Boomo Bugg Show 073026

[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. New exclusive inside track to the Tide, Tigers, Tennessee and the rest of the SEC. Now your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9. Good afternoon and welcome here to the Boomo Bugg Show. I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird. Thank you so much for giving us a free ride around the Tennessee Valley. Brett Beaird, welcome in where Birmingham says the stallions have left the stable. Good afternoon. Welcome in and how are you?

And the listeners, yes, I saw that this morning. It's unfortunate. We'll try to talk about that a little bit later in the show. Kevin Scarbinsky of AL.com talks Bama, Auburn and his scheduling problem. In his opinion for the SEC. Trey Lane, head football coach at Wilson High School will preview the 2026 season. But B.B. is here right now to answer the question, is the Big Ten better than the SEC right now? We do have more than one question for B.B., right? Yes, we do.

I just want to make sure. B.B., it's Bill Bender. He is the national voice of the sporting news. B.B., welcome in. How are you? Hey, I'm doing well. Thanks for having me on. Well, the curtain comes up next week on camp. Have you sharpened all your pencils? Have you loaded all your ink wells? Have you loaded up on your gigabytes? Are you ready for some football, Bill? Yeah, for sure. And, you know, obviously Big Ten Media Day wrapping up here with the last few coaches on the podium.

And, yeah, it's been a lot of fun to watch this and get ready to go, so to speak. We've got some cool stuff coming next week at Sporting News and finishing out the media days. And like you said, Harold, it's time to get going. Let me ask you about the Big Ten Media Days. Obviously, sometimes these things can be boring, and sometimes they can drop some sparks in there. I saw where Bill Lamont, who used to be at Arkansas, now was getting his checks in the Big Ten, basically saying the SEC is trying to party like it's 2005, taking a shot at the SEC.

I don't think he had a problem collecting checks back in the day with Arkansas. But your thoughts about the argument, and in effect saying Nick Saban is carrying water now for the SEC, and they ain't like he used to be. Well, I think the Big Ten is on top right now. I mean, and we can go into the reasons why, but Brett picked the wrong year, honestly. 2005, Texas won the national title against USC. That was one year before the SEC really started to take over college football when Florida won it.

I look at it both ways. Okay, so like I always kind of do the political answer. this way. I still think the SEC has more programs capable getting into the college football playoffs, like down to the 10th or 11th back team. But the Big Ten's got the national. You don't gauge your conference on non-conschedule or bull record. You gauge it on who's winning the trophies. And the Big Ten's won three in a row, and it's hard to, that's how the SEC built its reputation. You have multiple schools win natties. So I think that's why I think the Big Ten's on top, but I would say it's year to year now.

I think you're right. And again, whatever metric you want to use, I've seen a lot of talk about this. I knew it, but of course the SEC media days discussed it quite often alluding to your point, the depth of the league. And then championships is the number one metric, and you can't deny that. The last three years, the Big Ten has won. I will say this. Again, Alabama lost in overtime to Michigan. Texas had a game won. Ole Miss, if they had 25 more seconds, but that's the number one metric.

And again, talking about the number of teams that make the playoffs, I do agree with you. I mean, that's nice, Scuttle, but the number one metric is championships. And the other thing here, in this three-year run by the Big Ten, which I haven't heard brought up, the SEC is 12-11 head-to-head against the Big Ten. So those, but the Big Ten the last two years, five to two in the bowl games outside the playoffs. And they've won the playoff games. And that's what people pay attention to.

And we can talk around the depth of the conference, which I think the Big Ten, it has, Brett, here's how I would couch it. They have three guaranteed national championship contenders, Ohio State, Indiana, and Oregon. I think the SEC has at least three, Texas and Georgia being there. And then the question becomes, okay, is A&M, Alabama, LSU, are those actual national championship contenders or just playoff teams? You had all the answers with Bill, Bill Bender, the Sporting News. To that end, one Lane Kiffin says, what are you thinking, boss?

[5:07] This nine-game schedule could cost you money in the long term. We know you're going to cash checks up front depending on the minutia of the contract. But in the end, this nine-game schedule may cost you a playoff spot at the end. Your thoughts about Lane, who I guess now is the go-to as far as what are your thoughts about this subject? Yeah, you know, I think, Lane, obviously the nine games, I'm okay with it. I think you guys are going to end up being okay with it as long as the committee honors it.

You know, maybe there's a year where, you know, like last year, if Texas had that ninth conference game, would you reward a nine-and-three Texas team over a 10-and-two, say, ACC or Big 12 team whose strength of schedule wasn't anywhere close? I think you would have to consider that. And I hope the committee does that because, to me, that would show that, hey, we're actually taking this strength of schedule thing pretty seriously. And in defense of the SEC, I've told you guys this all summer, I think, I think you're going to end up enjoying it.

It's an extra week, it's an extra game, and it's better than watching them play, you know, with all due respect, a G6 or FBS school. You're going to be more entertained watching that extra conference game because the reward will outweigh the risk, in my opinion. Let me ask you where the Big Ten, Tony Petitti, the Big Ten commissioner, is the poster child for expanding to 24. He keeps talking about that. I know some other issues. The Cruz bill with Campbell, they have reformed that a lot. I still don't know if they're going to be able to get that to the floor by the recess, but what have you heard is for us 24 versus 16 or staying at 12 this week?

Yeah, for all the talk about the Big Ten and the SEC, I mean, that was a big thing. I saw Tony Petitti was really promoting this idea of a 2014 playoff, which is, you know, it's gaining momentum even if I think, in my opinion, most college football fans aren't in a big hurry to see it. You know, I don't think the appetite's there, but, you know, they may go to it because of the money and all the reasons they've outlined. So we'll see. And then as far as the Protects College Sports Act, I'm just seeing something where, yes, Sankey and Petitti have been collaborative.

There's a lot to that bill. I can't predict whether or not it will pass. But the fact that I do think Sankey and behind the closed doors, Sankey and Tony Petitti are definitely working together to try to make this thing work. A lot of folks are seeing a story coming out with this Jeremiah Smith, obviously Ohio State connections, and saying, wow, are you serious? Could this be one of the biggest recruiting busts in Alabama history? His thought, to paraphrase, you were at me today is there in Big Ten country.

He says, my dream school is Alabama when Nick Saban was there. His quote, they wasn't recruiting me, though. It's what it is, but I always wanted to go to Alabama. Winds up at Ohio State and may go down as one of the greatest receivers because Alabama was focused on the South Florida posse, Judy Ridley, et cetera. Here's a very interesting observation from Jeremiah Smith. Yeah, he is one of the best I've ever seen because of the big play consistency. He reminds me, I think he's a, I don't know what he'll do at the next level, but it's very comparable to what Julio Jones was.

Just the freakish talent and consistency and ability to make plays. I'm not going to sit here and say one's better than the other. I mean, but if Jeremiah has another big year at Ohio State and shatters all these receiving records in the conference, you'd have to give him the edge. So he's an incredible player. And, you know, Julian Fayan, also an Alabama transfer. I'm not trying to, you know, needle you any. And then downs and go on. Well, I think he's being undervalued a little bit.

I mean, he was a Heisman Trophy finalist last year. Huge accuracy, 77%. I think he's going to get nothing but better as well. Let me add an amendment to that, Harold. Michael Casagrande of AL.com came out with an article this morning about Smith. He came down for a visit to Alabama. And two weeks later, he was given a scholarship opportunity. But I think he was so ingrained in Ohio State. But that's not correct. As far as saying that this was a big bust for Alabama, and Andrew Bone knows a little bit more about that, too.

He did come in for a visit to Tuscaloosa and was, according to Casagrande, officially offered a scholarship, which a lot of people, they've left that out. I know that sounds good to say that. But, yeah, on the other hand, Alabama did work to try to get him. Well, yeah. And, you know, he's part of this pipeline. It's not just Jeremiah Smith. I mean, Alabama and LSU have been able to do that, where they've had the receiver pipeline. I think with Ohio State, I mean, just look on Sunday.

[10:22] Jackson Smith and Jigba. Darren Wilson. Chris Olave. Jeremiah Smith will be next. And they have so many really – they've just developed that room as good as anybody. That looks like it's going to continue with Chris Henry Jr. and Jed Harrison, et cetera. So, that's more of a tribute to the position group. But, Jeremiah Smith, I've watched a lot of receivers. He – I like – he is not outspoken, but between that line of outspoken off the field. But he makes for a good quote and backs it up on the field.

Yeah. And to add an amendment to that, I think what happened was, yeah, Alabama probably did. But, initially, Ohio State got in, and once Alabama saw what they had there, maybe they're trying to come back. I don't know. I'm not there. But, at any rate, he's going to make a lot of money either way. You can't get them all. Your thoughts about the Big Ten. What is going to happen with Michigan? Because you're talking about a lot of stuff going on in the back room. What do you expect from Michigan this season?

Well, Kyle's on the – Kyle Williams on the podium right now, and I got him on mute because I'm talking to you two, which is much more exciting. And, I think – he brings in our era or aura of seriousness to this program, which it desperately needs. I think Kyle's going to spend the next two days answering questions about what's going on off the field and, you know, Bryce Underwood's development. But, again, I think most Michigan fans probably tell you, if they go nine and three and there isn't anything off the field we're talking about here and here, that that would be okay.

Yeah, absolutely. By the way, I enjoyed your jersey patches. I mentioned that a couple of times this week. J.P. Chase Morgan nearly $17 million for Ohio State. Notre Dame comes back with $18 to $20 to trump that so far. And you kind of conjected about some schools. Alabama would get a patch from Dreamland Barbecue, Arkansas's Walmart, Boston College's Dunkin' Donuts, I believe, and go on and on. That was a cute article. But I guarantee you, Bill Bender, if these schools can make $15 to $20 million with a large postage stamp for the corporation, they're going to do it.

Yeah, you know, and I would think Alabama could go for a deal much like they would go for one that I think is in that neighborhood of Ohio State and Notre Dame and what Texas might do. And people will say, I talked to Ryan Fowler about this the other day, and he had some other suggestions for what that patch might be. But it's not about – I mean, it's unfortunate, but, you know, you could say you're desecrating these uniforms. They wear patches for the bowl games. So I think if it can bring you a couple extra players that are going to help you play in those bowl games where you wear the patches, most teams would be fine with it.

My question, Bill, is what is going to be the patch for North Carolina football? Tenders, or what's going to be the patch here for Carolina? Well, I think, you know, they're a mess right now. Yeah, they are. And it's getting on – Harold, it's getting on failed experiment, you know, the level where they tried and this just isn't working. There's going to be a lot of pressure on Bill Belichick. Yeah, no question about it. Lombardi now on administrative leave or suspension, whatever they want to call it, the general manager for the Tar Heels.

Bill Bender, always great to catch up with you. Our favorite time of the year beginning next week, summer camps coming in vogue. You've done a great job of covering the Big Ten, the last of the media days. But where can we get online to get a lot more stuff? Yeah, I'm at BillBender92 at SportingNews.com. And we're going to write about Kurt Cignetti, the last Power 4 coach. He's going to take the podium here in about 15 minutes. So I appreciate talking to both you guys. We'll hit it again next week.

And take your phone off mute now, okay, Bill? Thank you so much. See you, buddy. Bye, buddy. We all been to the National Voice with the eSporting News. Coming up, what's going on down to the plains? It's Cole Pinkston with the latest next. Stay with us. Ah, this feeling is brought to you by Aleve for Arthritis Pain Relief. What feeling is that? Well, it's the feeling you feel when you have relief from arthritis pain. It's that my hands don't hurt just holding things feeling. That, wow, I can actually move well feeling.

You know, that go about your day without worrying about every little movement or ache feeling. Oh, yeah, because Aleve targets arthritis pain at the source of inflammation for long-lasting relief. So you can keep moving through it. Feel up to 12 hours of arthritis pain relief with one dose. Feel Aleve. Use is directed for minor arthritis pain. Hey, Mom, now that I have an after-school job, I think I want to buy a drum kit. Okay, rock star. Let's look at your account. When kids start making money, Chase has easy-to-use tools and expert bankers to help them learn how to manage it.

And next month, I'll buy the bass drum and the cymbals. Oh, and maybe some noise-canceling headphones for you. Aw, you've thought of everything. Help kids save, budget, and build financial independence all with Chase. That's good for kids and good for parents. Visit your local Chase branch and get started. Accounts subject to approval. J.P. Morgan Chase Bank and a member FDIC. Pat Boyle here to help you beat the b*******. The U.S. Open Series for Tennis continues with day four in Washington, D.C. And I think American Ben Shelton continues his home cooking.

[15:45] Shelton plays Frenchman Hugo Humbert, who he beat earlier this year at the Aussie Open in straight sets. Shelton has always played better on U.S. soil, while Humbert has traditionally struggled here. Lefty versus lefty, Ben Serb will be the difference. Give me Shelton to cover the one-and-a-half game spread. I'm Pat Boyle. Bet smarter and beat the books. Download the BetMGM app today. I'm David Ortiz. When I lost my mom, she was only 46. And I lost my dad to cancer. It was the worst pain I ever felt.

It made me think, what will happen with the people I love when my time is up? That's why I have life insurance. Ethos makes it easy. It's all online. Take about 10 minutes. And you can get up to $3 million in coverage. Get your free quote at ethos.com slash game. That's ethos.com slash game. Pay testimonial. Time spent on application may vary. Online health questions required. When's the last time payroll was the easy part of your week? With Gusto, it can be. Gusto is the all-in-one platform designed to take the hassle out of managing your team.

From payroll and compliance to hiring, onboarding, and more. With Gusto, you can get back two full days each month with all the time you've saved. Go to Gusto.com today and learn why over 500,000 small businesses choose Gusto. That's G-U-S-T-O.com. Gusto.com. DripDrop is doctor-developed, proven fast hydration that helps your body and mind work better. Trusted by firefighters, medical professionals, and over 90% of top college and pro sports teams, DripDrop is engineered to hydrate faster and more effectively than water alone, with three times the electrolytes of leading sports drinks.

Stock up now at DripDrop.com and use promo code RADIO20 for 20% off your first order. That's DripDrop.com, promo code RADIO20. Rich Eisen here. We talk a lot about battles in sports. Teams battling through adversity. Athletes fighting for every yard. The toughest warriors I've ever seen, though, aren't on the field. Their kids fighting cancer. Their families standing beside them. Doctors, nurses, caregivers. That's why I'm proud to support Hyundai Hope on Wheels. For over 28 years, they've helped fund pediatric cancer research, raising more than $303 million and supporting over 40,000 children.

Learn more and donate at HyundaiUSA.com backslash hopeonwheels. Rich Eisen here with some advice. If high-interest credit card debt is grinding you down, it might be time to call an audible with a SoFi personal loan. It consolidates your debt into one low monthly payment with no fees required. And with as soon as the same day funding, you can make the right play fast. Call an audible on your debt today at SoFi.com slash debtplay. Loans originated by SoFi Bank N.A. Member FDIC. Terms and conditions apply.

NMLS 696891. Fast funds terms apply at SoFi.com slash debtplay. You know the feeling. That rush when you reach that goal. Make somebody brag a little back home. That's success. And at University of Maryland Global Campus, we believe you should never stop chasing it. That's why UMGC offers an accredited skills-based education that helps move your career forward. We'll teach you how to apply emerging technologies like AI and data science. Plus build your skills in leadership, communication, and critical thinking. Explore more than 100 degrees and certificates in business, cybersecurity, health care, and more.

With affordable and online programs, you can unlock new opportunities to help you succeed again. At UMGC, success is yours for the taking and the making. And nothing should keep you from it. Especially not an application fee. Apply now and we'll waive your application fee. Classes start August 12th. Learn more at UMGC.edu. That's UMGC.edu. Certified to operate in Virginia by Shev. The Score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in. It's a pleasure for us to say hello to Cole Pinkston. When he comes talking to Auburn, he's got you covered.

Recruiting and football analysts there at auburnlive.com. Part of the on3.com family. Cole, welcome in. Have you caught up on your rest and ready for some football? Yes, sir. I'm tired of resting. I'm ready for some football. Was it Tuesday? Is that, well, first of all, I think that's a misnomer, don't you? I mean, they say this is the opening of camp. Does camp really ever close in this modern, not only in college, but in high school? Yeah, I mean, now you've got the OTAs, I believe they're now referring to it as, that take place all summer, and those are, you know, player-led.

So the coaches stay out of it. Of course, I'm doing air quotes and all that. You know how it is. They never stop. They've got to have a step up all the time. Absolutely. You had some good articles about who needs to emerge, what particular player-owned units need to emerge, and we'll look at offensive line first, and I agree with you. This kind of crossed the board in the SEC. You've got a lot of potential there, but a lot of these guys haven't played SEC football or they were injured, and nobody can answer this question better than you because you've coached, I know you've coached high school in offense, and you mentioned sophomore Ty Buster.

[21:10] Derrick Plaza, I've heard a lot of good things about Cole Skinner, and you just go down the list, a very critical position for Auburn and others to come through this year, but you mentioned sophomore Buster as your pick. Yeah, I love Ty Buster. Knowing the people on the last staff that recruited him to Auburn, they were extremely high on him. They thought he was one of the most underrated offensive linemen in the country in recruiting last year. They ended up getting him to sign as a freshman for that staff.

Last year, he already starts working his way into the two deep, and then this new staff comes in, and from the people I've talked to on staff here now, they think he's just as good as the last staff did. So I think what you're looking at with Ty Buster is probably one of the most talented guys in the room. You know, is he ready? Does he know the offense yet? That's where you're at with him, but they brought in a guy to start at left tackle, which is Stanton Ramil, but while he was out, it was Ty Buster taking all the reps there.

So I just think he's the most important guy that Auburn needs to step up. I think he changes the room if he's able to contribute. Cole Pinkston of the huddle with us. Cole, we know and ask the question about folks coming in elsewhere. It starts with South Florida, but outside of the crew coming in from South Florida. Talk to us about the other guys coming in who will be new to this roster. Yeah, there's plenty of transfers on the offensive side. Now, you brought pretty much the entire South Florida offense over, but I'd say it starts with Bryson Washington from Baylor, which is an interesting dynamic since you opened with Baylor.

I expect he'll be motivated in that game. He's a guy that I've watched for two years now and had a thousand-yard rushing season as a freshman at Baylor. Just kind of that heavy back, north and south runner. I really like his style. I think he'll be fine for Auburn. A great change-up with Jeremiah Cobb. Defense, the main guy that stands out in my mind is Andre Jordan, who I think we've talked about here on this show before, the UCLA transfer has gone against some really, really good receiver cores there in the Big Ten.

I think he's extremely important for Auburn, Andre Jordan. He's going to start at corner. Receiver, you asked the question, who needs to emerge there? Now, I think Keyshawn Singleton and Chase Nimrod are very good. Colger is good, too, but you mentioned your pick, sophomore Sam Turner. Yeah, Sam Turner is a guy that I got pretty close with and went and saw him in person twice. I went to one of his games and covered that and came away impressed every time. He was a three-star guy committed to Georgia Tech at the time.

He ends up flipping his commitment to Auburn late with the previous staff. Had a really, really good spring and fall camp last year for Auburn and was looking to play. But, you know, they had some talented guys last year with Cam Coleman, Malcolm Simmons. It was hard for him to break through, but they were really high on him. Again, this is another guy that the new staff came in and went, you know, he's not bad. He's pretty good. He might could help us. Now, he had a pretty nasty injury late in the season last year in a practice.

So, he's been out, but he should be back full go in the fall. And I just think with limited depth at receiver, if he's a guy that can step up and help you and get in the rotation, your receiver room just got better. Cole, obviously you mentioned Cap opening up Tuesday. Kind of a fun question here. Coming in, two things that you know Auburn has improved in. I think we know at least one of them overall. And two things that maybe concern you that they need to really get fixed and in a hurry in the fall camp.

All right. This is going to sound like I'm joking, but I'm serious when I say this. I think they're going to be better at football. I just think they're going to be better at the game. I think they're going to understand it better. I think they're not going to make so many, you know, self-mistakes, so many created mistakes. I think that they're going to avoid that. So, fixing that, getting better at the small details, I think that's what they're going to be better at. I think they're improved.

Man, this is going to be a good article topic next week. I'm going to break into this a little bit. I think they might take a step back as far as talent on the offensive line, but I think they could be improved as far as the way it looks, if that makes sense. I don't think Byron Brown is going to be running for his life. I think he's going to be able to run the offense cleanly. And I think on defense, you know, they might take just a tiny step back just because of the change in offense, and you're going to be going faster.

And the defensive line is a little bit of a question mark for me. So, where's your pass rush come from? I think they might take a step back there as they learn who their guys are. Is it Jared Smith? Is it Deshaun Womack? Is it Cody Sigler? Some of these guys that are newer names for us. We just got to figure out who they are. But right now, there's some question marks there. You had a very interesting article about a comment that Mike Elko made, the head coach at Texas A&M, Dear Media Days.

[26:37] He was asked about game planning and scheming, and he made the comment about why so many teams do not run fast-paced offenses again, which is what Goliath has done forever. And he said it's because of communication with the quarterback and the linebacker. A lot of coaches thought they needed to slow down to make sure that the communication was clear. But as you mentioned, Auburn plans to buck that trend. Goliath is second in the nation. By the way, East Carolina, Alabama's first opponent, is third nationally, which is interesting.

But, again, according to the coaches, Auburn plans to buck that trend of slowing down and get even faster. Yeah, they've been pretty – I think Golis has been open and honest about how fast they want to go on offense. Tempo was what they did at USF. And Mike Elko, I think, who I respect, by the way, I think Mike Elko is a very, very good defensive mind in college football. Very good head coach at Texas A&M, obviously. He's saying, look, I'm noticing that everybody's starting to slow things down.

Yeah. Where, at one time, it was the trend to go fast. Everybody wants to go fast. Now it's, hey, let's slow down. Let's talk to the quarterback here since we have that opportunity. And he's saying, I don't think people can sacrifice that for Tempo now. I think you need to be able to talk to your quarterback and whatever. At least that's what everybody's doing, right? I think Auburn's going to go against that. There's going to be times when they slow things down and talk to them, but they want to go fast.

That's the main thing they want to do, right? It's different than a lot of mindsets now. I mean, even Freeze, who was a Tempo guy for a long time, started to slow things down when he was at Liberty and really slowed it down at Auburn because you can talk to the quarterback directly. And I think a lot of coaches are looking at that and going, no, we need that. That's an advantage. But I think Goalist is looking at it and going, well, we still think Tempo's an advantage.

Well, as far as wearing in the defense, it certainly is. Goalist, great stuff, very good articles, and particularly the one about the two steps up for the different positions. But where can we get online and get your stuff and the teams? Yes, sir. I appreciate it. AuburnSports.com under the On3Rivals network. And in the next few days, when fall camp starts up, we're going to have a big deal, and you need to jump on it and come be a part of the community there. I think you won't regret it.

You have been warned. I've got eyes on you, Cole. In the meantime, kick back, enjoy these last few days, the calm before the storm, and thanks for your time today. Yes, sir. Thank you all. Thank you, buddy. Cole Pinkston, again, it's called AuburnLive.com, part of the On3. AuburnLive.com family. He's been there and done it a time or two. Kevin and Scar Bensky on deck on the Boom Old Bug Show. Stay with us. Hello, Scholes. It's Elmer Pierce from Garner Pierce Autos. Are you tired of being told that it will take two weeks to service your vehicle or even to look at it to tell you what's wrong with it?

Are you tired of being told that it's going to be $200 to $300 an hour for labor? At Garner Pierce Autos, we have four full-time certified and trained technicians that have over 75 years of automotive service experience. We service vehicles of every make and model and do anything from oil changes to engine and transmission replacements. We're your one-stop shop for servicing your entire fleet or your personal vehicle. We have every accessory for your car, truck, van, or SUV. 4.9 stars on Google and Facebook. Garner Pierce Autos on Florence Boulevard right next to Appleby's, where it's our business to earn your business.

Nothing says legendary like the Atlanta Braves, but here in the Shoals, there's another hometown legend you can taste. Step up to the plate at Champy's Famous Fried Chicken, where the fried chicken is as unforgettable as a walk-off homer at a Braves game. Load up on those legendary homemade sides. And don't forget a true Delta classic, Champy's Homemade Hot Tamales. Lunch, dinner, or any time you're craving something unforgettable, it's always a winning play at Champy's. 22nd Street in Muscle Shoals. Famous fried chicken, legendary sides, and a meal worth cheering for.

Rich Eisen here. We talk a lot about battles in sports. Teams battling through adversity. Athletes fighting for every yard. The toughest warriors I've ever seen, though, aren't on the field. They're kids fighting cancer. They're families standing beside them. Doctors, nurses, caregivers. That's why I'm proud to support Hyundai Hope on Wheels. For over 28 years, they've helped fund pediatric cancer research, raising more than $303 million and supporting over 40,000 children. Learn more and donate at HyundaiUSA.com backslash hopeonwheels. Every 40 seconds, a child is reported missing. Find the Children is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping find missing kids.

You can be a part of their mission by donating your unwanted car. Call 1-800-294-0222. You'll receive the maximum tax deduction, and we provide fast, free pickup. Call 1-800-294-0222. Donate your unwanted or unused car. Call 1-800-294-0222. This advertisement was paid for in partnership with Cars R.S. and Find the Children. Progressive Insurance presents the Sports Flash on 93-9 to score. The Atlanta Braves split a doubleheader with the Mets at Citi Field in New York yesterday. The Mets took game number one, 3-2, but the Braves bounce back for a game two victory, 1-0.

[32:10] Chris Sale got the win in game two. He's 12-6. Braves are now 63-45. They're back home tonight. They'll start a series with the Washington Nationals. Grant Holmes will start for Atlanta. He's 6-4 on the season. The Atlanta Falcons are just a couple of weeks away from their first preseason game. They're scheduled to play August 14th at home when they host the Denver Broncos at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. PGA Tour is on the penultimate event of the regular season. They're at the Rocket Classic in Detroit. Round one underway today.

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. It's game day. Are your moderate to severe Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis symptoms keeping you from the action? Skyrizi, Risenkizumab RZA, could help you get back to the game. Skyrizi is proven to help people feel significant symptom relief, achieve remission, and visibly improve damage of the intestinal lining. Skyrizi is a prescription injection medicine for adults. Don't use if allergic to Skyrizi.

Serious allergic reactions, increased infections, or lower ability to fight them may occur. Before treatment, get checked for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor about any flu-like symptoms or vaccines. Liver problems leading to hospitalization may occur when treated for Crohn's or ulcerative colitis. Control is everything to me. Ask your doctor about Skyrizi, the number one prescribed biologic in Crohn's and ulcerative colitis combined. Learn more at skyrizi.com or 1-866-SKYRIZI. The score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93-9, the score. Welcome back in. And, you know, you're getting close to football when you say the name.

Kevin Scarbinsky, columnist for the lead. AL.com. Birmingham News award-winning writer, TV host, Alabama High School Athletic Association voice for the state finals in basketball and football. And his podcast is called Skarbo Knows. Kevin Scarbinsky, welcome in. How are you? I'm good, fellas. How are you? I'm good. I just figured you'd be sad. And the stallions, according to the reports, have left the stable in your backyard of Birmingham, Kevin. Yes, I saw the news today, and it was certainly not a surprise it was headed in that direction.

The individual who purchased a controlling interest in the league did not appear to be a big fan of Birmingham. Despite the success that that franchise has had, I'm not sure how well-equipped that guy is to actually run a professional football league. But, you know, I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of spring football in general. And I like, you know, I like sports in their seasons, in their natural seasons. So, but I will say it was, a lot of people enjoyed it. A lot of people cared about it.

And they were, until this past season, they were very successful. So, I always hate to see things like that go away, because it just reinforces an old opinion that Birmingham doesn't support those kind of things. Which, again, if you put a winning product on the field, and if you market it properly, and you really support it, and that's something they never really did. The leagues never really did. So, another sad chapter in our professional sports history here in Birmingham. Well, Kevin, last word we had, there's still college football at Alabama and Auburn, of course, elsewhere in the SEC.

But, where's the SEC now, compared to where it was? The Big Ten folks taking their shots, basically saying, it used to be relevant, and now the Big Ten is king of the throne. They're taking their shots. You can't argue over the past three years. The SEC, as you put it, has a big problem, and it may not be across the sidelines. It may be in D.C., Kevin. Well, not necessarily in D.C., where I don't know what's going on there. They don't either. Isn't it amazing?

Yeah. Join the crowd, right? Isn't it amazing that otherwise intelligent, accomplished individuals like the conference commissioners have basically gone to the federal government with hat in hand and asked them to solve the problems that they created? Well, the federal government can't, you know, the people on both sides of the aisle can't agree on what color the sky is on a daily basis. So, why would you think that they could solve your problems? And, of course, the bill was far too, that Protect College Sports Act is far too big.

It's over 100 pages. It's trying to deal with far too many issues. They should have started small and worked out from there and tried to deal with the transfer portal and NIL and just, you know, a few basic things. But the one thing that they don't need Congress to do is to get on the same page in terms of scheduling. Look, it is mind-boggling to me. You have four power conferences. Now, of varying degrees of power, and you just described the current situation with the Big Ten and the SEC very well, but they're all power conferences.

[37:44] Why do they not have the same basic parameters on scheduling? Everybody plays nine conference games and everybody plays one non-conference game against a power conference opponent. Is that that hard, and yet they can't seem to do that? And the SEC, for reasons that is going to come to regret, I fear, you know, went alone and decided to add that, well, not alone in playing nine conference games. They finally have joined the crowd in doing that, and the ACC is moving in that direction. How about what they're doing this year?

Some of the schools are going to play eight conference games. Some of their schools are going to play nine. Good luck figuring out that tie-breaking system when we get to November. But the SEC not only is going to play nine conference games for the first time, but they maintained their requirement that you play a power conference school in at least one non-conference game, which the Big Ten does not require of its schools, as we know, because their last three national champions played three cupcakes. Not just three cupcakes in total, but they started their season with three non-conference cupcakes.

It's like playing three exhibition games before you ever play a real game. Good point. That's exactly right. Like I said, I fear the SEC made a big mistake there. Yeah, and Alabama's playing Texas, and again, you mentioned that point. Michigan, Ohio State, Indiana, very good schools. You can debate whether Michigan won it on the field or off the field, but very good schools. But Alabama's losing to Texas and Tuscaloosa, while Ohio State's playing Western Michigan, and Michigan's playing UNLV. Now, your point was well made. Yeah, and we saw it.

Look, we don't have to look back any farther than last year with Alabama. You know, they played two power conference schools in the non-conference in Florida State and Wisconsin, and clearly were not ready and did not play well and got beat in Tallahassee, and then they handled Wisconsin fairly easily and Tuscaloosa. But those games take something out of you, and when you accumulate damage over a season, as Ty Simpson did, and part of that was the schedule, but part of it was the offensive line didn't perform.

It didn't keep him upright, as it should have. But that has a cumulative effect, and you saw it in Ty Simpson. He was physically beat up when they got to the postseason, when they got to Atlanta for the SEC championship game, and certainly when they got to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl. And, look, I'm not making excuses. I'm not saying Alabama would have won those games otherwise, but certainly having your quarterback dealing with everything he was dealing with is not putting yourself in the best position to win.

And the SEC, I believe, under this new nine-game format, is going to find more situations like that. And it is a huge advantage for the Big Ten to play those non-conference cupcakes. Yeah, and part of Scarborough knows the podcast. I agree with you. People talk about this and the other, but there's a first half, the schedule when people are relatively happy. And then what happens by the end? It's like a boxing match. Everybody's fresh the first two or three rounds. You get to the 12th round, and you're fighting Muhammad Ali.

You're tired. And I think that's a point well taken. But, Kevin, you know where we are. Where are you vibe-wise? Basically, about three or four, whatever it is, days out from opening camp. What message can you tell Alabama fans as far as your vibe? And you guessed it. What message can you tell Auburn fans in terms of your vibe? Well, for Alabama fans, I would say turn off the gas, coming off the ledge, close the window behind you. There's no reason to panic because this recruiting class for 2027 is not going to be what you are used to.

But it's because the last two were so good, and they kept so many of those guys, and they're off to a great start on the 28 class. So, look, they're going to be young. They're going to have a new quarterback. And, really, this is, for the first time, I would say, and I think this is a fair statement, this is truly now Kalen DeBoer's Alabama program. It was a transition. He was not handed a team ready to win a national championship. Have people lost their minds? Have they forgotten that, what was it, 30-something players walked out the door after Nick Saban retired?

One of those guys is the starting quarterback at Ohio State. Another one of those guys may have been the best defensive player in college football last year in Caleb Downs, who also went to Ohio State. So, the cupboard, while it wasn't bare, it wasn't exactly overflowing either. So, Kalen DeBoer has had time now, though, to put his stamp on the program, to have two full recruiting classes. He's working on another, of course. And now, for the first time, he's going to have a quarterback that he recruited, that he signed, and he developed.

[42:45] So, this is truly his program, and I think if you want to judge Kalen DeBoer, and we all do it, and we will, and we'll continue to do so, now is the time to do it as this season unfolds. And look, unless the bottom drops out, he's going to be back next year. So, stop with throwing out his buyout, how much it's going to take. Don't listen to any people who are better known for screaming on national talk shows. Listen to people who understand college football, and go support your team if you're an Alabama fan.

If you're an Auburn fan, I think you should be thrilled that you have a new coach, first of all, that you're not going into another season with the last head coach. And also feel good about what you've seen from Alex Golesh. And look, what you do in January and April and July at SEC Media Days, that's not going to win football games. It's not going to win championships. But he has, I think, given off some very good vibes of the kind of coach he's going to be and the kind of program he's going to run.

And I've made this comparison, and I want to make it clear. I'm not saying he's going to be another Pat Dye, but I do see some of Pat Dye in him. A little chip on the shoulder, a little bit of an edge, and I think that's a good thing. I think you have to have that to be successful in any job, and certainly in the Auburn job when you are smack dab in the middle of the best program in the history of the SEC in Alabama and the current best program in the SEC in Georgia.

So you better have some stuff to you, and Alex Golesh does. And by the way, he has a pretty good quarterback that he brought with him from Tampa as well, who I think is going to be one of the better quarterbacks in the SEC. Kevin, I agree with everything you said. I think Auburn is going to be much better offensively. There's only one way to go up. I think D.J. Durkin's defense is going to be solid again. But we talked about this all summer, beginning September the 19th with a home game with Florida.

Thank God that series is coming back again. They have six of the toughest games in the country, ending with Ole Miss and Oxford on Halloween. Day or night. Kevin, if they go two and four in that stretch, they will have done well. They've got LSU, let's see, Ole Miss, Georgia, and Tennessee on the road. They go two and four. They will have done well. And the record's not going to indicate, I think, how much improved this team is. But I'm like you. I think Goalich has handled the summer and the offseason very well.

Yeah, they didn't get any breaks from the schedule maker. Think about this, because the first year of the nine-game schedule, when you play a nine-game conference schedule, it's not even, you know, some teams are going to play four home games in the league and some are going to play five. Auburn only gets four home games in the league. And then, and I'll never understand this, no matter how much money it brings in, selling your home game with Baylor to Atlanta and making it the Aflac kickoff game, I think that was a huge mistake in any season when you have a home field advantage like Auburn does and when you're only playing four conference home games and five conference road games.

So I thought that was a mistake. But the way the schedule lays out, as you just described, they better win games in September. Because October is really going to be tough. Like you said, at Tennessee, at Georgia, home against LSU, and at Ole Miss. I mean, you're talking about teams that are picked in the top ten to compete for an SEC championship, a national championship, you know, playoff contenders. So, yeah, the record won't fully reflect how good Auburn is or how much progress Auburn has made.

You'll see that, though, on the field. And like you said, if they're even competent on offense, it will be a great step forward from what we've seen the last couple of years. And D.J. Durkin's defense, you know they're going to be solid at least on that, if not spectacular, on that side of the ball. Scott Carbo knows. Talk about the Alabama boy now down in gator country. I don't know if you have seen their back and forth. I don't know the dude's name at ESPN.

I don't follow those guys. He's got one of those long names. But he calls out Jon Sumrall because his wife revealed that her husband likes pedicures every two weeks, to which ESPN said, real dudes don't do pedicures. So what does Jon Sumrall do? He comes back and posts a picture of this guy with a long name at ESPN sniffing a woman's high-heeled shoe. Got a photo of it. I think the dude picked the wrong guy. Don't mess with North Alabama, right, Kevin? Yeah. I ain't backing down, dude.

Guess you missed it. I think we lost you, Kevin. But I thought that was, to me, Jon Sumrall said, basically, if you want to punch, I'm punching back, my friend. Well, believe me, Jon Sumrall can certainly do that. Now, you can see his tongue-in-cheek humor, and particularly about throwing the podium at the media person who answered the phone. But, yeah, it's going to be fun to see. Harold, I think that these are two very good coaches. I think they're the best in the new coaches. But we'll see where all that stuff goes.

[48:14] And Kevin's rejoined us. Kevin, I just quickly, I don't know if you talked about Jon Sumrall. Now, going back and forth to that guy with a long name there at ESPN, he posted a picture of him sniffing a woman's high-heeled shoes in defense. Yeah, yeah. First of all, I'm not claiming Dan Orlovsky, despite the fact that his last name ends in SKY. He's been banished. If he's Polish, he's been banished from the family for those comments. And you're right, do not challenge Jon Sumrall. You will not be happy at the outcome.

Look, that guy's got, as I said last week, he's got a little crazy behind the eyes, but it's a good crazy. You know, and you saw it with his podium comment when the guy's phone went off, which he was, you know, was partly serious and partly joking. But, no, John's the real deal. And if you ask me to pick one team that I think could be a pleasant surprise in the SEC this year, I would point immediately at Florida. Because they've got talent. I don't know about the quarterback position.

If the guy from Georgia Tech who came in with the offensive coordinator is going to be good enough, or if they'll go with D.J. Legway's backup from last year, Tramell Jones Jr. But they've got talent. Jaden Botts, in my mind, is the best running back in the league, even better than Kiwon Lacey. He is a workhorse. He's a stud. They've got really good receivers on the outside. I think the offensive line will be at least solid. And then the defense. You always expect a John Summerall team to play good defense.

So, that's why I can't wait for that September 19th game where Florida goes to Auburn. That's been, as you said, a great series in the past. I'm glad they're renewing it. I hope they're going to play. If you don't play every year now, at least you play twice every four years under the nine-game format, which is one of the positives of it for those of us who enjoy watching SEC on SEC Crime. So, no, I think Summerall's going to be—he's going to make a—he's going to frustrate and anger a lot of people who try to confront him in his years in Gainesville.

Harold mentioned this earlier. And we talk about this, and particularly later in the fall, in the spring, but you do a tremendous job of what I call quarterbacking the coverage of the Alabama Husky Athletic Association, Super 7, which is going to be changing some, and then also the basketball in Legacy Arena. I'm really glad the Alabama Public TV has jumped in with this, both feet, as far as televising the games. They're going to be doing a game of the week again. In fact, I think in the middle of the season, Brooks and Dessler is the statewide game.

Kevin, are they going to plan to televise even more high-sku games this fall? Well, we are doing the game of the week, and it will start on August 20th from Montgomery. I can't wait. We've got a flag football game, and we've got a tackle football game. We've got a doubleheader, and the tackle football game, I believe, is Thompson and Central Phoenix City. Have that for an opener. That's like playing your Super Bowl in the first game of the year. And then we'll be all over the state, as you mentioned.

That's been the most fun, is getting out to high schools where I've been before, some that I've never been to, and meeting all the people there. Everybody welcomes us with open arms. You know, fans show up, bands, cheerleaders. We're really trying to turn it into a college game day type atmosphere, and without the Pat McAfee substitute. Although, I do try to bring some enthusiasm, but I try not to be unhinged. But, no, that's a lot of fun, and I don't know if there are plans to do more football.

I will say, there certainly have been discussions about doing more sports in the postseason. You know, we do, as you mentioned, football and basketball on APT. But we've talked about maybe baseball and softball, and what other sports can we do in telecast across the state so everyone can see the championships of different sports that the AHSA puts on. So, it's going to be fun. It's going to be interesting. I have a lot of studying to do with the new public-private breakdowns, with the new classifications, the new areas.

It gives me a headache just thinking about trying to digest all that information. But we'll try to present it for folks on the pregame show. Again, it'll be the game start at 7. The live pregame show will be 5 to 6 every Thursday night starting on August 20th. So, can't wait for that. Absolutely. I'm delighted to hear that. Also, delighted to read your great stuff on AL.com. You've got the podcast. Kevin, where can we get online to get all the great stuff? Yeah, the best thing to do, follow me on Twitter or X, if you prefer, at Kevin Scarbinsky.

I'll always provide links to my columns in the Birmingham News, as you mentioned, which is now an online subscription publication. But you can find links to those on AL.com slash sports. And then go to YouTube, my channel, my podcast channel is Kevin Scarbinsky dash Scarbo Knows, take off on Bo Knows, the old TV commercial back in the day with Mr. Bo Jackson. That's really started to take off. And I appreciate you guys by mentioning it. Definitely that helps. And it doesn't cost anything to subscribe, but you'll get a notification every time I post one.

[53:47] And we're going to be doing three a week as we get into football season. So, we're going to have a lot of fun. And I should mention, we're going to be doing live chat on Sunday evenings as well on YouTube. So, I look forward to that. So, people can tell me how much I don't know about college football. And they will, too. Every Sunday night. Never have. And I know they will. Yes, they will. Enjoy yourself. Thank you so much. Sounds busy. But please, squeeze in a pedicure somewhere in there.

Okay, Kevin? I'll see what I can do. There you go, bud. We're going to hold you to it. Kevin Scarbinsky, amongst other places, Scarbo Knows. Coming up in the next hour, I'm going to be taking you all over the place. I'm going to be checking in with Ryan Fowler. Caleb Sucks sitting in the scene here in high school in North Alabama style. And we'll kick it off with a true warrior, Trey Lane. Checking in from Wilson to Morris, straight ahead of the Bumble Bug Show. Stay with us.

You're still glowing, flirting, grooving. You've still got it. But your immune system weakens as you age, making it harder to fight illnesses like pneumococcal pneumonia and RSV. Vaccines are a key part of any health routine and can help protect you from getting really sick. Ask your doctor or pharmacist which vaccines you need. See more at PfizerForAll.com. Sponsored by Pfizer. DQ presents Being a Miracle Maker. Making a difference in your community has never been easier because July 30th is Miracle Treat Day at DQ. You buy a Blizzard tree at participating locations and DQ will donate a dollar or more to Children's Miracle Network to benefit your local Children's Hospital.

So on July 30th, buy a Blizzard tree and be a Miracle Maker, a Blizzard-eating hero, doing their part on Miracle Treat Day. July 30th, DQ. Happy, taste, good. In a world parched for excitement, one drink will emerge. Twisted Tea, the refreshing thrill ride of flavor. Recreating its classic role as the hard iced tea that goes down smooth. Twisted Tea doesn't just taste like real iced tea, it's made with real brewed tea and a 5% kick of alcohol. Taste the adventure with Twisted Tea Hard Iced Tea. Keep it twisted.

Twisted Tea Brewing Company, Cincinnati, Ohio. Please drink responsibly. My name is Whitney Allen and I'm a widow. My husband, Ryan, died. We never thought we'd ever have to use life insurance, but the unexpected happened. With Ethos, signing up was fast and 100% online. You can get a quote in seconds, apply in minutes, and get same-day coverage. No medical exams, and you can get up to $3 million worth of coverage. I am grateful we were prepared. Get your free quote at ethos.com slash play. That's ethos.com slash play.

Paid spokesperson. Time spent on application may vary. Online health questions required. U.S. Senator Katie Britt has crossed the aisle in the U.S. Senate to work on a bipartisan bill with Democrat Senator Jean Shaheen. This will continue the sanctions against Russia that the late Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina was working on just before his death. Britt and Sheehan were on Fox News to talk about the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. We talk about peace through strength all the time. To me, this is the definition of that.

You talked with Senator Shaheen about Senator Lindsey Graham. He has been talking about this for a year and a half, nonstop, working with Senator Blumenthal, people like Senator Shaheen, Senator Wicker, and others, building the coalition that was needed, getting the language exactly right, where you have Senate Democrats and Republicans and you have the White House on the same page knowing we want the killing to end. We want there to be peace. We think Putin's war machine has to be held accountable, and we know that this is the way to do it.

So I appreciate President Trump's leadership, and I look forward to giving him the tools he needs to bring resolution in this war. I'll be back with more Alabama stories after this. Covenant Rescue Group seeks to directly support organizations and agencies that are fighting the global battle against human trafficking. They do this through funding, procuring, and advocating. You can go to CovenantRescue.org for further details. They need your donations, guys. Hop on and donate. A Florida woman being sought by police for kidnapping was captured in the city of Dothan this past Wednesday.

38-year-old Janae Burns is accused of kidnapping a 10-year-old girl from the Orlando area. The vehicle that Burns was driving was picked up by a license plate reader. That's when U.S. Marshals initiated a fugitive task force operation to arrest Burns. The child was found in Burns' custody and will be returned to her family in Florida. I'm Andrea Tice. For more news affecting Alabamians, go to 1819news.com. And while you're there, subscribe to the daily newsletter. Indeed presents Hires You Can't Afford to Get Wrong, like Public Works Supervisor.

[58:47] Hey, this Waterman is under a ton of pressure. Did you ever fix it? Yeah, three layers of duct tape. Wait, should I have added a fourth layer? This is a job for sponsored jobs. This is what happens when you don't sponsor your job on Indeed. Next time, get matched with quality candidates with Indeed Sponsored Jobs. Visit Indeed.com slash hire now and sponsor your job today. Sound familiar? At Mattress Firm, we understand there are many problems that can keep you up at night, like snoring, aches and pains, or sleeping hot.

Our sleep experts have the unrivaled know-how to match you with a mattress that can help. And now at Mattress Firm, get any size mattress for one low price starting at $249.99. For the great sleep you deserve, visit Mattress Firm. We make sleep easy. Restrictions apply. See store or website for details. Valley Broadcasting Corporation, WITK-FM, Rogersville, Athens, Decatur, the Shores. Sports Radio 93.9, the score. Sunday Night Baseball, on ESPN Radio. Two storied franchises go head-to-head. Joe Hale, Johnny, wasting no time. As the Dodgers fight for the top of Major League Baseball, they welcome the surging Boston Red Sox.

Down the left field line. It's gone! Wilson Contreras. The Red Sox at the Dodgers 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. Hey everybody, Bill King, Bill King Show. Listen to me. 9 until noon, 93.9, the score. Monday through Friday, as we talk college football like nobody else does. Because he listens in Florence. Our show's, Charlie, our show's on down there. Bill King Show. Monday through Friday, 9 until noon. Every league, every big topic is covered.

93.9, the score. 93.9, the score weather. Today, sunny with a high around 90. Tonight, partly cloudy overnight with a low near 65. Tomorrow, sunny with a high around 90. Tomorrow night, mostly cloudy with a 60% chance of showers and thunderstorms overnight with a low near 70. Ampere Saturday, mostly cloudy with an 80% chance of showers, possibly a thunderstorm, high around 90. 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. Now, your host, Harold Bugge on 93.9, the score.

Welcome back in. I want you to be more Bugge show. I'm Harold Bugge alongside Redbeard. Thank you so much for giving us free ride around the Tennessee Valley and for checking in on the 93.9, the score app, whether you're in the North Pole, South Pole, or any point in between. With that, we head on out to Wilson High School and say hello to Coach Trey Lang. Coach, welcome in. How are you? I'm doing great. Thank you guys for having me. Hey, Coach. Man, are you ready for some football, Coach?

Because I go down the street and I got some teacher friends and where I live, there's a lot of long faces because they had to report yesterday that kids get a little more reprieve. But if you play sports or you're a coach, I guess the message to that group is, welcome to my world. I've been at it for a while now. Would you agree with that, Coach? Yeah, I mean, we gave them a week off after school was out and we haven't really stopped since. Talk to us about your guys.

We started our first week this week, so we've been excited to get back at it. Zach Pounders is a good friend of ours. He does the show Sports Report. He did an interview with a lot of the teams and, of course, interviewed you. And there were several things from that interview that I noted. You've got that the roster has increased. You've got 50-plus players. You've got nine defensive starters coming back. Last year, for 2025, you scored 200 points for the first time. That's happened since 2017. There is no question that Wilson's football program is improving.

Oh, absolutely. I would say that we took major steps forward last year. We just became much more consistent in how we approached practice every day and how we approached our games. You just saw that across the board with things like turnovers and just being much more consistent overall, which allows you to, the style of ball we play, we want to play good defense, and we want to run the football and hold on to the football. So we saw time of possession increase. We saw our points increase.

And overall, you saw things trending in the right direction. Coach Trey Lane checking in from Wilson High. Coach, obviously everyone in your fraternity has to deal with the same question. How is reclassification going to affect us in our schedule compared to? Because in a way, everybody's got something in common. There's going to be changes for better or worse just about with every program. Talk to us about how the R word affects your schedule at Wilson. Well, I think the biggest thing with reclassification that affected us is, I mean, we're going to see good teams no matter what.

[1:04:20] I think the biggest thing you see is, I think it put us in more of a natural spot due to roster sizes. We were playing teams last year that we would, we were, our roster was down a little bit under 40 last year. We would roll into games where we were playing teams with 70. Yeah, wow. Where, you know, you're not at this. Yeah, you're not necessarily seeing an issue with your first group of guys. But what you are seeing is the depth as the game goes on.

Even if you're in a good position, you know you're going to have to hold on late with a team that has much more depth than you. So I think that's the biggest takeaway from the reclassification is you're still going to play really good teams. I just think you're going to see teams with similar roster sizes and you're not going to have a huge depth difference between teams. Absolutely. Listen, tell us, I mentioned nine starters coming back on defense. A lot of coaches would like to have that.

Tell us about some of your leaders. You just got through, you started summer camp this week. You went through the off-season conditioning. I know some teams play seven-on-seven, strength and conditioning running, et cetera. But the guys, and you win games at the line of scrimmage no matter what level it is. Tell us about some of the guys coming back this year. Well, I think you nailed it. First of all, I'm just going to say this, seven-on-seven is a great tool. When you run the option, seven-on-seven is not exactly our forte.

We throw the ball more times at the seven-on-seven than we will the whole year. I bet. But I think you nailed it. It starts at the line of scrimmage for us. We have a great group of young men coming back on our offensive and defensive lines of scrimmage. We've been very fortunate that we've played a lot of guys young. Those guys have had to learn the hard way and learn through taking some hard knocks. But we've got a group that has played together for a long time.

We're returning all five starters on the offensive front. And we are returning all our starters on the defensive front. So we think that's where this team, I believe, starts. We're also, I mean, so we all, and I include our tight end in that he's coming back as well. I think defensively, returning starters that are just big leaders for us, Reece Young, our inside linebacker, he is, you know, had two straight years of 100-plus tackles. Max Hudson's our starting safety. Those guys have been really good leaders through this offseason.

And I'm really excited about seeing them get to play. Offensively, we did lose. Our quarterback and our primary running back last year, those are the two big spots. You know, we returned nine on that side. But we have guys that have to fill new roles. Kellen Churchwell is going to have to fill the role of quarterback for us. And I'm really excited to get to see him go. He started at wide receiver for us. So it's not like it's his first jump into a big ball, but he's going to have to play at a different position.

So we have a lot of guys returning. I'm going to end up missing people's names, but we have a ton of guys coming back that I count on and are really excited about getting to see. Because they've been starting for two, some of them, three years. And they're about to, they're about to, this is the first year where we probably had the majority of our team that's going to start is driving a car to practice. So we're pretty excited about that. We started 10 freshmen and sophomores last year.

So we're pretty excited about everybody got off being on permits and have driver's license. I like it. I like that. I guarantee it. And Coach's dream there, that and two returning lines on each side of the ball. Coach Trey Lane at the Wilson High. Coach, talk to us about your schedule. Very interesting. And correct us if we're wrong. Sometimes the information we get sometimes gets updated. But the info as we have it, the season opens August 21st, but Wilson doesn't play until the next week at Haleyville.

The first home game won't be until the first Friday, what, the first week in September when Central comes to town. Your thoughts just about the opening part of your schedule there. Well, that is one of the big negatives to reclassification. It was such a massive shift in scheduling. A lot of the guys that we had as our penciled-in non-regions before reclassification happened, they were sitting in the same room with me at the region meeting. So we had to get kind of creative with our scheduling, and we ended up in more of what I would consider an old-school schedule.

We're playing 10 straight, which might not be my preference, but it is what it is. I mean, it's not out of the realm of possibility to play 10 straight. Now, you'd prefer a bye week somewhere in there, but we're going to go jamboree pre-week zero, and then we're going to have a week off, and then we're playing 10 straight. Now, the good news is if you do happen to play some really good football and you get on a roll, you don't want to stop playing. So that's the other side of it.

[1:09:30] A bye week can be a great thing, but it can also break up momentum. Just a fun topic here. You closed on the road the last two games. I don't think anyone will ever call your last two opponents on the road cupcakes at Lauderdale County and at Calvert County. Absolutely. We have two very good opponents on the road at the end of the year, and I'll be honest with you. Coach Bonds, I know, does a great job at Calvert County, and we wanted to play them because we want to see that speed leading into the playoffs.

Because we are going to do the work to get to the playoffs, and we need to see opponents that are going to prepare us correctly for the playoffs. Good strategy. Absolutely. Let me ask you about where, as you mentioned, summer camp begins. Every program in the shows is looking for financial support. I saw on Facebook a little bit earlier you're looking for sponsors for the 2026 season, be it in-kind gifts, be it certainly money. I know you've got a list of sponsors and what that is, but Trey, if you're listening to this conversation and you would like to make a donation to Wilson as a sponsor or in-kind gift, how can they get in touch with you, the athletic department, to try to help the school?

Well, if they want to get in touch with me to help the football program, they can email me at james.lane at lcschools.org. That's the best way to get in touch with me with things in regards to that. Those sponsorships for our football program help us with things that people never even realize, helmet reconditioning, jerseys, all the things. And some of it's not the pretty stuff. It's, you know, we had, you have to order girdles every year and things like that that cost that up.

I mean, we thought, we figured it out one night that it costs us over $1,000 just to kick a ball off on a Friday night with paint, officials, those things. Before the ball even gets kicked, it's going to cost you over $1,000 a game. So, those sponsors have been just instrumental for us as we've been building the program because we couldn't do it without them. Absolutely. Tell us who the Jamboree game is. As Harold mentioned, you've got to buy, then you begin on the 28th at Haleville. Who's your Jamboree?

And again, mention if someone listening to our conversation now would like to help you in-kind or financial donations. Again, tell us the address, the email, where they can go. Well, they can go to james.lane at lcschools.org, and they can email me. That's my email. And if they reach out, I'll be able to speak with them. Our sponsorships have been monetary. They've also been people that have donated labor and materials and things like that. So, it's not necessarily just monetary. But we play August the 14th at Collinwood for a Jamboree, which is a really cool thing that we've gotten to bring back with the schedule this year because that's an old rivalry that I think is going to be really fun to play.

So, it's going to be really good to see that. I think it's going to be a really nice crowd for a Jamboree on a Friday night in mid-August. Hard to believe just two weeks away to that. Coach, listen, it's good to catch you with you. All the best. Stay as cool out there as you can, okay? I appreciate it, guys. Thank you for having me. Thank you, Troy. Thank you so much, Wilson, our head football coach, Ray Lane. Let's stay on the high school train with Caleb Suggs next.

Stay with us. You know what you can trust? The protection you get when you bundle home and auto insurance with Progressive. You know what you can't trust? Everything else, apparently. Like when you saw that article that said that thing you eat every day is a superfood and great for your gut health. But then 30 seconds later, a different article warns you to avoid it, and it's taking years off your life. Well, which is it? Kind of a big difference there. Anyway, bundle home and auto insurance with Progressive for reliable coverage in a reliably unreliable world.

Progressive Casualty Insurance Company affiliates and third-party insurers. Not available in all states or situations. The Colonel is the king of chicken. That's why he's always had a beef with beef. But on Wednesdays, he's squashing the beef by frying it. KFC Country Fried Steak is here for only $4.99. Crispy golden outside, tender steak inside. Served with peppery gravy, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, and a biscuit. At last, the Colonel and beef buried the hatchet in gravy. Get the $4.99 Country Fried Steak Wednesdays for a limited time, only at KFC. Prices and participation may vary while supplies last.

Not available on third-party ordering platforms. Text tip and fees extra. I know that hiring can be challenging. You sort through tons of resumes and you get too many so-so applicants. You're just waiting for someone to match your role perfectly. Well, now there's a place where you can meet them fast. ZipRecruiter. Just head to ziprecruiter.com slash free right now to try it for free. And you're on your way to meeting your match. Four out of five employers who post on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate within the first day.

[1:15:10] So try it now. Go to ziprecruiter.com slash free. Once again, that's ziprecruiter.com slash free. ZipRecruiter try it free. Rich Eisen here. Running a small business means every hire matters. A bad hire costs time and money, but the right one helps your business grow. The challenge? Finding that person without sorting through resumes. That's where LinkedIn Hiring Pro comes in. It screens candidates so you can focus on conversations with qualified talent. With Hiring Pro, you can hire with confidence and build the team you need. Join the 2.7 million small businesses using LinkedIn to hire.

Get started by posting your job for free at linkedin.com slash Eisen. Terms and conditions apply. Harry Douglas here to help you ignite your taste buds with Firework Freeze 5-Hour Energy Shots. Juicy Cherry, Citrus Lime, and Blue Raspberry. It's that iconic freezer pop flavor, but with none of that guilty sugar aftermath. The perfect summer kick. It's delicious, portable, zero-sugar energy shot bursting with flavor. Bring on the summer with Firework Freeze 5-Hour Energy Shots. Available online at 5hourenergy.com and on Amazon. Pull up a chair, Braves country, because your Atlanta Braves are ready to play ball on the Braves radio network.

And he swings and it's one high and deep to left field. Green to the wall, and it's gone! Home run as he always. Tonight, the Braves are back home at Truist Park, welcoming the Washington Nationals to Atlanta for a four-game NL East Division Series. Braves radio is on the air at 6 p.m. Central on the Braves radio network. Brought to you locally by… The law firm of Johnson Pesture, Medley, and Virtual. J.C. Hammond Sons. First Metro Bank. Nationwide insurance agents Michael Doe and Bill Cochran.

Champy's Famous Fried Chicken. Muffer Jewelers. Valley Credit Union. Mugshots Grill and Bar. Certified Alarm. Southern Pride Pest Control. Lost Pizza. Cypress Creek Indoor Range. And Alabama Health Guidance. Atlanta Braves baseball. Tonight, versus the Washington Nationals on 93.9 The Score. The Score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. The Score. Welcome back in. He's been a little busy and about to get even busier. He's Caleb Suggs. He's got it all covered over at the Decatur Daily. Caleb, welcome in. How are you? I'm doing good, guys. How are y'all?

Hey, bud. Man, we just got done talking with some of our friends. Coach Trey Landon at Wilson High. I would imagine everywhere you go, you've got plenty on your plate. Camps opening up everywhere across our neck of the woods. Caleb, in your locale, where you focus, what would be one of the biggest top stories coming out of camp right now? Could it possibly be West Morgan? Do they rebuild or just reload? Yeah. Right now, it's just reloading. I expect them to have another team that's just as good this year.

I think they lost a few key players from last year. The biggest one, of course, being Macquarie Johnson, the running back. But elsewhere, they return a lot of starters. They return their entire offensive line. Kylan Stover, who plays receiver, running back, he's back. Asher Fletcher, who stepped in as quarterback last year, he's back. A lot of guys on defense. And just the program that they do with what Phillips has established there. I mean, they're just one of those teams that's going to keep reloading. And, you know, their schedule's way tougher this year.

The region's way tougher just because they had Price Bull, Hamilton, West Point, all these 5A teams drop down to 4A. But they also went out and, you know, they scheduled Athens for the non-region. But, you know, if you talk to those kids, I mean, they're excited. I mean, they are confident. They, you know, they play Athens week one, and they really think they're going to go in there and win. And I think that says a lot about the standard and the program that Coach Drew Phillips has set there.

So, it's going to be a tougher schedule. I don't think that regular season winning streak that's at 34 games will go another 10 this year. But I still think they're going to be at least the top dog in the region. And until someone else beats them, I predict that they'll win the region again. Talk to us just about that, the program, because it shows you the power of getting the right hire, or conversely, heaven forbid, the wrong hire. Because at one time, long-time high school fans in the area, they remember Wes Morgan said, okay, now it's in a different sphere.

It just shows you the power of hiring the right person to not just build a team, but a program, does it not? Yeah, 100%. I think, of course, you know, I always thought that, you know, Wes Morgan had some talent there. I mean, you saw Coach Ritter, who's now John Ritter, who's now a educator, coach at Russell. Well, he was there. You know, he had success there, too. But I think, you know, you came in, you know, Coach Phillips from day one said that. He said, I don't want to have a good team.

I want to have a good program. And so he, from day one, he's built that way, and that's what they keep building, too. And I think, you know, it's one thing to have that mindset, but when you can actually have success and stuff, when you start, I mean, the community support, you get support from the administration. He has got as much support from, I mean, boosters. I mean, the community, administration, as much support as he could possibly have, his coaching staff rivals any school around here.

[1:20:35] And I'm talking about big schools like Hartsell. I mean, he's got great coordinators. I mean, they've got, you know, assistant coaches out the Wazoo. I mean, they have just, I mean, they have really built a program. So when these kids talk about beating these bigger schools like Athens and stuff, I mean, I believe it. I mean, what they've built. I mean, they're really talented. And Coach Phillips is just, I mean, there's, I'm hard to believe there's another coach in North Alabama right now that's doing a better job at their respective school than he is.

I agree with you. I saw Wes Morgan beat Brooks' first game of the year last year, and they ended up, throughout the course of the year, one of the top three teams I saw the entire season. You mentioned John Ritter. You mentioned Decatur. Is the third year the charm? I've really enjoyed your preseason. Everywhere John Ritter's been, whether it's Wes Morgan or Russellville, the third year, they come together. In fact, they've had 10 wins in those years. And what caught my attention in your article, 15 starters come back.

11 of those are seniors. Reed Robertson, their quarterback, Isaiah Allen, the running back, Devin Haley, they've been three-year starters. You've got four offensive linemen coming back, seven defensive starters. I think the third year is going to be the charm for John Ritter at Decatur. Yeah, yeah, it certainly seems that way. You know, I think, you know, you look back at it, you know, last year they went 2-8 the exact same year as the first year. And, you know, they lost to the exact same team, so it probably felt like they didn't improve, but I think they were much better.

They just, you know, I think when you take over a rebuild like that and there was just a culture there, the kids don't know how to win. So, it takes some time, you know, in the weight room that I know they've been, you know, they were much better last year, but I think mentally it takes some time. I feel like this is the year they turn that quarter. But they need that win that really just catapults them. And I think that's why the first game is Buckhorn is so important.

And I think Buckhorn is going to be a really good team. And that's going to be a tough game, but they really need to go in there and win that. I hate putting a lot of pressure on the first game, but, I mean, it's massive because, you know, then they've got Grissom week two. I think that's a very winnable game, but then you get in the recent schedule. You've got Austin to start off with and you get in to play in Harkville, Athens, Muscle Shoals. I mean, that's a lot of good teams.

And I think, you know, I think they have what it takes to compete, but they need to string some wins together. You know, when you start winning, then that helps the mental of the kids. So, you know, those first couple games are really important. We'll just have to see how it goes. Caleb Suggs, the Decatur Day, let's talk about the team on the south side of the River City, the Black Bears from Austin High. They've been up. And when you have had the success overall, the expectation is always going to be there.

Caleb, what is the expectation for this year's team at Austin High? I mean, I think, you know, they certainly picked, you know, you know, you look the last time they were in the second largest classification. They went semifinals in 15, semifinals in 16, quarters in 17, where they lost to Bo Nix in Pinson Valley by a single point. That was probably the state championship game in reality. So, you know, you look at it, and now they picked a good time to drop back down because, you know, Muscle Shoals, I mean, has a new head coach for the first time in almost 20 years.

Harkville's replacing 30 seniors. Athens was replacing a lot. I mean, I still expect those teams to be good. Those just, there's just a lot of changes there where you look at Austin, they're bringing back like 15 starters. So most of the team from last year, so I expect them to be the favorites to win that region. I expect them to be a team that can compete and go deep in the playoffs. Now, I think the important thing is we can talk all we want about how, how much success Austin had last time they were in the second largest classification.

But the reality is that was almost 10 years ago now. So none of these kids were a part of that. They've been successful in 7A in their region, but not, they haven't won a playoff game. So, you know, it's like Coach Perkins, you know, the head coach said, I mean, they've got to go make their own legacy. So we'll see how it goes. But I think Austin has a chance to have an extremely good year. Yeah, and they've got an incredible tradition and heritage at running back, which you noted in the article.

They keep to Stover in year two at Hatton. They did pretty good last year going 7-4, 6-2 in region play. In fact, they lost to Madison Academy in the first round of the playoffs. But they're going to be good again. I think we've been talking to you about what seems like five years about Saverius Evans. He's going to be a senior this year, ran for 1,700 yards last year. Boulding, Quindarius Boulding, a receiver. Daniel Taylor, Jr. Now, they've got a competition at quarterback. Denton Boulding did a great job there for years.

[1:25:38] But, once again, I think Hatton is going to be good again. Yeah, I think they're going to be good. The question is, you mentioned Saverius. You know, he was, unfortunately, caught up in some wrong side of the law this past weekend. I don't know if you guys saw that story. So I'm not sure what his playing role will be this year if he plays at all. And if he doesn't play, that's a huge loss for them. He's a great player, great running back. So that could be a big blow.

I still think, even without him, they have a chance to be really good, especially in that region. Daniel Taylor, you know, if he has to step in at running back, he's very capable and he's a great player. I think they have a quarterback that moved in. I think he'll be pretty good. They should be good regardless. But, obviously, if they lose Saverius, that's a big blow to me. I thought they were the favorites by far to win that region. If they don't have him, I still think they're the favorites.

But it's going to be a lot tougher because I think there's some teams that can take advantage of that. Speaking of teams, Caleb, I don't know if you want to take a shot here. But if you do, what team in July is the team that nobody's talking about but could be a big surprise after all is said and done this season in this neck of the woods? You know, as far as the teams that I cover, you know, Price School, I think, is one. You know, they had a great year last year, but, you know, Coach Parker, Seth Parker went on to Bob Jones, so, you know, they promoted Austin Burt.

I feel like the coaching change has them a little bit under the radar, but I still think they can be really good. They have some good players coming back, and I think they'll be a solid team. I want to say Brewer can be really good. They went 4-6 last year, and I know you're like 4-6, but, you know, 4-6 for a first-year coach at Brewer is a pretty big deal. But it was not just the fact that they went 4-6, but they won three of the last five games, beat Scottsboro, who went on to the semifinals.

And they're bringing back, you know, most of their offensive line, quarterback, running back, bringing back some really good players. The only thing is that region is going to be so tough, because you're talking about Guntersville, Scottsboro, Boas, Goodman, Cherokee County. That is just some, I mean, so, you know, at the end of the day, I could see them being like 5-5, you know. But, you know, like, well, you said that they could be much better. Well, they were much better, but they just played a much tougher schedule.

But at the end of the day, I could also see them being a team that could go in and upset all those teams and have a great year. But I think they're going to be really good. I think, obviously, nobody's talking about them because it's Brewer, and Brewer has, you know, that stigma of not being good at football. So, but that's definitely a team I would watch out for. By the way, you noted this earlier with the article, Top Early Games. Week 0, West Morgan at Athens.

That is going to be a great game for both teams. Week 1, Hartzell at Coleman. Coleman, obviously, is a rival for a lot of teams. Week 2, the River Rivalry. Decatur at Alston. Wow. Hatton at Winfield. Week 3, Muscle Shoals without Scott Bashton after 18 seasons and 170 wins at Alston. That is going to be a great one, too. We'll be talking about all these with you once the season begins. But tremendous games to begin August and the 1st of September. By the way, will the preview magazine that Decatur Daily puts out for high school football, it normally comes out the Wednesday before the season begins.

Is that the case again, number one? And number two, where can we get online to get your preview with a lot of the teams for the upcoming season? Yeah, as far as I know, that's when it will come out. It certainly won't come out after the season starts. Unless they've told me it's coming out a week earlier. I just make the content. I got you. I got you. But it should come out that week. And then, yeah, you can get online at DecaturDaily.com. You know, we've had a lot of preview stories.

A little bit slow right now because we're trying to get all the stuff for that football section done. But like you said, if all camp's starting in a few weeks, I'll be here. Sounds great. Listen, man, I know you got your shoes on, ready to rock and roll, hit the ground, running. Keep up the good work, Caleb, and thanks so much for your time today. Thanks, guys. Thanks for having me. Thank you, buddy. Caleb Suggs, the Decatur Daily. What's going on down in Tietown? The very latest with Ryan Fowler on deck on the Boomo Bugg Show.

Stay with us. At Family Credit Union, we believe every great team starts with a strong community. We're proud to help our neighbors save, borrow, and build brighter futures together. Whether you're planning for your first home, growing your family, or supporting local dreams, we're here with personalized service and competitive rates. Stop by any of our convenient locations, Tuscumbia, Sheffield, Muscle Shoals, Florence, Russellville, Cherokee, and Killen, or visit us on the web at valleycreditunion.net. Valley Credit Union, rooted in community, committed to you. Let's win together. This feeling is brought to you by Aleve for Arthritis Pain Relief.

[1:30:49] What feeling is that? Well, it's the feeling you feel when you have relief from arthritis pain. It's that my hands don't hurt just holding things feeling. That, wow, I can actually move well feeling. You know, that go about your day without worrying about every little movement or ache feeling. Oh, yeah. Because Aleve targets arthritis pain at the source of inflammation for long-lasting relief. So you can keep moving through it. Feel up to 12 hours of arthritis pain relief with one dose. Feel Aleve. Use is directed for minor arthritis pain.

Hey, Mom, now that I have an after-school job, I think I want to buy a drum kit. Okay, Rockstar. Let's look at your account. When kids start making money, Chase has easy-to-use tools and expert bankers to help them learn how to manage it. And next month, I'll buy the bass drum and the cymbals. Oh, and maybe some noise-canceling headphones for you. Aw, you've thought of everything. Help kids save, budget, and build financial independence all with Chase. That's good for kids and good for parents. Visit your local Chase branch and get started.

Accounts subject to approval. JPMorgan Chase Bank, NA member FDIC. Rich Eisen here. We talk a lot about battles in sports. Teams battling through adversity. Athletes fighting for every yard. The toughest warriors I've ever seen, though, aren't on the field. They're kids fighting cancer. They're families standing beside them. Doctors, nurses, caregivers. That's why I'm proud to support Hyundai Hope on Wheels. For over 28 years, they've helped fund pediatric cancer research, raising more than $303 million and supporting over 40,000 children. Learn more and donate at HyundaiUSA.com backslash hopeonwheels. Rich Eisen here with some advice.

If high-interest credit card debt is grinding you down, it might be time to call an audible with a SoFi personal loan. It consolidates your debt into one low monthly payment with no fees required. And with as soon as the same day funding, you can make the right play fast. Call an audible on your debt today at SoFi.com slash debtplay. Loans originated by SoFi Bank, NA member FDIC. Terms and conditions apply. NMLS 696891. Fast Funds terms apply at SoFi.com slash debtplay. Progressive Insurance presents the Sports Flash on 93-9, the score.

PGA Tours on the penultimate event of the regular season. They're at the Rocket Classic in Detroit. Round one underway today. The Atlanta Braves split a doubleheader with the Mets at Citi Field in New York yesterday. The Mets took game number one 3-2, but the Braves bounced back for a game two victory, 1-0. Chris Sale got the win in game two. He's 12-6. Braves are now 63-45. They're back home tonight. They'll start a series with the Washington Nationals. Grant Holmes will start for Atlanta. He's 6-4 on the season.

The Atlanta Falcons are just a couple of weeks away from their first preseason game. They're scheduled to play August 14th at home when they host the Denver Broncos at 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 Deziri on 93.9 The Score. The Colonels cooked up a new $10 bucket of the day just for you. Monday, 24 nuggets for $10. Tuesday, 8-piece fried chicken for $10. Wednesday, 10 wings for $10. Thursday, 8 tenders for $10. Friday, 24 nuggets for… Ooh, you guessed it, didn't you?

$10. Finally comes to the show. The $10 bucket of the day deal. Every weekday. Only at KFC. It's finger-lickin' goo. Prices and participation. Very well. Supplies last. Not available on third-party ordering platforms. Tax extra. If there's one thing you can count on, it's 24-7 protection when you bundle home and auto insurance with Progressive. And if there's two things you can count on, it's your smoke detector battery dying at 3 a.m. Not 3 p.m. on a Saturday when you have nothing going on. But in the middle of the night when you're fast asleep.

Oh, come on! Get 24-7 protection when you bundle home and auto with Progressive. Just one more thing you can count on. Progressive Casualty Insurance company affiliates and third-party insurance. Available in all states or situations. The Score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back again. Really appreciate free Ryan and BB. Obviously, Ryan Fowler is a busy, busy boy. About to get even busy. He's hosting the game down in Tuscaloosa there on 109 FM. But while we wait on Ryan to make his way to the farm, your thoughts about coming out of media days.

This is kind of the, if you will, the calm before the storm. We know there's two classes of fans. Those who sit here and wave the pom-poms and those who say, I'm from Missouri, show me. Where are you as far as your vibe with this team, this program, right now? Well, I think most Alabama fans that I've talked to are what I would call optimistic for the season. I've said this, and I've tried to predict the season record before they kick off. Their floors, 8-4. Their ceilings, 10-2.

And I keep saying this. 10-2 is a great record in 2026. There are not going to be any more, you know, again, I know Indiana did it, but they're going to be few and far between as far as undefeated teams. It just goes back to the same questions we were going to ask Ryan or any of our Alabama guests, Jimmy Stein, tomorrow. Is the offensive line, can it gel? Can they stay healthy? They've made a lot of moves to run the ball. I think they're going to be able to run it more effectively.

[1:36:18] I keep saying this. Keylon Russell, once he starts, will run for 75 yards a game. He's just got that ability. I think the defense is going to be fine. Middle of the season is going to be tough. Again, I keep saying this. Georgia and then we'll find out how mature they are when they go to Knoxville the next week. Then you've got Texas A&M and LSU. I'd say tough stretch. But, Harold, I think right now most Alabama fans, their biggest question is not quarterback. To me, it's the offensive line and can they run the ball.

Well, here's the deal. We're talking in July, and I think everyone would agree with that. But fans, after the first week of the season, they forget what we talked about in July. There's only one thing. You've got to be unbeaten or it's going to be a disappointing season. I agree with you. That's unrealistic. I don't care what team you've got. That's like going to the NFL and saying, I'm not going to be for you unless you go unbeaten. It's not going to happen in the NFL.

And with that ninth game, it's not going to happen. I'm not going to say it's not going to happen. I'd say the odds are overwhelmingly against you. And if it does, by golly, wow, you've got yourself a good team. But here's the thing about this team, BB, that I think if there's such a thing as a realistic fan, just go back to when you started. Whatever job you do, I don't care if you're the president of your company or if you were down here with us cleaning up bathrooms, anything in between.

When you first started, you had a lot of things to learn. You might have a lot of potential, but if you stay in it five years, 10 years, you're probably going to be a better employee than you were at the beginning. And the point I'm trying to make here is Alabama will field a team that has a lot of potential, but they're very young, BB. So it's going to be how soon can that potential do their thing, live up to the expectations? Because what's the definition of failure and disappointment?

It's when you don't meet expectations. I think with this young team, you're going to see players that's going to wow you. And would it be surprising that you're going to say things that you can't say on family radio on a Saturday watching the game? What the heck were they thinking? Why did they do that? It's called youth and trying to learn. Well, yeah, it's an experience. Harold, I mentioned this several times this year. I really think Alabama competes for a national championship in 2027 when they've got so many of these guys coming back.

Now, if they're able to retain them, the other positive thing about this, this is year three for Kellen DeBoer. This is his roster. I mean, we just got into talking about John Ritter. Ed Decatur, when he was at Russellville in West Morgan, the third year he was there, he won 10 games. Now, I don't know if Decatur can win 10 games. I don't know if Alabama can win 10 games this year. They've got the roster to do it. But I think he's got a better coaching staff. I think DeBoer is much more comfortable there, even though you really couldn't tell it.

He's not going to wow you as a public speaker of any means. But I think this is a year he's much more comfortable with the coaches. It's just got to come together. But I keep saying this all nauseam. You win games at the line of scrimmage. If the offensive line, I think the defensive line is going to be much better this year, too. They've got the best secondary in the country. I think the key game is going to be more consistent. They've got a lot there.

They've just got to put it together. Your thoughts about, correct me if I'm wrong, these type of guys, they sometimes confuse me. Ryan, Coleman, Williams, if I got that right, I think I did. Your thoughts just about his role this year. I think people said what happened to him last year. I think the coaches and Ryan kind of got into a tiff, at least. We don't know that, but it seemed to be. In other words, you're going to play out of position. He wanted to play on the edge.

They want to put him in slots. You can see why he's got a lot of gifts. But if a guy wants to sit here and play in his position, his mind's automatically going to be there. Your thoughts just about what's the staff going to do with Williams? Will he be in the slot? Will he be on the edge? And what's going to be the difference this year as opposed to last year? Well, for one, as far as where he lines up, he's going to be more on the outside.

That's where he wants. Lonnie Brooks is going to be the slot receiver. And I'll be honest with you, Harold. I know everybody talks about Sidarian Morgan. I think Noah Rodgers is going to be back by mid-September. Derek Meadows at 6'5". Rico Scott is another kid that a lot of people are overlooking. Again, I know people remember the touchdown that Austin Mack threw him a couple years ago. But I think this is going to be a good receiving core in a lot of these guys. That's going to take some of the pressure off of Ryan Coleman-Williams.

I think also, Harold, he has gotten away from doing the podcast and a lot of other things. Thank you. And that's taken away. I think the one and only Ryan Fowler has joined us, Harold. But I think that's going to take some pressure off of Ryan Coleman-Williams. He is the man in Tuscaloosa, Mr. Brian Fowler hosts the game on Tide 109 FM. Ryan, were you getting ready for opening up camp? What's going on, my friend? Well, I was actually taking the last hoorah down to the Gulf Coast.

[1:41:40] Can you guys hear me okay? Yeah, you're fine. We can hear you and hear the seagulls. We can hear the pops topping. We don't pop any tops, but I do have some half and half tea here. But anyway, I missed you guys' call because I do have decent cell phone service, but sometimes it just goes to voicemail. Anyway, that was the problem, so I'm sorry a couple minutes late. No, no, no, no. We're trying to get the last hoorah in before Alabama starts practice. Players report next Tuesday.

First day of practice on Wednesday. And so we're having a little bit of downtime this weekend, and then we'll head back to Tuscaloosa, and let's get ready to open this camp. And there's a lot of excitement around this team. And we asked this question earlier this week on our show. Do you anticipate this season? Are you more excited for this season than any season in the last five years or ten years or whatever it may be? And we have a lot of people that come up with yes, because there's so much anticipation.

Well, there's so much anticipation because think about this year. It's going to tell us a lot about the direction of this program. It will tell us a lot about, hey, is this going to be a year that's going to work out for Alabama? But is this going to be a year of college football? Is the SEC going to make a little bit of a comeback? I mean, think about the things that we are going to know about college football in the next six months. There you go.

And so will Alabama be able to establish a rushing attack and offensive line? Will those things improve? You know, only time will tell. You know, Ryan, one of the things I listen to is I don't listen to a lot of talking heads. I listen to the guys who watch these guys play every day and see if you agree with this. The one name that I see fellow players talking about is Cedric Morgan. Everybody's talking about Morgan, Morgan, Morgan. I know everybody's talking about this player and that player.

But Morgan, the wide receiver, coming out of high school, he's wide, everybody in the spring. Who are you hearing as far as you better write this name down and keep an eye on him come the season? Well, I mean, I can go with, you know, Ryan Coleman-Williams. That's fine. We can go there. But I almost like to go with somebody else and somebody that I just think is going to have a big season. You could easily go with one of those tight ends because I think they're going to set the tone for this team.

And running back, obviously, is E.J. Crowell. So you've got to kind of look at that and, you know, you think about, you know, E.J. Crowell. I'll go with Derek Meadows just as a sleeper. Okay. Because I just think that his size is a mismatch. And prior to that concussion game where he got knocked out against Missouri, I thought he was stepping into a zone from the way that they were going to use him. He was a freshman last year. I just think that we're going to see him have a big-time season.

I think he's going to step in to a role that is, you know, because of the other guys, I think he's just going to have some opportunities. And, you know, I expect that lots of Brooks is going to do what he's going to be able to do. No disagreement there. But I just feel that this Alabama team is going to utilize this passing attack. And I think they'll be – they're not going to be balanced. They don't think they ever will with Caleb Orr's system. And Ryan Grubb.

Yeah. But I do think that they will have a chance to maybe establish a little bit more of a rushing attack, a little bit more physical. I think they'll have a chance. I really do. I think they'll be able to run the football. And I'm not saying, you know, they're going to pound it, you know, 150 times. Well, it's not possible during the game. I don't think they're going to do that. I don't think that's who they are. But I do think that this team is going to be a little bit more balanced.

And I think this offensive line is going to take a step in the right direction. I say they're going to be 2012 Alabama good. That's not what I'm stating. But I do think this offensive line will have a chance to be a little bit better. Let me ask you, left guard, William Sanders coming back from an injury, played a lot last year. I know Mel Waltrip is another name that I've heard is a possibility. Right tackle is going to be one of the more interesting puzzles to solve.

Jevin James, the Mississippi State transfer, Nick Brooks from Texas. Ethan Fields is another name. We talked to Redfish, William Barger, Monday, and he said maybe even William Carroll moving back to right tackle, even though I don't think that's going to happen. Your thoughts a little further on the offensive line. Will Sanders win left guard? And Jevin James, will he hold on to right tackle? Let me say that there's competition. There's competition. And if they're not pleased with that competition at right tackle, I'm not going to totally discount what William Barger said.

[1:47:03] Because you've got that option. If you don't feel that you've got a production, well, maybe you feel better about guards than you do tackles. Yeah. You know, there is some, I would say, some chance that they might, you know, it's possible that they could move him, you know, back to the tackle spot. I wouldn't totally discount it. But let me go back to what you said about the guard. I think you've got three guys that are battling for that left guard spot. William Sanders. Yeah. Mal Walder and Ethan, Ethan Fields.

I think you are now, you are seeing that. I think those guys, that is, I think you are seeing those three guys. And going back to the right tackle spot, don't count out a Nick Brooks just yet. Mm-hmm. I still think there's some good competition when you look there. So, so let's not count. It's just, at this point, what's going to make this offensive line so much better is the competition. Yeah. That's what's going to make this team a better football team is because you've got more than one option at this spot.

You've got more than one option at this spot. So that's, that's where, you know, you look at this team and you think, well, were they going to be better? Well, there is. It's the competition. It's, they've got options at multiple different units where previously that really wasn't the case that, that, you know, that they were trying to find out, okay, could this guy play guard? This guy play tackle? To me, they've got a lot of different bodies that can play a lot of different positions. And listen, if you get to a point, you don't feel like racing Delgatti can be your guy at the center spot.

There's other options there too, that you can slide one of those guards in and, and go with emergency center. I mean, so, so it's, you've got some options about this offensive line because you've got more bodies and I like their approach that they took in the portal is to add guys who could play multiple different positions, but also multiple guys at a certain position where they can compete. This going out and paying four and $5 million for a player that played in a smaller school and say, well, he's the number one tackle.

I'm going to go pay him $4 million. Well, I don't know if he's going to be able to play in this league. And if he, if he can't, why don't we have a lot of options? Cause I spent all my money in one guy. I kind of like the approach that they're taking of getting multiple guys with multiple different positions. Yeah. It's not like a chess game. Ryan Fowler, 109 FM in Tuscaloosa. Ryan from Saturday, it's five weeks to September five. How much playing time with Keelan Russell get?

How much playing time a loss to Matt get and quarterback? You know, people have asked me and, you know, at some point I'm going to predict who I think is going to take the first snap with, uh, with, with, with quarterback. I, I still think it's a competition and it's just based on reading the tea leaves that, you know, he didn't send anybody to the Manning Passing Academy, nobody. So I have to think right now that this is a quarterback competition, that it's a, it's a competition.

Now I think, uh, when I interviewed the board, I know when he did some other national interviews or, or in one of the electronic rooms, he also said that he would love to have a quarterback coming out of that second scrimmage and make that decision two or three days after. I don't think he's a two quarterback guy. I don't think that's who he is. Right. I think they're going to settle on one guy and play him. Now you'll see other guys because of the competition level, but I don't think he'll be like a series here, series there.

You're going to flip flop. I think whoever's going to be the guy. And if you're asking me to put my money on somebody, I'd put it on Keelan Russell, but I'm also not going to give the opportunity for all the match three times in a row. I thought he'd be getting a portal in the spring of last year when Ty Sintzel was named the starter. I thought he was getting a portal in December because he was getting a lot of phone calls. At this point, I'm not going to allow the young man to prove me wrong three times in a row.

I know I've said it, but I think we've got a competition. I think we'll know more in a couple of weeks. Yeah. I think you're exactly right. Well, listen, enjoy the remainder of the week on the beach. It's going to be rough, but I know you're up to the challenge. Who have you got on the show this afternoon and where can we get on to listen? Yeah, tide109.com, tide109.com. And man, I always appreciate being on with you guys. I'm sorry I have a couple of minutes left.

That's all right. I was, the cell phone signal is not perfect up here, but we miss a lot of calls. But I appreciate you being patient with me, tide109.com, tide109.com. And find me on the Facebook side of things. I'm trying to get to 60,000 before fall camp breaks. I'm about 200 away. Oh, my Lord. Well, that was a goal. I had it before Alabama kicked off, and it actually looks like I got a chance to make it and be an overachiever, which is something I rarely do in life.

[1:52:11] You guys be good, man. I always enjoy talking with you guys, and we'll do it again next week. Thanks, guys. That's great. Cell phone ain't supposed to be working at the beach. You got other things to take care of. BB, our pride of Loretto's on the mat, even as we speak. Ryan Weathers, Yankees, White Sox, no score through two. So, he's shutting out the White Sox through two. Coming up tonight, it's the Braves' turn again, BB. Yeah, they've got the four-game series with the national split.

Should have won both games with the Mets yesterday. Chris Sale never gets any support. Had to win one to nothing. But you can hear that Braves game. Where else? On 93-9, the score. One to nothing. Sounded like the old days of the Dodgers with a combination called Koufax and Drysdale. Give me a run. We've got to win. It's going to take care of business for now on behalf of BB, Greg, James, Blair, the entire crew. Your parallel luck. Thank you so much for your time today.

Let's do it again tomorrow on noon at 2 with the Boomo Bugg Show. Back here on Sports Radio, 93-9, the score.