Boomo Bugg Show 081226

[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? Get ready for Rodney, Evan, Drew, Paul and Coach Brent Dierman.

Are you ready to talk some serious football? Welcome in and how are you? Happy Wednesday to you and the listeners. This should be a fun show. We'll get some Alabama and Auburn summer camp updates later in the show. We certainly enjoy talking to Brent Dierman on Monday and he is making another return to the Boomo Bugg Show right now to give us an update about summer camp for UNA. Hey, once is never enough on either side of the equation. Top of the line at UNA Coach Brent Dierman.

Welcome in and welcome back. How are you? Doing fantastic, guys. Just came off the field from a morning walk-through. We've got a night practice tonight and fell on a great day with all this heat that we've got today. So, I'm excited to talk to you guys. I know when we get to every Wednesday, it's football season when I'm on the phone with you. Well, we appreciate you taking time out, Coach. We know you're busy. It's getting serious here. Before we get into the Jimmys and Joes and the X's and O's, I meant to ask you the last time, and I would imagine that you're kind of getting giddy.

Remember when you were a kid and you talked about Christmas and then you thought it would never get here and December finally came and then the second, the third, you thought it would never get here. So, you're right on the cusp of a brand new gift called a brand new stadium. I'm sure that's farther along than it was just this time last week that we're getting the field ready. I meant to ask you as far as, in this neck of the woods, you never know what you're going to get as far as rain.

And I'm just guessing that this thing is as high-tech as you can get as far as making the surface playable no matter the weather conditions. Oh, it's going to be fun that you don't have to worry about a surface condition. There's never going to be, the way they put the padden underneath it, the way the turf, the carpet is designed, that drains extremely well. There's never going to be any, besides lightning striking, we'll be able to practice no matter what. Let's talk about the other side of the coin.

UNA Offensive Coordinator Travis Partridge, named to a Hall of Fame. You always want somebody, I don't care what you're doing. If you're named to a Hall of Fame in that particular area, that means not only are you good, you stand out amongst your peers. It says that you've got quality work and you also are respected by your peers. Talk to us about a huge honor for your offensive coordinator. Oh, I'll just tell you how elite of a player he was. Sometimes our players, you know, they were too young to remember some of these things sometimes.

And it lets our players know, hey, all those things that Coach Dearborn was telling me about Coach Partridge, it really is true. He was that good of a player. You know, we've, I've got another coach on staff, Javante Moffitt, that it's not going to be too much longer before he's in Middle Tennessee's Hall of Fame. So we've got a, you know, Mike Johnson's in UNA's Hall of Fame. We've got a collection of coaches on our staff that were extremely good football players. But they're also, they're growing into being really good football coaches too.

So I think it just sends a message to our players more than anything that we've got guys that's been there and done that. I asked you this on Monday. I wanted to ask you, since we've got a different audience now, you mentioned the night practice. How is your practice scheduled this week, the next scrimmage? And then, what position group, in your opinion, has made the most progress in summer camp? So this is something that we tried this year. We've done it in the past a little bit, but we've really sold out to it this year.

We go two or three straight mornings, and then the fourth practice is a night practice. And what it does is it opens up the recovery time from practice three to practice four. And it usually, we get followed by an off day. So they know that they're going to go hard for four straight days. It helps us prepare the body a little bit longer for that true night practice, scrimmage-like practice. It also helps our guys get accustomed to playing at 6 p.m. We've got so many games early in the season that are 6 p.m. kicks.

And we know that we can't practice every day that late. I mean, we can't get kids in bed at 10, 10.30 at night every night if we're going to wake them up early the next day. So it's been a good little something that we're trying. And I think our players and our coaches really like it. And then our defensive line is doing a heck of a job. If you just come out and watch our D-line, you just see them in person. We already look better, but they're playing at an elite level.

[5:08] And when your O-line and D-line are playing good, it elevates the whole team. It's noticeable to the whole team. If they're not playing good, it's hard to see what the other flaws are. Because let's say the O-line is playing bad, the defensive line is getting a lot of sacks, then the D-Bs are not truly getting worked. Or vice versa. So when our O-line and D-line are playing well, we get better as a whole team. You and A-head football coach Brent German. I say that, coach, because, correct me if I'm wrong, I've never been wrong before.

I'm sure you believe that. I'm going to tell my wife every day. Yeah. Yeah. If you're married, you know that's a lie, right? Because you're reminded of that. This is entering your fourth year. And I can't imagine a coach anywhere who's had a more interesting journey to this point than you. Because every coach got their story. But when you had to start where you started with the challenges of moving on up the ladder as far as rankings and all that stuff. And classifications and just a whole new world.

Talk to us about your journey. What have you learned? It's like going to a boxing match. You get knocked around. You learn when to duck and when to dive. But talk to us about the journey to this fourth year. And just the journey in life in general from being a high school coach to NAIA to the Big 12 to the SEC to FCS at UNA. I mean, God's prepared me in every step. And you just take our steps here at UNA. I mean, we had a building first year where we get on the national stage against Florida State.

And I had Florida State on the ropes at halftime. Then year two, the first year we won one conference game. Year two, we win three conference games. So we're building. We're getting better. Hit hard with the transfer portal. Didn't think we did a great job of replacing guys in the portal. We were still trying to build it with solely high school kids. And we had a lot of high school kids that wasn't ready. We lost three overtime games last year where we had a chance to win.

You win all three of those games. You're sitting with a lot better record, feeling good about yourself. So got some adversity thrown at us. And we don't have a home. We don't have a home practice field. We're traveling every day to a practice field where all that is coming to an end. A lot of the adversity is coming to an end as we're about to step into a brand new stadium here on campus to make it a whole lot easier on our staff and our players.

So it's been a journey. You've learned how to overcome some obstacles, overcome adversity. You learned how to put your arm around guys in situations that are going through things a little bit more than I probably used to. And love kids up. So I've got a great staff around me that helps me every day. But I'm sure there's lessons the Lord's gotten planned for me tomorrow that I wasn't ready for today. That leads to a question I was going to ask you. I know there's an article in the Times Daily about several of your players growing mentally, as I call it.

We talked so much about the physical aspect of this. Being a D1 football player is not exactly easy with time management, being able to get there on time, filling out your obligations. We talked about this a little bit on Monday. Talk about watching players grow mentally and how you and your coaching staff can help them. You know, I've been coaching 18 years. It doesn't matter if I was at Viger High School, the two years I was at Auburn, the times I've been here at UNA, life's going to hit.

Life's going to hit, and life's going to hit hard sometimes. And our players don't always understand how to overcome adversity and how to deal with life. They may not have had a father figure in their life that taught them these lessons, or they may have some situations that happen to them early in life that they don't really know how to learn and adapt. And, you know, we had one, Avery Howard had a story written about him in the paper that early on, I mean, he's a physical specimen.

He's what they look for in the NFL. He's a fast-edged rusher that weighs 255. I mean, he's got all the traits. And it just happened that it hadn't hit yet, and it's hit this fall camp because he's been able to learn how to compartmentalize. He's been able to learn how to deal with adversity. He's been able to learn how to step between the lines and become a professional no matter what happened before practice, remember what's going to happen after practice. So, you know, we've got a great counseling service on campus.

I bet we're one of the only schools in the country that in January, February, March, we brought them in once a month, and they did exercises with our players of how to overcome, how to deal, how to communicate. You know, we live in a technology world that kids don't communicate like we used to. They don't communicate the same way, and teaching them how to communicate. So there's so many different aspects that we feel like it's – I got called into this profession to grow men. We've got to win games, but we've also got to grow men.

So I take that purpose, I take that calling seriously. I think we're doing a good job of growing these young men. Coach, I was just listening to that story. It reminded me years after getting out of school, I happened to cross paths with one of my old teachers, and I went up to her and told her what she meant. You could have given her a million dollars, and a smile wouldn't have been any bigger. I would imagine there's got to be some stories where now you said you've been in this business 18 years.

[10:26] If somebody comes back over the years and said, Coach, you don't know what you meant to me. I was at a bad place, and you helped get my feet back on farm ground. That has to be the best feeling in the world. How about this? About a week and a half ago, I had to do a Zoom online with Chick-fil-A headquarters in Atlanta. And a quarterback that was in my path a long time ago that I didn't know I had such an impact on put me as one of the three people for Chick-fil-A to reach out to.

He's becoming an owner of the Chick-fil-A franchise. And so they reached out to me, and I had to do like an hour-long thing about it. But it just hit me that kids that we don't know that we have such a good impact on 10 years ago are one of the three people. I'm one of the three people he lists to be a reference for. So every day, we just got to understand that people are watching us. There's eyes on us. They're learning from us in some way every day.

And we've got to make sure that we live in such a way that we're the example that we need to be. I mentioned this Monday about the Phil Steele preseason conference. Jaheim Ingram calling writer on it for most of the shows, but also with Zari Fletcher from Hartzell. Now, what do those guys have in common? North Alabama. It's recruiting North Alabama, be it West Morgan, Florence, other schools. Talk again about your emphasis. I know you brought in some transfers, but your emphasis on recruiting players and developing them who played in North Alabama.

Well, I think I said this to you on the air the other day. We've got four players from Florence High School. We've got three players from Muscle Shoals. I've got three players from Brooks. I've got three players from Morris Hill. I've got two from Central. I've got one from West Morgan. I've got one from East Limestone. I mean, we have 25 players on our team of 105 that are local. And I bet you there's not many teams in the country that can tell you that stat and not even list off what high schools those guys went to.

So I think it's important. I know it's important for UNA to have a local flavor in what we do here because those people are the ones that are going to support us. Those people are the ones that are going to be filling those seats on Saturdays. Coach, before you jump off, what does the schedule look like? Obviously, we're getting close to showtime. I'm sure you've got some scrimmages lined up there. How's your practice schedule look heading down the stretch here? You know, these next few days are big for us.

We've got a live practice tonight where it's not a true scrimmage. But we can get some live tackling in, and this is the second time that we've done that. So it puts offensive skill and defensive skill guys in situations to see if they can make those plays. Tomorrow is an off day for the players. It's a move-in day on campus, and we're going to get on campus, and we're going to help the freshmen all across campus move into their dorm rooms, help carry the fridge up the stairs, all those type things.

And then we get to Friday, Saturday. Friday is just a normal practice, preparing like it's preparing for a game. And then Saturday night, we're going to go out to the sportsplex, and we're scrimmaging on the grass out on the sportsplex. And that'll be our last true big-time scrimmage of us seeing who's the ones, who's truly the ones who can truly go make those plays, who can we put in these situations when the game matters the most. Absolutely, Coach. We always enjoy your time. Have a great week of practice.

Let's do this again next week. We'll do it on Wednesday. I can promise you. Got you penciled in right now, Coach. All the best under the lights tonight here on the show. Coming up, he is from the North Pole to the South Pole, and every place in between. He goes by one name, Paul Neckst. Stay with us. Bush Light is cold and smooth and waiting for you to get out there. Everyone knows that the classic taste of Bush Light is brewed for the outdoors. So before cracking open your next adventure, grab a case of Bush Light.

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The Score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in. It is an absolute pleasure for us to welcome the man who says at ESPN he is the face and the voice of college football. Got walls full of awards over the years. And not only that, kind enough to still take time out of that busy schedule to join our little huddle here today. Paul Feinbaum, welcome in. How are you? Man, Harold, it's been too long. I appreciate, you know, I sit around every week and go, when is Harold calling me?

I got the answer, Paul. I just paid my last bill, so they let me back on. So, we're good. Well, it's great to be back on, guys. It's always a tremendous pleasure, and I really appreciate you asking. Well, Paul, obviously, we are flattered that you take time out, because that's just it. Before we get into all this other stuff, talk to us about how your schedule changes, because you go through the offseason, and it's this and it's that, a lot of off-the-field issues. But right now, I would imagine you've got all your bags packed and ready to rock and roll.

How does the Paul Feinbaum schedule shape up? Not only does it kick off, but right before the season, because you've got a lot of obligations even before the season starts. Yeah, it's really weird, guys. You know, the summer is going along really nice. You know, media days is the beginning. And you get back that next Monday, and it's like everybody decided that football is here, and they start calling you. And I don't mind doing it. I enjoy talking to different people. But you get wiser. But what really gets me is that you guys know football season's here.

And you'll be at like a coffee shop, and a guy will walk up to you and go, Hey, man, I guess your busy season's about to start. And I'm like, did you miss media days? I mean, where are you going? Well, Paul, you know where we are. Let's start speaking of seasons with Alabama. You and I started working together with a guy named Curry, and we all know how well that was documented by you and Coach, even before that, obviously, but certainly with Bill. Where do you frame as far as the vibe of this season in Tuscaloosa compared to years past?

It is fairly similar a little bit to Bill Curry, and that was 40 years ago. But what you get, Harold, is you get the same number of Alabama sycophants who believe Alabama's going to win the national championship. And whether Kaylin DeBoer is coaching or Mike Shuler or Mike DeBose or Mike Price, they feel the same way. But the difference there is I've been around the state a great deal. I was in South Alabama over the weekend. I've been a lot of different places. And you run into somebody, whether you're at a meet-and-free or Chick-fil-A, and everybody has the same question.

[20:53] They say, what do you think? And I've learned never to give an opinion, and I say, what do you think? And you know what? I get the same opinion from almost every, especially probably 40 or 50-plus person. They go, I don't like this guy. I don't think he fits in. And what they're talking about is DeBoer's personality. I will tell you, and you've heard me say this, I think he's an elite coach. I think he's a top-five, top-ten coach, and I think he proved where he could win at Washington.

I think he could win a lot of places. I still am not convinced he can win in Alabama. Let me follow. I think I know the answer, Paul. But for the sake of our audience here, can you elaborate? Because to me, you know at Alabama, there's only one way to make the fans happy, and that's be the goat part two. And how hard is that? Ask Ray Perkins. As far as the particulars, is it that he doesn't show enough animation on the sidelines? He doesn't show enough cuss words?

Oh, by the way, he hasn't won a national championship yet. Yeah, no, I mean, I think it's the demeanor. I went crazy about three weeks ago at Media Days when he got up there and somebody said, you know, is your goal winning a national championship? And he said, you know, we know what we signed up for here. That's kind of a Bill Curry answer. That's a Mike Schiller answer. Now, again, I realize he's not going to slam his hand through the podium. But you know what the easy answer is?

Yeah, we're going to win a national championship. There's no downside. I mean, you're not at Vanderbilt or Mississippi State. And by the way, the coach at Vanderbilt did say that. You can't lose saying that. But there's just something about him that he embraces where he is, but he doesn't really do it in a way that convinces the fans. And people will say to me, well, you know, fans don't matter. Yes, it does. Right now, fans matter more than they've ever mattered because you need the money from everybody to support the program.

Let me ask you about Auburn and Alex Golich. The number one question I'm sure that you get all the time, are they going to have a winning season for the first time since five years? You made a comment on Mackerel and Kubelik about the unconventional strategy. He has taken these guys off campus. Now, believe me, this is not junction with Coach Bryant and Coach Stallings. But I thought you made a good point. It's an unconventional strategy. It's creating a bond for these guys to try to come together.

Your thoughts on the preseason and will they have a winning season this year? Yeah, first of all, and I would never spend my own money staying at that golf resort. But when you work for ESPN, we have stayed there about four times when we visit Auburn. It's nice. I mean, it's not like staying at the Motel 6 on the Tater Highway in Columbus, Georgia. Yeah, but I like him doing something different. And it is a good experience to be at a hotel. I mean, it's not like Cub Scout camp when we were young, when you're fighting off the sugars or whatever, the bugs that used to get you at night.

But it's still better than serving ice cream, which the board did two years ago. And I like it. And yeah, the answer to your question is they will have a winning season. I don't know to what extent they can. But, I mean, this is no longer Hugh Freeze's operation. I mean, we're not making golf handicap jokes anymore. I mean, this is a real football coach down there. Yeah. Makes you wonder if Hugh's not staying at the Grand National on a golfing weekend. That'd be ironic, wouldn't it?

But, I mean, let me ask. He was finishing up at 18. Hey, I think we know each other. Where have we met before? Did you know I used to go to some of you guys? Yeah. Don't remember your name, but thanks for putting me in this position. But, Paul, who's going to be the biggest surprise in the SEC this season? You know, I'll tell you who it's not going to be, and that's Oklahoma. Everybody, y'all, I love Oklahoma. Look at their schedule, okay? It is. You will not love them much longer.

I think Auburn, I'll tell you what. The winner of the Auburn-Florida game on September 19th, I think, has a chance to really be good. Because that is a critical game, and there are a lot of those type of games that's cool. Tennessee has one of those as well, where you better win that one game. They call them 50-50 games for a reason, and that's a 50-50 game. Let me ask you about where we're going. The college football playoff committee met. It was probably another futile exercise in futility.

[26:13] I know you talked to Greg Sankey in Tampa. Your thoughts on where we're going with this. They can't, obviously, the Big Ten won't you 24. Greg Sankey has dug his heels in at either 12 or 16. Do you see some resolution coming to this before the end of the year? Probably not. At some point, they're going to have to make a decision, and I think what they'll do is they'll compromise. They'll go to 16 for X number of years and agree to go to 24. The 24 train has been out there now, and most coaches want it, so I think we're going to end up there.

The television part of it, I really don't care about, even though I work at ESPN. I just want to see a resolution, and I want to see real games. I don't want to see Liberty and Oregon and James Madison and Ole Miss or whatever, or Tulane, whatever it was. So, Paul, before we jump off, what about you old boys on Rocky Top? Tennessee, obviously, comes on with the honeymoon year, and since then, the planes leveled out. One thing about it, they've raised the money. A hundred and seventy-five and a half mil is in the bank, so Danny White's doing his job.

Will Heimple do his job and make those fans happy and get an ROI, a return on their investment this season? You know, I don't think so. I didn't mean to veer off there, but I talked to Heimple three weeks ago, and he's pretty upbeat, but he didn't fool me because he really doesn't have a quarterback that I think he can trust. He may, but regardless, it's going to be a bit of an unknown. And he's got a schedule, too, that he's not going to beat Texas.

I'm going to tell you that right now. He better beat Georgia Tech. But the game, I mentioned that Auburn-Florida game, he has to beat Alabama. There's no getting around it because if he can beat Alabama, I think there's a chance of some momentum for November. He's got a thing going for him in November that I like. He's got LSU, and you go, hold on a second. But I think LSU is either going to be 10-2 and in the playoffs, or they're going to bomb out in September.

And by the time they get to that game, they may not have anything left. So that, to me, is going to determine a lot of different factions here, whether – but Tennessee, the game of the year is Alabama. I know that sounds like I'm giving you a cliche, but this year, more than ever before. Paul, we know you've got a busy schedule that won't keep you, but I guess the question now, if Tufts gets elected to be the governor, who's he going to root for at the Iron Bowl?

Will he have a pom-pom of each, or is he just going to go ahead and say, you know what, I'm in the office now, War Eagle? You know, guys, I was with him Saturday morning. We were at the same event. And, you know, whatever you think about his politics, he is going to be the most influential person in the state of Alabama when it comes to athletics. And I think he's an Auburn man, I really do. I cannot imagine Tuberville rooting for Alabama because he knows Saban is still around there.

But I'll tell you one thing, though. Alabama, he will have very little control over. But you don't want to be that Auburn coach and you're on the hot seat with Tommy Tuberville as the governor. He will fire you. I guarantee you, he's got your number. You can run, but you can't hide it. Paul, we know you're busy. We had to get to you today because we know you're about to get busy. We may not be able to talk again until the fish start biting in April.

So hopefully we can. But thank you so much for your time today and all the best this season. It is always a pleasure, guys. I hope to see you soon. Thank you, Paul. Absolutely. The one, the only Paul Feinbaum. The rest of the story with Paul after the Boom Home Bunk Show right after 2 o'clock here on 93.9 The Score. But first time to talk Ty with Rodney Orr next. Stay with us. Back to school starts now. Get long-lasting battery life on the Dell XPS laptop powered by Series 3 Intel Core so you can work from anywhere.

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Welcome back in. It is an absolute pleasure for us to welcome the man who basically is at the helm of the world's most interactive web page, if you will, website, when it comes to talking Tide every day, 24-7. Rodney Orr, founder and editor of TiderInsider.com and the fine author of Bigger Than Bama. Rodney, welcome in. How are you? I'm doing well, guys. How's it going? Hey, Ben. Man, we're doing all right. Rodney, obviously getting closer, getting closer, getting closer. We just got done talking with a guy named Paul Feinbaum and his vibe about this year compared to years past.

And basically, in effect, he had memories of the vibe coming in, not that great in talking to fans. But I still say, if I am a coach, I don't care where they put us in August. I'm only concerned of where they are in December and January, more important than January. Rodney, as we inch closer to that all-important scrimmage, your thoughts, the vibe now of what you're hearing coming out of the football building. Well, you know, it's interesting. I've waffled back and forth, you know, throughout the off-season about what to really think about the direction and where this is going to go.

Because we've seen a lot of really good things, but we've also seen some things that bring up legitimate questions, right? Head scratchers, right. Yeah, head scratchers, for sure. But, you know, at the same time, I think that it's kind of moved on and moved into camp. My feelings about things seem to be more positive, just the things that you sense, the things that you see. Because when you have an opportunity to see the team, you know, on the hoof, hear some things behind the scenes, you get a really good feeling about the direction that you're hearing things are headed and what you see.

And when I say what you see, I'm talking about physically the defensive line, the offensive line. And this is the thing that I think most people have talked about over the course of the off-season was, you know, are we going to be better in the trenches? That's what Alabama fans are asking. Are we going to be better in the trenches? And I think when you look at the guys they brought in on both sides of the ball, defensive line, you know the guys, Terrence Green, Kedrick Bingley-Jones, Devin Tompkins.

[36:52] On the other side of the ball, of course, Rayson Delgatti at center, Javon James, Nick Brooks battling out at right tackle, the emergence now, of course, of Jackson Lloyd at left tackle, those guys and some of the other players that they have, clearly Michael Carroll at right guard, you kind of see a lot of potential there. I mean, you look at them physically, Harold and Brett. I looked at the offensive line. First time I really could get a good glimpse of them. And, you know, you can tell more when you see them in pads, too, because they're shorts, they're baggy, and all of that stuff.

But when you see them decked out in those pads, man, you can really see that this team physically looks better than it did a year ago. I mean, they look closer in the trenches to what I would say is a top-level SEC, whether it's offense or defense line. Now, again, I'm talking about looks. I'm not talking about that they're going to go out and dominate the trenches. That remains to be seen. What are you hearing as far as the coaching staff? Because you can look like Tarzan but play like Gene.

And I think that's been the knock on this team over the last two or three years. Okay, okay, okay, but are you tough? Where is this coaching staff that made changes, especially on the O-line and other places, where is this current coaching staff putting the bar? In other words, before it's like, well, we don't want to hurt your feelings because you may transfer, so we'll give you ice cream. Is that the demeanor now? Are they going to say, you know what, if you want to earn your money and you've got a place here, otherwise, pick a door.

The room's got several. Well, you know, I think that sometimes, you know, it's, look, Alabama's a different place. Right. And when you don't understand Alabama and the SEC, you know, it takes a little adjustment, I think. In that order, too. Yeah. And so I think that, you know, I think there's some adjustments being made. I mean, I think, obviously, that some of the changes they've made in the staff, obviously, they went out and got some bigger guys in the trenches. So there's some learning that I think there's been a learning curve for Kalen DeBoer and his staff.

And so I think that's fair to say. And you know what? Here's the thing. People shouldn't be critical of that. That's right. Because until you experience something, it's hard to really know. Yeah, that's correct. The question is, once you are in that position and you see the adjustments, do you make them? Thank you. Now, obviously, they made some adjustments. How will those, what will the results look like? I mean, I think that obviously still remains to be seen. But, you know, to be critical of someone who hasn't been in this kind of position before and, you know, understanding of what it's all about, give him credit, man.

He's made some changes, and let's see what happens. Let me ask you about some of those changes. Richard Owens is the tight end coach. He's a former offensive line coach. I think that has been a good marriage with Adrian Clem. And I think Adrian Clem is a much better technician on the offensive line than Coach Kaplick. Coach Kaplick was a very good recruiter. I don't know as far as a technician. Now, one that's gotten a lot of praise is a 12-year veteran, former Alabama defensive tackle, NFL linebacker, Jarrett Johnson, out there in his Ironman padding.

And he is intense. He had one of the players apologize to him. He said, man, you don't need to apologize to me for hitting me. But, Ronnie, I keep, again, you're right. He made some changes. But those three changes, as far as his coaching staff, I think are going to pay dividends. No doubt. I mean, I think, like you said, Clem and Owens, I think they're working well together. I've heard some really positive things about Owens, you know, tight ends and the things that they do.

Now, they went out and got some personnel, too. I mean, they went and got Josh Ford at tight end, who I'm hearing, you know, absolute rave about in terms of what he's going to do in the run game at 6'6", 265 pounds, that they think he can do. Now, again, we can be positive when we hear all these things and see all these things. But we do understand that ultimately it's what happens on Saturday. But with that said, because I like to throw that in there now, because people, Harold and Britt, you know this better than anyone.

I mean, people will hold you to this and think you're predicting national championship when that's not what's happening. But I am impressed with that. And you mentioned Jarrett Johnson brought in. Well, I say brought in. He's actually, you know, more or less a GA in the school, I think, finishing up. And, you know, they brought in Trent Simpson from Oklahoma, too. But Jarrett Johnson, just watching him the other day, guys, I mean, I went in with the intent of watching every position but the defensive line because I'd already kind of talked about them.

But you hear Jarrett Johnson out there and what he's doing in these drills, and you see him and the way he relates to the players and the instruction that he gives them. And you're right, Brett. I mean, I had that piece about him. He got popped in the chin pretty good. I mean, he's not wearing pads, you know. He gets popped in the chin pretty good. And he tells the guy, hey, man, don't apologize, man. Just convert that speed. Convert power to speed. I mean, it's always an instruction.

[42:17] Well put. Rodney Orr, tighterinsider.com. Rodney, you have the benefit, any reporter would tell you, that you're on as good as your sources. And you've got a lot in there, tighter insider. Have you talked with anybody who has a special insight as far as positions, maybe at the running back spot? Because let's face it, the O-line has been much talked about. But the running backs, how much of it was on the O-line? How much of it was on the running backs? May not be able to live up to the Alabama standard last season.

What are you hearing as far as some of the insiders and how they're evaluating the RB room? Well, it sounds pretty good. I think there's a lot. Again, you look at Daniel Hill. He lost 20 pounds. I mean, he's down from about 250 to 230. His feet are quicker. That's certainly going to help him be a better player. I think when you look at Kevin Riley, he got a little bigger. He's extremely quick. He's really versatile. AK Deer has made a ton of progress. We reported that, you know, on August the 7th.

And growing up. He had a ton of progress. He grubs, raved about him at times. And he is very explosive. He is a dynamic player with great vision and all of those things. But the question was, this isn't Quitman, Mississippi. You've got to be able to do all the things that it takes at a running back spot, whether it's understand the checks, pick up the blitz, be willing to block, catch the football, whatever it is. So he's kind of coming around in that way. And I think, I don't know that it's exactly the same, but people ask about E.J. Croyle.

I think it's the same thing. I mean, I think it's just a matter of, you know, you've got to learn everything that goes with this. That's right. You know, it's not as easy as, it was not 1980 when they just turned around and pitched it to Herschel 30 times. You know? I mean, there's a lot more to do in these offenses nowadays. Ronnie, who's going to be the backup center? Ray Sandel Gotti is, I've heard very good things about him. Chris Booker, supposedly, I know, was in line or second in line.

But they've got some guys. Mel Waltrip has got rave reviews, maybe even taking over left guard. Casey Poe, there are some other, there's some, I really think Waltrip's going to play somewhere. Certainly, eventually, who could be the backup center? Well, I mean, I like Waltrip. I mean, I know he's at left guard. He was yesterday. But, you know, he mixes in there. We only get a limited amount of time. But you mentioned the other guys. I think physically, I'm not sure if Booker's ready yet. Yeah, I agree.

You know, Strayhorn. Yeah. I haven't really seen him out there. I mean, I know he's out there. But, I mean, I haven't seen enough of him. I know that he was getting bigger physically. He played some at Michigan last year. You know, so, right now, I can't sit here and tell you exactly who would be. But I do like Mel Waltrip. I mean, I look at him physically, and he's impressive. I tell you, who else is really impressive? I miss spring practice. But Will Sanders looks great at left guard.

I'm talking about on the hoof. I mean, they've got some real bodies up front. You look at Jackson Lloyd, you know, Mal Waltrip, Will Sanders, Michael Carroll, obviously, Dave and James, Nick Brooks. And I'm forgetting something. Now, I'll tell you a guy, I throw a future beast at you. I put him in my future beast yesterday. Jerry Graham, left tackle. I mean, this guy's a freshman. He's about 6'6", 300. I mean, he looks fabulous. He looks like a guy athletically and on the hoof that's going to be a real potential player in the future.

So, they've got a lot of young guys to miss him. But as far as your question, let me say this, Brett, to Harold. I didn't mention Treshawn Brown at running back. And thoroughly impressed with Treshawn Brown, the true freshman. You saw him in A-Day. He continues to really catch people's attention. I mean, I think he's really good. Let me ask you this, Rodney. As far as you know, Alabama fans are going to be focusing in a hurry on changes with Ryan Grubb's playbook. Will he emphasize the run more?

Probably, if you ask him, he says, man, if you was in my shoes last year, you know why we didn't do it more. We didn't have anybody to block and the running backs weren't tough. What would be Ryan Grubb's opinion as far as emphasizing the running game? Which has been a knock on him all the way back to the West Coast with Washington and then the NFL. Yeah, you know, I think they understand, again, there's some adjustments that have to take place. I think they understand that, you know, they have to be a lot more effective running the football.

Now, I think their offense is going to be such that I caught some heat last week on Titer and Sider for saying this, and it wasn't a criticism of Ty Simpson at all. But I think they feel like they have quarterbacks now. They were hand-picked. These were two guys that they hand-picked. Right, yeah. With their arm strength, which is another level, both of those guys can make throws in spots. Stretch the field. Not a lot of guys can do it, Harold and Brett. They can make throws accurately on a consistent basis that maybe they felt like they couldn't last year.

[47:44] And some of that might have been down the stretch. Ty was injured. I get it that Ty was a first-round draft pick. Okay? That doesn't really have anything to do with this. Mack and Keelan Russell, who knows, one of those guys may be first-round draft pick someday. They certainly have potential. But that's what I'm saying. Here's what you're talking about, the run game. Their ability to touch all those areas of the field, I know that the coaching staff feels like that. With that ability, it's going to spread defenses out in a way that they're going to really have to respect the entire field a little bit more.

And they think that's going to help open up some lanes in the run game. Let me ask you about two other offensive linemen, if they caught your attention or not. Ethan Fields has gotten some notice, and particularly in the spring, Terrell Miller. Did you notice either one of those two guys, Rodney? Both of them. 75 is Fields and 65. Yeah. I think, who was the other one you asked? No, Fields and Miller. Yeah, Miller, 65, I think. So, yeah, both of those guys did. Miller, especially yesterday when I was watching him work, because I haven't seen him a lot.

He's a transfer with Juco or whatever, and I haven't seen a lot of him. But yesterday I did. I was impressed with him physically. I think he's about 6'5", 3'15", somewhere in there. Yeah. And I thought he looked good. Now, I'm telling you, there's a lot of those guys up front, like I said. I was impressed by him. But Ethan Fields is battling there at left guard, too. But I think he's probably behind those other two guys, Will Sanders and Mal Waldrop right now. Ronnie, isn't the, at least on the hoof again, the tight ends, we talk about Ford knocking your head off.

But they got about five of those dudes who average about 6'5", 260. Yeah. Yeah. I tell you what, Caleb Edwards. Yeah. We knew about him, of course, but I've heard some really good things about him after the weekend practice that they had on Sunday, how good he looked, too, along with Ford. And then you mentioned Danny Lewis. I think they're really pleased with Danny Lewis. He's responded really well to his injury, the rehab that he had. So I think they feel like he's a guy that's certainly going to be able to help them.

And then, of course, Marshall Pritchett, who last year was a freshman, really athletic. Now, he's a receiver, but he also can do a lot of other things. He's a physical guy. And then I think the true freshman, Max Sutter, is going to be really good, too. I just don't know how many he's going to get on the field this year, but he's good. And then at wide receiver, hearing a lot of great things about Derrick Meadows, 6'5", 215 pounds, legit speed, Sedarian Morgan. And, you know, because they're going to obviously need some guys to step up.

When Noah Rodgers out, you know, Rico Scott, of course, seems like he's having a good camp. We know about Ryan Williams and, of course, Lachier Brooks. Tell us two things. One, where we can get online on the website, 24-7 message board, TITV, where we can buy your book. And what have you heard about special teams? Again, I know it's early in camp. They've got a scrimmage tomorrow. Quinn, Talty, Watford, the punter. Have you heard anything about special teams yet? You know what? This is 29 years I've been covering practices.

29. And, you know, we never even see the kickers. I mean, they're somewhere tucked away. I don't know if they don't want anybody to see them or what. But you just never see them. And, no, you don't hear a lot about them right now. Now, tomorrow, or, yeah, tomorrow's the first scrimmage. Right. That's when we'll start hearing. That's when they'll finally, you know, come out and people will be able to get a close eye on them. So, looking forward to hearing all those guys. And I can tell you, I'm really high on Lorcan Quinn.

That's not taking anything from Talty. But Lorcan Quinn seems like a real talent. He's a place kicker. But, yeah, for tighterinsider.com, 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. And that gives you all the premium information, all the on-the-hoof reports and that stuff, tighterinsider.tv from last night. And then also, of course, our all-sports forum, which is nonstop there, on tighterinsider.com. Basketball talk, too. And then the book, Bigger Than Bama.

You can go to Amazon or you can go to rodneyor.com and plug in Bigger Than Bama. You've got all the details there. Good time and lots of eyes on you, Rodney. Good luck with that. And thanks so much for your time today. Hey, I appreciate it, guys. Take care. Thank you, bud. Rodney Orr, tighterinsider.com. Coming up in the next hour, more Tide and Tiger Talk with Drew DeArmond and Nathan King and Scarbo Nose. The details straight ahead in the second hour of the Wimble Bug Show.

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Your ears burn. You yearn for Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy to profess their undying love for one another. You can't bear it any longer. Well, maybe a chapter longer. Performance is so good, you'll give love a second chance. Audible. Stories that speak to you. This is Kenny Morrison, head football coach of the Florence Falcons, and you're listening to 93.9 The Score. We all hear the radio ads about the IRS. They tell you to be afraid, to be scared, and they try to frighten you into calling. I'm not here to do that.

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This fight by Rich has now been brought to the attention of a South African farmer, Jason Bartlett, who escaped from the oppression in that country and now lives in Huntsville. Bartlett has traveled to see Fenn Church's property and then posted a video that has already had 73,000 views. They are going to slam a power line with a 90 degree on it for no reason. When there's a spare 220 feet further on, there's literally an easement as well as a place for a power line that's already been cleared, but they don't want to use that.

They want to come straight over a hill through his property, right past his house. So not only does he lose his peace and quiet, he loses his freedom. I'll be back with more Alabama stories after this. Did you know that 70% of people experience a potentially traumatic event in their lifetime and that six out of every 100 adults face PTSD every day? Help us bring hope to these survivors by signing up for your Alabama distinctive PTSD awareness license plate today. The great thing is you can sign up no matter when your current plate renews and the first year is complimentary.

All you need is your Fenn number on hand, drive awareness, drive hope, and customize your plate today at at ease.org. That's A-T-E-A-S-E dot O-R-G. An Alabama insurance agent has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for falsifying claims. Jonathan Eubanks of Slocum will have to pay $30,000 in restitution as well. Federal prosecutors charged Eubanks with defrauding a federal crop insurance program with the use of forged signatures and fake documents. I'm Andrea Theis. For more news affecting Alabamians, go to 1819news.com. And while you're there, subscribe to the daily newsletter.

[58:05] Hey, it's Evan Cullen coming up Thursday. We continue to get you ready for football. Two-a-day Steelers, Aaron Rodgers, and his old team, Green Bay Packers. It's on Sportsman Life 6 a.m. Eastern right here on ESPN Radio, ESPN2, and ESPNU. Valley Broadcasting Corporation, WITK-FM, Rogersville, Athens, Decatur, the Shores. Sports Radio 93.9, the score. This is Jerome from Birmingham, previously from Paul Feinbaum's show. Let's check out Travis in Mobile, Alabama. Hello, Travis. Yes, Paul. How are you doing? We're doing great, Travis. Yes. Travis, I tell you what, I know you're near Mobile Bay, but for whatever reason, it sounded like maybe you were at the bottom of the bay.

The Paul Feinbaum Show, weekdays at 3 Eastern, on the ESPN app, and on the SEC network. Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN Radio. It's a critical showdown in the AL West. Gone! A line drive, home run to left center for Alvarez. While the Houston Astros are fighting for the top of the division, the Seattle Mariners are lurking a few games back, and they go head-to-head this weekend. Julio Rodriguez, a two-run flash. The Mariners at the Astros on Sunday Night Baseball. Coverage begins at 6.30 Eastern, with first pitch at 7.20 Eastern, on ESPN Radio, and on the ESPN app.

93.9, the score, weather. Today, a 20% chance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms, with a high around 95, and heat index values as high as 105. Heat warning is in effect. Tonight, partly cloudy, with a low near 75. Tomorrow, hot and sunny, with a high around 95. Tomorrow night, partly cloudy, with a low near 75. And for your Friday, sunny and hot, with a high around 95. 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 Brett Beaird. Thank you so much for giving us free ride around the Tennessee Valley and for checking in on the 93.9, the score out. Nathan King is busy following the Auburn Tigers there at Auburn 24-7. Nathan, welcome in. How are you? I am doing great. How are you guys?

I'm good. Yeah, we're doing all right. Appreciate you asking, Nathan. Obviously, it's getting close, close, close. Three weeks and some change to the first big weekend, a brand new era curtain coming up on this generation of Auburn Tigers. In your thoughts, Nathan, based on what you're able to see, more importantly, what you're able to hear coming out of the room, because I know what you see is limited, I would assume. What has been the biggest story that you're hearing out of camp so far for the Tigers?

Yeah, great question. Well, number one, getting healthy, and that's the case for any football team. And you get some dings and bruises in fall camp, but being out there today, you realize just how many setbacks there are on this team right now. Three guys in the secondary who aren't fully healthy. The parents will have Mr. Smith-Reed and Anquan Fagans are not out there. Of course, the Baylor transfer, Bryson Washington, is healthier now, but he hasn't necessarily been healthy there at running back. You hope that Stanton Ramil, the right tackle, is fully healthy.

He's been going, but was limited at the end of practice today. And so getting healthy is obviously what you want for any football team. But, you know, it's just kind of coming together with this offense right now, I think, is the number one thing. And seeing how they react when the pads come on. I think they feel really good about their process from the spring and into the summer. Like, that's one thing Alex Golesh mentioned at SEC Media Days was how much work this group put in, you know, learning the playbook and learning the scheme to the point where when fall camp kicked off, they felt like they were almost 100% done with their install.

That's a really good thing, and that gives you a great opportunity to progress in fall camp. But, obviously, you've got to go out there and play against the D.J. Durkin defense. And you've got to go hit some guys in pads. And so I think this Friday's scrimmage will be very telling of kind of the points of progress for this team right now and where they want to be. I think the defense feels pretty good about where they're at. Not to say the offense doesn't, but I just think they want to see it out on the field in Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday.

I will say they had a 70-yard passing touchdown when we were out there in practice today against the first-team defense. So that was pretty good. It's just taking little strides here and there on offense to get them where they want to be is probably the biggest point right now for this team. Nathan, let me ask you this. If you're an Auburn fan, you go to your first game and you're watching this team, what's going to be the one thing that's going to stand out different about this offense than Hugh Freeze's offense?

[1:03:06] I would assume starting with maybe, if you're an Auburn fan, maybe more efficient in the red zone. But what's going to be the one thing that's going to be the most noticeable difference between this offense and Hugh Freeze's offense? Yeah, quick decision-making. And I know that that was something that you felt like was the case under Hugh Freeze, or at least they wanted it to be. We heard over and over again from Freeze about the RPO offense. That never really came to fruition, and it was more clunky than anything.

I think for this team, it's going to be about making quick decisions in the run game, particularly with Byron Brown. I mean, that's the biggest thing that's going to stand out is watching 17 on offense. You have a quarterback who's so confident in this system, and a guy who can take off and run as well is going to be something. I know Jackson Arnold used his legs a little bit last season, but Byron Brown is the true, at least at USF, we'll see how it holds up now.

He was the true 15 to 20 carries of the game type of guy. But no, I think the warp speed of this offense as well is going to stand out. I think Auburn was 87th nationally in seconds per play last season, which is normal, pretty average. USF was number one, so they're going to run plays really, really fast. You'll see drives that are either going to go really fast and get to the end zone, or if they go three and out, it might take 10 seconds. So that's definitely going to be a change as well.

You mentioned Stanton Rameel. Ty Buster is out for maybe half the season. Hopefully, it's going to be shorter than that. But how is Auburn working around Buster's injury and your thoughts so far on the offensive line coming together? Yeah, a new name to mention today is Jacob Strand, the Oregon State transfer. I think with Ty Buster being out, look, it's important to have a swing guy. That's just kind of a valuable player that each staff wants to identify. That was Ty Buster. You can move him around any position, and he was kind of the sixth man, or he was in the starting group in the spring.

Jacob Strand is that guy now. We saw him working as the backup left tackle earlier in camp. I think he's still there. But today, you saw him at left guard. He was the starting left guard over Derek Plaz, the Miami transfer. We've talked about Plaz going back to the spring. I think he's a really good player, and he could still be a starter. But there's a competition that has arisen in the second week of fall camp. I think there is a legitimate competition now at left guard.

And you mentioned how that group is coming together overall. I think the progression of Cole Skinner at right guard is a really big deal. He was always going to be an important player from the second Alex Golesh said Ty Buster's injured. Because all of a sudden, there's really – we talked about it going back to the spring with you guys. We kind of thought Ty Buster would be there at right guard no matter what. He would beat out Cole Skinner in the end. Well, Ty Buster's not there anymore.

Cole Skinner has to be the guy at right guard. We've heard nothing but glowing things about him. He has a really, really good summer. And has progressed really well in this scheme, being a USF guy that has plenty of familiarity. So, he's done a good job. But, no, Jacob Strand was the name of probably the last couple days. Moved in now there at left guard. And I think we've got a bona fide starting offensive line competition on our hands there with him and Derek Walsh. Nathan King, Auburn 24-7.

Nathan, obviously, if you're going to win a championship, you've got to have a bench, so to speak. You've got to have depth. And the flip side of the situation, as you mentioned in the outset of the interview, is a lot of the guys are out, which means somebody else is getting invaluable experience on the practice field. But, overall, where do you put Auburn as far as depth, the position where they're deepest, and the one position where Auburn fans are holding their breath that they hope they do not have any injuries?

Yeah, I mean, you look at linebacker right now, you feel like you have four players who are SEC caliber. Like, you have Xavier Atkins, who's an All-American. You have two sophomores, and Melendez, and Diaz, who were really good. Last season, then you have DeMarcus Riddick. You feel like you're the deepest player. Safety and nickel. I know I just mentioned all those injuries, but, like, the injuries almost showed how deep that group is because new boy Fagans isn't out there, but Champ Anthony's at nickel. Well, Champ Anthony's a pretty decent player.

You know, Caleb Harris isn't out there at safety, so you have Fred Gaskin. Fred Gaskin was first-team all-conference last year at USF, but he's just kind of been forgotten about because now he's at Auburn when they've got a lot of good safety. So, those two groups on defense, and you mentioned, you know, not having an injury and wanting to be a deep group, but maybe having some question marks. For me, it's that offensive line. I mean, we just mentioned it. Like, I just don't, especially with, maybe that's cheating because they already had an injury or tie buster, but that is a group that instantly moves up and is probably the most concerning.

They just, they have to click. Colbeth has to be really good at center. You just would hate to get, you know, a couple weeks in and, oh, Stanton Ramil's injury's flared back up. Like, what on earth are you going to do at tackle without tie buster? You probably have to move Jacob Strand out there. And so, yeah, that's definitely a thin group. Cornerback as well. Like, I feel really good about Rayshawn Pleasant and Andre Jordan Jr., who are the starters, but they've got a competition for depth there, but, like, none of those guys are proven.

[1:08:11] None of those guys have any experience. But, you know, it comes back to the offensive line for me, which, look, that's scary. That's not what you want to be saying as a football coach is that you're worried about your offensive line depth, and obviously that puts even more emphasis on that group heading into the season and for them to be healthy. I know we'll know a little bit more Friday with the scrimmage, but going into summer camp, Keyshawn Singleton, Chase Nimrod, Jeremiah Koger, thought process, maybe the first three in the rotation.

Who's four? Deshawn Spencer, Sam Turner, Bryce Kane, et cetera, et cetera. In your opinion right now, or from what you've heard, who might be that fourth or fifth receiver in the rotation? Yeah, really good question, because you're exactly right. You felt like you kind of knew what you were getting with those USF guys. For the number four spot, I would say it was kind of a tie between Deshawn Spencer and a name we haven't mentioned a lot, Christian Neptune. He was a player who was injured for a lot of the spring, had 366 yards last year at USF, so, like, a guy who's done it before.

He just had an injury. Now that he's back in the mix, he's been that number two slot guy behind Chaz Nimrod, working with Deshawn Spencer there. We heard today from the special teams coordinator that Neptune is the number one punt returner, so, like, he's getting in the mix a little bit more. It's funny, you know, you mentioned Spencer. Like, he was a starter last week. He was working with the first team group a lot. They were pushing Chaz Nimrod to the outside because they wanted to play Spencer at slot.

They were challenging Jeremiah Koger to be better. They're like, hey, man, like, this freshman's going to come in and play more than you. Like, you need to be better. Well, Jeremiah Koger had a 70-yard touchdown today. We've heard he's been really good the last couple days. He was back in that starting group today. So, I think at the end of it, you know, all told when the season starts, I think those USF guys will be the three starters. Deshawn Spencer is going to play a little bit there in the slot, and then Christian Neptune can move around.

Probably rounding things out would be Sam Turner. He's a little bit bigger of a guy on the outside. I would say those six names I mentioned, you know, Auburn will play five or six receivers this season, and it's probably going to be some combination of those guys. Get your Tiger talk with Nathan. Nathan King, 24-7 sports there at Auburn Undercover. Nathan, obviously, you've got to believe these coaches know pretty much who's in and who's out. But, sometimes scrimmage, it's always, this is it, showtime for other positions.

In your opinion, as far as a person or a position, you mentioned a scrimmage on Friday. Is there such a thing as to make it or break it for any position or any player, depending on how they do or don't do in Friday's scrimmage? Yep, I think there absolutely is. And you're looking at three spots, I think. I was thinking about it today. I mentioned Jacob Strand versus Derek Laws. I think they're both going to get their opportunities at left guard. You want to see, as the coaching staff, them hold up against that first-team defense.

Those are guys we'll be keeping an eye on. I mentioned cornerback, Gavin Jenkins versus Blake Woodby for those number three reps. We've seen the last two practices, Jenkins and Woodby are actually the number, they're the starting corners. And the reason for that is the staff is saying, you guys are going to go out and prove it. We're going to put you against the best receivers on the field. Obviously, those other guys are going to be the actual starters, but they're giving them more of an opportunity there.

So, I'll be watching those guys. And then for the number three running back spot, I think it's pretty clear now, Jeremiah Cobb and Omar Matson are the ones who punch Omar has just had an incredible offseason. Is Bryce and Washington going to step up, you know, the Baylor transfer? It's him or Nakai Davenport. And you guys know, I mean, I know you like to have depth, but you really can't give carries to more than two or three guys. So, somebody's going to be the odd man out there.

I would expect you see Davenport and Bryce and Washington get the lion's share of carries in the scrimmage. Because I think they know what they have in those other guys. Jeremiah Cobb is obvious. Like, you don't need to do much from him at all. Omar has been really good. You'll give him a few carries. But no, those other two guys, I would expect them to get the bulk of the work with the first-team offense. The coaching staff is going to put them in that position and say, all right, guys, who's going to step up?

And then, obviously, that'll be valuable data for them to start to narrow down reps in practice next week. We've mentioned a lot of names. I know you mentioned Christian Neptune as a surprise. Anyone else who's come out of nowhere, for lack of a better word, who's had a good summer camp that surprised you? Yeah, I mean, I think when you're talking about names, you know, I feel like going through the offseason, like, we've talked about the guys who had good offseasons. Omar Matson, Deshaun Spencer, Elijah Melendez, the linebacker.

Like, we know those guys. But getting into camp, Jacob Strand was one that kind of popped that we weren't necessarily expecting. Cole Skinner, again, I don't know how much of that is him having a good summer and how much of it is just, like I mentioned, the necessity of, like, you need to be really good. I'll mention one more, Dallas Walker at nose tackle. He told us the other day he's down 30 pounds from last season. And, look, big guy, like 6'4", he played us last year at 360 pounds.

He said that just didn't feel good. Like, he knew he needed to lose weight. So, we've heard from a couple guys that he's been more explosive. I think you're starting to see him take charge. So, you know, Bobby Jamison Travis was a good nose tackle for them last year. He was a sixth-round NFL draft pick. I thought he was kind of an underrated player. I'm not saying Dallas Walker is going to be an NFL draft pick, but if he can kind of hold up that spot, do much of the same sort of thing, demand some attention because of his size, open doors for Xavier Atkins, open doors for Jared Smith, that's really important.

[1:13:38] So, I think, again, I'm not saying he's going to be a star player, but, like, Dallas Walker hearing good things about him at the start of camp I think is important for that D-line. Listen, great stuff. I know you're busy. Thank you so much for taking a few minutes out to give us a little bit of an update. Incredible coverage. That you've got on Auburn 247. Do you have any specials for any Auburn fans who'd like to jump on board, and where can we get on line to get all the good stuff?

Yeah, nobody tees me up for these better than you guys. I appreciate that every single time of lining up. Yeah, we've got 60% off right now. If you can't tell by this conversation, we're getting in the weeds. Like, it is no longer for the casual fan. It is now talking about backup cornerback. It is now talking about number three running back. So, if you're an Auburn junkie and want to know everything there is to know, we've got you covered head-to-toe every single day, me and Jason over there at fall camp.

So, armor247.com, you can join us for 60% off. That's less than $5 a month. We'd love to have you. Absolutely. Nathan King talking a little bit of Auburn. When we come back to the Bumo Buck Show, Kevin Scarbinsky and his opinion on Alabama and Auburn and a bunch of other stuff when we return to the Bumo Buck Show on 93.9. Let's go. It doesn't matter if you're running grills at the park, playing pickup on a Saturday, or sinking the final putt. When you compete with your friends with Michelob Ultra on the line, competition isn't that friendly.

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[1:18:53] Kevin Scarberry, you've got you covered. That's the Birmingham News online at AL.com. Behind the microphone and on the tube, on the call for the Alabama High School Athletic Association Football Super 7, the State Basketball Finals, and the caveat, Scarbo knows is his podcast. Kevin, welcome in. How are you? Wait a minute, Harold. Did you just say that I have multiple personalities? I know. I know I've been accused of being both an Alabama fan and an Auburn fan, so maybe that qualifies. You could be the governor of the state.

We were joking earlier today with a guy named Feinbaum, Kevin. If Tubbs gets elected, who's he going to root for at the Iron Bowl? Oh, that is an excellent question. He'll probably get one of those. I know you guys have seen these. Those ugly half-and-half jerseys or T-shirts that parents wear when they have one child that goes to one school and another child that goes to a rival school, and they have to be split down the middle 50-50. Kevin, where are you when it comes to split coming into the season between Alabama and Auburn?

Right now, which fan base is going to be happier come December? Where's the vibe for Kevin Scarbinsky because you've been around it a long time, too, and you just kind of sit here and try to get a pulse. I can't do it. I've been wrong too many times. So I ask you, Kevin, where are you starting with Alabama coming into the season? Well, I think we've all been wrong in the preseason before if you've tried to predict what's going to happen during the upcoming season. So what I'm doing, and in fact, I'm doing this on my podcast this week.

I'm trying to be positive. I'm trying to ask the question, what if these teams hit their ceiling? What if the quarterback battle at Alabama, whoever wins it, what if that guy steps up? And by the way, this is an incredible fun fact. I'll give you a little tease on tonight's podcast. Do you know the last 10 first year, not one, not two, but 10, the last 10 first year starting quarterbacks at Alabama have taken the team to either the BCS championship game or the college football play? Is that any good?

That is good. You get another star for that, Kevin. Google this, my friend. Congratulations on that. Where's the motivating factor? If this team, last year, I think, basically, they sat there and just from afar, this is nothing documented. They drank the Kool-Aid last year heading into the season with Florida State. Everybody was sitting here throwing the verbal bouquets on this team. It's great. Second year, DeBoer always does well. In his second year, he's had his honeymoon, blah, blah, blah. Where's this team from that standpoint now when they look here?

We saw one yesterday, Kevin, the lowest poll since 2008. And the way we framed it was if you are a senior in high school or a freshman in college and you're an Alabama fan, you've never seen a team be ranked this low in the preseason poll. To me, if I'm a coach, that's all the motivating factor I need. Yeah, if this team and this staff have anything to them, and I think they do, they had their egos bruised last year at the end of the season. They had their manhood questioned all offseason, really, since that Rose Bowl debacle.

And you can pile on with the SEC championship game loss as well. It's almost as if people have forgotten that they won a playoff game, and they did it on the road after trailing 17-0 in Northern, Oklahoma. So they have all the motivation they need. And I think people may be overlooking the fact that they've got tons of talent still on that team. They've got a lot of talent. You know, we don't know how good is the offensive line going to be. To me, that's more important than the quarterback question, than the running back question, than any other question you might have about that team.

If that bunch can maybe play beyond its expectations, last year's offensive line clearly performed beneath its expectations. But if they can step up and play together and create some kind of positive ground game, you don't have to. As a column I wrote the other day in the Birmingham News, you don't have to run for 400 yards a game. You don't have to be a service academy. Or you don't have to run for 200 yards a game to win a national championship. But you have to be competent in the run game.

And then you can, obviously, that will just make your passing game all the more effective. So, I think the ceiling is still high for this Alabama team. Whether they reach it or not, who knows. But I think you're underselling them if you think they're not capable of getting back to the SEC championship game and getting back to the playoff and maybe sticking around a little longer when they do. Kevin, just to follow quickly on that, as we mentioned at the top, you are on the call for the high school championship games.

[1:23:54] You saw EJ Crowell. You've seen running backs come through here. And everybody, it seems, will always say, well, boy, this is the best one ever. And we know it's one thing to do what he did at the high school level against that competition. It's going to be another one at this one. You've got to learn the system blocking, et cetera. But where do you put, based on what you have seen, you follow a lot of kids coming in out of high school in this level. Where do you put Crowell's potential?

Oh, I think the sky's the limit for him. If he has the work ethic, which I believe he does, I understand he does, from people who know him well, and he continues that, I think he will be a dominant force in that offense. Maybe not against East Carolina on September 5th. Maybe not this season at all. I think he'll contribute this season, whether he steps up and becomes RB1 or not remains to be seen. But I think he's got a world of potential because he just did things that were so special watching him on the high school level.

Even at the championship high school level, he was a cut above. He stood out even among some of the best players in the state in Class 4A. And I saw him do things up close and personal that not a lot of backs can do. So, no, I have very high expectations for what he's going to accomplish in Tuscaloosa. You had another very good article about the league itself. The SEC has one big problem that Congress can't solve. And, of course, the Protect Sports Act is now on recess.

We'll see where that goes when they come back in September. That's scheduling. And Harold and I talked about this last week. Listen, the non-conference schedule in the Big Ten is comical. The Indiana non-conference schedule for the next five years, their toughest team is Austin Peay. And people think I'm kidding, but I'm not. And, again, when it comes to, and we'll hear this argument again in December, will the college football playoff committee look at the SEC's strength of schedule? Because the Big Ten doesn't have one. And, Kevin, again, North Alabama, UNA, they're going to be playing Arkansas second game of the year.

I have no problem with one game, but the Big Ten, they play three. Summarize your article for us with the SEC and what big problem they have that Congress can't fix. Well, you framed it very well. And it's not just that they're playing, you know, three punching bags throughout in their non-conference schedule. It's they open the season with them back to back to back. Yes, yes. So, it's like playing exhibition games, especially if you're breaking in a new quarterback. Right. You can make mistakes early that will not cost you a game.

That if you made them against, and credit to Ohio State, because they have continued to schedule tough. They didn't do it in their national championship year, coincidentally. They didn't play a power four non-conference game. But, they're playing at Texas this year in the second of a home-and-home. They don't have that luxury. Of course, Julian Sane is a returning starter. But, if he makes mistakes in Austin, Texas, it could cost them the game. Same thing for Arch Manning. So, this is what I don't understand about Craig Sankey and the league's approach on this subject.

First of all, I think they've tried to do far, far, far too much with that Protect College Sports Act. I think you start small. You get limited antitrust exemptions for things like allowing the NCAA to decide who can play college sports and for how long. And regulating the transfer portal. If you just did those two things, you would make college sports a lot better and a lot more sane to a lot of people. But, the scheduling portion of it, that's something that would not require an act of Congress.

You could get the power four commissioners on the phone today if you could get them to agree and say, Look, guys, we know that the playing field will never be level completely. We know that with these expanded conferences, there are vast disparities even in conference schedules from one team to another. You want to talk about a powder puff schedule? Look at Penn State this year. Oh, no. Holy cow. Exactly. It's embarrassingly soft. But they ought to be able to agree, okay, everybody plays nine conference games.

Everybody plays one non-conference game against a power conference opponent. And then if you want to play Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy Kreme and the other two, that's fine. But at least there is some baseline of consistent comparison there. And I don't know why the SEC has it. Maybe they have pushed for it and they've just gotten too much pushback. I don't know. But that would be very high on my agenda if I were the SEC commissioner to get some sanity on that scheduling subject. Harold alluded to it a little bit earlier.

[1:29:00] As you know, Harold and I love high school football. You do a tremendous job quarterbacking what used to be the Super 7 and then, of course, Legacy Arena for basketball. The games are going to begin. I know there are going to be some jamborees Friday. The week zero begins a week from Friday. The game of the week on Alabama Public TV, I think this is marvelous. I wish they had even more of them. Talk about your role in it. When does it begin and your thoughts about Alabama Public TV beginning the game of the week this season?

Yeah, we actually start a week from Thursday. Next Thursday, the 20th, we'll be in Montgomery. We've got a doubleheader. We've got a top-flight flag football game featuring Central Phoenix City, which has – I've lost track of how many games in a row they've won. Their winning streak is absurd. They may be the best high school flag football team in the country. I think they were actually ranked number one at the end of the last season, the last two seasons maybe. And then in the tackle football portion of the festivities, we've got Thompson and Central Phoenix City.

And we saw them, of course. We've seen them in the state championship game. We saw them in the semifinals last year. We were down in Phoenix City for that game. So, yeah, starting next Thursday and every Thursday through the regular season, we will be on site at a high school football game around the state. We'll have an hour-long pregame show, our version of college game day, without any loudmouth ex-punters involved. And we will – and reminder, it's on Alabama Public Television. It's from 5 o'clock to 6 o'clock. We don't run right up to kickoff.

We go from 5 to 6, and that affords us the opportunity, and the coaches have been great about this. We get the coaches on live. And often we get them on together, the opposing head coaches, which makes for an interesting dynamic, which we wouldn't be able to do if we went from 6 to 7 right up to kickoff. So I'm really looking forward to doing it again. And I appreciate the Alabama High School Athletic Association and the partnership with Alabama Public Television and the AHSAA TV network, led by Vince Early and his crew.

They just do an outstanding job. I'm just glad to be a part of the team and ready to get cranked up again next Thursday. In fact, Dashler and Brooks in midseason is going to be the game of the week. I certainly look forward to that. Listen, you know we enjoy how much we enjoy talking with you about any subject in sports under the sun. Where can we get online and get Scarbott, the podcast, the articles, the whole nine yards? Yeah, follow me on Twitter. That's kind of home base for links to everything that I do.

That's at KevinSkarbinski. You can keep up with my columns. I'm still writing twice a week special contributions to the Birmingham News. You can find links to those on AL.com. And then you can go to YouTube. My podcast is KevinSkarbinski-SkarboKnows. And it doesn't cost anything to subscribe, but we do appreciate when people do. And we've really grown in the last month or so. I appreciate you guys helping to spread the word. And like I said, it's Positivity Week at ScarboKnows. So last night I talked about the ceiling for Auburn this year.

And tonight at 8 o'clock, the next episode will pop up, what is the ceiling for Alabama and what if everything goes right? Because why shouldn't we be positive right now, guys? There will be plenty of time for negativity when they lose a game or two. So let's be positive right now. Let's go to San Francisco and Woodstock the summer of love. And as the man once tried to say, keep up the good work as a multimedia personality guy, Kevin, okay? Sounds good, Harold. Thanks, Fred. Thank you, buddy.

On our way to San Francisco, Kevin Scarbinsky again. The podcast is Scarbo Knows. He knows a thing or two about Alabama, Auburn, the SEC, Double D, Drew Jarman on deck. Stay with us. Now at Lowe's. Faster quotes. Start at the Lowe's Pro Desk. Got a material list handwritten on a sticky note or saved as a photo? Perfect. Bring it to us and get a quote in minutes. And if you don't see what you need on the shelf, we'll help you get it. You can access thousands of products beyond what's available in-store or on Lowe's.com.

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He's now 8-6. The Braves with the win approved to 72-48. The Braves are back at home tonight as they host the Mets. Tyler Malley will get the start for the Braves. He comes into the matchup 3-9. Atlanta Falcons are preparing for their preseason opener. They're set to play at home on Friday night when they host the Denver Broncos inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The sports update brought to you by Progressive Bundle Auto and Home, Renters or Condo, and Save with Progressive. I'm Tony Dezzeri on 93.9, The Score. Are you 50 or older?

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How are you? I'm doing well, guys. How are you? Hey, bud. Hey, we're doing all right. Drew, obviously, I'm sure you get to talk to a lot of folks throughout the entire country. And one thing that seems to be a common theme when we start talking about this Alabama football team, unlike last year when everybody was sky high, a lot of national guys, so-called experts, are not putting a lot of stock in this team going far into the season. Drew, will this Alabama team prove the so-called experts wrong once the ball gets rolling?

We'll see. I think they have the makings of a good football team. I think they've had good camps so far. They haven't had any big-time injuries. Of course, the two most important scrimmages are tomorrow and then a week from Thursday, and that will decide a lot of the battles, especially at quarterback. But certainly, I think they have all the ingredients there to have a really good team. You know, they've kind of been flying under the radar a little bit because I guess they haven't had a sexy in offseason in some of these idiot minds as LSU or maybe Texas, even though Texas was an underachiever last year.

Much worse than Alabama, but you wouldn't know that by listening to some of these doorknobs. And then also Georgia. But Georgia, you know, they have a picture of consistency. They have a picture of continuity. And they've done a lot of what Nick Saban has done. And Kirby has accomplished that now in 11 years. Coach Saban did it in 17. But they've earned their stripes, so to speak, in the SEC. But certainly, I think Kalen DeBoer and his guys have positioned themselves well in year three to make the playoffs again and to compete for a national championship.

[1:39:19] Now, you know, a lot of the climate in college football has changed so dramatically in the last three to five years. But I still am not sure that people know how to react to things. And they act like a four-loss season is a disaster when you've won 11 games in a playoff game. And Texas sure as h*** didn't do that. Texas A&M did not. Oregon did not. And, you know, and then you have people like Brandon Walker, who's about as smart as a doorknob, who act like, you know, that Steve Sarkisian is a better football coach than Kalen DeBoer.

When Kalen DeBoer whipped him head-to-head, he's also beat Dan Lanning. He's beat a lot of really good coaches. And I think he's taken some criticism, which he has had some losses that are head-scratching. But he's had a lot of good wins, too. But I think Alabama's put themselves in a position to certainly, you know, be a contender this year. But they have to stay healthy. And now they have to go out and prove it when everything goes live on September the 5th against East Carolina. Let me ask you about some names that I've heard.

I know quite a few of our listening audience have heard them, too, on Fine Bomb. Read it on the websites. Mal Waltrup has had a tremendous summer camp. Where is he going to land? Be it left guard? Maybe even back up center? We'll see. Luke Mads at linebacker. A.K. Deere, I hear, has had a very good summer camp. Edrick Hill has gained 30 pounds. Caleb Woodson at linebacker. And I can mention 10 other dudes. Who are some of the guys that you've heard who have had a good camp so far?

Well, I mean, I think Mal Waltrip might be the surprising camp so far. I mean, I thought he would be the backup center potentially. You know, but I think right now that's Casey Poe. I think that's where he's been working. And, you know, maybe that's the spot for him. He really struggled at guard, I thought, in the spring. But Mal Waltrip's father played at Alabama. He's a kid that, you know, basically redshirted a year ago from central Phoenix City. And, you know, I think he kind of was kind of an under-the-radar recruit.

I saw him compared to Bradley Bozeman. That might be a good comparison. But I think there's probably two jobs open along the offensive line right now. I think, you know, certainly center with Racine Delgotti, the transfer from Cal Poly. I think he's a little bit bigger than his predecessor, Parker Brelsford. But I think he's locked center down. I think Mike Carroll is locked down right guard. I think he's settling in there. And I think left tackle, of course, is going to be Jackson Lloyd, who has the potential, that P word again, to be a first-round draft choice.

So, I think, you know, right tackle with Javon James, certainly, and Nick Brooks. Brooks, I think, was playing out of position at Texas at guard. He is a natural tackle. I think that job is still up for grabs. I would give Javon James the edge. But we'll see. And then, I think, left guard. I think Mal Waldrop is definitely pushing William Sanders, who Sanders missed the spring guys. He was injured, and he's come back now, and is definitely competing. But I think Mal Waldrop is pushing him.

So, I think, you know, left guard, even more so than right tackle, is probably, I think that may be your biggest battle in camp right now, as far as along the offensive line. And I think it's a very spirited one when you hear Ryan Grubb and the staff talk about Mal Waldrop. So, what Mal Waldrop is definitely pushing William Sanders. So, we'll see, you know, who wins that job. So, it's definitely kind of been a surprise to camp, I think, no doubt about it. And then, you know, we'll see what happens, you know, on the defensive side of the ball.

I think they've had some guys step up. Like, it sounds like QB Reed's had a good camp. He seems to be running first team alongside Caleb Woodson. And QB's waited his turn. He's kind of like a Justin Jefferson. He's kind of an undersized inside linebacker. But I think he fits the scheme really well. And, of course, my guy, Luke Metz, is competing, too. I think he's going to play and certainly is pushing for some playing time. And then, you know, a DP from the portal, Carmelo O'Neal, certainly there's a lot of talent in that defensive backfield.

And we know Zabian Brown should be one of the best corners in college football. And, you know, definitely Dijon Lee, that's probably going to be your starters. But it sounds like Carmelo O'Neal is definitely pushing for some playing time. So, the secondary is going to be loaded, I think. And I think, quietly, the linebacker, Corey, is better than people think. So, if this defensive line group continues to develop depth and improve and be truly too deep, then I think the defense has a chance to be, you know, a top-ten caliber unit.

[1:44:28] And then it's just a matter of can the offensive side of the ball continue to come along. And the biggest key to that, you know, is the offensive line. And that's what's got to come together because I think they're going to be okay at quarterback, whether it's, you know, my pick, of course, has always been Keelan Russell. But I think he has the biggest upside, but certainly often Max competing. And that, you know, more than anything will be decided with the next two scrimmages as far as quarterback is concerned.

There's another thing I thought was interesting. Nick Saban doesn't speak unless he wants to send a message either directly or indirectly. We saw basically during media days, he dropped kind of hints. You might want to change some of your playbook on defense. And since then, I'm seeing some of the comments from the coaching staff. Maybe we should listen to a guy who's considered to be the GOAT in all caps. In your opinion, how much influence would Nick's voice have on the scheme of this defense, especially with that secondary being as potentially, back to that word, as talented as it is, looks like he could play more man.

Well, I think they're going to, you know, they're certainly going to use some more man concepts. Nick Saban talked about that in SEC media days. And obviously, he has been talking to Kane Walnut quite a bit. Now, the defense, you know, I think his first two years has started slowly, but certainly ended the seasons, both playing well. And now, a few times, they got pushed around on the ground. But I think that's why they've added so much mass, you know, in the defensive line room. Kendrick Bingley-Jones is well over 300 pounds, and certainly Green is as well from Oregon.

He has a chance to be a really good player. And they've kind of talked about him this week as well, that he's asserted himself a little bit along that defensive line room. And then, you know, obviously, Brett mentioned Edrick Hill. He's probably got as much experience as anybody returning. But he just, you know, he wasn't talked about as much. But Jeremiah Beeman's back. He's 300 pounds. And certainly that, I think that he has a chance to be in the two-deep rotation, no doubt about it. And, of course, I think, you know, that Tompkins from Southern Cal is going to definitely be a factor because they brought him in to – I think he'll play the bandit spot a lot, but he's also going to be moved around.

And so, when you spend the money, like the way they deal on the defensive line in the portal, you want some guys to come in and impact. And I think no question that, like I said, Bingley Jones is going to impact Terrence Green, who I just talked about, is definitely going to do that. And I think, you know, they're going to continue to develop and Devin Tompkins. But don't forget, too, I mean, they've got some guys that have returned, like London Simmons, who didn't go through spring.

It looks like he's gained some weight and then definitely beefed up. Isaiah Faga, as well, is another one that's played quite a bit. So, what you have there is a lot of rotational pieces and a lot of guys that can rotate in. And hopefully they're going to be better against the run now, especially in key moments. And if they are, if they do a better job against the run, it's just – it's like a domino effect. It naturally helps you put defenses – or, excuse me, offenses in third and long situations and where you can use your pass rush, where, you know, hopefully they'll have some more help for Yonsei Pierre, and I think they plan on it.

And then also you can use your blitz packages a little bit to be creative and to end up creating even more turnovers. I thought they did a better job of creating turnovers a year ago. But with the secondary, with even more depth and experience, certainly if your defensive line is much more effective, you know, long-term anyway, I think that's going to have a positive effect on your play in the defensive backfield. And I think Alabama defensively, like I said, they've got a chance to be one of the top three or four units in the SEC.

And if you are in that category, then I think you'll be top ten in the country. Absolutely. By the way, Divine Intervention came into play this week when the one and only Drew D'Orman was able to recover his Twitter account. I didn't know if the ransom had been paid or God had blessed you, maybe a combination of both. Tell us about your Twitter account. And by the way, there's a rumor going around that you and the one and only Freddie Kirby are going to be addressing an august body at Greenbrier next Tuesday night at 6 o'clock to talk a little bit about the scrimmage.

Let me know if that rumor is true and where can we get online and listen to you and Scott? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. I was blessed. I had a friend of mine, Brandon Pilcher, and a few others as well that stepped up and were helping me out. Ryan Fowler also and, of course, my colleagues at the radio station. But, you know, Brandon really, you know, he was able to get a hold of the right person, certainly. And I was very thankful and blessed to get my Twitter account back.

[1:49:58] I lost it for eight months. I did not have it. I was not able to post. And so glad to have it back before football season, no doubt about it. And very thankful. You know, I went on Ryan Fowler's show on Monday, and, you know, we kind of put out a PSA there. You know, do not, you know, click on any link. You don't need to help anybody host a podcast. Because if you do, you will lose your account, and some Nigerians will have it for who knows how long.

As a matter of fact, it's kind of funny. Within a day or two days of getting it back, I know you guys know Dave O'Brien. He has covered the Braves for many, many years for the Athletic. Well, in the last week, he has bought four houses and five cars, being crypto. So, unfortunately, Dave got his account stolen. I hope he gets it back. Certainly, he has asked me a couple times to host a podcast. That has quickly been deleted. So, I hate that Dave lost his account because I know he's covered the Braves for at least 20-plus years.

And so, he's a really good follow, but I hope he gets his account back. I feel for him because, you know, I really hate it when – because he does this for a living, as do I. So, your social media accounts, especially X, are very important. So, just glad to get it back, and we certainly have been thankful for that. And now you can connect with me at DrewD977ESPN. I've been, you know, catching up with a lot of people and been very active on the account since getting it back.

So, Scott and I have been having some good conversation on Talk & Ball, and you can certainly join us from 7 to 10 a.m. each morning. And Freddie Kirby and I will be back at Greenbrier this coming Tuesday, August the 18th. We're looking forward to that, having another meeting and being amongst a lot of Crimson Tide brethren. They will be coming off of the first scrimmage, which is tomorrow. They'll have the second scrimmage of fall camp on the two days later on Thursday. So, certainly looking forward to that.

And then high school football will be getting underway on August the 20th. So, a lot going on, and you can connect with us at ESPN 97.7 The Zone, our SoundCloud account, if you want to get any of our content, or 9770ESPN.com. Or you can join us live on that link or on WZZN TV. And we always appreciate being on with you guys and talking some ball on 93.9 The Score. And just thankful to be back and be back on X and be able to talk to a lot of the great listeners and fans throughout the country.

As they say on the old TV show, welcome back, Connor. Listen, Drew, thanks for your time today and stay safe out there, okay? Absolutely, guys. Appreciate it. Thank you, bud. Nobody, Drew, the arm of 97.7 FM The Zone. BB, obviously, are you ready for some Braves baseball tonight right here? Yep, we got another game with the Mavs. They won last night 4-0. In fact, that game was on channel 48. Martin Perez, six scoreless innings. Once again, that Olsen guy continues to play pretty well. His 35th homer. They've got Tyler Mailey on the mound tonight.

And you can hear that right here on 93.9 The Score. Trying to add that eight-and-a-half game lead of the Fiddle Up Your Fields to eight teams. Going to take care of business for now on behalf of BB, Greg James Blair, the entire crew here. Harold Bogg, thank you so much for your time today. Let's do it again tomorrow, noon to two, the BIMO Bug Show. Back here on Sports Radio from 93.9 The Score.