Boomo Bugg Show 041326

[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 here 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. Brett Beaird, welcome in where the question of the day is simple.

It's time to address your good, the bad and the ugly from a Saturday in Tuscaloosa and across the SEC. Would you agree? Welcome in. How are you? And happy Monday the 13th. Uh, happy Monday to you. Uh, we'll be talking about all of the SEC games throughout the show that were played this weekend. Pete Lund, Russell and many others had an impressive A-Day in Tuscaloosa. We'll certainly talk about that throughout the show. Brian Matthews of AuburnSports.com will preview Auburn A-Day on Saturday. Adam is here right now to talk about some spring football this weekend and upcoming on Saturday.

Yeah, it was a Saturday in April, but it kind of felt as far as the temperatures like a Saturday in September across the SEC. I think Adam might agree with that. We'll find out. Adam Spencer, the man. There is Saturday down south. Adam, welcome in. How are you? I'm doing great, guys. How are you? We're doing all right. Adam, where do we start? Oh, let's kind of indulge our zip code here, if you don't mind. What did Saturday down south see in Tuscaloosa on Saturday as terms of the good, the bad, and the ugly?

Yeah, I mean, I think that the biggest story, obviously, when you do anything on Alabama this offseason is the quarterback battle. But, you know, I heard you guys up top say, you know, Keelan Russell had a really good day, and, you know, that track, you know, he looked dynamic. And I think that that's, you know, maybe, you know, I would have given him the slight nod to win the job heading into the spring just because of his ability to, you know, we don't really know what the ceiling is for him yet.

And, you know, he's got the dual threat ability, and I think that that might end up playing a big role moving forward in the QB battle. You know, I don't expect Kalen DeBoer to name anybody officially the starter yet, but, you know, I would say that Keelan Russell, especially after what he did this weekend, I mean, I think he's got to be the leader in the clubhouse for right now. Adam, the other side of the coin is it looks like at least the early returns, and we'll see, only time will tell, they might have struck gold at the running back spot, a late signing in Brown.

Talk about that. And we try to be objective here. We try not to shake too many pom-poms. The other side of the coin is from all the so-called folks who seem to know what you're talking about, they still got some, as they say, some work to do on the offensive line. Yeah, I mean, I think that that's, you know, going to be another big question, because it all starts with that, because, you know, you can have a dynamic quarterback. I mean, they've had, you know, dynamic quarterbacks in Jalen Milrow and Ty Simpson the last couple years, but the offensive line just hasn't really been able to move guys in the running game.

And then you can, you know, sort of poke at their weaknesses and force them into one-dimensional stuff, and, you know, that's not good for any team. You know, so I think that, yeah, it'd be great if one of these young running backs steps up and becomes that bell cow. But, yeah, it's not going to matter if he's getting contacted behind the line of scrimmage on 75% of his carries. So, I mean, you know, I'm not, you know, it's tough to say, you know, it's tough to evaluate offensive line play, because you don't know what the play call is and what guy responsibilities are and stuff.

So, it's tough, but, yeah, you would hope that in a scrimmage that the performance would be a little bit better than that. Adam, Florida, getting started. John Summerall saying, look, you're getting paid now, and you better perform. Jones, Trammell Jones, the quarterback, he and Philo are kind of battling it out. He may have won the day through a 75-yard TD to Eric Singleton, the transfer from Auburn to Georgia Tech, 13 of 17, 2-10. Micah Mays caught that 75-yard pass. Again, some of the returns that I've read, Florida fans, again, cautiously optimistic, but they do like the more physical play, the quarterback play, the defense looked a little bit better, except getting beat a couple of times.

Your thoughts, John Summerall, trying to settle in at Florida and where they're going. Yeah, I like the attitude that he's bringing to the team, you know, saying, you know, you guys are professionals, basically. You're getting a paycheck. You know, if any of us don't live up to our jobs, you know, we suffer financial consequences. And now that, you know, this isn't like a blank check, you don't get to keep the money for nothing, you know, if you're not going to perform, then, you know, there's going to be some tough negotiations.

[5:20] So I think that, yeah, it's a good attitude to have. It'll, you know, that's kind of the way that you have to play it in today's college football because it is more like professional football. So, you know, I think that I like the attitude that he's brought in. I do think that I was impressed that, you know, I just assumed that Philo would be the starting quarterback and, you know, that might still be the case. But I was impressed by the push that Jones gave him and, you know, just, you know, keeping that at least a battle for, you know, the rest of the spring.

And, you know, we'll see how far into the summer that goes. But, yeah, I think that Florida, you know, as always, they have some talent on offense at the skill position and stuff. But the offensive line underperformed last year, and that was with a couple of preseason all-SEC picks who are, you know, saw their draft stock fall throughout the course of the year. So we'll see how they replace those guys and if they can get back on track up front to let these talented, you know, Jaden Baugh and others make plays.

Adam Spencer in the huddle with us. Busy there Saturday down south. Tennessee also with a spring fling over the weekend. A couple of names that seems to have been standing out on the respective sides of the ball. Running back Jaden Gordon and cornerback K.N. Lee. Adam? Yeah, I mean, that's, you know, that's going to be really important for them to get. The cornerback position settled because, you know, Colton Hood and Jermon McCoy, you know, for as few snaps as they played combined last year, they're both getting first-round draft buzz this year.

So, you know, they've got some holes to fill there, and if they can get a locked-down corner, that just helps everybody else's job on the defense. And then, yeah, I'm not surprised that a running back looks good in Josh Heupel's offense. You know, he could plug you or I in there, and we could, you know, challenge for 1,000 yards in the SEC. So, that's just how good he is at drawing up running plays and pushing the pace and the tempo and stuff. So, yeah, I'm not surprised that the guy looks good at the running back spot, but, you know, he's got some big shoes to fill with some of these stat lines that Tennessee running backs have put up in recent years.

Mississippi State closed down the spring performances. Camarion Taylor seemed to be impressive. Jeff Lebby's up-tempo offense, which, quite frankly, worked well early, and then they started getting injuries, and they fell off a little bit to the end. He threw 8 of 13 for 124, but seems to have the it factor for them. Again, we'll see as far as Mississippi State continues the rebuild, but just some reading some of the reports, and that's probably the best way I can describe it, Adam, is Tennessee fans, Tennessee media optimistic, a little bit cautiously optimistic going into the season.

Yeah, I mean, with Camarion Taylor and Mississippi State, too, I mean, yeah, he's got to play well because it might be Jeff Lebby coaching for his job. So, you know, we'll see. So, Taylor better be everything that everybody thinks that he's going to be because, you know, they wanted to see him down the stretch last year, and so we'll see how that plays out. But, yeah, I mean, back to Tennessee, I mean, the big thing there, you know, we've said it with a couple of these schools already, you've got to get the quarterback position right.

That's the start. You've got to get the offensive line settled, and I think maybe Tennessee's in a better spot with its offensive line than some of these other programs we've talked about. But, you know, it's always a work in progress, and then, you know, they might be worst off out of all the schools that we've talked about at the quarterback spot. So, you know, we'll see if one of these young guys can step up and, you know, McIntyre can take control of the job or Faison, Brandon, and, you know, that's going to be another battle to keep watching as we hit the summer camp time schedule here.

So, lots to look about, not a lot of questions that haven't necessarily been answered, but, yeah, some good performances and some strong leanings, I would say. Yeah. Adam Spencer, Saturday down south. All right. More spring action this weekend, including one of the games down the plains. Adam, have you ever been to one of these conventions where nobody knows anybody, so they have these little things on their lapel that says, hi, my name is? Is that going to be the case with Auburn Saturday? They're going to have, hi, my name is, so many new faces, including a new coaching staff.

How are things going to go Saturday? Yeah, I mean, at least a lot of the guys know each other. You know, the fans might not be familiar with them, but at least a lot of the guys know each other because they came over from USF. So, you know, we'll see how that goes. You know, they'll probably look good because a lot of these guys have played together and have looked strong going into, you know, into the AAC. You know, they upset Florida last year and Byron Brown was a big part of that.

So, you know, I think that the guys are going to look good against, you know, another defense that's also featuring plenty of former USF talent. So, you know, it's going to be tough to really evaluate Auburn. You know, I'm sure they'll look good because they have that continuity, but it's going to be tough until we see them against an SEC defense and how that translates over. Because right now we don't, you know, they'll look good against themselves. I'm sure they looked good scrimmaging last year at USF, but it's just going to be, you know, how does that translate to this level?

[10:47] I think that Alex Golesh's schemes and the way that he coaches, I think that that will make the jump. It's just, you know, will he need to, you know, get more aggressive with, like, power conference guys in the portal moving forward? Or can he use this model to keep having success at Auburn and turn the program around from, you know, the fans are desperate for a winner? Yeah, Adam, we'll see Vandy. A lot of people talking about Jerry Curtis following Pavia, seeing how well he looks.

Kentucky, Will Steins kind of breathes some fresh air into that program with this high-powered offense. And then also, Arkansas, Ryan Silverfield is going to be there, going to be seeing what he can do. Also, we'll be following the portal, got more information about that. Lord, next time we turn around, we'll be talking about NFL, the NFL draft on the horizon. Adam, still a lot of things going on, basketball portal, football, spring games. Joe Cox doing some baseball. Where can we get online, bud, and get all the great stuff?

Yeah, Saturday down south and Saturday tradition, Friday is our SEC baseball power rankings. We're going to up our baseball content starting now. So we've got some good stuff on the horizon there, too. So, yeah, make sure to check it all out at Saturday down south. Sounds great, Adam. Listen, man, have a great weekend. Thanks for your time today, buddy. Yeah, thanks for having me. Always appreciate it, guys. Thank you, bud. Absolutely. Adam Spencer, Saturday down south. So let's take a little deeper dive in the Crimson Tide with Andrew Bond on deck on the Boom Up Bug Show.

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For franchise information, visit Guthrie'sChicken.com. Hello again, everybody. I'm Roger Hoover. Here are thoughts from baseball head coach Rob Vaughn following Game 3 of the series on Sunday against Arkansas. I mean, that one hurts. There's no way, no way to, you know, skin it any differently. We just, man, what an unbelievable start from Miles. Unbelievable job by Ashton Crowder. Just a great job holding that offense down that it really got going this weekend. Just executed pitches. Miles, man, that's his best start of the year. He was absolutely incredible in some huge spots, man.

Just like we have that inning, we don't make two plays to start the innings for a second, nobody out. And, man, he holds them to a zero. Just an incredible job by him. Just a story of opportunities and opportunities we didn't cash in on, man. So many opportunities to lengthen that thing out when it was two to nothing. You know, so many opportunities to get off the field defensively, and we just didn't. This year, we honor the most important anniversary ever. An event that reshapes civilization as we know it.

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[16:20] Welcome back in. So, how are your thoughts about Alabama compared to those who are on the inside with the Crimson Tide? Andrew Bone is in that chair right now. He's a fine columnist and recruiting editor for Bama Online as part of the On3.com family. And his book is called The Road to Bama. Andrew, welcome in. How are you? Doing good, guys. How are we doing today? Hey, man, we're doing all right. A lot of questions, so let's go to the answer, man. Andrew, where do you start breaking down the good, the bad, and the ugly from Alabama's Spring A-Day game?

Well, I think the ugly has to start with the injury to Noah Rogers. So, you know, that's definitely not something you wanted to see, you know, a transfer guy that looked like he's becoming, you know, wide receiver one, or not wide receiver one, but, you know, wide receiver two or three in Alabama's system, you know, the way that he has produced throughout the last month. I mean, there's been a lot of buzz regarding him, and he certainly has made an impact on the field for Alabama, and we knew that kind of going into the spring, or even back in January, you know, there were some, you know, concerns as far as the wide receiver room, as far as the depth.

I mean, I think the talent there was certainly a plus, but there just wasn't a ton of depth, you know, outside the first four or five guys. So they get a guy in like Noah Rogers, you know, comes in, has a great, great spring, and then all of a sudden suffers an injury in spring games. So, you know, is he going to be sidelined, you know, for an extensive period of time? I think we're all kind of just waiting to see, you know, that result, but it certainly did not look good, and, you know, you just kind of hope for the best there.

But, yeah, I think I would say that was probably the biggest negative for Alabama. As far as the spring game, I think, you know, everybody kind of watches, and, you know, they look at it as, well, this is what they've looked like all spring long. Well, it's not, you know, it's still kind of just a scrimmage. It's a glorified scrimmage, and they've had three of them. So, you know, there's different guys that have looked different, you know, throughout the last month and a half. But I think as far as, you know, the offense, you've got to be impressed with what Keelan Russell's been able to do.

I think he certainly has had a great spring and, you know, really looks in control of the offense and has great command. And I think we're going to be seeing Alabama, you know, push the ball a little bit more down the field this year. You know, he's got some great, you know, weapons and really intrigued to kind of see, you know, where it is here in the fall. And once fall camp starts, you know, does Austin Mack come in and really push him, you know, for that QB one role?

I think that, I mean, I think going out of the spring, which they still have two more little practices this week. It's kind of different when everybody just assumes, oh, it's over, but they still have two practices this week, you know, for the conclusion of it. And, you know, I would say that Keelan's got an upper hand as far as QB one. But Austin Mack, as Kalen DeBoer mentioned, a little bit banged up, you know, he's still going to have a chance to fight for that spot, you know, here in fall camp.

So intrigued to kind of see how that role shakes out. But you've got to be excited about the future at the position there. I think you're still kind of waiting to see what the run game is going to look like in the fall. I think there's been some positive, you know, I don't want to say positive momentum there, but there's been some positive things that we've seen out of that room so far. I think, you know, probably the biggest surprise has been Treshawn Brown, a freshman running back.

He wasn't the freshman running back that everybody thought we were going to be talking about at the conclusion of spring practice. You know, EJ Kroll suffered an injury, so he's missed the spring. I mean, we won't see him until August. And, you know, Treshawn Brown, a guy that the coaching staff never even met before, he enrolled and moved to Tuscaloosa. He had a late offer for Alabama, and they decided to take his commitment just based on film. And we've seen or we saw some really positive things from him.

But with Daniel Hill losing, I think he lost about 15 pounds. He looks a little bit quicker out there. You know, I think they're blocking a little bit better, you know, from the running back position. So I think those are some positive things to see. You know, offensive line, he's still kind of waiting to see how it's going to look in fall camp. I think they really have hit a home run as far as Jackson Lloyd becoming the left tackle starter. I think we were all surprised when he got announced as the starter before spring scrimmage.

[21:26] I'm guessing the coaching staff knew what they were talking about, and, you know, they had seen him in practices and bowl prep and throughout the season. So they kind of knew, I guess, that he was going to be the guy, and he backed that up throughout the entire spring. Now it's kind of solidifying things on the right side at right tackle. You know, Michael Carroll kind of getting used to playing guard again, which I'm not sure if he's completely thrilled about based on some comments. But he's at least going to do, you know, whatever he can to help the team, as he mentioned.

So, you know, I think that the offense is, you know, ultimately going to be fine. I think the defense is, you know, the secondaries, we all talk about it all the time, how it's going to be one of the best in country. And they look great throughout the spring, and that was without Bray Hubbard and Zabian Brown participating. You know, my biggest question mark was how are these defensive line transfers going to adapt? How are they going to, you know, look as a potential full-time starter, whereas they've been kind of role players at their other schools before they transferred in.

And I think Alabama has probably, I think they've exceeded, these guys have exceeded Alabama's expectations thus far. I think they've performed extremely well, especially with Devin Tompkins and Terrence Green. I think they're really excited about those two guys. Plus, you're going to have Jeremiah Beeman and London Simmons coming back once August practice starts. So, I think the biggest thing for the defensive front is you not only have three or four guys that can play. You have a deeper roster, guys that you can rotate in, and feel confident that those guys are going to have success.

And then, you know, linebacker-wise, the biggest question was who is going to be able to step up when you lose your top three guys. And, you know, we've seen some guys play well this spring. Caleb Woodson, transferring from Virginia Tech, has certainly become the leader in that room and had a really great spring and has solidified himself as a starter. You know, we've seen Caden Jones, QB Reese, Luke Metz, Abdul Sanders, Duke Johnson, all those guys have played well. So, I think you're probably going to see more of a rotation there early in the season until they kind of, you know, solidify, you know, this is going to be the, you know, LB2, LB3, LB4.

I think Woodson has kind of solidified himself there. But I think they would like to see, you know, a few of these guys in live game action against really good competition. I'm not saying that Alabama is not good competition, but they want to see it live, you know, when it really matters the most. So, I think we'll see some guys really rotating in there, you know, the first few games of the season. Andrew, the other thing that impressed me was the receivers. When you got C.D. Morgan, and everybody knew how talented that he is, we talked with you about that quite a bit in the preseason during his recruitment.

He's 6'4", Morgan, three catches for 74 yards and the touchdown. Derek Meadows, who got clotheslined in that Missouri game and never really came back. It's 6'5", five catches for 63. Treshawn Brown looked even more impressive catching the ball coming out of the backfield. Marshall Pritchett, the tight ends, Ford, those guys are big. Like the secondary, they're tall, they've got length, and what impressed me, they caught several balls in traffic. Yeah, whoever ends up being QB1, whether it's Keelan or Austin Mack, I mean, they've got to be excited about the weapons that they have, you know, as far as, you know, having guys that bring different elements to the game.

You know, you have your, you know, somebody like Ryan, I don't know how to call him Ryan Williams, but Ryan Coleman Williams, you know, who can just, you know, do pretty much everything. You know, you have a lot here. Brooks, who's, you know, had such an unbelievable freshman season, Rico Scott coming back. But then you have your kind of, your bigger, you know, more physical guys. You've got some length there. You can create some mismatches on the outside with Morgan and Derek Meadows. I think, you know, as far as Morgan, you know, he's certainly a guy that, you know, from a physical standpoint, you knew he was college ready at 6'4", 220 pounds.

But, you know, was he going to be able to pick things up pretty quickly? You know, was he going to be able to have any sort of impact, especially with the guys that were returning who've been very productive at Alabama so far? And even when Noah Rogers was healthy, we've seen Morgan and Derek Meadows, you know, have success throughout the spring. So I think it's a testament to those guys and their ability to, especially with Derek Meadows, you know, kind of bounce back from not having a, I want to call it a great freshman season, but a season where, you know, he just didn't get a lot of attention, especially after that close-line tackle you mentioned.

[26:52] But I think tight end-wise, they're very excited about it because Caleb Edwards, you know, certainly came on strong. And that was a guy who didn't even participate in spring practice last year. He wasn't even, he was a summer enrollee, which is rare. You don't really see those summer enrollee's make such an impact right away as you do with the guys that are able to get on campus for spring practice and go through winter workouts and stuff like that. So Caleb Edwards coming back. Marshall Pritchett sort of banged up last spring, you know, missed the entire spring, and then he missed some games in the fall.

Coming back fully healthy. Guy who received a lot of praise throughout spring practice, and I think he certainly has become a guy that they feel like they can really rely on in the passing game. And then, you know, Josh Ford, a transfer from Oklahoma State that, you know, they felt like was going to be very helpful and beneficial in the run game. The guy who's, you know, 6'5", 6'6", 260-plus pounds, I think he's certainly going to be a major help for them in the run game this year.

So they're excited about the overall tight end room, but obviously the wide receiver room as well, you know, even depending on, or even without, you know, Noah Rodgers. You know, Noah really what Noah Rodgers is going to, if he's going to factor in or not. Andrew, speaking of overall, before we jump off, what is your overall feeling about this team after seeing the A-Day game relative to where they were before the A-Day game in meeting the Alabama Standard this fall? And in terms of golf right now, who's the clubhouse leader for QB1?

Well, I think a lot of questions have been answered. You know, there's still some, you know, I would say there's still some concerns heading into fall camp, you know, as far as, you know, who's going to really man up on that, on that right side for Alabama at the right tackle position. You know, as, you know, then at left guard does Nick Brooks win that job or does Will Sanders come back in the fall and win the position. So, you know, kind of intrigued to kind of see how that shakes out.

But I think, you know, as far as where they were back in January when nobody really knew what this team was going to look like after all the losses and then, you know, all the transfers, I think there's some positive, you know, feelings about this team. They can have a lot of success and they can be a, you know, a great program, a great team this season. I think special teams have certainly improved. We didn't even talk about that. I think the Marshall transfer kicker has been outstanding.

He's kind of lived up to the hype thus far and, you know, wouldn't be surprised if he's a starting kicker on day one. And, you know, Adam Watford has transferred in as a kicker from North or punter from North Alabama. I think he's certainly been a blessing for this team as well. So, you know, overall, I think they're going to have a really good team. You just kind of have to mesh well together. And, you know, a big part of that will take place throughout the summer when they're all kind of out there working out on their own.

They're, you know, doing seven-on-sevens. And, you know, they're in that dead heat of June and July and August workouts, seeing how, you know, we'll kind of see how they come together as a team. But as far as QB1, you know, I'm going to stick with Keelan Russell. You know, I think he's going to end up being the – I think he's the leader in the clubhouse going into August, going into the summer. And, you know, we'll see if he can hang on to that job. Now, unlike last year when we saw Ryan Grubb kind of mention, you know, Ty was the guy that they – you know, he exited the spring as QB1.

And that's who they're kind of, you know, rolling with this time. I don't think that he's going to come out and say that this spring. That's just my gut feeling. I think they're still going to kind of wait and let this play out, you know, once fall camp starts and see who wins the job. But, you know, I think it's going to end up being Keelan. Andrew, great stuff. I also encourage our listeners to get online. If you want to read about Alabama's latest 2027 football commitment, A.J. Pauley, Adam McGill-Tulin, 6'5", 255, a three-star.

And then what many people consider the number one quarterback in the country, five-star Elijah Haven announced – he will announce – April the 25th, and Alabama seems to be in the lead for that – was the Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year throwing for 4,000 yards, 62 touchdowns. My goodness, what a season. A.B., great stuff as always. Where can we get online and get the latest recount from A-Day? Recruiting, Alabama also picked up a basketball transfer. We'll talk about that a little bit later in the show. Where can we get online and get all the good stuff?

[32:07] Well, come check us out at BamaOnline.com. We've got a lot of great content, recaps, observations, interviews, and so much more on the site right now. We will kind of throughout the entire spring. And it's about to be peak recruiting season. So if you're a recruiting fan, this is kind of the time to really kind of dig in and follow it closely because we've seen so many decisions and commitments happen over the next two months. All these kids, they just go ahead and make their decisions before the season starts and then kind of focus on their season and then graduate and enroll in college in January.

So, you know, everybody gets confused and concerned that, you know, let's just wait until December to find out what's really happening. But, you know, as we kind of seen the last few years, 90% of these kids commit during the summer and they don't flip or take visits. It's pretty much a done deal. So excited for recruiting season but excited to kind of see, you know, how Alabama, you know, progresses over these next few months on the football field with summer workouts but also kind of how things are going to shake out with the transfer portal on the basketball front.

Obviously, we still have a few spring sports we're following as well. So come check us out. We've got it all covered at BamaOnline.com. Sounds busy, Andrew. Keep up the good work and thank you so much for your time today. Appreciate you guys. Have a good one. Thank you, Ben. Andrew Bone, busy there at BamaOnline, part of the On3.com family. It's booked, by the way, again, called Road to Bama. Coming up spring last weekend in Tuscaloosa, spring this weekend on the Plains. Brian Matthews sets the table next.

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Progressive Casualty Insurance Company affiliates and other insurers not available in all states or situations. The score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in. It is a pleasure for us to open the door and say hello to Brian Matthews, Senior Editor, AuburnSports.com. Brian, welcome in. Have you got your spring outfit ready for this weekend's action? Oh, yes, always. And glad to be in with you guys and ready to roll. Amen. Let's talk about it, Brian. Obviously, some of the teams got out and got busy this weekend.

It's Auburn's turn this weekend. Very interesting times, would you agree? Brand new era of the lids coming off on a brand new coaching staff with a lot of new faces. We talked earlier, Brian, with some folks and they said, well, these guys are going to be familiar because they pretty much, the core of it comes up from South Florida. Where do you start breaking down the Monday before the Saturday spring game of the Plains? Well, I think, you know, I think Colt Golesh and his staff did a good job bringing some guys from USF to play offense, right?

That's been Auburn's biggest problem. And getting Byron Brown a quarterback, a couple of his offensive linemen, most of his receivers are running back. I just think that's going to help the transition go much faster for that side of the ball. The defense should be really good under D.J. Durkin. I've been out there. I was worried early on about the D-line, but I've seen enough to feel like they're going to be good up front, too. So, yeah, I think it'd be – I don't know what the format's going to be yet, but I think it would be good.

I know they've done ones versus ones in scrimmages. They've got their second scrimmage tomorrow. But I think it might be a good idea to have the ones versus twos so people can get a better look at his offense. I think Auburn's number one defense is really, really good. Let me ask you about some guys that I've read about for the last couple of weeks, kind of compiled a list of guys who've impressed the coaches. They've had a good spring. The offensive line, as you mentioned, for every team's a work in progress.

But there replies, P-L-A-Z-Z, 6'4", 2'10", played two seasons at Miami. Cody Sigler, a defensive lineman from Arkansas State, 6'2", 3'0", 2". A lot of these guys seem to be impressed with – you and I have talked about Anghwan Feagans for a while. I heard or saw over the weekend he had three interceptions. My Lord, that's impressive anywhere in the practice. And then also Andre Jordan from UCLA, the cornerback. Big Matt, your thoughts on one, two, three of those guys who seem to have had a good spring? Oh, well, you've named some of the top guys, right?

I think Jordan, who you mentioned, has stepped right in and been probably Auburn's number one cornerback from the start. So that was an important pickup for this team. I think the safety position is one of the deepest and most talented. And I think guys like, you know, new boy Feagans, Eric Winters, two true sophomores this year, are certainly pushing to be the full-time starters there. But then you've got other guys there, you know, like Caleb Harris, who started for a couple of years at Auburn, and several others that have played well.

I've also been really impressed with Sylvester Smith at the nickel position. He's really stepped up as a player and a leader, I feel like, this spring. So that's one to watch. Let me think here. At defensive line, I also mentioned some younger guys. You know, you mentioned Cody Sigler, who I think is the alpha there, be the starting defensive tackle. But I think Joe Phillips, who is in his third year and hasn't really done anything, I think he's having a pretty good spring. So that's a guy just to keep an eye on.

[42:34] I'm not saying he's going to be a starter. I think Jerry Smith is going to be the starter there at Edge. He's been really good, a true sophomore. That's another guy to watch. But I think Joe Phillips, a guy who people, I think, kind of forgot about, has really had a pretty good spring that's stepping up there. I think you know about Xavier Atkins there at the linebacker and Elijah Melendez. Bryce Diaz, you probably know a little bit about, but he's stepped up a lot, too, I feel like, this spring and is as good as a starter and could be a starter if he didn't have those two guys in front of him.

I think Joe Simmons on the offensive line is another guy to keep an eye on. Todd Buster, we'll see how that looks at left tackle once Stanton Ramble comes back. But he's had a good spring. He could also move inside the guard if needed. I do think Colbess is the leader there at the center position, the transfer from a USF. Let's see. I think I'll be happy with the running back depth, but I still think that Jeremiah Cobb is going to be your starter there. But I feel like they've got some dudes if he gets banged up or when he needs to come to the sideline for a breather at that position.

Now, I'm interested to see the wide receivers. They look really good to me. Big, fast, running around out there catching passes. And to see how Singleton and Cogar and who's the really fast kid, I can't remember his name, all kind of adjust to the SEC. But they've looked really good to me. So, I'm excited to see how that kind of transitions over. You know, once they're chasing them, I was thinking of this really fast. They're going to play some spots. So, yeah, I feel pretty good about it.

But, again, this is a team that's lost five straight lives this season. And you want to temper all those spring and all season expectations a little bit, right? You're just a realist. That's the best way to be. Brian Matthews, senior, intro, auburnsports.com. It's easy as a fan in April to say we're going to win a national championship. I would imagine if you went across the country, that's pretty much the way it is at every camp. But, thank goodness, you're realistic. Brian, your thoughts, obviously a lot of those camps are having quarterback battles, but I don't think that's the case at Auburn.

Any more in depth? You mentioned a lot of positions there as far as key quarterback battles. And where are you as far as numbers realistically right now? We know everybody says we want this or that. Back to the R word being realistic, where are you right now based on what you've seen so far? Well, I do think there's a quarterback battle, and I think it's for that number two spot. You know, it's maybe the leader in the clubhouse for next year, right? And I think Tristan Tia, the Oregon State transfer, has impressed.

But I also think Lachlan Hewlett, who a guy you guys were talking about, he registered last year at USF. I think he's been really looking to two guys to keep a close eye on. I mean, I just think you should start and stop at seven wins, win seven games, have a winning season, stop this five-year rot of consecutive losing seasons. And then if, you know, if you can do more, great, go for it. But that's, I'm not getting any farther than seven. Win seven games. You know, we've gone into several seasons the past few years when everybody's talking about, Auburn, this team could win eight, nine, ten games.

Okay, just win seven. And we'll go in there. Well, money musings is always a highlight for me. And you talked about recruiting. And I tell people, do not pay any attention whatsoever to recruiting rankings in April. Because they are about to change. Auburn's 16th in the SEC. At the top 50, I think Alabama's in the upper 40s right now. The point you made is getting players to visit on campus, cultivating relationships, making relationships. I know Auburn, one of the changes to recruiting is inviting kids to practice.

I've noticed a lot of schools in the SEC do that. I know there will be a big visit list this weekend for Auburn. And then they begin deciding, released, announcing May through July. But, B-Man, that's just it. It's just simply making the contact, getting on campus for a visit, and cultivating the relationship. That's right. Auburn just has two commitments now. So they're not going to rank on anybody's list at the moment. You know, the top of the SEC, A&M has 11. Oklahoma is 20. Georgia has eight.

So, you know, Auburn's got to get their commitments up before they can start really having a true ranking to see where this is going to land. And they have done an excellent job. They've already got over 40 official business lined up. That'll start at the end of May and then go through the first few weekends of June. And that'll be the crucial period for high school recruiting, right? And that's changed a little bit. You know, it's not about signing, you know, 25 players and having, you know, 10 top 100 kids and a bunch of five stars and four stars anymore.

[47:34] So, I mean, maybe a few schools can do that. But the problem with doing that now is those top 100 kids, those five stars are going to sit around for two or three years waiting to start. They're going to transfer. That talent is being spread out more. So, now it's about finding, okay, this kid's a really good player, but he's not maybe a five-star or a four-star. Maybe I can get him. Maybe he doesn't cost as much, right? Because, you know, it's about money now. And maybe we can develop him into a great player in a couple of years.

And are, okay, is it worth getting the five-star quarterback who may or may not start for the next couple of years? Or is it better spending that couple million or more on a transfer quarterback who, you know, if you need one to start next year? So, there's just a lot of balancing there, a lot of give and take. You've got to make a lot of tough decisions. To me, Brian, also, if you get a five-star early in the process, the key is you've got to be pretty naive to think they're not going to use that for leverage.

Either get more money out of you and shop their services elsewhere, or somebody's willing to pay more, decommit, and go get more gold at the other end of that rainbow. So, you've got to be careful with that stuff. Brian, quickly, inside, yeah, the comments and goings as far as the basketball world, that's not speaking of which. So, where's Auburn on this Monday in the middle of all this portal and transfer season? Yeah, so they've got, you know, they've sort of figured out now who was coming and who was going, right?

They've got Todd Bedford back. They've got Sebastian Williams Adams back. So, that was really, really important. You feel like Freeman's gone, Bashir's gone, whom I'm missing that's left. Jovic is gone. You've got Cade Magwood is gone. Kevin Overton's back. I forgot to mention him. That's a pretty nice core, I feel like, with Overton and Williams Adams and Pettiford. And now you've got to start building around that. They've got the Euro center. I think they're going to look for another big, you know, that's maybe a little bit more ready to step in and play right away in the transfer portal.

And, of course, they're looking at a bunch of wings. And they need a point guard, too. I don't think that they want to hide being the number one point guard. I think they want him as a combo guard. I think that really fits his skills a lot better. So, they've got a lot of work to do. They've had a couple visitors through. They'll have more in the coming weeks as they build out this roster for 20-26-27. Yeah, you're right. They've got a very good core of players coming back.

I know that's been a pleasant surprise for them. We'll finish up with baseball. Auburn now 24-11, 8-7 in the SEC. It lost a tough game to Jack State last week. And then won the series against Kentucky. Won 12-5 and 11-0. Lost on Saturday 5-4. Got Alabama State tomorrow night. And then going to Gainesville to face the Florida Gators. But baseball is beginning to play a little bit better again. And I know they can. You can follow baseball recruiting prep for the spring game for A-Day. And you'll also have the format of the game later this week.

B-Matt, where can we get all of this good stuff? Yeah, check us out. AuburnSports.com. You can follow me on Twitter. We'll have the blowout coverage of practice tomorrow. There's going to be a scrimmage. We'll talk to Alex Goldish after that. We'll continue to cover the basketball portal. Everything else happening in Auburn, including baseball. Florida is a hot team right now. Auburn's head to the Gainesville starting Thursday night. So that's going to be a fun series. Remember, put on your game face this weekend. Brian, listen, man.

Thanks for your time today. And have a good one, okay? Appreciate you guys. Thanks for having me. Thank you, buddy. Brian Matthews, senior editor of AuburnSports.com. Coming up in the next hour, Matt, who's been there as a player in Tuscaloosa, get his insight into this edition of the Crimson Tide, the Redfish Barger, Tennessee Pot with Vince Ferrara, and a deeper dive into A-Day game 2026 from Tuscaloosa. It's all straight ahead of the Boomo Bugg Show. Stay with us. Indeed presents, hires you can't afford to get wrong.

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The State Freedom Caucus Network was formed in 2021 by Andrew Roth and former Congressman Mark Meadows. Roth says that there are 50 swamps in 50 state capitals that are more corrupt than D.C., and there are now 15 Freedom Caucuses formed within state legislatures throughout the nation. Some House Freedom Caucus former and current members like Barry Moore and Mo Brooks have looked into bringing this type of formation within the Alabama state legislature. However, Roth has studied the makeup of the Alabama state legislature and says that none of the current lawmakers are remotely qualified to be founding members of the Alabama Freedom Caucus.

Roth called the Alabama legislature one of the most corrupt places and therefore a very difficult place to start a Freedom Caucus compared to other states. Roth said there is a minimum number of lawmakers needed to start such a caucus, and they have to be really hard-nosed and vocal conservatives who also know how to get elected and re-elected. I'll be back with more Alabama stories after this. Brian Dawson here, CEO of 1819 News. I'm also the host of 1819 News, the podcast, and we'd love for you to join us by listening to our weekly show on all the top podcast apps, both in audio and video format.

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This season isn't a reset, it's a reminder that champions don't disappear. They reload, and the 2026 Atlanta Braves are ready. And a piercing shot to deep left field, and all the way gone! Tonight, it's the first division battle of the season, as National League rivals the Miami Marlins roll into Trois Park. Braves Radio goes on the air at 6 p.m. Central on the Braves Radio Network. Brought to you locally by The Law Firm of Johnson, Pesher, Medley, and Virtual J.C. Hammonson First Metro Bank Nationwide Insurance Agents Michael Doe and Bill Cochran Mefford Jewelers Valley Credit Union Certified Alarm Lost Pizza And Alabama Health Guidance Atlanta Braves Baseball Tonight vs. the Miami Marlins on 93.9 The Score 93.9 The Score Now, get ready to roll Shoals, Decatur, Athens, and all of you.

[58:39] Mainly clear skies, low near 65.9 The Score! Tomorrow night, mainly clear skies, low near 65.9 The Score! 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! The Boomo Bugg Show! New 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 of the Boomo Bugg Show! I'm Harold Bugg, alongside Brett Beaird.

Thank you so much for giving us free ride around the Tennessee Valley. And it may be a chance for us to now catch our breath a little bit and go a little bit deeper into observations in the Saturday afternoon in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. And safe to say, would you agree, that usually you have two camps. You've got the half full and the other camp, you've got the half empty camp. Some are going to say, wow, this team's going to win a national championship, never lose again until the year 30-40.

And then you're going to have the other camp saying, boy, this team is so far behind. Good luck against East Carolina. Objectively, Brett Beaird, where are you on the Monday after? Well, I'm certainly in between about this. I think what stood out to me, Harold, was this team in Kalen DeBoer's third year is more physical. They've got a lot more depth, and particularly on the defensive front. When you've got a playmaker, a quarterback like Keylon Russell, now they've got two more practices. Some of our listeners may not know that.

Saban, when A-Day was finished, they were done. But he's got two more practices. They want to clean up some stuff, look at the film. We'll find out about Noah Rogers. I think shortly after 2 o'clock, he's on Ryan Fowler's show live. And that's one of the questions Ryan is going to ask him. But Keylon Russell can do a lot of things. Again, he's a gunslinger. He's going to make some mistakes. He's going to throw some interceptions. But to be as young as he is, and I've been saying this for a year, this kid's a superstar.

Again, if they can continue to develop him, he threw for 240 yards again. I know it's a spring game, but he showed the potential that he's got. He just has a wiggle. He's got that presence, command in the huddle. He has the it factor. He reminds me a little bit of a more mobile Bryce Young. He can read the field. He threw some dimes. It helps to have about four, six, five, six receivers, which this team has got. Now, I was asked yesterday, well, what about the running game?

They ran for basically 125 yards. And with that, you know, there's no score on the scoreboard. Bam online and some of the other sites had some unofficial stats. The scrimmage was not set up to run the ball, but I am impressed. Daniel Hill looks much quicker than he is. Brown was the find, maybe the best transfer portal dude. It reminds me, he's got wiggle like Josh Jacobs. He took a screen pass, flat pass, out of the backfield. It made a couple of nifty moves, but to begin with, I'm not even going to begin to prognosticate the number of wins.

We've got to see where this goes. They've got a lot more parts to work with. They've got a lot more depth. Clem is, from what I hear, Calendabar really likes him, but we'll find out a little bit more about that. I think they're better, as I mentioned, the defensive front impressed me. And these inside linebackers, I think, are going to impress a lot more. I'll tell you one thing. We know who the starting quarterback will probably be. I think we know who the starting kicker is going to be, too.

He's not from the United States. He put on the show. I thought Chris Stewart did a good job calling it. He is the all-time leading kicker from Ireland for Alabama, so I was only Chris who put that. But, B.B., I agree with you. I think anyone who saw or even heard this game, right now, as of this point in April, that Keelan Russ will be the leader in the house. Now, the other side of that, two things on that. To Austin Mack's credit, the coaching staff said maybe he's not going to have the numbers because he's been, quote, banged up a bit.

[1:03:39] So, I don't know how serious that is. But even if he was apples to apples, one thing that stood out to me, Mack had two delay-of-game penalties in that ballgame. And you can't have that, especially in the red zone like that was. That's the mental part. I think there's no question that Mack's talented. But I think down deep, he knows right now his work's cut out. I think the coaching staff would like to give it to Mack because I think, like human nature, they want to reward loyalty.

He came down from Washington. But at the end of the day, these coaches, they're charged with winning games and winning national championships, especially at Alabama. But to Keelan, to have success, your thoughts objectively, and for Brown to have success, and everybody else to have success on offense. We know where we're going with this. Your objective thoughts on the O-line. There's still a work in progress, Harold. William Sanders, we'll be back. We'll ask William Redfish Barger about this, and particularly Michael Carroll is a right guard. I know he wants to play right tackle, but he can really play both.

Jackson Lloyd, we all know he's going to probably be the left tackle. Rayson Delgotti is the center. I was impressed with him. Ethan Fields, Nick Brooks. I keep going back to the word Delp. This team's got more Delp than any team Kellen DeBoer's had, and we'll see how, more or less, this plays out. I even heard some good things over the weekend about Chris Booker, Tyrell Miller. Again, on the offensive line, they have just simply got more dudes, and they are loaded at tight end. Danny Lewis, who's been injured the last couple of years, actually played some in the game, which surprised me.

But Josh Ford, their tight ends are all 6'5 to 6'7 and way 255. And I mentioned the receivers a little bit earlier, Harold, about how impressed I am. Rico Scott had a good game. Lottie Brooks didn't catch much, but we know what he can do. But once again, Derek Mettis and Cedarian Morgan at 6'5, they are a mismatch for any team. Again, can they run the ball more effectively? Yes. But frankly, Harold, I think Keelan Russell could run for 75 yards a game. That remains to be seen.

But depth-wise, at every position, I think this is, on the field, as far as talent and depth, they're much better than they were 32 years ago. If you're just joining us, to reiterate, you may be saying, well, what about Noah Rogers? We've touched on it. If you're just joining us, we'll know shortly about his status. But, B.B., I tell you what it says about Noah Rogers. Okay? If what we saw Saturday says that Noah Rogers is better than what we saw with Morgan and with Meadows, and not to mention, we know that the other two, Ryan Coleman Williams and Brooks, they weren't even going to go out there and shine because they've already earned their stripes.

But, if Noah Rogers is that good, what does that say about this room overall? Well, I think this receiver room, a lot of people were concerned because they lost Isaiah Horton and Jeremy Bernard. But, again, Sundarian Morgan, three catches for 74 yards. Derrick Meadows, five for 63. Treshawn Brown, five for 60. That's impressive enough. Ryan Coleman Williams, of course, three for 59. We know what he can do. Caleb Edwards, two for 26. I think A.K. Deer, when you get him out in space, and particularly two for 15, Marshall Pritchett. And, Mack Suter, the kid who came from Illinois, one catch for 16.

If they can get Rogers back, that's even more of a bonus. But, the size, again, that depth word, the size. And, what impressed me here was the fact they caught passes. Right. It was the fact they caught passes in traffic. Didn't drop them. Yep. That's another big point going back to last year. To me, again, if you're just joining us, the steal so far. And, let's face it, when you go to the portal, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, as the old song says. And, the early return says that Alabama might have stole one in Treshawn Brown.

You look at this kid, and any of you coaches listening right now, you know what I'm talking about. When you start looking at that twitch, you look at a basketball player, and if they got the twitch, usually a football coach is going to say, let's take a closer look at this guy and see what he can do on the football field. Because, that's just something you either got or you don't. And, when you look at what Brown did on Saturday, he looked like he had a twitch party out there.

Just when you thought you had him trapped, boom, he was gone and by you for at least another three, four, even more yards. Harold, he really impressed me on that swing pass in the left flat. Again, I'm not saying this guy is going to be the reincarnation of Josh Jacobs, but he put some wiggle on some of those guys. And, Kalen DeBoer, it's like Andrew Bones said a little bit earlier, Harold, he committed to Alabama without even visiting. I mean, he was going on blind faith here, and we'll see, but as far as a change of pace back, and again, I mentioned Daniel Hill looks much quicker.

[1:09:13] Kevin Riley is healthy. A.K. Deere's got that explosive. We'll see. We didn't even see Crowell, obviously, but there's no question that there's a lot of potential in the running back, and I do think they will run the ball more effectively. You know what you just mentioned there is common sense to me. I mean, when you look at some of these guys coming in, they come in with five-star talent, but they also come in with a five-star attitude. Maybe sometimes, you know, coaches across the board, if you're listening right now, you know what I'm talking about again.

Do they not love to go out and get a three-star who's hungry, who comes in and milks all their potential every day in practice, every day in the game, because they don't have that go-to that a five-star has. You know these coaches are licking their chops. If they can go out and basically steal one, it'd be a three-star. Well, no question about that, and Harold, some guys we didn't even mention, as Andrew said, and I've said this two or three times, I think this is the best secondary in the country.

Brad Morgan had a really good game. Drake Kirkpatrick Jr., again, he got suspended for the second half of the season, but he's turned around. And Nick Sherman, one of the cornerbacks, was hurt, too. We'll get probably an update on him maybe today, too. But Zabian Brown, Dajon Lee did not play very much. We certainly know what they can do. Carmelo O'Neal, I think, is another steal as a cornerback. Chuck McDonald, Jordan Edmonds, again, without being redundant, I just keep using depth and talent, and I see a lot more of it this year.

And, of course, Ray Hubbard and Keyon Sale didn't even play in the game. I was going to ask you about that. We kind of focused a lot on offense. It sells tickets. But when you get into a real game, how many times have we sat here, B.B., after a spring game, and we said, wow, that guy's going to be good. And then we've seen guys in the past few years, even under Nick, they'd be the MVP, and then they just bust him and become the real deal.

So we don't get too carried away here with what happened on one day. But overall, where are you with this defense? I think it's going to be better. I mentioned the secondary, I think, is one of the best. By the way, Harold, and I heard it from several folks this weekend, I've read it, Jaira Edwards is the real deal. He's the five-star. Ivan Taylor, the son of the NFL pro, is really good. And we've talked about the linebackers. Again, Alabama lost their top three last year, but Abdul Sanders, Xavier Griffin, put a little swill move on Javon James that looked like a three-year veteran.

QB Reese has had the green dot on his helmet. Luke Matts, Duke Johnson, Caleb Woodson is really good. I think we all know that he was going to be, Yonse Pierre is going to be a star, did not play as much. Preston Hill showed out to me. He looked really good. Yasmin Hughes got a little bit of a way to go. Terrence Green was impressive. Harold, to me, Fagot did not play a lot, but I heard, if you did, I was listening to the radio broadcast, too.

Kenley Bingley-Jones was mentioned twice. Steve Im was not AK Deer in the next year on coming through. Devin Tompkins, too. No, again, the defense has a lot of potential. I think that the depth on this defensive front, Green and London Simmons and Jeremiah Beeman and Edrick here, Hill and Bingley-Jones and friends, could be impressive. I think Mr. Deer got the message, keep your head on a swivel at all nights. Coming up a little bit later on, a fellow who's been there on the spring game himself, wearing a helmet the whole nine yards, getting his special insight, the redfish.

William Barter's going to be on board. But first, a little big talk from Big Orange Country with the V-man, Vince Roura on deck of the Bumult Bug Show. Stay with us. Make the most of every lawn with Kubota commercial landscaping equipment. From the productivity-boosting Z700 mower to the reliable SVL track loader, it's a lineup built to get the job done right. Because when your reputation is on the line, you need equipment that will never let you down. Visit your local Kubota dealer today. Stop by Brown Equipment, located at 826 North Military Street in Loretto, or visit them online at brownequipmentcompany.com.

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Get your free quote at ethos.com slash game. Ethos.com slash game. Paid spokesperson. Time spent on application may vary. Online health questions required. 57 tournament trips, five journeys to Omaha, 72 major leaguers. It's good to be a Bama baseball fanatic. Swing and a fly ball lifted high in the air. Deep left field. A go-ahead two-run homer over the high left field wall at Auburn. Alabama's favorite pastime plays right here on your home for Alabama baseball. The Crimson Tide Sports Network from Learfield. This weekend, Alabama travels to Austin to take on the Texas Longhorns.

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It's pretty right around the valley. Obviously, I've been talking about Alabama's spring game. But, B.B., there was a, I guess you could say, a plethora of spring plays across the ACC. What are you hearing? Tennessee, I thought Harold did a pretty good job. Now, one guy that caught a lot of people's attention was Javon Gordon. Deshaun Bishop needs a running mate. He ran for 1,000 yards last year. Javon Gordon is from Tulane. Had a 61-yard run. They've also got Dwayne Morris and Justin Baker. So, again, the quarterback battle, hopefully, will get Vince Farrar with us in a few minutes.

But, one thing that Josh Hypen was looking for was another bank to compliment Deshaun Bishop. I think he found one. Your thoughts about that? Because everybody pretty much, as fans, we buy the hype. We say, okay, we can go ahead and pencil this guy in because everybody's talking about him. George McIntyre seemed to be the heir apparent there in Tennessee. But, not so fast, my friends, according to those on the inside. Maybe two things. Number one, he's holding on to the ball too long. And you don't hear this very often, but maybe just a little bit too skinny.

Needs to go and take our diet. Maybe he adds some meat to his bones. Your thoughts about the quarterback battle, if you are two things, a Tennessee fan, and if you are the Tennessee coaching staff, where are you right now? George McIntyre has been there longer. Harold, this is the argument you and I can have about Austin Mack and Keelan Russell. Right. When Austin Mack has been in a Candle and DeBoer system for four years, he would know it in the back of his hand. But, anybody who saw that game on Saturday, and we didn't see the other 12 practices, Keelan Russell is a future star.

Now, McIntyre's gained 20 pounds, but he's a tall drink of water. Plays on Brandon, I think, will eventually be the starting quarterback for Tennessee. The other positive thing about the balls, they were turned four offensive linemen. There you go. Which would help them. Again, both of these guys were new, and I know people ask, well, why didn't Tennessee go get a transfer quarterback? They tried to get Sam Levitt, who again went to LSU. They called Ty Simpson, and Ty said thanks, but no thanks. So, they decided to stay with these two.

[1:20:15] I do think McIntyre, I believe, Harold, because he's got an extra year. I think that helps him, but you touched on it. You can't hold on to the ball too long. We've seen that with quarterbacks with Alabama and other schools. Brandon is a better runner, and he's going to make some mistakes, but he can make the well play. George McIntyre can make the routine play. We'll see how this shakes out. But, yeah, it's going to be interesting. If I had to pick one, I think it's going to be Brandon.

Maybe after the second or third game, both of them play, I think Brandon will eventually take over. I was going to say that. Maybe not the first game, but after the third game. And you bring up a good point. A lot of these kids who are highly regarded coming out of high school, the reason is they're on, A, a good team. B, they've just got more talent relative. But when you get to the SEC, as much as anything else, you've got to be a decision maker.

You've got to be able to make that right decision consistently to keep that job at the SEC and live up to all those five stars. B.B., obviously, as we ever get to the V-Man, your thoughts about Florida, I will say this. I like John Somerol's attitude. He's not coming in and playing with these guys because they're no longer kids. They're employees, B.B. And if you're going to get paid X number of dollars, if you're paid a dollar, give them a dollar. If you're getting paid a million dollars, give them a million dollars.

In other words, if somebody's paying you all that money, live up to it, B.B. And I think that's John Somerol's attitude. And unlike a lot of these coaches, I think he says, if you want to leave, pick a door, I'll show you. Yeah, that's his. And believe me, from what I hear from the Florida media, that's a breath of fresh air after Billy Napier. I think a lot of people thought Aaron Philo was going to be the quarterback at Florida. And they both had what I would call a very productive spring and a spring game.

But Trammell Jones was the star of the offense. He threw a 75-yard pass for a touchdown at the end of that game. But now, one of the great things is they've got some very good receivers. Eric Singleton had six receptions for 92 yards. T.J. Abrams had six for 56. But I think this is going to go into the fall. And hopefully we can get John Faurier on with us tomorrow to get his thoughts on it. But now, as John, who do you think actually ends up starting?

He says Jones. Philo's coming in from Georgia Tech. They brought in the offensive coordinator, which I think was a good idea. But Florida fans are more cautiously optimistic. I think more of them are saying right now, now, Philo was 21-28 for 193. Trammell, or Trammell, was 13-17 for 210. Same thing with Alabama. The offensive line gave up five sacks and 10 tight tackles for a loss. They had a 122-yard scrimmage, didn't run the ball very much, 3.1. But that's going to be interesting to see if Jones ends up winning that quarterback battle.

You know, to me, one of the more interesting spring games coming up, BB, is going to be down in a place called Baton Rouge. If you look at it on paper, this is one of those deals. You look at this roster, and the question has to be asked, how can Lane screw this up? Because he's supposed to be all that in a bag of chips as a head coach. I mean, let's face it, all these years, they say, well, the reason he hasn't done more is because he can't get the roster at Ole Miss and other places.

He has no excuses now. The other side of that coin is, again, when you bring in all these rock stars, it's like going to Hollywood and coming up with a movie script, and you go out and hire all A-list of actors. Well, what's going to happen to the A-list of actors? Everybody's wanting their cut. How is Lane going to be able to manage all those egos, and not only just the players themselves, but the agents, their families? They know they don't want their kids sitting on the bench because the cash register ain't ringing when they're over there sitting on the bench.

Your thoughts about just trying to manage everything in Baton Rouge. Well, as good as Kiffin is, Harold, it's going to take a while for that team to match. That's why you have spring practice. Sam Levitt is going to miss some time, too, because he came in hurt at surgery. I think he's going to be a very talented quarterback, but even Lane Kiffin needs some time for these guys, and again, they had, oh, Lord, 25 to 30 transfers, and again, nobody does it better than the portal king, but Harold, it's going to take them some time to jail.

[1:25:15] Have you talked about Bill Shanks? Is Georgia even just going to go through a spring game this year, or are they just going to go and go advance to Atlanta and play in the SEC championship game and then go play in the playoffs and wait for a national championship game? No, they're going to have to take it one game at a time. They want to improve their receivers. The Gunnar Stockton having another year under his belt is going to help them, but again, they ran the ball a little bit better last year, but not Georgia-like, and Harold, the other thing about Georgia is, and I've read in the spring reports, is getting to the quarterback.

They did not, and again, Alabama fans are saying, Lord, it looked like they did a pretty good job in Atlanta, but they struggled in that the entire year with injuries and lack of production. One of the things I'll be curious about Georgia is going to be is who the backup quarterback is going to be, but can they run the ball more effectively and get after the quarterback? Before we jump off here, BB, you mentioned something I think is interesting. Everybody was focused on Alabama's A and B choices as a quarterback, but the kid out of Nebraska, to me, he was a pleasant surprise.

I mean, no one's given him much of a chance to get significant playing time now, but I thought he showed a certain flash in Tuscaloosa. Harold, he was, and I'm looking for his numbers. He was, if memory serves me right, let's see. Yeah, he was 4 out of 5 for 48 yards, and even Coava was 4-4 for 41. Again, I know this was later in the game, and they had some control scrimmages. In fact, their last five series were, they just put the ball in the red zone to see if they could score.

But the Mullins got a normal hero of 4-5 for 48 yards. Yeah, and the thing I thought was impressive was his presence. He didn't look like, I mean, let's face it, one day you're in a cornfield in Nebraska, next year in Bryant-Denny Field, trying to live up to those standards. And to me, for a kid that age, I thought he was very impressive. So, what's it like to be on that field and be responsible for protecting the quarterback? Former offensive lineman in Tuscaloosa, the Redfish on deck.

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Progressive presents the Sports Flash on 93.9 The Score. In college baseball action this weekend, Alabama was swept at home. They lost Arkansas at all three games, including yesterday's series finale 3-2. The final, Alabama, is now 8-7 in SEC play. Auburn Tigers winners yesterday over Kentucky 11-0. 14 hits for Auburn in the win. Auburn wins the series two games to one. The Auburn Tigers are 8-7 in SEC play. North Alabama won yesterday at Austin Peay 15-5. The two teams each had 13 hits. North Alabama sweeps the series at Austin Peay.

[1:30:19] South Alabama outscored Georgia Southern yesterday 13-12. The Jaguars win the series two games to one. Bundle auto and home, renters or condo, and save with Progressive. I'm John Thayer with the Sports Flash presented by Progressive on 93.9 The Score. The problem with radio is we can't show you our new box packed with a KFC snacker, five nuggets, fries, and a drink for just $7. So you'll just have to trust us when we say the crispy golden fried breading will make your mouth water. You'll have to trust us when we say this is a ridiculous amount of chicken for such a small price.

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We run the routes. Visit usps.com slash groundadvantage to learn more. The Score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in. Really appreciate free ride around the valley. And for William Redfish Barger to take time out of his busy schedule. William, the former University of Alabama offensive lineman and co-host of BAM's Radio these days. William, welcome in. How are you? Good, guys. Hope y'all are having a good Monday as well. We couldn't wait to get to you, to get the man who's actually been there.

You've had the helmet on, the cleats. You've been through one of these spring games. Who has a better eye to sit here on the Monday after and give us your evaluation than you, William? Where do you start? Well, I mean, I think Alabama has, you know, quietly, you know, made some progress in different position groups. And, you know, I think we, you know, got to see, well, some people may have gotten to see it. Some people may not have. You know, you know, you got to see, you know, over the last couple of weeks where I think they, you know, probably upgraded their, you know, their roster through the transfer portal at a couple of places.

And, you know, you know, I think it's all going to start. And, you know, I think his performance Saturday is going to help that. But I think it's going to start with the decision that they make with the quarterback position. You know, it's probably going to be a to-be-continued type of a deal. And we don't really know when it's going to be settled. But a couple of more scrimmage performances like the one that we saw Saturday from Keelan Russell. And I'm not sure if it's going to leave much of a decision to be made.

But, you know, I thought that young man, you know, showed that he's a dynamic playmaker with the ball in his hand. I think he's somebody that could, you know, certainly help alleviate some of the running issue problems last year in the ground game with, you know, his versatility. You could have some zone read packages to lay on people as well. You know, I think that Alabama got an absolute steal late in the recruiting class with the running back from Huntsville, Texas, Treshawn Brown. You know, he showed quickly, you know, that he is dangerous with the ball in his hand, whether it's making people miss on a running play or as a receiver out of the backfield.

You know, I think the offensive line is still a to-be-determined. They're not going to really know what they've got until, you know, William Sanders is back healthy in August. And I still have, you know, that right tackle position is still a question mark in my opinion. You know, does the move to right guard of Mike Carroll stick or does he eventually have to, you know, go back outside and maybe they've got a better chance of finding a consistent, you know, right guard replacement. So, you know, I think they've, you know, improved the tight end room, I think, by the new position coach and also bringing in big Josh Ford, who's a, you know, a more traditional in-line tight end type.

But, you know, they've got multiple, you know, what I call, you know, flex guys in Caleb Edwards and Pritchett and Sutter, the freshman, so, you know, I really think he can, you know, we'll have to wait and see what the diagnosis is on the transfer wide receiver Noah Rodgers injury. But in my experience, you know, MRIs are not scheduled unless it's to confirm an already bad diagnosis in the training room. So, you know, I'm not real optimistic about that. But, you know, I think it's, we could, you know, I think they upgraded in the special teams with a place kicker and a punter and a long snapper.

[1:35:41] I mean, it's, you know, I've got a lot of, you know, it's up to this coaching staff to continue to, you know, develop these guys over the summer and get the chemistry right in August. But I really think there's a lot of indicators that the coach and staff kind of, you know, has a better roster. You know, and I think maybe the one that's benefited the most from the portal is along the front on defense. William, yeah, we mentioned Noah Rodgers. We made this point earlier.

I think most folks would have said he's probably at the top of the list. What does that say about the room? If Rodgers has that kind of potential, you look at these young guns coming in. To me, it's a great mix. You've got the kids coming in from high school who flashed. You've got Meadows who lived up to his hype coming out of high school. And, oh, by the way, then you've got a guy named Williams and Brooks over there who basically, it's Saturday in the A-day, and we've already earned our stripes, so let's not go out there and get hurt.

Your thoughts overall about the wide receiver room? Well, I mean, I think certainly Rodgers was a loss. I think they brought him in as kind of an equal-valued replacement for Isaiah Horton. And he had kind of shown that to be true up until the injury on Saturday. But, yeah, like you said, Derrick Meadows and Darian Morgan, maybe even a little bit of Rico Scott, I think, showed that they're ready to add to, you know, what are already proven commodities in Ryan Williams and Legear Brooks. Let me ask you about something you just alluded to.

It is quietly putting together some talent and some depth. And you mentioned the defensive front. Of course, you've got the guys coming in, Devin Tompkins from USC, Terrence Green from Oregon. But London Simmons, Jeremiah Beeman, Edric Hill, Faga, Bingley Jones, who I heard his name mention a couple of times. Steve M. sent A.K. Deer flying in one of the plays. And then, of course, you've got the kids, Nolan Wilson, Jamarian Matthews, and Maury Johnson from Muscle Shoals. Anything they give them would be a plus.

But, William, I agree with you. We talked about this last year. I know injuries have been a part of this, which is one of the reasons why they've developed more depth. But when you look up and down the line, they may have seven to nine players they could rotate during the course of the season on that defensive front. Yeah, and I think, you know, the way you have to look at it is, you know, when you look at the fact that, you know, with Big Steve coming along, and he sent more people flying this spring than just A.K. Deer.

He flashed and flashed a lot. But, you know, I think the, you know, the portal guys that they brought in have all proven themselves to be legit. I think they're going to be, all of them are going to be in the two-deep rotation. And then when you factor in the three that are proven, you know, two-deep type talents, you know, they're going to be back in August, hopefully all full speed. You know, they've scattered, you know, some young guys in that may help. But I don't think they're going to be, you know, unless something crazy happens in August, I don't think they're going to be in this rotation that we're talking about just yet, unless there's injuries or something.

But I think that's, you know, the guys that they brought in, they're not just depth fillers. You know, they're unique skill set guys. You know, I think Tompkins is probably going to be the, you know, the replacement for L.T. Overton. You know, a guy that can play, you know, outside and in a run. You know, the five-technique defensive end, you can bring him in and line him up as a defensive tackle and cover up a guard in passing situations. So there's versatility right there. You know, the two transfers, the Oregon transfer and the Mississippi State transfer, those are big-bodied, you know, guys that can help in the running game.

And, you know, a friend of mine was at practice and he said, you know, I still don't know about their toughness yet, but this is the prettiest bunch I've seen, you know, on the defensive line in quite some time. And, you know, I'm not saying pretty wins a lot of football games, but if you're pretty and tough, that's a good combination to have. So, you know, I just think that there's a lot of cautious optimism, you know, when you look at, you know, maybe there's going to be a true, you know, rotation opposite of Yonsei Pierre, you know, Justin Hill and Ugalulu or whatever his last name is.

You know, that could be an interesting tandem over there opposite of Yonsei Pierre. Maybe one of them's your first and ten guy. Maybe one of them's your third and ten guy, however it shakes out. So, you know, I think they've got Woodson set at one inside linebacker. You know, my bets on QB Reese being the other one, but Luke Metz and Abdul Sanders are, you know, sticking around for a reason. So, I mean, I just think there's, you know, and I know there's still two more practices left, but those are, you know, basically correctional practices.

[1:41:08] They're just going to work on stuff that they did and didn't do well in the 8-A game. But I think there's really some room for optimism here going into, you know, the summer conditioning program. And, you know, the quicker they can work out the quarterback decision, and in my mind who the best right tackle on the roster is, you know, I think this really has a chance to be a, you know, a football team that's got a chance to, you know, play post-season. The redfish in the huddle with us.

Redfish just may come as a surprise. I've been called a lot of names over the years in this business. I've never been called pretty. So, this is, that's a word that I'm trying to get familiar with that. But let's face it, nobody's better able to answer this question than you. I mean, you can have all the pieces, but until they get the O-line woes worked out on a consistent basis, we know what to expect. Your thoughts about that, now that they've seen some real time and from a crowd, your thoughts of where the staff goes to work trying to fix things between now and East Carolina, and to that end, would that also not give another reason to kind of go with Keylon, because he just seems to be more mobile, able to maybe work around some of those woes for the O-line?

Well, I think, first of all, there's been a lot of good early returns on the new O-line coach, Adrian Clem. I think he's brought some, you know, kind of old-school, hard coaching to the table. And I think, you know, a lot of these players have taken to that. And, you know, it's something that you have to work at and adapt to, and it has to become a mindset. It's not, you know, it's not something that can be accomplished with word of mouth. I mean, it's something that you've got to get kind of, you know, in your bones and have it flowing through your system every day.

But, yeah, certainly I think having just a dynamic playmaker like Keylon Russell, you know, who does special things even when things don't go correctly, whether that's eluding a rush, whether it's, you know, if you go to takeoff and think you're going to pick up four or five yards and a running back steps in your path and you sidearm sling the ball, allow Patrick Mahomes off to a waiting wide receiver or running back. It's just, you can see it. And I'm not playing favorites here. I'm just, you know, passing along what I've seen and heard with my ears and my eyes.

And, you know, this is a special young man. And, you know, I think, you know, you saw him make a critical mistake Saturday, and he did exactly what you see elite playmakers do when they make a mistake. They respond by five or six, you know, explosive plays in the positive directions that typically ends up in some type of scoring point. And, you know, this young man is still scratching the surface. You know, we're really early in this. But I just think there's a lot of room for optimism.

I think the new place kicker has a chance to really help there and the punter. You know, I know in some of the scrimmages he was, you know, averaging 47, 48 yards a punt. You don't hear me talk about special teams a whole h*** of a lot. But, you know, I just think that the staff deserves, you know, some kudos versus, you know, going out and getting a high-priced quarterback or maybe signing a Cam Coleman for $3 million a year. They took that money, and they went out and found some guys that they felt like could help improve this roster, and I think that's going to prove to be the case.

Let me ask you, we've talked about nearly every position group except the secondary. There's nothing to talk about there. Yeah, that's what I was going to say. We can go on the phone all day if we talk about all those studs. We can go through all the names. I'd take a half day off of work if you want to delve off into the DBs. Listen, nobody knows this better than you do, and the guys who are there, let me ask it this way. Carmelo O'Neal is another transfer I've heard a lot about.

Ivan Taylor is dead in the NFL. Jaira Edwards, everybody says, well, the best position is the secondary, and I think you just alluded to it, but they are, depth and talent are on display in the secondary. Yeah, and I think, you know, I know at least the three guys that I've heard the most about, you know, are Taylor and Edwards and Edmonds. You know, with Bray Edwards taking spring practice off, you know, Edwards was actually able to get a lot of reps, and, you know, they played him all over that field.

They played him in the box some. They blitzed him off the edge some. And, you know, I think this is a guy that's really going to help quite a bit. Edmonds got a lot of work with the ones. You know, Taylor, Taylor, like you said, is a guy that's just, that's the deepest. And, you know, I'd say the deepest and the most talented position group on this roster. And, you know, it just seems like every year, you know, Moe Lundquist and Kane Womack just keep, you know, loading that place up back there.

[1:46:22] And I think you're going to really see, you know, if they can generate a more consistent pass rush. And, you know, maybe those guys being that good will make, you know, allow Kane Womack to blitz as much as he likes to blitz, which he likes to blitz. So, you know, I just, like I said, I have not really seen a position group really outside of that pencil-circled right tackle spot that I'm still really shaky about here. So, you know, if that's the case, coming out of a spring practice, going into, you know, summer conditioning, that's a good spot to be in if you're, you know, a 20-26 program.

Boy, you've got that right. Listen, we appreciate it. We know you take time out from the job to come talk to us. Always great to get the insight to it. Again, as you mentioned, two practices. And we should know about the Noah Rogers officially this afternoon. William, have a great spring, buddy. Let's do this again with you as soon as we can. Sounds good to me. Y'all got my juices flowing. I echo those sentiments, Redfish. Thanks so much. Thank you, buddy. The Alabama offensive lineman, William Redfish, Roger.

BB, obviously this is a great time of the year. Anticipating some news. Your thoughts about Rogers, I agree with the Redfish there. Anytime they order one of these MRIs, the early returns, it's common sense. That's not saying anything that's going to happen, but they obviously think it's pretty serious. Well, that was the first thing, Harold, when I heard he was getting an MRI yesterday, and I know they know the decision. Harold, again, I'm not trying to be flippant about this. He would actually be much better off if he's got a broken leg.

He couldn't come back from that much sooner than he could an MRI. Yeah, anyone's ever had that. I mean, ACL. Right, MR, I agree with you because all of us who've had broken balls, usually six weeks. Right. And if everything goes right, you're pretty much back rocking and rolling. Quickly, BB, obviously caught up in all of this talk, the Braves. Your thoughts about the weekend that was for the Braves? What do you call Cleveland? Do a lot of folks call them the garbage? Well, I call them what they are, is the Cleveland Indians, but the Braves won two out of three.

In fact, they went nuts last night on NBC. A lot of people got a chance to see that. Won 13-1, had their hitting shoes on Miami. And you can hear that game on 93-9, the score tonight. But, again, Harold, they lead by two games in the division. The pitching, Sal did not have the best game. And, quite frankly, they didn't play as well defensively in that game. But they had their hitting shoes on. But no question about it, if this team can stay healthy and get Riley going, Acuna going, some of the other guys, Ian Smith, once again, with a big home run, he has been a pleasant surprise.

Again, the Braves with 10 wins right now. They have the second-most wins in all of baseball. No surprise, the Dodgers with one more with 11. But right now, the Braves already in double digits. What a difference the year makes. They'll try to add to that tonight as Mr. Holmes takes the mound against Miami. And, of course, you can catch that game right here on 93-9, the score. It's going to take care of business for now. On behalf of B.B., Greg, James Blair, the entire crew here. Harold Buck, thank you so much for your time today.

Let's do it again tomorrow on noon to two for the B.M.O. Buck Show. Back here on Sports Radio, 93-9, the score.