson and move inside. So, you know, they definitely need a center with, we already talked about, Brelsford moving on. And, you know, Kate Strayhorn, his dad, played for Nick Saban at Michigan State.

[1:42:11] He's a really good player. I think that's a good get for Alabama. And now it's going to be interesting to see some of the other linemen. You know, I know they've looked at Timothy Lewis, and he's kind of a – he could be a developmental tackle for Mississippi State. Jeff Peake, DJ Chester from LSU could potentially be another guy that could play guard. And I'll be honest, I thought the weakest part of Alabama's offensive line guys this year was the inconsistency at the guard spot. They need to be better, no doubt about it.

So, bringing in some guys that can play those positions would be huge. And then the other guy that's interesting is Brock Riker from Texas State. We'll see if he comes in later. So, they need to add some linemen. And then another couple of defensive linemen, no doubt about it. And then I still say there's going to be some coaching staff adjustments after this portal closes. But we'll cross that bridge when you come to it. Derek Nix was announced officially as the wide receivers coach at Alabama today.

And if Cam Coleman does not sign anything with, you know, Texas Tech on his visit to Lubbock, it wouldn't surprise me if he makes one last visit to Tuscaloosa. And then that's when things can get really interesting. In the huddle with Drew DeArma, 97.7 FM, I was going to ask you about that. The influence is pretty obvious that these two know each other. They go way back. Your thoughts on that? And then something that's kind of close to us as far as folks in the mix right now, special teams, the Lion out of UNA, Hunter Adam Watford.

He's been looked at as a possible addition to the Alabama Crimson Tide. Yeah, you know, Blake Dowd graduated. He doesn't have any more eligibility. You know, he had a decent year at Alabama. And then they have the freshman from California, Alex Asparov, who had the red shirt with the ACL. But as you guys know, you cover, you know, UNA every day over there in the Shoals. Watford had a monstrosity of a season. I mean, he had to be the best hunter in the FCS. And certainly, that would be a big gift for Alabama.

I'd actually been hearing his name for almost a week about a guy that could end up transferring to the university. He definitely would fill a need, no doubt. It looks like they're going to take a long snapper from Syracuse as well as Daniel Byrd is back in the portal and is going to move on to another school. So, it definitely looks like Alabama's making some adjustments on the special teams side of things. I also hope they adjust the special teams coach with a new placard on the offense ball when it gets over.

But still, we'll see how it happens because I think Alabama needs to be, you know, they need to be able to generate more out of that area of the team. In other words, the punt return, the kickoff return, being solid at punter. And then I've got to give credit because I certainly criticized him. You've got to give a shout-out to Connor Calde for finishing the year strong as the least kicker. I mean, I guess you could say he was one of the very few highlights in the Rose Bowl for Alabama in that debacle.

But still, you know, I think Alabama's – I predict that they would sign double-digit guys out of the portal. I don't know, you know, exactly what that number will be. But it does look like they're filling their needs so far. They need to continue to do so. And then a roster retention is still very important. And I'll be honest, guys, there's really only one guy that really, you know, is disappointing that looks like he could depart. I know they fought to retain him. But he's visiting Notre Dame this week, Keon Keeley.

And don't forget, he was submitted there before he flipped. I thought Keeley had really turned the corner and started to show potential. But I'll be honest with you, the rest of the guys that all left, I know Oah Salinan is now committed to Kentucky. But, you know, I just think most of these guys weren't difference makers. And I think, you know, I don't think any of them were unexpected either. I think all these guys met with the coaching staff. And even Keeley can be replaced. I mean, I definitely think Klay Russo and James Smith, they certainly were the headliners because they're former five-stars.

But does anybody really think they had five-star production? No. I asked the question, did Klay Russo happen to sprain his thumb when he was signing the paperwork to leave via the portal? Let me ask you about two defensive linemen that I've heard rumblings about. Former Auburn defensive lineman Malik Blockton might be on Alabama's radar. I don't know if he's on Blockton's radar. And one that happened yesterday, as these things continue to evolve, is defensive lineman Jordan Ross from Tennessee. I've heard his name bandied about the last 48 hours.

[1:47:20] What is D2 hearing about both of those dudes? Well, Jordan Ross is a kid from Vestavia who was a five-star player. His recruitment was rather interesting because it seemed like Alabama and Auburn certainly pursued him but then backed off and he went to Tennessee. He would be a replacement for Klay Russo beyond a shadow of a doubt. I mean, what I've heard is he would like to return to his home state. You know, you look at – you just file that away. You know, when you hear something of that nature, that would – you would immediately think Alabama or Auburn right there.

And so, certainly – as a matter of fact, if I remember correctly, I think his sister attended Alabama. So, it wouldn't surprise me if he ended up in Tuscaloosa because I think they need another edge even though they do hopefully return. And I'm sure they're working on that as well. And maybe his – he'll announce his decision to return, then you would hope. I know Yonse Pierre is draft eligible, but they would like him to return after leading the team with eight sacks. And then you've got Justin Hill.

So, certainly you'd like to add another edge. And then, you know, there's a defensive tackle from Arkansas State, Cody Ziegler. He's supposedly going to visit Alabama, and he is a native of New Hope, just right up here up the road. He is. He would be another interesting name where they could add to the defensive line room. So, certainly I think Alabama's doing their due diligence, and we'll see about that. Malik Blockton, I think, would be an outstanding addition. Yeah, I agree. It was mildly surprising to me that he left Auburn because his brother played there, and I thought he was going to be a linchpin of their defensive line.

But I'll be honest, the two schools that, you know, honked if you went in the portal, so far it's been Iowa State and Auburn. They've both been kind of ransacked by all this activity. But, you know, what the common denominator is, guys, your head coach left, and that's just what happened. That's why when there was a lot of consternation about Caelan DeBoer, I was trying to convince Alabama fans, look, it's not the time to change your head coach. No. You're fixing to lose 40 guys. Yeah, that's right.

Be careful what you wish for. Basketball, Alabama, Vanderbilt. When you jump off, Drew, your thoughts on a top-13 matchup tonight in Music City? Well, you know what the shocker is, this hasn't happened since 1974, the year before. That's right. The year before I was born. That's pretty shocking. Vanderbilt's had a lot of really good teams. Alabama's been really good a lot. And I know when Wim Sanderson was at his zenith, they were kind of – and part of it was because of CM Newton being in Nashville. But this – the Memorial Gym was a house of horrors for Alabama.

Yes, yes. No matter how good they were. And it's interesting what Mark Byington's done. They've kind of flown under the radar. They've got Duke Miles at guard, who's from Montgomery, who was at Oklahoma last year. He's now at Vanderbilt, and he's had a good year. He missed the last game. He should be available tonight. Their best player is considered to be Tyler Tanner, the sophomore guard. And don't forget, he played at Brentwood Academy for good friend Andy Blackson, who, of course, won five state championships at Madison Academy and coached the great Josh Langford.

So, it's going to be a challenge. When Vanderbilt is good, that is a very difficult place to play. We'll see if Aiden Churrell is available tonight. It sounds like he's going to be a game-time decision. So, Alabama's going to need a very strong effort. Once again, from Noah Williamson, he needs to bottle whatever he did against Kentucky. They'll probably need him tonight. And then, of course, they're going to need maybe Taylor Bowl Bowen back in the lineup. Sounds like there's a good shot. He'll be back.

And then, of course, the guard play is going to lead the way. But it's going to be a big game tonight. And Vanderbilt has probably been the surprise so far of the league early on. Absolutely. Well, tell us about talking ball with you and Scott Tyson. Now, it's been from 7 to 9. Rumor has it it has expanded one hour. Tell us about that. The Hunts of Crimson Panthers continue to roll along. And I don't know if you ever were to sit down with Donald Trump and the Iranians to get your Twitter post back again.

But where can we get online to get all the D2's good stuff? Well, unfortunately, I'm still not back with the X account. I have joined the band of brothers with Chris Lowe and Chip Brown. I think we've all been pirated. Hopefully, we can get our Twitter accounts back as soon as, you know, Elon will make some time for it and get it back. We certainly hope so. I worked a long time to get my number of followers. I'd like to have that back. We'll keep working on that.

[1:52:20] But certainly in the Crimson Panthers got a huge, you know, 7-8 to Area 7 win last night in their area opener. Really tough environment up there in Albertville. Chris Graves' team came in 17-2 and was really playing well. And Huntsville won in overtime by 4, 62-58. But toughed it out. Very fortunate. 28 points for Evan Tom, who I think his recruiting profile is going to continue to grow along with Graham Gossett, who just got his first Division I offer. And, of course, that last name is, of course, the younger brother of the 10th-grade brother of J.D. Gossett, who's now at Samford.

So, he had 13 last night. Big win for them. And they played Jack Dawes and the Grissom Tigers this Friday in their second area game. So, looking forward to that. And, again, if you want to listen to our newly expanded three-hour show. First time I've been three hours since I did it solo for a couple years early on in my career. But it's been very interesting so far. When you have that extra hour to play with, sometimes you can even add guests on the fly. We certainly did that this morning.

As we had four outstanding guests and great conversation. And if you missed any of that, you can go to our SoundCloud page, 97.7 The Zone. Or you can go to our X account, 97, at 9770 ESPN. And, of course, we have WZZN TV on YouTube. But we always enjoy being with you guys. And I don't know if there's been anybody else at the portal in the last, you know, 15 minutes of as I've been on your show. We'll certainly be checking. Sounds like you're busy there, Drew. Listen, man, thanks so much for your time, Dan, and keep it up, okay?

Thank you, guys. See you, bud. Dude, you are my 97.7 FM The Zone. B.B., are you ready for some good basketball tonight later on on 93.9? Let's go. Should be fun. Pre-game, 7 o'clock on 93.9. The score tip-off at 8. And you can listen to it, of course, at 93.9 and watch it on ESPN, too. And kick back and enjoy. That's going to take care of us for now. On behalf of B.B., Greg, James Blair, the entire crew here. Parallel Bug, thank you so much for your time today. Let's do it again tomorrow on noon to 2 for the B.M.O. Bug Show back here on Sports Radio 93.9, the score.