Boomo Bugg Show 010526
93.9 The Score WYTK - January 5, 2026
https://www.939thescore.com/boomo-bugg-show-010526/

This transcript was generated automatically from the broadcast audio. Names and some words may be misspelt; the audio is the official record.

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Now, get ready to roll, Shoals, Decatur, Athens, and all of Northwest Alabama and Southern Tennessee.
It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice.
The Boomo Bugg Show.
Your exclusive inside track to the Tigers, Tennessee and the rest of the SEC.
Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9, The Score.
Good afternoon and welcome here to the Boomo Bugg Show.
I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird.
Thank you so much for giving us a free ride around the Tennessee Valley.
Brett Beaird, welcome in to the latest on the portal party.
Good afternoon, welcome in.
Hopefully, you're feeling better.
Happy Monday to you.
Yes, a little bit.
Thank you.
We'll preview the final four in college football playoff throughout the show.
Now, VanThomas of AL.com recounts the top 10 stories in high school football and basketball sports throughout 2025.
Hopefully, you're going to have Andrew Bone on in a few minutes to tell us who is going, who is coming at Alabama.
And it's a long list.
It is a long list.
And the thing is, when fans start looking at these lists, it's easy to go into panic mode.
I did a little research on this thing.
And normally, the average, this is the key phrase here, average number of players that teams lose is somewhere in the neighborhood of 20.
After all, it's said and done.
And they're a long way from being all said and done.
And the question is, well, when will they be done on the calendar?
It's a week from Friday.
They actually, technically, it closes a week from Friday.
There's going to be some fine print.
And their team's still in.
For instance, if Ole Miss and these other teams still are rocking and rolling, they will have some extended time past that.
But the window closes for most teams a week from Friday.
I mentioned the average number is 20.
For Alabama right now, the last time I saw it, this thing changes about as often as hairdo's in Hollywood.
It's at 15.
But in addition to that, BB, there's the NFL.
And let's start with that because, to me, that's some pretty big news today.
When you lose the heart and soul of the line, meaning the center position, and it's someone that you respect, that in itself is big news.
And that seems to be the case for Alabama today.
Yeah, Parker Brailsford announced this morning on social media that he's declaring for the NFL draft.
That's not a surprise to me or a lot of people.
We'll talk to Andrew Bone, hopefully going to be on with us in just a minute.
But, again, Harold, when you look at this starting offensive line, Caden Proctor probably declaring for the NFL.
Cam D'Berry out of eligibility.
Well, conformed, he announced he is entering the transfer portal.
Parker Brailsford, as we just mentioned, going to the NFL.
The only one right now, Michael Carroll, expected to return.
You know, when you look at this list of 20 that is already declared for the portal, to me, two things stand out.
The number of linemen, the number of wide receivers, and I think the other thing that I think that a lot of folks probably the most upsetting one would be Ken Keeley, the defensive lineman.
This is one of the top guys coming out of high school, had a lot of promise, flashed some brilliance this past season.
The knock on him, he did great against the pass.
He was challenged against the run.
But your evaluation of the 15, they have lost so far.
Well, I'm going to let Andrew do that for us.
But right now, Ken Keeley, to me, Harold, is probably at the top of the list.
Yeah.
And speaking of the top of the list, he's got it all.
You mentioned Andrew Bone.
Andrew is always busy.
He's got it all covered there at BamaOnline.com, part of the On3.com family.
His book is called The Road to Bama.
Andrew, welcome in.
Have you entered the portal yet, or are you contemplating it?
Nah, yeah.
I'm still waiting to see what kind of offers.
I'm going to get behind the stairs.
Yeah, there you go.
See if I'm going to hop in or not.
But no, we're good.
I mean, this is the time of the year where things get a little crazy.
Of course, everybody starts to freak out at first because everybody's entering the portal.
They don't want to wait around to see who gets added.
They just want to assume that the worst is happening.
But this is expected every single year.
You're going to have guys that are going to enter the portal that haven't played a lot.
They're looking for a new role.
They're looking to start.
They're getting offers behind the scenes that, frankly, Alabama's not going to be willing to pay for some of the guys that are unproven to this point.
But a lot of them are really just looking for more opportunities when you look at it, when you look at the entire picture,
because the majority of guys that are entering the portal are role players.
They're backup guys.
You're going to have a starter or two that they might look around and see that there's a better situation maybe somewhere elsewhere for them.
And, you know, that's just, you know, part of it, I think, if you lose the majority of your, you know, returning star players and things are, you know, you start to question a little bit more.
But, you know, I think for Alabama to this point, you know, really hasn't gotten hit too hard.
There's certainly going to be a guy or two that, you know, people are going to be upset that they left.
And there's going to be some guys that, you know, I feel like Alabama, you know, we'll circle back to, and, you know, I caught the tail end when I got on the show about Keon Keeley.
And I think Keeley is certainly one of those guys that they want to try to bring back.
I think they kind of understood his position on it.
He's not necessarily a guaranteed starter coming back for the team next season.
But he's also a guy that, you know, we've seen him move around on the defensive line, try to find, you know, a good place for him.
And then finally, you know, this season started to really build some confidence in his game and get better.
And I think if he came back for another season, you're going to see him maybe not as a starter, but a guy that is consistently in the rotation that's helping the team.
So I think Alabama is going to try to keep that one.
But I think everybody else that's entered the portal so far, I don't think they're probably going to lose too much sleep over it.
Andrew, some of the guys who are visiting, in fact, some of the guys are there today and a couple are coming in tomorrow.
Let me mention a couple of names and just get your reaction.
Alabama looking again, we know Crowell is coming in.
But the name of the week, Hollywood Smothers, a first-team All-SEC running back, who seems to be quite, has a lot of potential.
Two-year starting linebacker with Alabama losing three inside linebackers, to me would be a priority.
Caleb Woodson, Virginia Tech, they were in, I believe, yesterday or today.
And Jimothy, not Timothy, but Jimothy Lewis, Jr.
I saw a clip of him eating breakfast in Tuscaloosa this morning, a former Mississippi State offensive tackle.
And we mentioned Parker Browsford going to the NFL.
Maybe Caden Strayhorn from Michigan may be replacing him eventually.
We'll see.
But your thoughts on some of the guys that are looking at Alabama and currently visiting?
Yeah, I think things have moved quicker than I probably imagined.
I thought we might not see anybody come in until the middle of this week.
But we saw some visitors arrive yesterday.
And I think they certainly have some guys on campus that they really like.
But I think they were going to try to get signed before they leave campus and visit another school.
You know, as many Alabama fans probably wanted.
I think that getting an explosive experience running back in the backfield is certainly an area that can improve Alabama's offense.
I wasn't sure, 100% sure, if they were really going to go after like a big name star considering, you know, they have EJ Kroll coming in.
They've got some other backs like AK Deer, Daniel Hill, Kevin Riley still potentially, you know, coming back to the team next season.
So, you know, would they go after a big name back?
And obviously they have with Hollywood Smothers, as you mentioned, first team, all ACC performer this year.
And he's kind of one of those dual threat running backs where, you know, he can be dangerous in the run and passing game.
I mean, he's just a very explosive type of player.
And we also have seen Relique Brown, who originally was at USC, transferred to Arizona State.
He was a star at Arizona State this year.
He's certainly a guy that could also provide that home run type ability in the backfield.
I'm curious to kind of see what happens with Hollywood Smothers today, because if he decides to go ahead and make a decision and not go anywhere else,
that could potentially eliminate Alabama's pursuit of Relique Brown, who is actually at Texas today, supposed to be in Tuscaloosa tomorrow.
So we'll kind of see if that visit holds up or if maybe they decide, hey, let's try to take two running backs if we can.
So that's going to be something that we're watching very closely.
Timothy Lewis, offensive lineman, we've talked about it before.
Offensive line was certainly going to be a big point of emphasis in the transfer portal for Alabama.
And I don't think that, you know, these are going to be the only guys that are going to be on campus this month.
They certainly are over the course of the next couple of weeks.
They are, you know, this is an area that they certainly have to build as far as depth, but also, you know, get some star players in.
I think they would like to try to sign at least two guys that they feel like can come in and start next season.
You know, is it three?
I don't know.
But I think that, you know, they certainly want to get maybe at least two starter type guys and then maybe add another player or two for depth purposes.
So we'll see how things go with Timothy.
He's coming over from Mississippi State.
He's a former IMG Academy lineman, you know, moved around left tackle, right tackle.
I think he's probably more suited for the right side.
So, you know, we'll kind of see how things shake out with him.
Caden Strayhorn, who's a center, another IMG kid, actually played alongside Mike Carroll during his senior season, you know,
down at one of the best high school football factories in the, I guess, the easiest high school football factory in the country, down in Bradenton.
So, yeah, he's certainly a guy that we're watching very closely.
I don't know of any other visits that he has scheduled right now besides the trip to Tuscaloosa that starts today.
But, you know, with the Brails for news, I think that there's a good chance that we could see him, you know, go ahead and hop on board.
But like I said, if they did get Timothy Lewis and Caden Strayhorn, I don't think those are going to be the only two guys that they would add.
I think they would certainly like to try to land at least one or two more guys.
And then Caleb Woodson, linebacker out of Virginia Tech.
He's a Virginia native, but he's 6'3", 230 pounds, second on the team in tackles during his junior season this year.
You know, we talked about it again.
You know, linebacker, offensive line, linebacker, top two positions of need for Alabama in this portal cycle.
So he's kind of the first linebacker that we've, you know, that we've seen come in.
I think Alabama would like to get that one, you know, wrapped up as quickly as possible.
But he won't be the only linebacker that we see come in for a visit.
I certainly expect Alabama will host at least one more, but possibly two.
You know, it kind of depends on who's out there, who they can get.
You know, it's going to be an interesting room next season with, you know, with all the losses.
You know, you don't have a lot of experience.
You know, don't really have a ton of depth there.
So you got to get some, you got to get some players.
And I think they certainly will.
And obviously they want to wait and see who else is going to enter the portal.
They still got basically all this week and next to see who else is going to be available.
So that's another factor.
Andrew Bone, who's going to be with us, visit there at BEMOnline.com.
The elephant in the room.
What about the future of one Ty Simpson?
Yeah, obviously that's a pretty big question.
You know, does he end up going to the NFL, does he come back to Alabama?
There's obviously been some reports out there that he could look elsewhere to potentially transfer.
But I talked to someone very close to Ty late last night.
He said, you know, no chance he ends up transferring.
If he decides to come back for college football, you know, it's either the NFL or Alabama.
I think he's waiting to kind of see, you know, what, obviously he's waiting to see what his NFL grade is going to be.
And not necessarily looking to see what the mock drafts have him.
But, you know, talking to Alabama coaching staff, talking to agents, talking to his agent, talking to people in the NFL, as far as, you know, getting feedback from the NFL to Alabama, I think that's certainly something they're listening to.
But, you know, is he a second or third-round grade?
And, you know, does that potentially still allow him to go to the NFL and maybe take a chance to see if he ends up becoming a first-round pick based off of, you know, combine performance and stuff like that or pro days?
So, I don't know.
I don't know what direction he's thinking about going in.
I do think that if he ends up deciding to come back to Alabama for another season, it, you know, makes things a little tricky for some of these other quarterbacks that are on Alabama's roster.
I think he would certainly push Mac, Austin Mac, out.
Not necessarily saying that Alabama would push him out, but I think, you know, he's probably ready to start somewhere.
And, you know, if Ty Simpson ends up leaving, at least he's got a 50-50 shot of winning that job next season in Tuscaloosa.
But if Mac ends up, you know, deciding to come back, then, you know, it's probably, you know, he's probably going to move on.
So, it's going to be interesting to see what happens with Ty.
I think he'll make a decision likely within the next.
I've seen reports that he's making a decision by the end of this week.
You know, one source said, you know, it could be the end of this week.
It could be, you know, by January the 14th when he has to decide.
So, you know, it could stretch out a little bit longer, but hopefully we'll know something relatively soon.
Andrew, great stuff.
Nobody does a better job of covering this.
As Harold alluded to earlier, my Lord, there's news on this stuff every 15 minutes, 24 seconds.
It's incredible at how this goes.
Where can we jump online this afternoon, the remainder of the week?
I know Tim Watts helps you, Charlie Ponder, Blake Beiler, a lot of good guys at BOL.
Andrew, where can we get online and get the absolute latest, nearly minute by minute, from you and the team?
Yeah, definitely come to BAMonline.com.
We've got a great special right now.
It's our Transfer Portal special, so 50% off a one-year annual subscription.
So I would certainly jump on that.
You know, you get all of our content from now all the way until next, January the 5th.
So all the way until 2027, I think it's only about $60 totaled.
So come check us out at BAMonline.com.
We've got a lot of great content every single day from our entire staff.
But, you know, where we really thrive is our message board, our community, where we get to interact with fans all day long on the BOL roundtable.
So come check us out at BOL.
So cheap, even Jimmy Sixen can afford it.
Andrew, listen, man, thanks so much.
Keep a cry on it, and let's do it again soon, okay?
Appreciate it, guys.
Have a good one.
Thank you, bud.
A.B., Andrew Bone, busy there at BAMonline, part of the On3.com family.
Coming up, let's hope that Max hasn't transferred out.
We'll make sure next stay with us here on the Boomo Bugg Show.
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From the University of Alabama, this is Crimson Tide Today.
It's a daily update on Bama sports and it's brought to you by Guthrie's,
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Hello again, everybody.
I'm Roger Hoover.
Here are thoughts from Alabama men's basketball head coach Nate Oates
following Alabama's win on Saturday against Kentucky.
Big win to start out SEC play.
Obviously, it's Kentucky.
Got great basketball tradition.
They still got a ton of talent on that team.
Sort of build a 21-point lead in the second half.
Really speaks to the way our guys started the game out.
I thought, you know, we had, you know, we started out down five zip and then responded with a big run.
You know, it's nice to change the starting lineup up again.
Houston's great.
I love Houston.
He's one of my favorite kids I've ever coached.
And he just comes to me at the end of the game.
He's like, keep bringing me off the bench.
I love coming off the bench, bring some energy.
You know, he started four for four from three.
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They don't really care where they start.
I'll have more in a moment.
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The score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back again.
Really appreciate kicking off the week with us.
And for Max Howe, taking time out of his busy schedule to the Magnolia State to join our little huddle here.
Max Howe, by the way, a radio talk, sports talk legend, also former assistant coach at Florida State, and a school name, Ole Miss.
Max, welcome in.
Have you caught Final Four fever yet in the Magnolia State?
Well, you know, the ballgames have indicated that we all should be dead, in particular with Ole Miss.
I mean, what, 60 years in county since they haven't even been recognized?
You know, and I've got to have to say this, guys.
I'm really, as close as I've been to that program for the last three or four years and coached their three,
just for them to just keep hammering on Lane Kiffin and the way he exited and all that stuff, I got news for them.
If it hadn't been for Lane Kiffin, they'd still be treading along just like they have been for the last 60 years.
And on top of that, I'm going to give him credit for winning that ballgame last week.
I would bet my last dollar he drew the game plan for that.
If Charlie Weiss is calling it, Pete Golden ought to be happy for that.
And I'm going to tell you, the one he's got coming up this week, I know who drew that game plan.
It wasn't crystal ball.
It was Jimmy Johnson.
Or Jimmy Sexton.
Well, Sexton just sits back and sits back and takes the paintbrush.
That's all he's got to do.
No one's happier than Lane, I guarantee you.
I'll tell you who hates this is LSU.
I looked the other day, and right now it's costing about three-quarters of a million dollars, so they can't wait for Ole Miss to lose, so they quit cutting those checks.
I mean, and Ole Miss is not even having to pay it.
LSU's paying it.
Yeah, that's right.
That's Jimmy Sexton.
I guarantee you, he's the man.
Your thoughts, obviously, Max, it's one thing to get to this dance.
What's the situation?
We've heard back and forth, Lane's going to pull his coaches.
No, he's not.
The NFL's looking at why's and why not.
What's the status as far as the coaching situation going in for Ole Miss?
I think they're going to hang in there.
Now, if they can beat Miami on Thursday night, this couple of weeks,
you know, that may change a few things, but I think it's going to stay just like they're still in Baton Rouge today.
I think they'll come home.
I'll come back to Oxford tomorrow morning or tomorrow afternoon,
and they'll put the game plan in for Miami.
But the fact is, look, a lot of that stuff, guys, you know, the media's just hyping that as much as they can.
Oh, yes, clickbait.
I'm not saying there's some underlying failure there.
Don't get me wrong.
But the fact is, at the consistency, they stay on top of that deal.
You know, he was supposed to be at the ballgame on Thursday night this past week in Baton Rouge.
Excuse me.
Selling.
But he wasn't.
And I understand who stopped it was ESPN.
That's right.
He would draw so much attention, not only sitting in the box with the governor from Louisiana,
but also on the halftime show.
So, I mean, you know, I understand all the politics that go with that.
But he's eaten it up.
And I think we can see what he draws from the portal,
just how serious he really is about immediate success there.
And if I had to guess and bet my last dollar, I guarantee you he's 24-7 right now.
Well, Max, what he is, he's an NFL coach, is he not?
Basically, he's getting to be an NFL coach without having the pressure of being an NFL coach.
Because right now, the blueprint's the same.
Go out and buy a team without having to deal with the equity that the NFL throws at you.
No doubt about that.
And, of course, you know, he spent 30 years with his dad on the sideline in the NFL.
I mean, he's got a great background for that.
He understands the system.
And I know I've just listened to some podcasts this morning.
The guys are saying, oh, he's going to fail at LSU because his kid's not going to have any favor.
You know, are you kidding me?
Those kids, most of those kids will be at LSU next year, the next two, three years with him all being paid.
Yeah.
Well.
You don't understand the emotion thing has kind of been removed from that.
Yeah, that's right.
Max, let me ask you about the game itself.
Miami beat Ohio State 24-17.
Not because of Carson Beck thrown for 138 yards.
It was because of that Miami defensive front.
Metsador and Reuben Bain Jr. and some of those other dudes are pretty good as far as getting to the quarterback.
Trinidad Shambliss put on an absolute clinic in the fourth quarter against Georgia.
Max, he made about five plays.
I said it last week that NFL defense is what I had a hard time defending.
Max, your thoughts, break down the game for us a little bit.
Well, you know, coming in against Miami, they got probably the best two rush ins in college football right now.
Yes.
And the other guys are, you know, adequate, to say the least.
I think, you know, it's going to take a really creative game plan, and I think that's what he does.
And that's why he'll pass that on to Weiss, and Weiss will convince Pete that they need to run that
because he understands the game itself.
Look, University of Miami is just one step below the NFL.
In particular, I know for a fact that Cristobal is using Jimmy Johnson.
He was on the sideline the other night, and I don't know where he's caught that.
They didn't show him until the end of the game, but he was there.
And you heard Cristobal, if you listen carefully, Cristobal was hollering in front of the way
because he wanted to talk to him again before he left.
So my point is that Lane is even better prepared for a Miami team than he would be for a Georgia team,
even though I think Miami's got as good a talent as Georgia does right now this year.
But I think he'll work for that.
He'll pass that on to their play callers, and to Weiss and the bunch that's going to come back up there
and call the game.
The only reason there was some hard feelings with the administration in Ole Miss when he left,
that he wanted the job so bad that he didn't want to take a chance.
And I think if it was pushed, LSU would have let him coach there.
But it was the Ole Miss people that didn't want him there.
There's probably some underlying stuff that we don't know about also that took place.
But the fact is, he's as good a mind, a brighter mind about picking up defense.
I've talked to a couple of guys that worked for him before.
They said he can walk in a film room, flip on the tape, and he'd look at the secondary
where they lined up, and he'd look at the offense.
As soon as the ball snapped, he'd tell you where the ball's going.
And he said that's probably a half a dozen people in the world that can do that.
And just because he's done it so long, you know, he came out of that background.
I don't know that Ole Miss could beat them, the depth situation.
Carson Beck, you know, transferred, not a great quarterback,
but he did enough the other night to win the football game.
And I did see some things in Carson Beck down there that I didn't see in Georgia
toward the end of his career there, is that he lowered his head and ran the football
and got that first down toward the end of the ball game.
I think it probably wasn't the ball game.
It gave him the momentum to keep playing hard.
So, you know, I think it's going to be a really, really good football game.
The running back for Ole Miss, you know, I don't know what his status will be.
I know he had a shoulder injury.
He had a strap on it the other night.
I don't know how much they'll try to use him, but he's going to be a key component.
Because if they don't, if they don't threaten the running game, all they're going to do
is rush three or four and drop the rest of them to stop the passing game.
So, Chambliss, you're right, Brett, Chambliss, he came.
I saw him run out on the corner on a sideline pass that he was covered.
He just flipped the ball, kind of underhanded, about 10 yards down the field for a first down.
And, you know, that's an inherent trait that you can't teach.
That's just a skill set that's there.
Here's the next question.
If the NCAA rules are eligible, does he stay at Ole Miss or do he go to LSU?
There you go.
That's literally the multimillion-dollar question.
Max, according to our sources, the honeymoon is over in Tuscaloosa.
Where does Alabama go from here?
Oh, my God.
I mean, I was on another show this morning in Tuscaloosa, by the way, and that was a hot topic.
You know, here's the thing I can't quite understand is Coach Saban is still on the payroll.
I think they pay him, what, like $500,000 a year.
Half a million dollars a year to go to basketball games.
Right.
As a consultant.
Well, you know, I wonder who he's consulting with.
Let me give him a hint.
Maybe Reese Davis and the crew is on the desk there.
There's somebody that needs some help in that L.A. department.
I mean, I know they aren't going to make a move at the top, but they're going to have to make a move
with some assistant coaches.
I think the offensive coordinator, the offensive line coach, that's who's got to go.
Whoever handles special teams, he's got to go.
I mean, there's three or four now.
If you go back, though, and check the boy's history, he doesn't have a history of that.
He's got a history of bringing that staff there, and he's so confident.
And you look at that one loss record, guys can be deceiving.
And the reason is this.
I've told you this a hundred times.
I coached at Troy when I was the head assistant coach and won a national championship.
I went to Florida State.
We were playing at the level Alabama has been playing in.
We didn't recruit.
We selected.
And guys between that level, between Troy and FSU at that time, it's like daylight and dark.
So go back and out of that 120 wins he's got, look at who he played.
I mean, it was down just one grade above a high school is what it was.
It was in AIA and Division II.
So you can't put a lot of stock.
There's so much difference in the game, and even the game today has changed, as we all know.
You can't put a lot of stock in just that one loss record.
I'll say that he's illustrated himself right now to being a down-and-three coach.
It's what it amounts to.
And that's a good day.
He could be eight, you know, he could be eight, four, seven, and five if he's trying to rebuild.
I don't think that the fed base in Alabama will stand for that.
No.
I think they'll tell him one more year, and you've got to make the changes, and you've got to improve that,
or, you know, we've got to make a change.
Because they'll have, I think, there's a buyout the other day just for the heck of it.
If he stays three years, it'll be down in the upper 20s or lower 30 million.
Well, they got some folks in Alabama could write a check for that.
And I know they'll make a change.
I think it's part of it, my conclusion with him, is a demeanor that he has.
Sometimes he looks like he's lost on the sideline, and then when you hear his press conference, he doesn't ever say anything.
You know, he just talks in generalities.
Exactly.
He doesn't emphasize individual players.
It's just a lot of things that the fed base in Alabama is different for, let's say that.
And the main thing is they aren't winning.
They aren't winning critical ballgames.
And the ones they're winning, the production, if you go compare the numbers for the last four or five years,
is where they are in the last two, way below the production of yardage.
And, you know, it's just the whole program itself looks like it's just taking a step or two back.
Yeah, and the bookend losses, Max, makes it look even overshadows the good wins that he had in the middle of the season.
Max, we've got to run, do a break.
Always great to begin Monday with you.
Should be a fascinating Final Four.
Max, have a great week.
Enjoy the Final Four.
Let's do this again next Monday.
I'll be right there, guys.
Thank you so much for the opportunity here.
Thank you so much.
The one, the only, Max Howell.
Coming up, time to go to the Sunshine State and check in with Mr. Frorey.
He's on deck.
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Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
The Score.
Welcome back in.
It is a pleasure for us to say hello to John Farr.
He's on the radio at CBS Sports Radio 1420 WAOC and 1240 WF Hawaii down in St. Augustine
or online anytime at sportsnow at 965sports.com.
John, welcome in.
How are you?
Doing great, Harold.
Hope you and Brett had a happy new year.
And we're certainly ready to turn the page on 2025 when it comes to Gators football in northeast Florida.
I can tell both of you guys that.
Yeah.
I think a lot of folks in Tuscaloosa are ready to turn the page on 2026 the way it got started, John.
But more on that in a second.
I was looking at some of the numbers the other day on this portal thing, and maybe you've got different sources, John.
I saw a number, something like over 4,000 kids are going to enter the portal across the board.
And here's what's amazing about it.
Basically, at least half will not wind up at another place, meaning they rolled the dice and lost the bird in the hand
versus the two in the bush with their scholarship.
Your thoughts about where we are and, I mean, if you're going to sit here and enter it,
you better have some good information.
Or, let's face it, there's a chance you're going to make a lot of money,
but in some cases, it's going to cost these kids a lot of money.
I'll tell you where we're at, guys.
In my opinion, we're on steroids with this transfer portal.
It's way out of control.
And that's a sad statistic.
You floated out there, Harold.
About over half of them won't be able to go back.
These kids get a lot of bad information.
And I think, you know, I miss the time where maybe if something didn't go right for you,
you don't just put your name in the transfer portal.
That's right.
You try to make it right where you're at.
But in today's world, that's not what's going on.
That's not just on the kids.
That's on the NCAA and the fact that there's really no, you know, supervision over this whole thing.
But I saw over 4,500 in the portal, too, Harold.
And it's the wild, wild west.
Basically, this portal period, you can put your name in until January 16th.
Yeah.
But you can stay in it until somebody picks you up, which I didn't realize until last week.
So you just got to get in it before January 16th.
And the teams in the playoff, I think, get a later time to go in.
The teams that are still playing.
And so that's good for them.
Maybe it's bad for them in some ways, too.
But I just hope they can.
I think we're still probably three, four, five years away from this, guys.
But there's going to have to be some unilateral litigation across the board, meaning all 50 states under the same rule.
And right now, we're nowhere close to that.
I can't imagine being a head coach in college football right now trying to navigate all this.
Well, and the thing is, you're right.
They've got to stop fearing all these lawsuits.
I think that's what keeps the wild, wild west going.
But let me ask you, you look at the teams now, and you look at the teams who are in, and you look at the teams who are out.
Everybody criticized this guy named Kiffin over in Ole Miss who are going to the portal and not recruiting.
Nobody yesterday is now the king of the road in Indiana.
How is where we're going right now going to influence how these teams are put together going forward?
Because Indiana and Ole Miss, they shopped heavy, and they shopped wisely in the portal.
They got a lot of bang for their buck.
Other teams have spent.
Alabama spends twice as much as Indiana, and look where they are.
They're watching from the couch, too.
Your thoughts about how, speaking of coaches, given what we've seen from Indiana, Ole Miss, and others,
how they're going to put together these rosters down the road.
Well, let me start with Indiana.
Hats off to what Kurt Cignetti's done up there.
I mean, that's the story not only of the year, but maybe of our lifetime, guys.
And I don't think I'm exaggerating.
What he's done for a program that has been in existence for 136 years, it's the greatest two years ever.
I just don't think that's superbole.
I think that's fact with what they're doing.
I just don't know if it's practical, though, for other schools.
I think they're more the outlier than the norm.
I just think it's really difficult, like I just said, to navigate all this.
Coaches and then the situation with Lane Kiffin.
Harold, you made a few people in northeast Florida drive off the road when you mentioned that name.
That's not a popular name here right now.
What happened with the Florida?
Or Tennessee, or USC, or Alabama, or Oxford.
But that's another situation with they need to somehow come up with a period where, A, in my opinion,
coaches can't go from school A to school B.
And there's got to be a period, just like the transfer portal, where you can negotiate with them in these two weeks.
And that's it, because it's just created havoc with all these teams and the Mississippi situation.
Their coaching staff right now going back and forth.
But I think this is a learning curve for everybody, to be honest with you.
I'm sure there's going to be a lot of people looking at the blueprint, what Kurt Signetti did.
But, again, I just don't know how practical it is, how many other schools can duplicate what he did, especially to the success he's done it.
I think it's really difficult, guys.
And the other thing, I think it's made college football more equal.
What I mean by that is, look at your final four right now.
Yeah.
Did you ever think we'd be in a situation where Oregon, Indiana, Mississippi, and Miami, three of the four, have never won national titles?
Miami hasn't won one in 24 years.
In ways, that's good, but, again, in ways, that's bad, because there's no continuity.
And as a fan, I would hate this, because you can't really get to know your guys,
because every year you've got to get a depth chart to learn who's on the team.
So, I just think it's a really bad time that we're in with all this right now.
John, Florida has lost at least 27 scholarship players.
One of them, DJ Lagway, he has entered the portal.
I know Florida is trying to keep Jayden Ball.
I think it was very underutilized with Billy Napier.
What is Jayden Ball's situation?
Do you believe he may come back to Florida?
And what is Florida's, with Jon Sumrall, what is their quarterback situation now?
Well, I'll start with Jayden Ball, Brett.
I think it's 50-50 on whether he comes back to Florida, to be honest.
You're right.
He was highly underutilized under Coach Napier, no question.
I think the sales pitch has been, if he comes back, he's going to be their bell cow at running back.
There's no doubt about it.
But I think this is going to come down to two things.
Obviously, money, which I don't think is going to be a problem for Florida.
But I think the other thing is going to be, if Jayden Ball convinced Florida can be a winning program,
the remainder of the time he's got left, or does he want to go somewhere else and try to win a championship like Texas, for instance.
That, I think, is going to be the bigger issue to keep him, to be honest, is the latter.
As far as quarterback Aaron Filo, it sure does seem like he is going to be coming to Florida.
Now, nothing, to my knowledge, has been signed as of this moment, guys, but he's from Georgia Tech.
A lot of folks have already known about him because his name's been out there for a couple of weeks now.
He broke somebody's passing record in the state of Georgia named Trevor Lawrence.
Brent Beard's the only one that's more popular than Trevor Lawrence in Duvall County right now.
So, if that means anything, but I think Aaron Filo's going to be a quarterback.
I also think they're going to bring another quarterback in.
I don't know who that will be, guys, but I think they're going to bring two in
because right now they've got two on the current roster.
Trammell Jones is returning, and they've got Will Griffin, the four-star freshman they signed.
They need more than just one, in my opinion, because you know how injuries are,
and I think they're going to get, besides Filo, they're going to get somebody else,
whether it's the old Dominion quarterback that's been mentioned or somebody else.
I look for two quarterbacks in this cycle.
A big bang for the buck is what they're looking at, I'm sure.
John Ferrari, 965sports.com.
John, what's the SEC going to do going forward to fix?
You look at the numbers in the bowl right now, it's not the SEC, it's the S-I-C-K.
Your thoughts about the SEC, usually, remember the old days,
just way to the end of the year, the SEC is going to shine the bowl season.
Not so much this year.
Not so much this year.
I still think, though, that's been blown out of proportion so far, Harold.
I know they've had an off year.
I get that.
There's no doubt.
The numbers are the numbers.
But here's the problem with that, in my opinion, guys.
If you're not in the college football playoff, a lot of these bowls, and I went to one, the Gator Bowl, which I love.
I've grown up with it.
But they've become really insignificant now.
I hate to say that.
If you don't know who's showing up, the reason I bring up the Gator Bowl, Missouri's quarterback opted out.
If he's there, I think Missouri wins that game.
For the SEC against Virginia, nothing against those kids.
And I just think there's examples of that all over the place.
Now, the playoff was disappointing.
I know you guys, Alabama ran into a buzzsaw.
I think they ran into the best team in the country.
Georgia surprised me.
But it was another SEC team that beat them.
I'm still surprised.
I think Kirby Smart outsmarted himself.
No pun intended on that one.
But I don't think the SEC overall is as bad as what that bowl record indicates.
And these things are kind of cyclical.
And I think you're going to see the SEC make a major bounce back next year when it comes to the bowl games and the playoff.
And Mississippi still could win this thing for the SEC.
I know they're the underdog.
But this was an off year, no doubt.
But I don't think it's as bad as what the national media is portraying.
They've been waiting for this for years, guys, the national media, to be able to pounce on the SEC.
They finally got their moment after decades of waiting.
John, the SEC had four or five teams who lost by one score, in particularly Tennessee, Missouri.
Even Mississippi State the other night, and Taylor, their quarterback, had a serious injury.
I hope that he's doing well.
But, yeah, Bruce Feldman of Fox and Brett McMurphy have been having an absolute field day.
With the B-10, oh, they're 9-4, and the ACC is 8-5, blah, blah, blah, blah.
But I agree with you.
I think a lot of the – and there were six coaching changes in the SEC.
You don't think that's going to impact this.
But great stuff is always for Florida and the SEC.
Go ahead and finish your thought, and where can we find you this afternoon?
Yeah, I didn't mean to interrupt, Brett.
I was just going to say, on the Mississippi State specifically, they were 5-7.
But because teams opted out, it was great for them that they got in a bowl game.
But, honestly, they shouldn't have been part of that bowl game mix, if you really want to think about it.
So, that, again, that's why I said these were some weird situations that led to this, in my opinion,
as far as where the SEC bowl record is this year.
But you can get online at 1240news.com.
Follow me at JF underscore sports now.
And we'll talk Florida Gators.
And, believe it or not, guys, this afternoon, we're going to talk playoff-bound Jacksonville Jaguars.
I can't believe I'm saying this, and I'm sorry, but I am, and they're there.
So, we're going to enjoy that while we got it, as they say, folks.
They're jacked up in Jacksonville.
John, thank you, John.
Stay safe down there, okay?
As always, thanks for having me, and happy new year to everyone.
And you're right back at you, John.
John, Ferrari, 965sports.com.
Ladies, basketball poll is out.
Alabama cashing in on the win over Kentucky, up a spot.
They're now at number 13, the highest-rated team in the SEC, is Vanderbilt at number 11.
Guess who plays whom this week, B.B.
You're on 93.9 The Score.
Yeah, Wednesday night at 8 o'clock, that game's going to be on ESPN, too.
But you can listen to it on the radio at 93.9 The Score.
Could be a good one.
Coming up the next hour, we're going to be going a little more in-depth.
What happened to Alabama?
The man who's been there and done that, the Redfish Barger.
Going to be joining us, Vince Rohr, Talking Big Orange, Ben Thomas, talking about everything
from north to south Alabama and all points in between.
It's all straight ahead here at the Boomo Bugg Show.
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The police chief at Tuskegee University is in trouble with the law in the state of Georgia.
Chief Kareem Easley was arrested on New Year's Day in Sandy Springs for driving under the influence
of alcohol.
Easley was driving the wrong way on a one-way street in the suburbs of Atlanta.
The arrest of Easley was reported on WSB Atlanta News.
A statement has been released by Tuskegee University administrators saying that Easley has
been placed on administrative leave pending the completion of a full internal investigation.
I'll be back with more Alabama stories after this.
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If so, consider joining 1819 News as a member.
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A South Alabama man has died after his motorcycle left the roadway in Daphne and crashed into a tree.
66-year-old James McMasters was found dead at the scene.
McMasters was also facing charges from Daphne police for making terroristic threats last week
that involved himself and a neighbor.
McMasters had been released on bond over the weekend and the crash occurred on Monday in Daphne.
Walker County authorities have detonated the explosive devices found at a home in Jasper where
a young boy went missing last week.
The explosives were found as a result of searching Jameson Bowley's home in an effort to locate his
missing son, four-year-old Jonathan Bowley.
Sadly, the little boy's body was found two miles from that home over the weekend.
An autopsy will be conducted.
Jameson Bowley remains behind bars for constructing the explosive devices as well as chemical endangerment
of a child related to methamphetamines.
For more news affecting Alabamians, go to 1819news.com.
And while you're there, subscribe to the daily newsletter.
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Tide fans, here comes the Tide.
Let's roll.
At one for the win.
Ball game, ball game, ball game.
And the win.
Grab your hard hats and tune in for blue collar basketball with the Crimson Tide all season long.
On your home for Alabama basketball.
This Wednesday, Alabama goes on the road to face the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Airtime is 7 p.m. with a tip at 8 here on 93.9 The Score.
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Alabama and Vanderbilt.
This Wednesday night at 7 on 93.9 The Score.
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Now get ready to roll Shoals, Decatur, Athens, and all of northwest Alabama and southern Tennessee.
It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice.
The Boomo Bugg Show.
Your exclusive inside track to the Tide.
Tigers, Tennessee, and the rest of the SEC.
Now your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back in our truly little bit more Bug Show.
I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird.
Thank you so much for giving us free ride around the Tennessee Valley.
Maybe I can't think of a better way to kick off this second hour than staying over to the BT Express.
Ben Thomas got it all covered there at AL.com.
Ben, welcome in.
How are you?
Hey, I'm doing good, guys.
Hope you guys had a good new year and are ready for 2026.
Thank you so much.
Right back at you, Ben.
Same to you.
But I watched that Colts game over the weekend, and I said,
where is Ben Thomas' neighbor down in the Mobile area?
Where is Phillip Rivers?
But then I got to see another guy who's also one of your neighbors.
So are the Indianapolis Colts, are they like, what, Mobile, the greater Mobile area north?
Is that the way it works now for the Colts?
That's pretty unique, isn't it, to have Phillip be there.
I think he was there exactly four weeks.
I saw he said online that he'd be back at eighth grade P.E. tomorrow at St. Michael.
So I'm looking forward to running him down when he gets back,
especially with now talk that maybe he wants to be an NFL coach.
We'll see if that transpires.
But, yeah, Riley Leonard played great yesterday, I thought.
I mean, their Colts problem was they just, at least in, I was never,
like I didn't pay close attention to the Colts until Phillip got there,
but look at me, they needed some defensive help in the games I watched.
But I thought Phillip played well, and I thought Riley played really well.
I think he went through two touchdown passes and ran for another.
I mean, they had a chance to win the game, and just the defense couldn't hold them.
So proud for him, be interested to see what they do moving forward.
You know, obviously, Daniel Jones' injury allowed all that to happen.
But I think Riley proved that he can play at that level, and we'll see, you know,
where they go moving forward.
Man, back to Phillip, it's not one of the most intriguing stories.
This is nothing new for him, because coming out of high school over at Athens High,
everybody thought it was going to be a shoe-in here.
How many people from Alabama wind up at North Carolina State
and then become a legend there and then go to the NFL,
have 1,000 kids on his way to Canton in the NFL Hall of Fame.
He comes back, he becomes a high school coach, he has a success, he leaves,
and now how many people go from the NFL to an eighth grade
with the possibility of going back to the NFL?
He is a very intriguing person, is he not?
It seems like he's kind of reignited his name nationwide.
I mean, you know, down here, we just got to know him as Coach Rivers.
It was kind of neat when he came back, having that guy be the head coach.
I mean, his school was 10 minutes from my house,
I mean, that was kind of a neat deal,
and obviously everybody was intrigued to see how he would do on this level,
and he's done really well.
I mean, I think he's won 42 games in five years,
been to the semifinals the last two years,
and, you know, were it not for that star-studded Jackson high school team,
they've got to be two-time state champions right now.
But, you know, Jackson beat them twice in the semifinals.
So, I say that to say, you know, it got to be kind of just,
I don't know if I want to say just another one of the coaches in the area,
but, you know, that was, you know, a guy that I would call to do a preview
or whatever, and I think the national media kind of, you know,
I think the next thing was his Hall of Fame, you know,
what was going to be elected to the Hall of Fame.
So, from that standpoint, he was still in the national media,
but this certainly has reignited things for him,
and I'm interested.
I'm hoping to get to talk to him tomorrow.
I'm interested to see if, you know, are you really entertaining any thoughts
of being a coach in the NFL?
I don't think he'll ever go in the broadcast booth
because he just has told me, and as you can see from his competitiveness,
he's just far too competitive not to have an impact.
He's too blunt.
He's too honest.
So, I think he's coaching somewhere, and the issue with him is, you know,
his son, Gunner, his oldest son, is going to be a senior next year,
one of the most highly recruited quarterbacks in the nation.
I don't think he'd want to leave him during his senior year,
and then his next son, Pete, is going to be a freshman, I think.
So, I guess it just depends on how much he wants to.
I know he loves coaching at St. Michael and coaching his children
and coaching the other guys, so, you know, I guess money talks,
even when you make that much money, but I'll be interested to see
what his thoughts are moving forward.
BT, you wrote a very good article last week summarizing the top 10 stories
in Husky sports for 2025, and you probably started with 50
and narrowed it to 10.
Two of these I'm going to lump together, and people say,
well, what in the world are you talking about two 0-10 teams?
I hope we never have this conversation again,
but I remember distinctly, we discussed this for two or three weeks
when Williamson beat rival Murphy 100-0 in a high school football game.
They led 73-0 at halftime.
The other thing that caught a lot of people's attention,
the two coaches, Antonio Coleman, Alabama and Auburn,
and then Sherman Williams, the running back from Alabama,
Murphy ended up finishing 0-10 and scored all of 12 points during the season.
Sherman Williams had a chance to, the officials and the coach,
Williamson, Antonio Coleman, asking about a running clock.
He said no, and there was a lot of dispute about that,
and one that's closer to us is, of course, Columbia now,
who is carrying a 101-game losing streak into 20-26 after going 0-10.
But they're a better team than Williamson.
They should have beat East Lawrence, had an 85-yard touchdown callback
and played well against a couple other teams.
BT, I hope we don't have this discussion.
Is the top-10 stories for 20-26?
I hope not.
I mean, yeah, I would have, had Columbia and Murphy met this year,
I would have picked Columbia.
Really?
I mean, because you're right.
They were much better, I thought.
I mean, I didn't see them live and in person,
but, you know, just watching their scores and seeing our reporting,
they did have a chance to win.
In fact, I think against Haley, in the last game of the year,
they were up at half.
So they had a chance to win some games and just didn't work out.
Hopefully Sammy Copes will stay there.
And I think if he does, they will win some games this year
and maybe build on that.
I just can't.
My wife, we were talking about it at one point.
My wife said, man, how do you just keep kids out there when you're looking,
when you haven't done it in 2015?
And that takes a good coaching job in itself.
So I'd like to see them play.
I wish they would play it.
Columbia and Murphy would play in the kickoff classic.
There you go.
They have some intriguing storylines.
So we posted this top ten last week, I guess on New Year's Day or New Year's Eve.
I can't remember.
You can still find it on AL.com.
But what struck me is when you have high school stories that reach the national level,
they almost got to be in the top ten.
I mean, some of those, maybe the majority of them did not.
But the ones that did, I thought, were the aforementioned Phillip Rivers, obviously returning.
That was a national level story.
And the two you just mentioned, Brett, were national level stories.
I think, I mean, people are talking.
You don't very often see a 100-0 during the high school football.
So those two.
And then, of course, you can throw Rush Probst in there.
I mean, I think he's certainly a regional story.
I don't know if he's a national story or not.
But it was a big year.
And I think next year is going to be, we're going to have some more big headline-stealing stories.
Ben, you mentioned Rush while we're on that topic.
He reminds me in principle, not in specifics, but in principle of Lane Kibben.
He's always selling.
And thank goodness ESPN wouldn't give Lane free time to sell it during the Sugar Bowl.
But your thoughts about Rush.
He said in his post-game conference, his last one, basically, I'm still out there shopping.
Where's he going to wind up next?
You know somebody's going to take a flyer on him.
That's a good question.
I wish I knew.
I mean, apparently it won't be Kusa.
You know, Kusa has stated that they're bringing Marco Bryant back,
which is the reason that Rush got the coach to begin with.
But Marco Bryant got suspended.
So, you know, unless Rush stays on there as an assistant, it's not going to be there.
But he did say after the state championship game, which was his eighth, by the way,
his eighth title, that he was open for business.
He's going to coach six or seven more years.
I think he's 67 now or something like that.
So, you're right.
Somebody's going to take a flyer on him.
I don't know whether it'll be.
I mean, there's obviously jobs open in our state right now.
Good jobs.
There's obviously jobs in neighboring states.
So, I think he'll have a chance somewhere.
I mean, you know, he's going to win football games.
It's just a matter of what's going to happen off the field and what are the headlines going
to be when he gets there.
Rush is in the portal again.
I mean, you mentioned earlier Hazel Green.
Let's go the other way with it on the other end of the spectrum.
My goodness gracious, your thoughts about Tim Miller, for the folks who don't realize what
his accomplishments were at Hazel Green when it came to girls basketball, 780 wins, 11
state titles, hanging it up, become the AD at St. John Paul's II, another private school.
But your thoughts about the Tim Miller story?
Well, one of the best coaches probably in any sport we've ever seen in Alabama, and currently
in girls basketball.
But what he's done, I mean, obviously they had their run of seven straight, you know, no
team girls or boys had won seven straight state basketball titles before his Hazel Green
team did.
Now, they lost, obviously, last year at a Park Crossing in the semifinals at a very close
game, 56-54.
They lost that game, and Park Crossing went on to win the state title.
But just a man, I mean, he won everywhere he went, not just one, but one state title.
780 wins, 11 state titles.
I knew him a little bit when I was in Montgomery, and he was at Jeff Davis winning there, and then
he, of course, went up to y'all's neck of the woods and just continued to win.
So, Hall of Famer, obviously, probably multiple times over.
And, you know, especially when we get to the Final Four, we'll miss him being there,
I'm sure.
B.T., one of the big stories we're going to hear for 2026 to be in August, certainly
the season will be starting then, but the Super 7 is going to Mobile.
It's been in Birmingham, other places over the years, but we started talking about this with
you two years ago.
It's going to be in Mobile for 2026, 2028, and it's going to expand from a three-day schedule
to a four-day format, which is going to be interesting in itself.
We'll be going back to Birmingham in 2027 and Mobile in 2028.
That's going to be one of the big stories, and particularly to begin the season and to be mentioned
midway through the year.
But that's a big deal.
I'm proud for you because it's going to be in your backyard, but the Super 7 is coming
to Mobile.
I'm excited about it.
I know some people in y'all's neck of the woods aren't too excited about it because it's
a long drive, obviously.
And of course, I'm sure we're going to talk about it.
We don't know how many games there are going to be because we don't know what the reclass
is going to look like.
That comes out later this month, we hope.
But if you've not been to South Alabama, the stadium, the setting is going to be terrific.
And Birmingham does a great job, and their stadium is nice.
The Hancock-Whitney Stadium is a little bit smaller.
They currently play the North-South game there in the Alabama-Mississippi game every other
year.
And it's going to see 25,000 to 30,000.
And the crowds for 6A and 7A are going to look really good in that stadium.
They're going to do a good job.
I'm sure there'll be some hiccups the first time, and they'll adjust to that.
But I like the four-day format if we're in the current situation, if we're going to go
to that, because I think it gives you more time.
You're talking about two games a day versus three games a day, and it gives you more time
to cover each one of those games and stuff.
So I like that format.
Obviously, I like it because I get to sleep in my own bed, but I also like it because I
think South Alabama and Danny Cordy and the people that are organized that are going to
do a great job.
I think even though the travel is going to be longer for some people, I think it's going
to be, I think once they get down here and if they're open to it, they're going to see
that it's a fantastic venue, and they're going to put on a good show.
BT is going to be an interesting January.
We've discussed this now for months.
As far as the CHEWS Act, the mitigation for that, the lawsuit with Governor Kay Ivey and
the Alabama High School Athletic Association, Montgomery Circuit Judge Jauer Gaines, they're
trying to work that out.
Public versus private, we've discussed that with you for years.
And then the January 23rd reclassification.
Hopefully, by the time we get to the end of the month, we'll have some clarity and some
transparency on that.
And I know you and yourself are going to be covering a lot of high school basketball going
on.
BT, what else is on the agenda in the docket for you and your cohorts this week?
Yeah, actually, along the lines of that public versus private, so I did a survey, a lot of
the football coaches in the state, an anonymous survey, I sent that out last week.
And I've got about, and I ask them basically one question, you know, what do you want to
see happen?
Should it stay the same?
Should we separate for championships?
Should we separate totally?
They had four different possibilities.
So I'm going through, I've got almost 50 responses so far.
And it's funny, when you say it's anonymous, you get a lot of comments.
So I'm weaning through those comments.
And you guys, it is all over the spectrum, as far as coaches think, about, no, it should
stay the same.
We should separate totally.
We've got to do this and that.
And so I'm weaning through that, and I hope it might be the weekend before I get that done.
I think it'll be a multi-part series, because there's just some great comments all over
the place.
So look for that probably this weekend.
And also look for here in the next hour, Brett, we will, you probably saw, it's not a big
shock, but we're still voting on our people's choice for the AL.com Player of the Year.
The top two seeds are in the final.
That's EJ Crowell, the Jackson running back, and Trent Siebel, the Thompson quarterback.
And voting on that starts here in just a few minutes.
We'll vote all week.
And then we'll crown that champion on Monday.
So, of course, we've got Mr. Football coming up on the 20th.
So a lot of good things on AL.com.
Need to get some rest sometime in there, Ben.
You're a busy boy.
Keep it up.
And thank you so much for your time today, buddy.
All right.
Thanks, good.
Y'all have a good week.
You too, bud.
BT, Ben Thomas, picking up with us from AL.com.
15th, the number of folks leaving Alabama right now.
Tennessee would take that number.
Details next to the V-Man.
Stay with us.
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Hey, fans.
Welcome back to Fansville's Cheers.
And tears.
Okay, so like everybody deals with losing, right?
To a rival on a last-second field goal.
Whatever, it's fine.
I'm totally fine.
But I cope with losing with an ice-cold Dr. Pepper.
Mmm, those 23 flavors are like so delicious.
They totally wash away the pain of your college football team taking a big fat L.
College football.
It's a pepper thing.
The Score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
The Score.
Welcome back in.
Time to say hello to the man.
Just call it the traveling man.
The man, the V-man.
Vince Ferraro, 99.1.
The Sports Animal in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Vince Ferraro, welcome in.
How are you?
Happy New Year to you guys.
I'm great.
How are we doing?
Man, we're doing all right.
Are you still going up and down the beach there in Tampa while on the ladies?
Or are you back in the workforce with us?
Well, I would have to actually do that first to still be there.
Right.
So, I guess I failed from that standpoint in my trip.
Join the crowd, V-man.
So, I am back in Knoxville.
Yeah, I got back yesterday and got back to work this morning.
So, but great to be on with you guys.
Hope you guys had a great holiday season.
Yeah, we did.
Hope they're right back at you, V-man.
Vince, let's talk a little bit about your quarterback situation.
Joey Aguilar, to be or not to be, where it is, undergoes surgery to remove tumor from his arm.
Your thoughts on that and what's the latest?
Yeah, that's wild.
They kept it under wraps all the time.
And it was a benign tumor that was removed.
Ian Rappaport had reported that.
I guess maybe talking to him in terms of, you know, his NFL draft interest, things like that.
But it was incredible, you know, that he was able to play through that because it was pressing up against his bicep and labrum and causing him pain and discomfort.
And it was, you know, really impressive what he was able to do this year as it is during a regular season, leading the SEC in passing.
Now, he was not on the highest level in the second half of the year.
I didn't think he had a great bowl game, but, you know, maybe that is a part of why things in the second half were not as good.
Let me ask you this, V-man.
Obviously, his future, what are you hearing as far as his future?
And, you know, there's this thing called the Internet that kind of sits here and throws stuff out there.
Some of it sticks, some of it doesn't.
Rumblings that this guy from Tennessee might be interested by the name of Ty Simpson.
We've got to see that to believe it.
But your thoughts, first things first, what is the future of Joey Aguilar?
Well, we have to see it by his eligibility.
He has not really wanted to talk about it every time he's been asked about it.
He just basically said, you know, we'll see.
I do think he wants another year of eligibility.
And, you know, I'm sure he's trying to get some feedback from the NFL.
I don't think it would be that, you know, he would be a high draft pick, plus he's an older quarterback that, you know, he's going to have an uphill battle one way or the other this year or if he gets another year.
So my guess is he wants to play college football.
He's always been very thankful.
So I don't know if he's going to get it.
The thing is, you know, those top quarterbacks are already going.
They're already going, picking schools.
And so, you know, you cannot sit around.
There's not going to be a spring portal if you don't get one now.
And so that's why so many quarterbacks are in the portal.
That's why so many players are in the portal.
And that's why teams are going to jump on the right guy and probably throw elevated money from their worth, you know, from what the public's worth is based on productivity, especially, and towards those quarterbacks.
So Tennessee cannot just wait around.
And if they do, then maybe they know something or maybe they're not willing to pay what it takes to get some of the guys.
And that might be part of their philosophy, too.
Do they get an experienced guy with just a year's eligibility that won't cost as much that isn't going to scare off the two guys that they've got, in McIntyre and Brandon, who's the incoming true freshman five-star.
So you've got to take all those things into consideration.
There's budgets.
It's more and more expensive in the portal.
So I don't know if he's going to be back or not, but I would say that would be a long shot between the ruling and the fact that Tennessee needs to get another guy in.
And they probably won't know by the time they need to make a decision on whether Aguilar will have eligibility.
B, I can imagine what the conversation was this morning on your show.
Tennessee loses to Illinois 30-28, another tough loss, another one-score loss.
On a disappointing season.
They lose to Alabama on two turnovers, really, by Aguilar.
Get beat by Vandy in Knoxville.
And then, of course, lose to count the season eight and five.
Disappointing for everybody involved, and particularly after what Josh Heupel has done when he walked in the door.
And I keep saying beating Alabama twice gives you some equity.
What is your reaction?
I know you're just back then.
Yeah, V, what was your reaction this morning from some of the callers?
I think we may have a bit of an issue there with the V-Man.
And the question as far as reaction on his show up in K-Town with a job that Josh Heupel is doing after the loss to Illinois.
What we effort to get back, V-Man, and I do agree earlier with the comments about the national narrative coming down the SEC in the bowl picture.
The only question is, how many opt-outs did the other team have?
It has to be apples to apples.
If the SEC teams had a lot of opt-outs and the other team came full force because they want to beat an SEC team, I can do that.
That's going to be something that plays itself out.
But, B.B., as we try to get V-Man back on, I'm looking at the folks who are entering the portal.
That last count, Alabama with 15.
I saw, did I see this right?
Tennessee with over 25.
Did I see that number right?
Yeah, I've seen that number.
If we get V-Bag, he can certainly confirm that.
But, yeah, it was a disappointing bowl season.
Again, five teams had one-score losses.
And, Harold, it's not just the opt-outs.
It's not the coaching situation with the SEC.
A lot of coaches coming in.
A lot of transition there.
There are a lot of reasons.
There's no question.
You can't sugarcoat a 4-9 record.
But there are a lot of reasons for it.
What's the bowl going to do, B.B.?
I mean, first of all, it's not going to go anywhere as long as we watch them.
Because ESPN wants the bowl games.
They're profitable for ESPN.
Even though one shows up, people are still going to make money because of the current arrangement.
The question is, if they continue having all these folks who don't show up, you've got coaches on the move.
They're just going through the motions in a lot of these cases.
You can see it.
You see a lot of these players.
And even in games that count, you can see players not having the same intensity.
Now, when's the last time you've seen, for instance, an Alabama team where the opposing running back took the ball and toted the team on his back five, six yards?
You just don't see the same intensity, B.B.
Because these guys, they're looking at like, I don't know if I want to get hurt here.
It could cost me some money.
Well, that's some of it.
And one of the solutions I've thrown out on this, Harold, is what the basketball tournament in Las Vegas is.
They give the players NIL money to participate in the tournament.
There you go.
And I think that's what a lot of these bowls are going to be doing.
I think some of them, they move for their utter existence, move to the beginning of the season, and have a much bigger deal to begin the season.
But I think they will be offering NIL packages for players.
Now, again, you've got many of them.
They're going to probably not be certainly what the players want.
But, again, it's another attraction.
If they can keep their big sponsors, the bowls will remain.
But as far as getting more players to opt out, I really do think, Harold, that it's going to be an NIL package.
Well, it all started going downhill when they pulled out the Poulain Weed Eater Bowl down in Shreveport.
I'm never forgiven them for that.
It's never been the same.
V-Man, Vince Ferrara, are you back with us?
Was it something we said?
Are you back with us, V-Man?
Not at all.
I think that was Karma saying you need to be back in Florida, not back in the car.
There you go.
While the lady's on the beach, we try to help you, V-Man.
V-Man, your question again for the V-Man, for the folks who might have missed that.
Go ahead and get to your question.
V, just quickly, everyone knows this was a disappointing season for Tennessee.
They lose 30-28 to cap off.
They lose to Vandy and Knoxville, lose to Alabama again.
And I know some fans say, well, you know, as Hypo reached his ceiling, look, he beat Alabama twice
and really turned that Tennessee program around.
What was the reaction on your show this morning from some of the callers?
Yeah, I mean, they've been, it wasn't, it's not a media because it was, you know, almost a week ago from that game.
And we've had shows that I wasn't on since then.
So it wasn't maybe the best gauge.
But, you know, I saw what some of the reaction is.
And I think some of the basketball team is taking it, some of the frustration from the football season.
They're getting additional quick pylons on the basketball team.
They don't win.
But, no, it was not good because they won't, you know, Josh Hypo was talking about in the postgame
after they lost to Illinois that, you know, maybe you can use this for motivation towards next season.
And, well, fans wanted to see that you use a Vanderbilt game towards motivation.
Yeah, that's right.
And Illinois also showed a blueprint on what a lot of teams have done.
You hold on to the ball.
You play two high safeties.
You don't give up anything deep.
Limit possessions.
They press.
And then, you know, Tennessee is beatable when you do that.
And Tennessee thought they had answers to that, and they do not.
So, yeah, very frustrating.
And then the basketball team loses, and then fans are upset about that.
So, yeah, there's a lot of things kind of annoying fans at this point right now.
Oh, man, I bet that is true.
Listen, we're delighted you got a chance to get away, spend some time with mom and the family and friends,
and get a chance to go to a bowl game.
I know it was a great Christmas break for you.
Where can we get online and listen to the show and get all your stuff?
Yeah, I did see at least a competitive bowl game, even though we saw the SEC lose like pretty much all the other ones
in the Rely Quest Bowl in Tampa.
How about this?
I ate mom's cooking, and I lost a bunch of weight.
Wow.
So, stop that for a weight loss program.
Jeez.
But you can follow me on the socials.
You can see pictures of the vacation when I get those up there, at Vince Sports, V-I-N-C-E Sports,
and then Sports Source Digital Network on YouTube for some of the TV work.
B-Man, I'll leave you with one more thought.
Hang on to that tan as long as you can.
You're the only man in Knoxville with a tan in January, so hold on to it as long as you can, okay?
Absolutely, guys.
Thank you so much.
Appreciate it.
Thank you, buddy.
The B-Man, Vince Roller, 99.1, the e-sports animal in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Let's go from big orange country to the redfish.
Redfish bars are on deck.
Stay with us.
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Progressive presents the Sports Flash on 93.9.
The score.
It's basketball action tomorrow night.
The Auburn Tigers are at home as they take on Texas A&M.
The Aggies are 11-3 on the season and 1-0 in the SEC.
Auburn comes into the matchup at 9-5.
The Tigers in search of win number one in conference play on the season.
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The Score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
The Score.
Welcome back again.
You know, BB, when we last spoke with William Redfish Barger,
he said, if Alabama gets beat, do not call.
We're kind of stubborn people, or we're not?
Redfish.
Yes, we are.
Offensive lineman now on the air at BAMSradio.com.
Redfish, welcome in.
Is it safe to say that Alabama got beat, or are Alabama fans, a lot of them anyway,
using another word to describe it?
How are you?
Well, I'd be better if y'all had gotten James to forget to call me today.
We tried.
James is too good to forget stuff like that.
No, no, I'm just kidding.
I'm a big believer in facing the music when you've got to eat a full portion of grilled crow.
See, that's the way it is.
You're going to win some, lose some.
To me, William, it wasn't the fact they lost the ball game.
On paper, they should have.
Vegas said they were.
They were the number one team in the country.
I don't think it was so much losing the ball game.
It's how they lost the ball game, Redfish.
Yeah, you know, I don't.
It's been a long time, I think, since I saw a game fall off the rails that quickly.
At the end of the first quarter, I was like, well, maybe I don't have to avoid Brett and those guys Monday.
You know, when it derailed, it derailed in a hurry.
But, yeah, I think that's probably what, you know, most people have an issue with is, you know, just how, you know, lopsided and ugly it got.
And, you know, it got that way in a hurry.
I mean, I got to be honest.
I mean, when they put Austin Mack in at quarterback and they had to settle for a field goal on that drive, I mean, my TV may not have been the first one that got disconnected, but it got disconnected right after that field goal was made.
William, your thoughts on Indiana.
I've seen him a little bit.
I watched him against Oregon.
I saw a good bit of the Ohio State game.
When you hear about, well, he's taken three stars and he's so efficient, he coaches this team so well.
We talked about they don't make mistakes.
They're 17 now, 18 plus on the season.
What impresses you so much about Indiana?
Well, you know, I'll be Indiana specific in a minute, but, you know, I think what you really, you know, can learn when you look at the four teams that are in the field,
the semifinals, and I'm speaking about Miami, Ole Miss, Indiana, and Oregon, and I think Oregon is a little bit closer to the Georgia-Alabama model of playing the portal,
but those other three teams are all portal creations, and when you look at, you know, and if you look at, you know, what happened with them, you know, I mean,
I think there's something that you, especially with Kirby getting clipped, you know, I think you don't have to be a, you know, a men's football guy to figure out that,
hey, man, you know, you know, if you want to get Indiana specific, you know, you're talking a bunch of experienced grown men, you know,
playing against, you know, 18, 19-year-old, you know, freshmen in college, you know, that, and so, you know, I think you're probably going to see if they've got a savvy head coach and a general manager,
you know, you're going to see the makeup of these rosters change probably pretty rapidly to, you know, whether it's a 60-40 high school to portal or, you know, 50-50,
but, you know, it begs the question, you know, can you afford to wait on, you know, five-star line of scrimmage players to develop for two, sometimes three years going forward,
and, you know, my answer would be, no, you can't.
Well, you see the same thing in basketball with March Madness, those mid-majors, one of the reasons they do well sometimes is because they held on to their guys,
they didn't lose from the draft, et cetera, but let me ask you this, two things on that, William, I think, number one,
you've got to have somebody who knows how to evaluate talent and somebody who knows how to spend money because a lot of these guys that we see,
they think that if you just go out and throw money, Texas and others being an example, you're going to have automatic success.
You've got to have somebody who, first of all, knows what you're buying and be able to spend wisely.
It's called a budget, and let me ask you this, William, as a guy who's been there and done that, you and former players,
how do you feel about modern college football where basically I'm here for a year and if I do well, I'm going to cost more money.
If not, I'm going to leave.
Thank you for developing me, and I'm going to go somewhere else and cash in all that time you spent developing me here.
As a former player, how do you guys feel about the modern state of college football?
Well, I mean, I think you kind of have to look at it through a different lens.
You know, it's not the same model that it used to be where, you know, people pursued a college football scholarship to get an education, number one.
And, you know, the chances were that, you know, the odds were stacked against you for, you know, going on to the next level
and getting a, you know, making a living and getting a paycheck out of this deal.
So, you know, when it first started, I don't think anybody realized it would, you know, develop into the monster that it has.
But, you know, you just kind of have to look at it, you know, A, you better not get too attached to your favorite player
because you may only be in love with him for 12 months.
That's right.
But, you know, I think when you start looking at it, you know, in broad strokes, you know, these coaches can pack their stuff up and get gone like you saw Lane Kiffin do.
Yeah, that's right.
In a, you know, not the most professional manner.
So, it's really not amateur sports anymore.
No.
To me, you know, I think if this is what you're looking at, then the NCAA and college football has to follow suit.
And, granted, it would be a small number.
But for the guys that are physically and emotionally capable coming straight out of high school,
then the next step to me is you've got to give these guys the opportunity to skip college and go straight to the NFL.
There you go.
Well, let me ask you, when's the last time you saw a guy get basically disqualified because of failing grades?
Remember back in the day, that was an issue.
When's the last time you seen somebody benched because they didn't do the classroom work?
Well, guess what?
You don't get benched anymore.
But in a lot of the 2026 NIL contracts that are circulating around, not attending class will get you a pay cut.
Getting arrested will get you a pay cut.
Becoming a culture problem in the locker room will get you a pay cut.
That's good.
It's rapidly moving, you know, away from just a, you know, a free check to it's probably going to be performance-based,
probably starting this calendar year.
Good deal.
William, one of the reasons these four teams are in the Final Four is they win the line of scrimmage.
Miami, and we've all watched Carson Beck and Georgia and Miami, but their front seven is ferocious.
Indiana beat up Alabama at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
Alabama's losing four starters right now.
Now, they've got still some kids there.
Some of these defensive linemen we talked about the entire season, they're developed.
They're a little bit more seasoned now.
And I know everybody's waiting on Ty Simpson.
And, you know, he could be as Hollywood coming in as a running back, et cetera.
But once again, nobody knows this better than you do.
You win the line of scrimmage, you win football games.
Yeah, and I think the one that probably surprised people the most, and I knew if he could ever get past the stub in his toe in a big game once or twice a year,
that this would be the monster that he created.
But I think the one that really surprised people the most was the way that Miami was able to dominate Ohio State.
on both sides of the line of scrimmage.
And, you know, that's Mario Cristobal's M.O.
It'll always be his M.O.
as long as he's the head coach of Miami.
And so, you know, that says a lot.
I mean, you know, those, you know, people can say he spent a bunch of money to get Carson back.
But, man, he spent a bunch of money to not only get those, you know, big boys.
But, I mean, those two defensive ends are a huge problem.
Yeah, that's it.
You know, they got a couple of first-round draft picks and a former Alabama cast-off that's starting at center for them.
And, you know, I think that might be one of the better stories of the transfer portal era.
You know, James Brockermeyer comes out of high school in the shadow of his five-star,
some people thought, three and done, first-round draft pick, offensive tackle.
And, you know, that guy's not even in college football anymore.
But, you know, Brockermeyer develops a couple years as a backup at Alabama, leaves and goes to TCU.
And now he's the starting center on a college football semi-playoff team.
Maybe sometimes, I think, you look at Ohio State and Alabama, they love the bling-bling guys, the wide receivers and running backs.
Maybe that's the key, investing in those big uglies, I guarantee.
Let me ask you this.
I just saw a story a while ago, looks like Rico Scott now, this is unofficial, so let me make sure I preface it by saying he's reconsidered.
He's not going to enter the portal there at Alabama.
He's coming back.
Who knows what that means as far as other news he's getting at the wide receiver spot.
But your thoughts about the portal and the future of Alabama.
We know now this is back-to-back four lost seasons, but your thoughts about where does Alabama go from here and the fact that just because a kid's name is in the portal right now doesn't mean that's the final word.
Yeah, I don't think anybody was losing sleep on whether or not Rico Scott stays or goes.
Now, if you want to talk about somebody that they probably are, that's Keyon Keeley.
Absolutely.
But, you know, I think if you just look at where Alabama's involvement is so far early on in the portal, you know, they're prioritizing several offensive linemen.
They've got a couple of running backs, you know, a couple of linebackers.
There's a defensive end coming from USC.
So, it's, you know, running back and line of scrimmage heavy as far as what they're targeting now in the portal.
Yeah, it's got to be Devin Tompkins is another guy from USC, a defensive lineman they're looking at.
I've heard a lot about Ty Simpson.
He's a great kid.
I respect him tremendously for fighting through the injuries that he had.
We've heard a lot of speculation in the last two or three days.
In your gut, does he go on to the NFL or stay one more year at Alabama?
I think he goes to the NFL.
And I base that primarily on this quarterback draft class for this year versus what it's probably going to look like next year.
You know, if he slides, I think it'll be late first round, early second, which is still pretty d*** good money.
And so, you know, I think, you know, there's a big difference once you get outside the top 10, 15 in the first round, obviously, especially in signing bonus guaranteed money.
But I think he's going to go pro.
William, it's always good to hook up with you, man.
Thanks so much.
And appreciate you taking our call today in spite of the outcome of that bowl game.
Okay.
Hey, man, not a problem, guys.
Have a good week, William.
We go Redfish Barger.
BB, are you ready for some UNA basketball and very good pizza tonight?
Lost pizza is what you're talking about.
UNA basketball night.
Kenny Whitaker is going to be on top the first 45 minutes.
Tony Poo will hold the final 45 minutes.
And if you can't get down and enjoy some pizza, you can listen to the show on 93.9 The Score.
Kick back and enjoy.
That's going to take care of business for now.
On behalf of BB, Greg James Blair, the entire crew here.
Parole Bucks, thank you so much for your time today.
Let's do it again tomorrow for the Boomwell Bucks show back here noon to two on 93.9 The Score.
We'll see you next time.