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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.

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 The Boomo Bugg Show. New Exclusive Inside Track to the Tide, Tigers, Tennessee and the rest of the SEC. Now your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9 The Score.

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 Good afternoon and welcome here to the Boomo Bugg Show. I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird. Thank you so much for giving us free ride around the Tennessee Valley.

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 Brett Beaird, welcome in. We're at last report in the portal party. Alabama at three while Auburn has an RB and a QB. Good afternoon. Welcome in and how are you?

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 Happy a Tuesday to you and the listeners. Auburn announces a traditional eight-day spring football game for Saturday, April the 18th. We'll talk to Brian Matthews about that a little bit later in the show.

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 Thomas Ashworth of Ale.com previews the Boys and Girls Power 10 in the state of Alabama that features a lot of North Alabama teams.

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 And we're delighted to have Brett Greenberg of Bama 247 join us again to talk about what you just mentioned, Alabama's latest signees in the transfer portal.

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 Brett is probably running out of ink because it's been a busy, busy last few days.

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 Brett Greenberg and his team there at Bama 24-7, part of the 24-7 sports family.

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 Brett, welcome in. Have you got any more ink left in the pen? How are you?

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 Just opened up a fresh new pack of my Pilot G2.07. Very reliable, but in this day and age, everything's up online.

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 So, you know, the pad is full, but also online over at Bama 24-7 as well.

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 Thank you guys for having me. How's everybody doing?

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 We're doing fine, Brett. A little confused like everybody else. Basically, our heads swimming with all the comings and goings.

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 How would you describe the last few days looking at it through the eyes of an Alabama fan?

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 The weekend is like doom and gloom, and then I think the way it's been posted, it's been a rebound Monday.

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 Brett, catch us up today for the folks who've been out and about and trying to keep up with Alabama's portal party.

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 Yeah, you kind of put it perfectly there, perfectly said right there. Maybe a little bit of doom and gloom over the weekend, just with Cam Coleman, obviously making it to Alabama, but ending up committing and signing with Texas, which I think your listeners and myself and you guys would know, maybe not too much of a surprise that you're dealing with.

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 Texas and NIL, point blank, they can spend more than Alabama. We've got oil money out there. Anybody who follows college football and NIL kind of knows that.

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 I felt like Texas was always going to be the ultimate destination for him. It was impressive for Alabama to get him on campus, but when you're dealing with the money, the $2.5 to $3 million that I'm hearing,

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 it seems like most Alabama fans are pretty okay with him heading elsewhere. Then obviously, you deal with flips in the recruitments in high school, but now there's flips over in the transit portal as well.

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 Obviously, with Hollywood's mother, the NC State running back who ends up committing to Alabama earlier last week, everything kind of seems status quo there.

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 The Texas really never gave up. He gets them on campus. Texas gets them on campus. He ends up ultimately flipping to the Longhorns.

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 So, a little bit of doom and gloom, but that Monday was off to a very big kind of rebound, rebound start to the week, obviously, with a couple more days until the transfer portal window closed on the 16th.

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 You get Ty Haywood in the fall, who was a former five-star offensive tackle who was committed to Alabama for many, many months in the 2025 cycle.

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 He ends up visiting Tuscaloosa, and that was wrapped up pretty quickly. He's in the fold.

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 You got Noah Rogers out of NC State, a wide receiver, 6'2", 200-plus pounds, who was also on campus over the weekend. He's in the fold.

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 And then Alabama and their specialists, they got three new guys last year.

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 They're getting three new guys as well as a punter, a long snapper, and now the last one, a place kicker out of Marshall, Lorcan Quinn, who is straight from Ireland.

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 He's only been playing college football for one season, but is 4'6 from 50-plus yards.

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 So I think Alabama fans was a big focus in the kicker world and the specialist world, and we saw some kind of mishaps with Connor Talti last fall.

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 So Alabama continuing to revitalize that specialist room.

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 But I think arguably one of the bigger news pickups, if you will, in this day and age is getting the retaining Bray Hubbard, obviously, that starting safety for Alabama,

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 who was very, very productive to think he was second overall behind Keon Saban, total number of snaps, had career highs and tackles, past breakups, forced fumbles, interceptions.

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 So retaining him on that back end of the defense, which seems to be is going to be a very strong area for the Crimson Tide 2026.

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 I think that was massive, massive, massive news for the Crimson Tide.

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 Brad, quickly, back to Hollywood Smothers, he had committed.

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 Folks, like you said, it's a new chapter for a lot of football fans, even the hardcores.

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 Committed, was he signed?

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 And if he wasn't signed, if he's going to commit, and word that we're getting, and you're closer to it than we are, I can clarify if it's true or not.

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 He'd already started attending some classes.

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 I think a lot of folks are confused over who we are.

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 Was he just committed, or had he signed, or what was the deal there?

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 Yeah, from my understanding, he was committed.

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 Now, the paperwork was actually not signed just yet, but there is a little bit of confusion there.

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 You're absolutely right.

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 He was enrolled in classes as far as I was told and learned.

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 But again, if you don't sign that dotted line, I guess you're still kind of open season there.

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 And whether that was a mishap on the Alabama staff to try to get a signature or not, that's kind of up for debate.

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 But again, he continued to have kind of conversations with Texas.

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 I did hear there was, you know, maybe, hey, I'm not taking a visit to Texas on the Alabama side, so there wasn't too much concern there.

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 But obviously, again, he gets to Texas.

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 And again, you're dealing with oil money out there.

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 There's probably a little bit more money to be spent over there.

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 So, again, that kind of puts an end to the Hollywood Smothers, I guess, situation or debacle.

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 But again, you're absolutely right.

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 You want to get these guys signed as soon as possible upon committing.

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 Brett, you mentioned Bray Hubbard.

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 I think that's a big return for Alabama.

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 There are two more pending.

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 Keyon Salb.

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 I know the one and only Mel Kuyper doesn't have him among his top 15 safeties.

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 Yonse Pierre is the other one.

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 Kuyper does have Pierre.

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 He is number five outside linebacker.

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 They've got to make a decision here in the next couple of days.

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 What are you hearing?

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 Are you fairly optimistic both may return for 2026?

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 Yeah, you mentioned right there.

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 I believe it's Thursday that these draft eligible players have to make a final decision whether they're going to go into the NFL draft process or not.

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 I'll start with Yonse Pierre.

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 I continue to feel pretty confident in Alabama's ability to retain him.

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 You're looking at that position group as a whole.

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 You've got him and Justin Hill are kind of your two main guys.

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 Obviously, you saw Kway Roussau enter the portal.

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 He ends up at Ohio State.

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 I think there's kind of a crowded room there when Kway Roussau went down.

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 Yonse Pierre more than took advantage of his opportunities.

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 It's probably the reason why he's so highly regarded on the Mel Kuyper and other draft boards as well.

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 But continue to hear pretty good things about where Alabama stands with Yonse Pierre.

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 And Keon Sav has been a little bit quiet.

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 I think that's one that's maybe some position room conversations to be had because obviously you have Bray Hubbard returning who's the leader of that safety route.

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 But you've got a Zay Minty.

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 You've got an Ivan Taylor as well.

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 So there's probably some both money decisions to be had.

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 It's kind of funny.

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 It's full NFL now in college football, whether you like it or not, whether retaining and signing contracts and things like that.

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 But as far as those two go, like you said, those are the two main guys I'm following.

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 Continue to hear pretty positive things with Yonse Pierre.

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 Now, again, things can change on a whim.

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 We talked about Hollywood Smothers there.

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 So, you know, things can absolutely change by the time I get off this call.

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 But here are pretty good things there as well.

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 And whether Keon Sav decides to come back or not, I think that safety room has a bright, bright future between, like I said, Zay Minty and Ivan Taylor.

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 And you obviously got Jair Edwards as part of the 2026 number two overall signing class that looks the part to be able to contribute right away.

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 The deck's shuffling fast.

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 Get the very latest with Brett Greenberg and the team there at Bama 24-7, part of the 24-7 sports family.

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 Brett, you'll never guess my next question.

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 Fans want to know who's next and what, so far, your gut about the fact that the losses and the gains and what's interesting, you bring up a good point to illustrate the NFL aspect here.

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 You look at the guys who basically they're still shopping and some of these schools, I've never heard of them.

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 I mean, where these kids are coming from.

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 Obviously, you've got to believe that with the roster expanding 105 and the budget being what it is, you've got to be more considerate of filling it out and hoping for a big bang for the buck with some people who are not necessarily four and five stars.

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 Yeah, absolutely.

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 And like you mentioned there, I believe that last check, the roster's right around 77 players, I think, and you can get up to 105.

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 So, plenty of more additions to be made and nothing really changed on my part as far as positions of focus.

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 Obviously, the offensive line, you bring in a Ty Haywood, you bring in a Kaden Strayhardt, you retain Michael Carroll, all signs pointing to Jackson Lloyd returning as well.

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 You've got William Sanders.

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 It's a nice start, but not a whole lot of experience.

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 So, Alabama's going to expect it to bring in some offensive linemen over the next week after this dead period, which it's kind of so fitting for the NCAA to have a two-week transfer portal window and then obviously have a three-day dead period in between.

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 That's kind of just on brand for the NCAA.

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 Why are we not surprised by that coming from the NCAA?

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 That's kind of what I'm saying there.

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 It's just like, I know there's a coaching convention, it's like just kind of on brand for the NCAA.

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 I imagine that's going to be moved heading into next year, but offensive line remains a big focus.

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 I think defensive line as well.

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 I think, you know, again, you add Noah Rogers to that room, you're looking at six receivers currently in the room, and there's a whole lot of talent between all six of them.

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 Wouldn't be surprised if Crimson Tide probably pushed for maybe one or two more wide receivers in the portal, but like you said, some of these guys are coming from lower-level schools, but that's just what you've kind of got to do now these days.

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 You're not going to be able to load up on talent like Nick Saban was able to do, Georgia's obviously going through.

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 Alabama's not alone in this situation of being able to have an inability to stack talent at certain positions, so you've got to go and you've got to heavily rely on your evals.

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 Brett, let me ask you about a real position of need, and you alluded to the offensive line.

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 You just dropped about an hour ago another name, Ethan Fields, out of Ole Miss.

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 He's from Louisiana, 6'3", 320.

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 DJ Chester has been a name that's been out there for just about a week, former LSU offensive tackle.

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 I've heard some good things about Rayson Delgotti out of Cal Poly.

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 Josh Quavis is from Cal Poly, if a lot of people are wondering what kind of players come out of there.

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 6'4", 3'10", and Louisiana Monroe offensive lineman Q McBroom, 6'4", 320.

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 Now, obviously, Alabama's not going to sign all four of those guys.

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 Do you anticipate Alabama, though, getting one or maybe two out of those four or five?

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 Yeah, absolutely.

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 So, you start with DJ Chester there.

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 He ends up committing to Mississippi State, I believe it was yesterday or the day before.

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 I'm not exactly sure of the timeline.

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 All these days are kind of mixing together since January 2nd, but he's kind of out of the fold.

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 You brought up Rayson Delgotti again, the other Cal Poly kid, but has the height, has the weight, has the measurables.

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 It was offered earlier this week, immediately confirmed plans to visit Alabama after the dead period.

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 So, I believe he'll be on campus on Thursday at the earliest.

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 Quay McBroom is another guy, but it's interesting to note with him, with the Warhawks, he's still trying to vie for that extra year eligibility.

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 Some sources I've talked to within the building, not sure if he's going to be as big as a priority, just because you don't know if he's going to have that extra year.

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 But, like you said, the offensive line is a major, major priority, and when it's all said and done, I think Alabama's going to try, and quite frankly, they need to add one, two, and even maybe three more in the fold.

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 And there's going to be norm names that continue to pop up, like you mentioned, Ethan Fields.

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 I believe, you know, there's potential for a visit at the end of the week as well, and I wouldn't be surprised if there's some more names that continue to pop up on my radar over the next 24, 48, 72 hours.

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 Before you jump off, obviously, the deadline, I guess, unless the NCAA wants to ship that to his Friday at last report for these kids to do what they're going to do.

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 That takes care of the players.

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 What kind of shuffling are you anticipating once they finish this chapter as far as the coaching staff?

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 In other words, what kind of tweaking do you see once this phase is over?

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 Yeah, it's a question I've gotten a lot over the last couple of weeks and really over the last couple of months as the season came to it.

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 And I know a lot of people, at least over on social media and kind of in my phone as well, are kind of clamming for a coaching position change along the offensive line.

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 Yep.

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 There's some chatter there for right now.

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 To be completely honest, I don't have a whole lot when it comes to the coaching changes there.

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 But it's just one of those things where I think if you wanted to make a change, I personally, you know, why not go ahead and do it?

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 I know that may not be the answer that Alabama fans are looking for when it comes to the offensive line potentially running back and potentially special teams as well.

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 But those are maybe three that I'm circling.

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 But, again, I don't know if you want to wait for that through the portal.

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 I think you maybe want to make that decision as soon as possible.

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 So, again, we're going to be tracking those very heavily.

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 There could be some decisions that are made over the next couple of days.

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 But, again, you know, not a total, total, whole lot of information when it comes to the staff for right now.

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 Brett, let me ask you real quick before we let you go.

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 Well, running back with Smothers now in Texas, I've heard Makai Frazier, a running back at Michigan State, 5'10", 2'18", good size, played seven games, got hurt, missed three out of the last four.

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 And then Christian Clark, Texas is going from no running backs now to, I believe, three.

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 Will Alabama pick up one of those or do you hear another name?

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 And, once again, great stuff.

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 I mean, you've been updating this thing practically hourly from day one.

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 Where can we get online to get all the great stuff with you and the team?

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 Yeah, I appreciate always the kind words.

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 Over at Bama247, we've got a full roster tracker.

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 We've got a full transfer portal tracker.

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 And I also set the threads updating, you know, when we hear about specific names by the hour.

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 But, yeah, you mentioned the running back.

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 Obviously, you've got a pretty good stable of running backs between Daniel Hill, Kevin Riley, A.K. Deer.

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 You've got the five-star Xavier Crowell that is going to come in.

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 You've got the three-star Treshawn Brown.

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 But, clearly, this staff was looking for another running back.

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 They thought they hit a home run in Hollywood Smothers.

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 Again, he's ending up at Texas.

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 But you mentioned Christian Clark, Makai Frazier.

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 Those are two guys that I'm continuing to track pretty closely for potential visits over the next couple days once his dead period ends.

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 And I think if one of the two were to end up on campus, Crimson Tide may be in a good position to add some better and a little bit more experienced talent to the room.

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 Brad, it's always good to hook up with you, man.

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 We know you're busy.

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 We're just flattered that you can take time out of that busy schedule and join us today.

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 Keep up the good work, and hopefully we can talk as soon as possible out there.

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 Absolutely, guys.

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 You guys have a good day and happy to come on.

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 You too, bud.

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 Thank you.

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 Brad Greenberg is going to be this time of 24-7, 24-7 sports.

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 We mentioned Auburn also busy with the portal party.

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 The latest with Brian Matthews on deck on the Boomo Bugg Show.

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196
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198
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199
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200
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201
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 Rich Eisen here.

228
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236
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237
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239
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240
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241
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242
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243
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244
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 Just like trick plays that actually work.

245
00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:21,120
 Yeah, but how often does that happen?

246
00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:22,780
 Complaining about sports?

247
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 Not so great.

248
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249
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250
00:19:32,940 --> 00:19:36,140
 From the University of Alabama, this is Crimson Tide Today.

251
00:19:36,560 --> 00:19:40,340
 It's a daily update on Bama sports and it's brought to you by Vector Security Champions Lane.

252
00:19:40,620 --> 00:19:42,640
 The best pregame fan fest in college football.

253
00:19:42,980 --> 00:19:45,340
 For more information, visit championslane.com.

254
00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:46,240
 Hello again, everybody.

255
00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:47,180
 I'm Roger Hoover.

256
00:19:47,500 --> 00:19:51,020
 As we get ready for Alabama men's basketball tonight at Mississippi State,

257
00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:55,760
 here are postgame thoughts from Saturday's game from Alabama men's basketball head coach, Nate Oates.

258
00:19:55,760 --> 00:19:58,200
 It looks like we need some leadership to step up.

259
00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:02,700
 Some guys that want to get everybody together and say they're tired of losing.

260
00:20:03,480 --> 00:20:04,600
 Stuff's got to change.

261
00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:05,980
 It's not a talent problem.

262
00:20:06,740 --> 00:20:09,560
 It's a focus and effort, a competitive juice problem.

263
00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:15,380
 So if they're not as connected, that falls on the leadership of the team.

264
00:20:16,140 --> 00:20:19,800
 And we've told these guys, I mean, we're here to help you.

265
00:20:19,980 --> 00:20:22,680
 This is your team, your season.

266
00:20:23,500 --> 00:20:25,720
 I'll be coaching for a long time after this.

267
00:20:25,860 --> 00:20:29,720
 They get one opportunity with this group to put it together and that's it.

268
00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:35,400
 So, you know, if they love their brothers and they want their teammates to perform well.

269
00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:36,860
 I'll have more in a moment.

270
00:20:37,860 --> 00:20:40,400
 Tide fans, are you ready for game day in Tuscaloosa?

271
00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:45,100
 Don't miss the ultimate pregame experience this season at Vector Security Champions Lane,

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273
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 This FanFest has everything you need to get pumps for kickoff.

274
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 Located next to the Walk of Champions, you'll enjoy live music, player autographs,

275
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276
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 and ice cold beer in our Legends Lounge Beer Garden, where there's never a cover charge.

277
00:21:01,840 --> 00:21:04,920
 Check out ChampionsLane.com each week for the latest updates.

278
00:21:05,140 --> 00:21:05,720
 Roll Tide.

279
00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:09,480
 If you missed last night's edition of Hey Coach and the Nate Oates Show,

280
00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:14,120
 catch it on demand on the Alabama Insider Podcast, available on all podcast platforms,

281
00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:20,240
 plus a video replay on all CTSN social media platforms at UA underscore CTSN.

282
00:21:20,660 --> 00:21:24,160
 Crimson Tide Today is brought to you by Vector Security Champions Lane.

283
00:21:24,540 --> 00:21:28,300
 Crimson Tide Today is a production of the Crimson Tide Sports Network from Learfield.

284
00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:30,060
 The Score.

285
00:21:30,500 --> 00:21:35,300
 Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.

286
00:21:35,620 --> 00:21:37,560
 Welcome back in business.

287
00:21:37,560 --> 00:21:39,920
 This is the name of the game of the Plains as well.

288
00:21:40,020 --> 00:21:41,880
 Brian Matthews got it all covered there.

289
00:21:41,980 --> 00:21:44,220
 The senior editor for AuburnSports.com.

290
00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:45,340
 Brian, welcome in.

291
00:21:45,460 --> 00:21:50,900
 And is it true that actresses in Hollywood's got a lot in common with this Auburn roster?

292
00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:53,660
 They both are undergoing major facelifts.

293
00:21:54,420 --> 00:21:54,880
 Welcome in.

294
00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:55,600
 How are you?

295
00:21:56,280 --> 00:21:57,160
 Yeah, it really is.

296
00:21:57,200 --> 00:22:03,820
 There's a lot of changes, you know, 30 plus out the door, 25 so far in the door.

297
00:22:04,020 --> 00:22:07,300
 So, there has been a ton of turnover for this Auburn football roster.

298
00:22:08,300 --> 00:22:10,300
 Obviously, let's start with the freshest.

299
00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:11,780
 It's live radio.

300
00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:13,480
 We tease the top of the show.

301
00:22:14,020 --> 00:22:19,840
 Amongst the additions, Auburn adding a QB and an RB amongst others.

302
00:22:19,980 --> 00:22:20,460
 Talk to us.

303
00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:22,600
 It's always intriguing when you add another quarterback.

304
00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:24,520
 I'm going to take a shot here.

305
00:22:24,580 --> 00:22:28,720
 Tristan Tia, if I mispronounced that, I'll run around the room three times.

306
00:22:28,900 --> 00:22:30,740
 But talk to us about the latest additions.

307
00:22:31,780 --> 00:22:37,620
 Yeah, I mean, Auburn will have four new quarterbacks on staff, you know, once they get underway here.

308
00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:43,020
 And I think Tia's a guy that they feel like can come in and compete for that number two role right away.

309
00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:47,380
 We'll compete with another registered freshman or two freshmen, you know, for that role.

310
00:22:47,380 --> 00:22:52,240
 And for, you know, early competition for being the starter next year.

311
00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:56,460
 And, of course, Byron Brown will be the starter, come from USF.

312
00:22:56,660 --> 00:23:02,940
 So, you know, I think that's one of some positions, especially on offense, that really upgraded with the additions.

313
00:23:03,620 --> 00:23:06,960
 I think quarterbacks certainly running back definitely.

314
00:23:07,700 --> 00:23:11,940
 Bryson Washington from Baylor was the latest addition there.

315
00:23:11,940 --> 00:23:19,620
 But, you know, between him, Jeremiah Cobb, the guy at Davenport from USF, that's a total up.

316
00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:22,100
 That's over 2,000 yards and 18 touchdowns from last season.

317
00:23:22,300 --> 00:23:27,060
 So, that's a whole lot of production at that position they're bringing in, along with Cobb.

318
00:23:27,260 --> 00:23:29,420
 And I think that's going to be a really strong position.

319
00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:36,180
 I think you're going to see Auburn feature the running game a lot more than it did a year ago and have a lot more weapons there.

320
00:23:36,760 --> 00:23:41,200
 So, those two positions, I think, tied in, which had to be totally rebuilt, too.

321
00:23:42,040 --> 00:23:45,020
 Just one player returning there, Ryan Gay.

322
00:23:45,660 --> 00:23:49,320
 But Jake Johnson from UNC, I think, is a really nice addition.

323
00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:54,540
 Jonathan Echols from USF is a nice piece to add there.

324
00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:56,520
 And then they've got some younger guys, too, coming in.

325
00:23:56,680 --> 00:23:59,680
 So, I think they're so positions they've really helped themselves out with.

326
00:24:00,740 --> 00:24:16,480
 Auburn's picked up in the last week, last few days, I know two corners, Andre Jordan Jr., UCLA, Shamar Arnault, I believe is how you pronounce it, B-MAT, C, cornerback from Florida State.

327
00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:24,420
 Let's see, Nate Johnson, edge rusher from Missouri, St. Farrier, a defensive lineman from Alp State.

328
00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:33,760
 Are they still looking, as far as position of needs, are they still looking for one or two on the offensive line and defensive line?

329
00:24:34,580 --> 00:24:36,320
 Yeah, I think one or two on the offensive line.

330
00:24:36,420 --> 00:24:38,420
 I think they still need a lot more on the defensive line.

331
00:24:38,680 --> 00:24:42,660
 I just feel like that's an area that just haven't done a good enough job addressing so far.

332
00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:48,100
 I like the kid they got from Arkansas State, the defensive tackle.

333
00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:49,260
 I think he's a really good player.

334
00:24:49,580 --> 00:24:53,400
 But, you know, the rest of the guys, to me, are just step pieces so far.

335
00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:56,940
 Unless somebody steps up and just takes a big step forward.

336
00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:01,000
 But I do like what they've done on the offensive line.

337
00:25:01,100 --> 00:25:05,140
 They brought in, I think it's five so far, four transfers.

338
00:25:06,420 --> 00:25:08,360
 Probably could use some more help there.

339
00:25:08,900 --> 00:25:18,820
 But at least now you can feel the SEC starting offensive line now with the guys that have been brought in Rambo from Michigan State.

340
00:25:18,980 --> 00:25:21,180
 Simmons, another tackle.

341
00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:24,020
 Cole Best, I thought was a really important addition there.

342
00:25:24,020 --> 00:25:27,500
 He was a starting center at USF the last couple of years.

343
00:25:27,620 --> 00:25:32,320
 He'll come in with a lot of familiarity with the offense, with Byron Brown.

344
00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:35,340
 I just think that's a really nice addition there, too.

345
00:25:35,740 --> 00:25:37,820
 So that room's gotten better.

346
00:25:38,460 --> 00:25:41,120
 But, you know, they only returned three players, right?

347
00:25:41,780 --> 00:25:43,680
 Three second-year players.

348
00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:44,120
 That's it.

349
00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:46,080
 So there's still some rebuilding to do there.

350
00:25:48,260 --> 00:25:52,720
 Does Auburn have a chance to get Ohio State transfer, Tegra, Shibola?

351
00:25:53,860 --> 00:25:55,260
 And you're right.

352
00:25:55,380 --> 00:25:56,780
 They picked up Cole Bass.

353
00:25:57,760 --> 00:25:59,480
 Cole Skinner was another name.

354
00:25:59,860 --> 00:26:02,900
 Are you – but what is the status on Shibola?

355
00:26:05,140 --> 00:26:08,960
 I have not heard anything today or yesterday on Monday, really.

356
00:26:09,740 --> 00:26:13,880
 So I don't really have necessarily a great update on that young man.

357
00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:27,240
 But, you know, I think Auburn, offensive line-wise, there's a Juco kid that was in for a visit, I think, a few days ago.

358
00:26:27,460 --> 00:26:28,060
 Barrett Maddox.

359
00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:28,860
 He's from Itawamba.

360
00:26:29,220 --> 00:26:30,300
 He's a big tackle.

361
00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:37,640
 I think he's a guy to watch right now at that position, you know, for another addition there.

362
00:26:38,460 --> 00:26:43,880
 You know, and as far as the defensive line, I mentioned they're going to have to find some more guys there.

363
00:26:43,980 --> 00:26:47,120
 I just don't know any top targets right now.

364
00:26:47,460 --> 00:26:51,820
 I'm sure some guys are maybe keeping quiet, but no top guys.

365
00:26:52,280 --> 00:26:53,880
 I like what they did at cornerback.

366
00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:56,360
 You mentioned Arno, Andre Jordan from UCLA.

367
00:26:56,600 --> 00:27:01,620
 I think that's basically a wash, basically using Crawford and Kyan Lee.

368
00:27:01,900 --> 00:27:07,980
 You know, those two guys had a lot of SEC starting experience, but you're getting some guys here that have some power for starting experience, too,

369
00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:10,400
 and were pretty productive at both their schools.

370
00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:16,320
 So I think they've done a good job at least replacing those guys with other good, solid players.

371
00:27:17,340 --> 00:27:19,400
 Brian Matthews, AuburnSports.com.

372
00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:20,560
 Brian, you're the smart one.

373
00:27:21,120 --> 00:27:23,100
 The NCAA says, let's do this.

374
00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:25,160
 Well, let's have a dead period in the middle of it.

375
00:27:25,180 --> 00:27:28,660
 You can explain that along with physics and calculus.

376
00:27:28,780 --> 00:27:29,920
 We can't figure that one out.

377
00:27:30,320 --> 00:27:31,160
 And it's Tuesday.

378
00:27:31,300 --> 00:27:33,860
 The deadline, if they haven't changed yet, is Friday.

379
00:27:33,980 --> 00:27:37,580
 How much more movement do you see Auburn doing between now and Friday?

380
00:27:37,580 --> 00:27:42,660
 And as far as the rumblings on the ground, if so, who might be next?

381
00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:47,060
 Well, the only thing that, you know, can end Friday is players entering the portal.

382
00:27:47,500 --> 00:27:50,340
 Players can still leave the portal or go to schools, you know,

383
00:27:50,360 --> 00:27:52,340
 in the days and weeks after and Fridays.

384
00:27:52,340 --> 00:27:59,120
 So, you know, I don't know of anybody, you know, Auburn-related that would be leaving still,

385
00:27:59,220 --> 00:28:00,920
 but you never know what to pop up, you know.

386
00:28:01,660 --> 00:28:02,900
 We'll just have to wait and see.

387
00:28:03,180 --> 00:28:06,540
 But 34 so far have left the team.

388
00:28:07,220 --> 00:28:12,220
 And then, you know, you've had your graduations and your guys leaving for the NFL.

389
00:28:12,540 --> 00:28:17,320
 So, I think the total leaving is around 52-ish right now.

390
00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:21,040
 So, you're really turning over that roster from last year.

391
00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:23,040
 But I think so far they're doing a pretty good job.

392
00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:26,860
 I always enjoy Monday Musings.

393
00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:28,960
 We talk about it nearly every week.

394
00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:34,680
 Years yesterday was basically about how to put a roster together.

395
00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:38,740
 And Indiana's turned into the blueprint for a lot of schools.

396
00:28:38,860 --> 00:28:45,120
 As you mentioned, they signed the nation's number 60 recruiting class, 53 in 2025.

397
00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:50,400
 But they finished 10th in the own three rankings in 2024.

398
00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:52,440
 And I agree with you.

399
00:28:52,520 --> 00:28:57,780
 One of their huge assets was the evaluation at the quarterback position.

400
00:28:57,980 --> 00:29:00,040
 And I know you've talked about that.

401
00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:01,960
 You know, is this an outlier?

402
00:29:02,120 --> 00:29:03,480
 Is this the future blueprint?

403
00:29:04,520 --> 00:29:05,520
 You know, we'll see.

404
00:29:05,900 --> 00:29:07,980
 Summarize money Musings for us.

405
00:29:08,260 --> 00:29:14,280
 I just think it's interesting to see because I think we've seen with the portal at NIL area,

406
00:29:14,360 --> 00:29:17,900
 we've seen the talent distribute more, right?

407
00:29:17,940 --> 00:29:20,480
 We're not seeing the super teams as much anymore.

408
00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:23,180
 And I think that's going to increase as we go forward.

409
00:29:23,600 --> 00:29:25,760
 I mean, I think you look at the playoffs this year.

410
00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:30,300
 The first team out, Notre Dame, I think, probably could have competed for the championship, too.

411
00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:33,860
 So, to me, there are at least 13 teams I can compete for.

412
00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:36,860
 And I think we'll see more as we move forward.

413
00:29:36,940 --> 00:29:42,920
 So, I think a 16-team playoff really fits this era of college football really well if they move to that.

414
00:29:44,060 --> 00:29:48,680
 But, you know, as far as building rosters, maybe I'm stuck in the past a little bit.

415
00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:54,120
 I still think the best way to do it is sign top 10 recruiting classes, freshmen,

416
00:29:54,760 --> 00:29:56,660
 and supplement with the portal as you move forward.

417
00:29:57,640 --> 00:30:02,160
 But maybe that's not necessarily – maybe I'm wrong, right?

418
00:30:02,180 --> 00:30:08,240
 Because you're seeing now, at least with Indiana, and I think Auburn is moving in this direction in some ways,

419
00:30:08,300 --> 00:30:13,440
 at least for now, where, look, let's not sign a big high school class.

420
00:30:14,140 --> 00:30:18,940
 Because if you look at what's happened to Auburn with the two top 10 classes they signed,

421
00:30:19,560 --> 00:30:21,140
 a lot of those kids have already left.

422
00:30:21,620 --> 00:30:28,120
 So, you know, Auburn put two years into developing them, coaching them, making them really good players.

423
00:30:28,580 --> 00:30:35,660
 And other teams – in fact, other SEC teams are going to profit off of that work that Auburn put in, right?

424
00:30:36,460 --> 00:30:42,200
 You know, Malik Blockton was a pretty good player for Auburn, but now he's going to LSU as a junior,

425
00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:44,260
 and he's going to be a better player for LSU.

426
00:30:45,780 --> 00:30:50,820
 You know, Amars Williams was a really good backup for Keldrick Falk for two years.

427
00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:54,740
 And, you know, you invest that time and money into him, and you're hoping, hey,

428
00:30:54,740 --> 00:30:56,660
 we're going to get him back for that big junior year.

429
00:30:57,200 --> 00:30:58,340
 Instead, he went to Georgia.

430
00:30:59,340 --> 00:31:05,020
 So, you know, there is a reason why it hasn't worked for Auburn.

431
00:31:05,660 --> 00:31:08,840
 There's probably other reasons, too, because Auburn's not willing to pay for them to stay,

432
00:31:09,500 --> 00:31:11,520
 at least at the price they wanted.

433
00:31:12,280 --> 00:31:18,460
 But, yeah, I think there is other opportunities, and that's to put more emphasis on the portal,

434
00:31:19,140 --> 00:31:24,720
 getting experienced players, getting players with a number of starts under their belt already,

435
00:31:25,620 --> 00:31:30,340
 and then, you know, putting a team out there with experience that can execute.

436
00:31:30,800 --> 00:31:33,540
 You look at Indiana, they're just out-executing every team.

437
00:31:33,960 --> 00:31:41,100
 It's because they've got, like, I think 45 players out there with, I wrote it, I forget what it was,

438
00:31:41,180 --> 00:31:47,440
 it was 45 with starting experience or upperclassmen or something that really makes a difference,

439
00:31:47,640 --> 00:31:54,980
 I think, on the field when you have that going up against all these other teams that are rolling over their rosters so much.

440
00:31:55,620 --> 00:32:00,000
 Bringing all these new players every year, and then, really, that execution when you get some newcomers every year

441
00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:01,400
 kind of starts to go down.

442
00:32:03,220 --> 00:32:07,000
 Yeah, 45 players in the league, four years of college playing in the Mariners, what Indiana has.

443
00:32:07,140 --> 00:32:07,800
 Yeah, that's what it was.

444
00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:08,960
 That's pretty good.

445
00:32:09,700 --> 00:32:11,100
 Yes, no question.

446
00:32:11,240 --> 00:32:16,140
 Auburn basketball Wednesday night, traveling to Como, to Missouri,

447
00:32:16,800 --> 00:32:21,060
 after a big win over Arkansas, and confirm for us,

448
00:32:21,760 --> 00:32:28,000
 Auburn announces A-Day, a spring football game in a traditional format.

449
00:32:28,180 --> 00:32:28,420
 Ah!

450
00:32:28,720 --> 00:32:31,980
 Be mad, Saturday, April the 18th.

451
00:32:32,120 --> 00:32:34,100
 We'll see what else goes on there.

452
00:32:34,180 --> 00:32:38,680
 Confirm that, and then, secondly, where can we get online and get all the great stuff?

453
00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:43,480
 Yes, A-Day is April 18th, which I believe is not Masters weekend,

454
00:32:43,620 --> 00:32:47,700
 which I think a lot of people out there will be very excited to know.

455
00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:50,920
 And then it is a big game for basketball, right?

456
00:32:51,680 --> 00:32:56,440
 You know, then they start off 0-2, got a really nice home win over a top-15 team in Arkansas,

457
00:32:56,780 --> 00:33:00,660
 and now they're going on a road to a Missouri team that's already beaten Kentucky and Florida.

458
00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:05,000
 So this is a big test for Auburn, trying to get back to .500,

459
00:33:05,580 --> 00:33:11,280
 trying to compete in an SEC that I don't think is as close to top-heavy as it was a year ago.

460
00:33:11,540 --> 00:33:17,000
 So I think a lot of teams, including Auburn, in this conference can get on a little run

461
00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:19,140
 and move right to the top of the league.

462
00:33:19,380 --> 00:33:21,680
 So we'll see if Auburn's one of those teams that can do that now.

463
00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:27,900
 But definitely playing better basketball, even though they started out 0-2 in the SEC the last few weeks, I'd say.

464
00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:28,500
 A couple weeks.

465
00:33:29,820 --> 00:33:31,560
 Brian's always good to hook up with you, man.

466
00:33:31,660 --> 00:33:32,440
 Thanks so much.

467
00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:34,040
 Stay safe and warm down there, okay?

468
00:33:34,680 --> 00:33:35,420
 Appreciate you guys.

469
00:33:35,460 --> 00:33:35,920
 Thanks for having me.

470
00:33:36,260 --> 00:33:36,700
 Thank you, Bill.

471
00:33:37,260 --> 00:33:40,660
 Yeah, I'm Brian Matthews, senior editor over at sports.com.

472
00:33:40,740 --> 00:33:43,480
 To Vegas, we go next with Bruce Marshall.

473
00:33:43,620 --> 00:33:44,240
 Stay with us.

474
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475
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476
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477
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478
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479
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480
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 Or in Tuscumbia, see Page Borden Insurance at 111 East 3rd Street

481
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 or call 256-381-1334.

482
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 Hi, this is Ike Fowler with Alabama Health Guidance.

483
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484
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485
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486
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487
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488
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489
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 Again, that's 256-648-5710.

490
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491
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492
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493
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494
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495
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496
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 Uh, no.

497
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498
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499
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500
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501
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502
00:35:16,280 --> 00:35:17,660
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503
00:35:17,800 --> 00:35:18,780
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504
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 With the new IHOP value menu,

505
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506
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507
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508
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509
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510
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 Go to your Happy Plates every day at IHOP.

511
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512
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513
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514
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515
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516
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517
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518
00:35:49,320 --> 00:35:50,560
 Hey, fans.

519
00:35:50,940 --> 00:35:53,300
 Welcome back to Fansville's Cheers.

520
00:35:54,220 --> 00:35:55,540
 And Tears.

521
00:35:56,380 --> 00:35:58,980
 Okay, so like everybody deals with losing, right?

522
00:35:59,060 --> 00:36:00,920
 To a rival on a last-second field goal.

523
00:36:01,180 --> 00:36:01,820
 Whatever, it's fine.

524
00:36:01,860 --> 00:36:02,480
 I'm totally fine.

525
00:36:02,680 --> 00:36:06,280
 But I cope with losing with an ice-cold Dr. Pepper.

526
00:36:07,780 --> 00:36:10,880
 Those 23 flavors are like so delicious.

527
00:36:11,520 --> 00:36:14,120
 They totally wash away the pain of your college football team

528
00:36:14,120 --> 00:36:15,560
 taking a big fat L.

529
00:36:16,720 --> 00:36:17,560
 College football.

530
00:36:18,000 --> 00:36:18,620
 It's a pepper thing.

531
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536
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537
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538
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539
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 If your father and I do not return, you go as far and as fast as you can.

540
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 Movies don't get any bigger than this.

541
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 Avatar Fire and Ash.

542
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 Rated PG-13.

543
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 Now playing.

544
00:36:49,080 --> 00:36:52,040
 Progressive presents the Sports Flash on 93-9.

545
00:36:52,200 --> 00:36:53,020
 The score.

546
00:36:53,420 --> 00:36:59,480
 In the latest top 25 poll for men's basketball, Alabama down five spots in the AP poll to number 18.

547
00:36:59,660 --> 00:37:04,020
 The Tide down six spots to number 18 in the latest coaches poll.

548
00:37:04,380 --> 00:37:05,820
 Alabama back in action tonight.

549
00:37:05,920 --> 00:37:07,700
 They're on the road against Mississippi State.

550
00:37:08,040 --> 00:37:09,660
 The Tide 1-2 in the SEC.

551
00:37:10,240 --> 00:37:13,700
 Mississippi State is 2-1 in conference play.

552
00:37:14,040 --> 00:37:18,060
 Tomorrow, Troy will play at home against Southern Miss and Auburn.

553
00:37:18,160 --> 00:37:20,680
 Set to play on the road at Missouri.

554
00:37:21,140 --> 00:37:26,460
 In the latest women's basketball top 25 poll, Alabama up to number 21 this week.

555
00:37:26,740 --> 00:37:28,980
 Crimson Tide is 16-1 on the year.

556
00:37:29,360 --> 00:37:31,800
 Alabama will play at Auburn Thursday.

557
00:37:32,320 --> 00:37:36,520
 Bundle auto and home, renters or condo, and save with Progressive.

558
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 I'm John Thayer with the Sports Flash presented by Progressive on 93-9 The Score.

559
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570
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571
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572
00:38:26,560 --> 00:38:30,520
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573
00:38:31,580 --> 00:38:36,620
 Do we sound too conceited if we keep repeating how Rain-X is the number one brand of wiper blades in America?

574
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 No.

575
00:38:38,580 --> 00:38:42,080
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576
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577
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578
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579
00:38:49,640 --> 00:38:50,840
 The score.

580
00:38:51,260 --> 00:38:56,040
 Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.

581
00:38:56,460 --> 00:38:57,380
 Welcome back in.

582
00:38:57,500 --> 00:38:58,620
 Breaking news.

583
00:38:58,780 --> 00:39:00,140
 Jerry, can we have the envelope?

584
00:39:00,320 --> 00:39:08,340
 The verdict is Ty Simpson officially signs the paperwork to enter the 2026 NFL draft.

585
00:39:08,840 --> 00:39:12,220
 Who needs your $6.5 million deal, Miami, Brett Beaird?

586
00:39:12,660 --> 00:39:22,600
 Well, Harold, even if he goes in the early second round, he's going to probably make between 8 and 10, which is a little bit more than 6.5.

587
00:39:22,600 --> 00:39:24,820
 Either way, he's going to be in pretty good shape.

588
00:39:25,060 --> 00:39:29,260
 I'm going to go ahead and say he's going to be the richest man in Martin, Tennessee for a long, long time.

589
00:39:29,380 --> 00:39:31,120
 Bruce Marshall knows where the money is.

590
00:39:31,160 --> 00:39:31,920
 He's out in Vegas.

591
00:39:32,040 --> 00:39:33,420
 Las Vegas Insider.

592
00:39:33,920 --> 00:39:38,740
 Now, on sports.net, CBS Sportsline, the podcast, Vet Rivers, and Vegas Insider.

593
00:39:39,500 --> 00:39:40,680
 Bruce, welcome in.

594
00:39:40,740 --> 00:39:41,520
 How are you?

595
00:39:42,580 --> 00:39:57,620
 I am pretty good, and I'm just trying to come to grips with the fact that we live in a world where Indiana is a football school and Nebraska is a basketball school.

596
00:39:58,140 --> 00:39:58,480
 That's right.

597
00:39:59,540 --> 00:40:01,840
 Where did we go wrong, Bruce?

598
00:40:01,960 --> 00:40:03,500
 When did things start crossing?

599
00:40:03,980 --> 00:40:05,340
 I've been around a while.

600
00:40:06,220 --> 00:40:07,440
 My memory's slipping.

601
00:40:07,660 --> 00:40:13,860
 When do we go from what used to be to what is, and where are you, particularly with college football now?

602
00:40:13,920 --> 00:40:21,360
 Just like the other day with Alabama, they thought they had their problem solved at running back to bring all that in a bag of chips down from North Carolina State.

603
00:40:21,560 --> 00:40:22,120
 He was this.

604
00:40:22,200 --> 00:40:22,940
 He was that.

605
00:40:23,100 --> 00:40:23,820
 He commenced.

606
00:40:24,040 --> 00:40:25,160
 Word is he went to class.

607
00:40:25,760 --> 00:40:28,000
 And then over the weekend, he said, nah, not going to do it.

608
00:40:28,060 --> 00:40:30,320
 I'm going to Texas and cash some of those oil checks.

609
00:40:30,920 --> 00:40:34,740
 Your problem is, the old problem is still the problem as far as filling that void.

610
00:40:35,040 --> 00:40:37,380
 Bruce, where are we in this world of college football?

611
00:40:38,140 --> 00:40:38,700
 I know.

612
00:40:38,800 --> 00:40:39,780
 It's hard to say.

613
00:40:40,140 --> 00:40:45,140
 I mean, I would, like I said a minute ago, what would Bob Knight or Dr. Tom, or Dr. Tom?

614
00:40:45,360 --> 00:40:46,060
 Or Bear Bryant.

615
00:40:46,580 --> 00:40:47,340
 Or Bear Bryant.

616
00:40:47,420 --> 00:40:49,140
 What would they think of all this stuff?

617
00:40:49,540 --> 00:40:55,760
 I think we just have to kind of wait as far as the portal goes for all of the smoke to clear where all these kids land.

618
00:40:55,820 --> 00:40:58,300
 I've already lost track of where all these guys are going.

619
00:40:58,300 --> 00:41:05,260
 The Simpsons situation was pretty interesting because Miami seemed to barge ahead even after Simpson announced he was going into the pros.

620
00:41:06,760 --> 00:41:10,880
 And before he actually, I guess, put his name into the draft, I guess now he's done that officially.

621
00:41:11,020 --> 00:41:13,360
 Maybe Miami should have upped the offer a little bit.

622
00:41:13,860 --> 00:41:14,300
 Interesting.

623
00:41:14,580 --> 00:41:20,880
 I thought interesting, too, speaking of Nebraska, how Dylan Raiola has ended with Oregon next year.

624
00:41:21,820 --> 00:41:28,420
 So I guess we're still waiting on Dante Moore if he's going to announce for the draft or not.

625
00:41:28,480 --> 00:41:31,820
 But I think Oregon has sort of told him, okay, I think you can go to the draft right now.

626
00:41:31,860 --> 00:41:35,360
 We've got your replacement already in the house here now.

627
00:41:35,500 --> 00:41:38,500
 So this stuff keeps evolving like that.

628
00:41:39,040 --> 00:41:46,760
 And in the next week, a week from today, we'll have actually a lot more about the portal than we know now because it's happening really quick here in January.

629
00:41:48,160 --> 00:41:56,660
 Bruce, if you wonder, if someone's wondering why Indiana and Miami are in the national championship game, just a few stats.

630
00:41:57,160 --> 00:41:58,660
 They don't beat themselves.

631
00:41:59,160 --> 00:42:03,660
 Indiana's lost one fumble, one, the entire season.

632
00:42:03,900 --> 00:42:05,560
 Miami's lost three.

633
00:42:06,560 --> 00:42:10,320
 Miami leads the nation with 47 cornerback sacks.

634
00:42:10,760 --> 00:42:14,180
 Indiana is tied with Oklahoma for second with 45.

635
00:42:15,300 --> 00:42:23,880
 And something else amazing to me, Indiana has outscored teams by 237 points in the first half this season.

636
00:42:23,880 --> 00:42:26,980
 That's actually behind Texas Tech, who's got 256.

637
00:42:28,040 --> 00:42:35,560
 And the more amazing thing about it is they've outscored teams by 236 points in the second half.

638
00:42:35,860 --> 00:42:37,940
 No wonder these teams win games.

639
00:42:39,140 --> 00:42:40,020
 Yeah, no wonder.

640
00:42:40,240 --> 00:42:44,500
 I mean, they're like machines, especially, you know, this Indiana.

641
00:42:45,600 --> 00:42:48,700
 And I admit I've been wrong here a couple times with the Hoosiers.

642
00:42:48,840 --> 00:42:49,480
 Maybe I'll learn.

643
00:42:50,000 --> 00:42:53,220
 But I'm still trying to think what I'm going to do with this game coming up next Monday.

644
00:42:53,980 --> 00:43:03,960
 You know, one thing about the championship games, and you could sort of throw Indiana and Oregon into that from last week as well.

645
00:43:04,380 --> 00:43:12,180
 But there's a history in this stuff, and it might apply to the game on Monday and also in pro football throughout the years.

646
00:43:13,060 --> 00:43:16,460
 And these big games, these title games, often end up one-sided.

647
00:43:17,180 --> 00:43:29,760
 And even though they don't look like it beforehand, to wit, in the college championship game, the last seven of those have all been decided by double digits, believe it or not.

648
00:43:30,760 --> 00:43:35,180
 The closest one was actually 11 in the final score last year.

649
00:43:35,320 --> 00:43:39,380
 That was Ohio State-Notre Dame, and that was sort of not that close of a game.

650
00:43:39,500 --> 00:43:40,540
 Ohio State was in control.

651
00:43:41,940 --> 00:43:50,160
 The Georgia-Alabama game four years ago probably played closer than that final score when Georgia got those scores late to extend the margin.

652
00:43:50,280 --> 00:43:52,140
 But nonetheless, the scoreboard tells the story.

653
00:43:52,800 --> 00:43:55,440
 These things end up being one-sided often.

654
00:43:55,620 --> 00:43:58,780
 And in the NFL, we've seen that throughout the years, too.

655
00:43:58,780 --> 00:44:01,420
 Not as much lately, though we did in the Super Bowl.

656
00:44:01,580 --> 00:44:04,160
 That turned into a one-sided game.

657
00:44:04,280 --> 00:44:12,080
 There was a spate there in the 80s into the 90s where you had about 13, 14 Super Bowls,

658
00:44:12,160 --> 00:44:18,200
 and only one of them, that Bills-Giants game down in Tampa where Norwood missed a field goal, was competitive at all.

659
00:44:19,520 --> 00:44:24,620
 And history, you know, back in the 50s and 60s, too, one-sided.

660
00:44:24,620 --> 00:44:32,240
 The biggest NFL score in history came in a championship game with the Bears over the old Redskins, 73-0 in 1940.

661
00:44:32,560 --> 00:44:39,560
 So something about these championship games just seems to lend to, you know, one-sidedness.

662
00:44:39,880 --> 00:44:45,120
 And I think Oregon contributed a lot to that last Friday against Indiana.

663
00:44:45,120 --> 00:44:47,840
 That was a very feckless performance by Oregon.

664
00:44:48,060 --> 00:44:48,980
 I was stunned.

665
00:44:49,340 --> 00:44:51,960
 I mean, the body language, they just looked defeated.

666
00:44:52,380 --> 00:44:54,740
 And they handed Indiana four scores.

667
00:44:55,020 --> 00:44:57,860
 So that's the only thing I'm sort of grappling with here.

668
00:44:57,940 --> 00:44:59,380
 Is Indiana really that good?

669
00:45:00,560 --> 00:45:08,620
 Or did, you know, Oregon just, especially in the Oregon game, was that just Oregon completely melding down on the big stage there?

670
00:45:08,680 --> 00:45:09,540
 Which surprised me.

671
00:45:09,580 --> 00:45:10,860
 But that, I think, is what happened.

672
00:45:11,960 --> 00:45:13,500
 Bruce, Marshall Vegas insider.

673
00:45:13,580 --> 00:45:14,800
 I'll tell you who's rich right now.

674
00:45:15,460 --> 00:45:18,980
 Someone who put a bet down that Indiana could wind up 16-0.

675
00:45:19,080 --> 00:45:21,320
 That is one rich dude, I guarantee you.

676
00:45:21,320 --> 00:45:22,320
 But let me ask you this, Bruce.

677
00:45:23,020 --> 00:45:31,060
 As far as looking at the dynamics in this game, you look at Miami, and it looks like what Indiana's planning is.

678
00:45:31,120 --> 00:45:34,740
 It's what Nick said at his opening press conference in Tuscaloosa.

679
00:45:34,900 --> 00:45:36,820
 I'll paraphrase, make their A's quit.

680
00:45:37,240 --> 00:45:38,940
 That seems to be what Indiana does.

681
00:45:39,340 --> 00:45:42,380
 And a lot of these younger teams, it's easy to get inside their heads.

682
00:45:42,500 --> 00:45:43,520
 Carson Beck's not a kid.

683
00:45:43,740 --> 00:45:45,980
 He's older than a lot of the NFL quarterbacks.

684
00:45:46,540 --> 00:45:48,280
 Your thoughts just about that dynamic.

685
00:45:48,280 --> 00:45:52,460
 And Barry Bryant said, if you play defense, the worst you can do, if they don't score, is to tie.

686
00:45:53,040 --> 00:45:55,020
 In your opinion, which defense would you take here?

687
00:45:55,860 --> 00:45:59,180
 Yeah, I'd actually take Miami's a little bit.

688
00:45:59,220 --> 00:46:02,120
 And I don't want to downgrade what Indiana's been able to do.

689
00:46:02,820 --> 00:46:04,780
 But Miami, I mean, those are sacks.

690
00:46:04,940 --> 00:46:06,400
 Indiana does a lot of sacks, too.

691
00:46:06,540 --> 00:46:10,060
 I mean, the Denver Broncos are the only team with more sacks than Miami, I think.

692
00:46:10,540 --> 00:46:11,500
 They've got a couple.

693
00:46:11,780 --> 00:46:13,500
 Reuben Baines, a first-round pick.

694
00:46:13,640 --> 00:46:14,820
 High first-round pick.

695
00:46:14,960 --> 00:46:17,220
 Messonville might be a mid-to-late first-round pick.

696
00:46:17,220 --> 00:46:21,200
 So you're talking about some NFL guys on the defensive front for Miami.

697
00:46:22,220 --> 00:46:25,740
 And you think about what they've done.

698
00:46:25,960 --> 00:46:31,660
 This team's got a little different swagger and intimidation factor about it.

699
00:46:31,700 --> 00:46:33,540
 They're like Miami used to be.

700
00:46:34,480 --> 00:46:39,840
 And the fact, I look at the Ohio State games for both of them.

701
00:46:40,920 --> 00:46:45,820
 And Miami, listen, Ohio State is still, you know, right there at the top there.

702
00:46:45,900 --> 00:46:47,500
 And in Miami, that was no fluke.

703
00:46:47,680 --> 00:46:49,140
 I mean, they stood up to Ohio State.

704
00:46:49,240 --> 00:46:51,260
 The defense really kept Ohio State in check.

705
00:46:51,380 --> 00:46:57,200
 And Indiana and Ohio State, that was a real war they had in Indianapolis last month for the Big Ten title game.

706
00:46:57,200 --> 00:47:02,820
 So my thought is, I mean, if Miami loses this game, it's not going to be because of its defense.

707
00:47:03,080 --> 00:47:07,360
 It's going to be because something happens on the other side and turning the ball over.

708
00:47:07,480 --> 00:47:09,440
 But like you mentioned, they don't fumble the ball much.

709
00:47:09,540 --> 00:47:13,400
 And I think the pressure is on these quarterbacks, especially Carson Beck.

710
00:47:14,120 --> 00:47:19,040
 I didn't think he played particularly well the other night against the Rebels.

711
00:47:19,160 --> 00:47:22,160
 But he did put together the winning drive there late.

712
00:47:22,360 --> 00:47:26,620
 So I think a lot is on his shoulders to not make mistakes and keep Miami in the game.

713
00:47:27,820 --> 00:47:29,800
 That's exactly what I was going to mention.

714
00:47:29,800 --> 00:47:34,120
 Beck was 23 of 37 and for 268 and three touchdowns.

715
00:47:34,200 --> 00:47:36,560
 But he made a lot of clutch plays.

716
00:47:36,780 --> 00:47:40,520
 He threw for all of 130 yards against Texas A&M.

717
00:47:41,080 --> 00:47:44,120
 And their defense won that game in College Station.

718
00:47:44,880 --> 00:47:50,100
 Miami ran 88 plays to 60 for Ole Miss and ran for 191 yards.

719
00:47:50,100 --> 00:47:58,180
 And I kind of doubt if they're going to run for 191 yards against Indiana.

720
00:47:58,500 --> 00:48:02,380
 But you alluded to it, is the line of scrimmage.

721
00:48:03,100 --> 00:48:05,780
 Both of these teams are very good at it.

722
00:48:05,900 --> 00:48:09,620
 But is Miami just a little bit better at the line of scrimmage?

723
00:48:10,660 --> 00:48:11,620
 They might.

724
00:48:12,040 --> 00:48:14,040
 I mean, that's going to be the key.

725
00:48:14,200 --> 00:48:20,660
 And I think also maybe they're not going to have 88 plays like against Ole Miss.

726
00:48:21,360 --> 00:48:26,860
 But they have been running the ball rather effectively for a while here.

727
00:48:26,940 --> 00:48:31,200
 And that's been a little bit different this year's Miami as opposed to the last few years.

728
00:48:32,280 --> 00:48:35,660
 But it's been the line of scrimmage where they've been able to win a lot of these games.

729
00:48:35,660 --> 00:48:42,500
 And I go back to that Ohio State game and that clinching TD drive for the Hurricanes.

730
00:48:42,700 --> 00:48:43,900
 I was mostly on the ground.

731
00:48:44,560 --> 00:48:46,200
 And Ohio State had gotten back in the game.

732
00:48:46,260 --> 00:48:47,240
 And it looked like they had the momentum.

733
00:48:47,660 --> 00:48:54,060
 And Miami just bucked up there and decided to run the ball down Ohio State's throat.

734
00:48:54,140 --> 00:48:54,660
 And it worked.

735
00:48:55,340 --> 00:48:58,840
 So maybe they'll be able to do that to a certain extent.

736
00:48:59,080 --> 00:49:04,720
 But I still think at some point they're not going to be able just to, you know, completely bulldoze over Indiana.

737
00:49:04,840 --> 00:49:05,500
 That's not going to work.

738
00:49:05,620 --> 00:49:07,480
 They're going to need Beck to do some things.

739
00:49:07,560 --> 00:49:09,060
 He's going to have to have a very good game.

740
00:49:09,440 --> 00:49:10,500
 Valcine Mendoza.

741
00:49:11,100 --> 00:49:13,760
 And I'm not quite sure he can do that.

742
00:49:13,880 --> 00:49:19,400
 Although, you know, the longer this game stays close, advantage, you know, Miami.

743
00:49:19,580 --> 00:49:21,020
 And they are going to be playing on their home field.

744
00:49:21,480 --> 00:49:26,280
 Although the crowd might be about split down there from what you could tell in Atlanta last week.

745
00:49:26,340 --> 00:49:28,460
 That was about a 95% Indiana crowd.

746
00:49:28,860 --> 00:49:30,020
 Those fans are hungry.

747
00:49:30,160 --> 00:49:31,780
 I think they'd go anywhere to watch the game.

748
00:49:32,320 --> 00:49:33,740
 They'll be in Miami too.

749
00:49:34,340 --> 00:49:35,520
 Spend their kids in here.

750
00:49:35,600 --> 00:49:36,960
 And that's how you sponsor that stuff.

751
00:49:37,080 --> 00:49:38,860
 Bruce Marshall, Vegas Insider.

752
00:49:39,340 --> 00:49:42,600
 Bruce, your thoughts about one, Sam Leavitt on his way to LSU.

753
00:49:43,020 --> 00:49:49,640
 And overall, just moments ago, the pickup Wisconsin running back Dylan Jones must have something to do with LSU money.

754
00:49:50,020 --> 00:49:53,460
 Your thoughts about Sam Leavitt and this LSU class coming together.

755
00:49:54,040 --> 00:49:56,820
 I think that might be one of the best pickups here in the portal.

756
00:49:57,700 --> 00:50:01,020
 There's some talk, you know, that Leavitt might even test the draft.

757
00:50:01,080 --> 00:50:04,820
 And I think he might have if he didn't get hurt midway through this season.

758
00:50:04,820 --> 00:50:09,060
 So it was still sort of an incomplete grade for him this past year.

759
00:50:09,240 --> 00:50:09,940
 Arizona State.

760
00:50:10,460 --> 00:50:14,360
 But he really burst upon the scene the year before with the Sun Devils.

761
00:50:14,620 --> 00:50:18,100
 And they were projecting him as an NFL first-round pick.

762
00:50:18,740 --> 00:50:19,940
 And he got hurt last year.

763
00:50:20,300 --> 00:50:23,180
 And he'll have one more year to prove it here down at LSU.

764
00:50:23,280 --> 00:50:25,680
 But I think that's a great pickup for them.

765
00:50:25,960 --> 00:50:31,480
 I like, you know, I actually think, you know, some of the quarterbacks in the portal there.

766
00:50:31,660 --> 00:50:37,320
 Now, Cignetti's already got Hoover from TCU for next year.

767
00:50:37,400 --> 00:50:43,760
 And Texas Tech's brought in Sorsby from Cincinnati, who, by the way, was at Indiana before Cignetti got there.

768
00:50:44,400 --> 00:50:49,540
 But I thought Leavitt might actually be the best, you know, the more upside of anybody in the portal.

769
00:50:49,680 --> 00:50:51,960
 If he stays healthy, I think LSU's got a real winner.

770
00:50:52,680 --> 00:50:55,380
 And it shows Lane is already doing his stuff down there.

771
00:50:55,820 --> 00:51:03,040
 And I think Leavitt, he will definitely be an upgrade over Nussmeyer and Van Buren from this last year.

772
00:51:03,140 --> 00:51:05,000
 So, I think that's a winner for Lane.

773
00:51:05,080 --> 00:51:05,780
 We'll see how it goes.

774
00:51:06,800 --> 00:51:08,400
 Let me ask you real quick.

775
00:51:08,600 --> 00:51:11,380
 SEC basketball, two big games tonight.

776
00:51:11,620 --> 00:51:13,960
 Alabama on an 0-2 run.

777
00:51:15,120 --> 00:51:16,420
 Should have beat Texas.

778
00:51:16,640 --> 00:51:18,200
 Had multiple opportunities.

779
00:51:18,820 --> 00:51:20,860
 But Sean Miller's a very good coach.

780
00:51:21,440 --> 00:51:24,400
 Josh Hubbard scoring and scores more.

781
00:51:24,920 --> 00:51:26,700
 Alabama at Mississippi State tonight.

782
00:51:26,700 --> 00:51:29,660
 And then Texas A&M undefeated in the SEC.

783
00:51:29,980 --> 00:51:32,520
 Tennessee got waxed by Florida.

784
00:51:32,680 --> 00:51:34,720
 But they did the same thing last year.

785
00:51:34,840 --> 00:51:36,420
 Buckyball 3-0.

786
00:51:37,200 --> 00:51:39,200
 Your thoughts on those two games.

787
00:51:39,680 --> 00:51:48,320
 And where can we get on line to get all of your incredible stuff with the NFL, college football, college basketball, and everything else?

788
00:51:49,000 --> 00:51:49,940
 Yeah, thanks, Brett.

789
00:51:50,000 --> 00:51:54,680
 Well, these games tonight, A&M is really interesting here.

790
00:51:54,680 --> 00:51:58,740
 Because, you know, the schedule wasn't that difficult.

791
00:51:59,320 --> 00:52:05,740
 But they took a couple losses there to Oak State, which is much better this year, and UCF back in early November.

792
00:52:06,660 --> 00:52:10,420
 But Buckyball has really picked up the pace since.

793
00:52:10,480 --> 00:52:12,000
 And like you said, they started 3-0.

794
00:52:12,220 --> 00:52:15,100
 You know, the win over Auburn last week was really good.

795
00:52:15,220 --> 00:52:18,620
 They're scoring almost 94 per game.

796
00:52:19,220 --> 00:52:23,900
 And it's just a portal all-star team, like most of them are.

797
00:52:24,100 --> 00:52:26,000
 But he's really put them in.

798
00:52:26,200 --> 00:52:27,560
 And that's what Buckyball does.

799
00:52:27,560 --> 00:52:33,560
 If they can keep their turnovers down, I think A&M's a 10-and-a-half-one underdog here tonight.

800
00:52:34,080 --> 00:52:36,460
 And Tennessee just lost that game to Florida last week.

801
00:52:36,560 --> 00:52:38,800
 So I might be inclined to give A&M a shot.

802
00:52:39,540 --> 00:52:44,560
 Totals at 161, roughly, in the way they're scoring with some of these guys.

803
00:52:44,600 --> 00:52:45,160
 I mean, it's interesting.

804
00:52:45,320 --> 00:52:46,080
 I look at these guys.

805
00:52:46,240 --> 00:52:46,460
 Wow.

806
00:52:46,600 --> 00:52:48,480
 I mean, they've pulled them in from everywhere.

807
00:52:48,740 --> 00:52:51,780
 I mean, A.G. has turned into a real – Papa Isaacs is back.

808
00:52:52,060 --> 00:52:54,560
 And he's one of – something like their fifth-leading scorers.

809
00:52:54,560 --> 00:52:57,180
 So I might give Bucky a shot there.

810
00:52:58,020 --> 00:53:01,220
 Mississippi State, kind of interesting here.

811
00:53:01,620 --> 00:53:06,780
 They did start off with those wins over Texas and Oklahoma, which is struggling some.

812
00:53:06,840 --> 00:53:11,180
 And then they got kind of waxed by Kentucky in the last game there.

813
00:53:11,320 --> 00:53:15,860
 I would think this should be a night Alabama turned some things around.

814
00:53:15,940 --> 00:53:19,300
 I know it's been a little frustrating, these last two losses.

815
00:53:19,300 --> 00:53:22,440
 And they were right there with Vanderbilt and Texas.

816
00:53:23,500 --> 00:53:31,620
 But let's see if Mississippi State can run with Alabama here tonight.

817
00:53:31,760 --> 00:53:33,740
 Alabama's scoring in the mid-'90s.

818
00:53:33,860 --> 00:53:35,700
 They've got two guys scoring about 20 per game.

819
00:53:36,460 --> 00:53:38,840
 So I think Alabama bounces back tonight.

820
00:53:38,960 --> 00:53:40,240
 I want to mention one other game tonight.

821
00:53:40,320 --> 00:53:45,020
 This is interesting because UConn getting a lot of press again this year at Seton Hall,

822
00:53:45,160 --> 00:53:46,860
 up at Newark tonight at the Rock.

823
00:53:47,480 --> 00:53:50,440
 They've lost the last four years at Seton Hall, believe it or not.

824
00:53:50,440 --> 00:53:54,540
 But even two of their championship teams lost at Seton Hall.

825
00:53:54,920 --> 00:53:56,720
 They're about a six-and-a-half-point favorite tonight.

826
00:53:56,860 --> 00:54:01,080
 So this might be a spot Seton Hall historically has given UConn some trouble at home.

827
00:54:01,680 --> 00:54:02,680
 So keep an eye on that one.

828
00:54:02,940 --> 00:54:06,360
 Anyway, for my stuff, for all my picks, and we've got some more football coming up.

829
00:54:06,420 --> 00:54:10,060
 Of course, all this basketball, hockey, you name it, it's up there at the old standbys.

830
00:54:10,820 --> 00:54:11,820
 VegasInsider.com.

831
00:54:12,340 --> 00:54:14,920
 Also CBS Sportsline, Sportsline.com.

832
00:54:15,320 --> 00:54:16,300
 Picks are the different twists.

833
00:54:16,300 --> 00:54:17,800
 WinnersAndWiners.com.

834
00:54:17,880 --> 00:54:19,300
 PicksAndParlays.com.

835
00:54:20,300 --> 00:54:22,920
 Bruce, as always, good to hook up with you.

836
00:54:23,060 --> 00:54:24,280
 You are a busy boy.

837
00:54:24,400 --> 00:54:26,780
 Keep it up, and thanks so much for your time today, buddy.

838
00:54:27,340 --> 00:54:28,320
 Have a good week, boys.

839
00:54:28,360 --> 00:54:28,720
 Thank you.

840
00:54:28,920 --> 00:54:29,400
 Thank you, bud.

841
00:54:29,460 --> 00:54:30,060
 You do the same.

842
00:54:30,120 --> 00:54:34,080
 Bruce Marshall against, again, other places, VegasInsider.com.

843
00:54:34,200 --> 00:54:36,880
 Coming up the next hour, Matt Murcia is going to be taking us coast to coast.

844
00:54:37,020 --> 00:54:44,020
 Joe Cox covering the SEC and Thomas Ashworth a little bit closer to us to see what's shaking in the shoals in North Alabama.

845
00:54:44,520 --> 00:54:45,540
 All straight ahead.

846
00:54:45,540 --> 00:54:47,220
 Stay with us here on the Boomo Bugg Show.

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 I feel great.

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 Well, I can't feel my feet.

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892
00:56:59,660 --> 00:57:02,580
 It's a heart-wrenching reality that we can no longer ignore.

893
00:57:03,260 --> 00:57:07,340
 Find the Children is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping find missing kids.

894
00:57:07,540 --> 00:57:11,260
 You can be a part of their mission by donating your unwanted vehicle, running or not.

895
00:57:11,340 --> 00:57:15,180
 Call 1-800-294-0222.

896
00:57:15,260 --> 00:57:17,820
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897
00:57:18,060 --> 00:57:21,140
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898
00:57:21,300 --> 00:57:25,160
 Call 1-800-294-0222.

899
00:57:25,380 --> 00:57:31,980
 Find the Children provides crucial resources to help find missing children and educational materials to teach kids how to recognize and avoid predators.

900
00:57:31,980 --> 00:57:35,960
 Our recovery programs have a proven track record of reuniting kids with their families.

901
00:57:36,260 --> 00:57:37,180
 It's time to act.

902
00:57:37,380 --> 00:57:39,180
 Donate your unwanted or unused car.

903
00:57:39,460 --> 00:57:41,600
 Help us build a world where every child is safe.

904
00:57:41,760 --> 00:57:46,500
 Pick up the phone and call 1-800-294-0222.

905
00:57:46,900 --> 00:57:49,060
 Together, we can bring these kids home safely.

906
00:57:49,620 --> 00:57:53,220
 This advertisement was paid for in partnership with Cars RS and Find the Children.

907
00:57:54,920 --> 00:57:56,620
 18-19 News.

908
00:57:56,980 --> 00:58:05,660
 Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall was in Hoover this past Monday in order to finalize paperwork to run in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate seat.

909
00:58:05,660 --> 00:58:12,080
 About 50 supporters also showed up at the headquarters for the Alabama Republican Party in order to cheer Marshall on.

910
00:58:12,380 --> 00:58:16,140
 Marshall said he was pleased to see so many young people come out in support of him,

911
00:58:16,300 --> 00:58:18,160
 and he called them the next generation of leaders.

912
00:58:18,460 --> 00:58:22,920
 Marshall also expressed gratitude to Alabama farmers who also came out to show their support.

913
00:58:23,180 --> 00:58:26,720
 The Alabama Farmers Federation endorsed Marshall back in October of 2025.

914
00:58:27,360 --> 00:58:32,820
 The primary election will be held this coming May 19th, with the general election being held on November 3rd.

915
00:58:33,140 --> 00:58:35,720
 I'll be back with more Alabama stories after this.

916
00:58:35,720 --> 00:58:39,320
 Some of the greatest blessings is just having the people that care about you.

917
00:58:39,620 --> 00:58:43,280
 To have someone that's just going to love you and make you feel important.

918
00:58:43,620 --> 00:58:45,320
 They encourage you to be in church.

919
00:58:45,440 --> 00:58:46,440
 They encourage you to be in prayer.

920
00:58:46,540 --> 00:58:48,280
 They encourage you to be in your Bible.

921
00:58:48,820 --> 00:58:51,020
 Now it's a part of my day every day.

922
00:58:51,060 --> 00:58:58,480
 My house parents planted seeds in me that you can see where those seeds have sprouted in my life and helped change my life.

923
00:58:59,200 --> 00:59:02,700
 Big Oak Ranch, a Christian home for children needing a chance.

924
00:59:03,980 --> 00:59:07,900
 Two reports of child abuse have been filed with police in Winfield.

925
00:59:07,900 --> 00:59:11,660
 An investigation is now underway at the New Dawn Daycare Center.

926
00:59:11,820 --> 00:59:14,900
 The daycare closed on January 8th as a result of this investigation.

927
00:59:15,320 --> 00:59:20,320
 It is the result of two complaints filed with police by parents of children that have been attending that daycare.

928
00:59:20,900 --> 00:59:25,420
 A Calhoun County man has been sentenced to 32 months in prison for the possession of an illegal machine gun.

929
00:59:25,520 --> 00:59:32,520
 25-year-old Justice Edmondson of Anniston entered a guilty plea to the charges filed against him in August of last year.

930
00:59:32,680 --> 00:59:36,740
 Edmondson was charged after a group of people were shot at and injured during a gathering.

931
00:59:37,120 --> 00:59:40,560
 Investigators found that Edmondson had modified a handgun with a Glock switch.

932
00:59:40,700 --> 00:59:42,980
 His actions were caught on a nearby security camera.

933
00:59:43,440 --> 00:59:44,280
 I'm Andrea Theis.

934
00:59:44,680 --> 00:59:48,900
 For more news affecting Alabamians, go to 1819news.com.

935
00:59:49,080 --> 00:59:51,920
 And while you're there, subscribe to the daily newsletter.

936
00:59:55,140 --> 01:00:00,540
 Valley Broadcasting Corporation, WITK-FM, Rogersville, Athens, Decatur, The Shores.

937
01:00:00,540 --> 01:00:02,960
 Sports Radio 93.9, The Score.

938
01:00:03,680 --> 01:00:10,680
 Join us for U&A Basketball Night from 7 to 8.30 p.m. on Monday nights from Lost Pizza Shoals.

939
01:00:11,060 --> 01:00:15,660
 Go inside the U&A Basketball programs with head coaches Tony Pujol and Candy Whitaker.

940
01:00:15,900 --> 01:00:22,880
 Plus, hear from U&A players and get full recaps from Atlantic Sunplay each Monday night at Lost Pizza Shoals

941
01:00:22,880 --> 01:00:28,860
 for U&A Basketball Night from 7 to 8.30 p.m. right here on 93.9, The Score.

942
01:00:29,300 --> 01:00:30,100
 Roar Lions!

943
01:00:33,100 --> 01:00:34,680
 Miss the Boomo Bugg show today?

944
01:00:34,920 --> 01:00:36,580
 Or Bill King or Paul Feinbaum?

945
01:00:36,880 --> 01:00:38,600
 Miss the last Florence Falcons game?

946
01:00:38,860 --> 01:00:43,880
 You can access the latest episodes and game broadcasts at our website, 939thescore.com.

947
01:00:44,020 --> 01:00:50,460
 Click on Podcast and then All Podcasts to access the latest Boom-O, Feinbaum, Bill King, and Florence broadcasts.

948
01:00:50,460 --> 01:00:52,380
 That's 939thescore.com.

949
01:00:53,500 --> 01:00:54,800
 939thescore.com.

950
01:00:58,720 --> 01:00:59,300
 939thescore.com.

951
01:00:59,300 --> 01:00:59,940
 939thescore.com.

952
01:00:59,940 --> 01:01:00,540
 The Score.com.

953
01:01:00,540 --> 01:01:01,080
 The Score.com.

954
01:01:01,200 --> 01:01:03,420
 Today's sunny with a high around 60.

955
01:01:04,080 --> 01:01:08,600
 Tonight, partly cloudy with possible wind gusts up to 20 miles an hour overnight and a low near 40.

956
01:01:09,120 --> 01:01:13,260
 Tomorrow, mostly cloudy with a 70% chance of showers and a high around 50.

957
01:01:13,780 --> 01:01:16,340
 Tomorrow night, mostly cloudy with a low near 25.

958
01:01:16,940 --> 01:01:19,860
 And for your Thursday, sunny with a high around 35.

959
01:01:20,520 --> 01:01:22,740
 Your weather from 939thescore.com.

960
01:01:22,740 --> 01:01:23,260
 The Score.

961
01:01:27,260 --> 01:01:29,740
 Now, get ready to roll.

962
01:01:29,960 --> 01:01:36,040
 Shoals, Decatur, Athens, and all of northwest Alabama and southern Tennessee.

963
01:01:36,700 --> 01:01:40,040
 It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice.

964
01:01:43,460 --> 01:01:45,300
 The Boomo Bugg Show.

965
01:01:45,900 --> 01:01:51,100
 Your exclusive inside track to the Tide, Tigers, Tennessee, and the rest of the SEC.

966
01:01:51,940 --> 01:01:55,900
 Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9.

967
01:01:56,300 --> 01:01:57,320
 The Score.

968
01:01:58,180 --> 01:01:58,880
 Welcome back in.

969
01:01:58,940 --> 01:02:01,720
 I'm Harold Bugg, alongside Brett Beaird.

970
01:02:01,780 --> 01:02:04,540
 Thank you so much for giving us free ride around the Tennessee Valley.

971
01:02:04,660 --> 01:02:07,960
 And quickly, baby, in case you missed you, we know you're busy out there.

972
01:02:08,800 --> 01:02:11,180
 A lot of folks wondering about Ty Simpson.

973
01:02:11,520 --> 01:02:15,480
 He says, I am going to go to the NFL over the last few days.

974
01:02:15,960 --> 01:02:17,740
 Welcome to clickbait heaven.

975
01:02:17,900 --> 01:02:19,800
 A lot of folks says, not so fast, my friend.

976
01:02:19,880 --> 01:02:25,020
 Other teams have thrown millions at him, including a reported six and a half mil from Miami.

977
01:02:25,420 --> 01:02:30,020
 But moments ago, the news coming down the pipe that Ty Simpson says, forget all about it.

978
01:02:30,420 --> 01:02:35,900
 He has, according to the reports anyway, officially signed the papers to indeed head to the NFL draft, BB.

979
01:02:36,440 --> 01:02:40,000
 Well, again, I know people are saying, well, Ty, what's wrong with you?

980
01:02:40,080 --> 01:02:46,140
 What in the world would you give up on $6.5 million and Ole Miss and Tennessee wanted you for four?

981
01:02:46,360 --> 01:02:48,360
 Well, that's a pretty simple answer.

982
01:02:49,560 --> 01:02:53,900
 Even if he goes early in the second round, he's going to make between $8 and $10 million.

983
01:02:54,380 --> 01:02:56,820
 He goes in the first round, it's more than that.

984
01:02:57,220 --> 01:02:57,360
 Yeah.

985
01:02:57,600 --> 01:02:59,460
 And a lot of these guys, look at Brock Purdy.

986
01:02:59,580 --> 01:03:01,660
 It's not always the first contract anyway.

987
01:03:02,220 --> 01:03:04,320
 And you've got to do your math.

988
01:03:04,400 --> 01:03:05,400
 Next year, who knows?

989
01:03:05,480 --> 01:03:07,260
 With Arch Manning coming out, where you're placed?

990
01:03:08,000 --> 01:03:11,380
 And if you love money, I understand the answer to the question.

991
01:03:11,520 --> 01:03:16,320
 But if not, you want to come down the board, so to speak, and be in the first round.

992
01:03:16,380 --> 01:03:20,880
 But late first round, that means you might have an offensive line that can keep you alive.

993
01:03:20,880 --> 01:03:26,360
 And you put up pretty good numbers, hello, Purdy, and make good, show enough good money on that second contract.

994
01:03:26,480 --> 01:03:28,240
 We'll see how that plays out.

995
01:03:28,660 --> 01:03:34,040
 Thomas Ashworth's got how everything is playing out on the high school hardwoods and beyond.

996
01:03:34,180 --> 01:03:35,940
 He's busy there at AL.com.

997
01:03:35,980 --> 01:03:36,920
 Thomas, welcome in.

998
01:03:37,000 --> 01:03:37,780
 How are you?

999
01:03:38,340 --> 01:03:38,880
 Hey, doing good.

1000
01:03:38,920 --> 01:03:39,400
 How are y'all doing?

1001
01:03:39,940 --> 01:03:40,300
 Good, Ben.

1002
01:03:40,740 --> 01:03:42,340
 So, Thomas, do you have to make a decision?

1003
01:03:42,460 --> 01:03:45,500
 Do you take the six and a half mil, or do you try to get some serious money?

1004
01:03:45,620 --> 01:03:48,520
 Is that same decision something you're facing these days, Thomas?

1005
01:03:49,580 --> 01:03:50,260
 I don't know.

1006
01:03:50,380 --> 01:03:51,780
 I'd say show me the money.

1007
01:03:52,500 --> 01:03:53,700
 That's just me personally.

1008
01:03:54,280 --> 01:03:56,480
 But I don't know.

1009
01:03:56,980 --> 01:03:59,560
 I'm not as good of a quarterback as him.

1010
01:04:00,160 --> 01:04:02,740
 Yeah, well, some of these guys, they're getting overpaid.

1011
01:04:02,840 --> 01:04:04,600
 They're not either, but they're making some good coins.

1012
01:04:04,740 --> 01:04:08,340
 Thomas, let's talk about something you are good at, and that's covering high school ball.

1013
01:04:08,440 --> 01:04:09,280
 It's hard to believe.

1014
01:04:09,500 --> 01:04:11,480
 Here we are mid-January.

1015
01:04:11,600 --> 01:04:15,940
 Put it another way, the postseason will be here before you know it, down the road to Hansfield and beyond.

1016
01:04:16,460 --> 01:04:19,760
 Thomas, right now, I'm looking at the Power 10 boys basketball.

1017
01:04:19,920 --> 01:04:21,060
 We'll get to girls in a second.

1018
01:04:21,460 --> 01:04:26,080
 Who stands out in our neck of the woods as far as high school basketball?

1019
01:04:26,980 --> 01:04:35,600
 Yeah, right now, if we're just talking about the whole state, it's a lot of, there's not really one true, this is a super team.

1020
01:04:35,740 --> 01:04:41,180
 You know, like last year, it was Hoover and Huntsville kind of interchanging for that spot.

1021
01:04:41,240 --> 01:04:42,600
 Obviously, Hoover won the state championship.

1022
01:04:42,600 --> 01:04:48,920
 But this year, there's not really an established, like, this is the greatest team, you know, in Alabama, if you know what I'm saying.

1023
01:04:49,560 --> 01:04:52,060
 It's a little bit different from last year, I think.

1024
01:04:52,520 --> 01:05:00,620
 But if we're just talking about North Alabama, I mean, obviously, there's going to be a ton of really, really good basketball teams over here in North Alabama.

1025
01:05:01,280 --> 01:05:05,600
 Huntsville, they graduated their entire starting five from last year.

1026
01:05:05,680 --> 01:05:07,660
 They still look like one of the best teams in the state.

1027
01:05:08,700 --> 01:05:13,800
 They have Evan Toms, the guy who has offers from Tulane, North Alabama, that kind of level.

1028
01:05:14,060 --> 01:05:16,980
 And he's been probably averaging a double-double for Huntsville.

1029
01:05:17,180 --> 01:05:18,800
 And they've gotten a bunch of other guys.

1030
01:05:19,100 --> 01:05:23,980
 You know, Graham Gossett is the younger brother of J.D. Gossett, who is at Huntsville.

1031
01:05:24,460 --> 01:05:25,780
 Or at Sanford, sorry.

1032
01:05:26,500 --> 01:05:29,660
 And there's two younger Gossetts on that team.

1033
01:05:29,780 --> 01:05:33,600
 And then they brought in a transfer from Oklahoma, Tyson Bobick.

1034
01:05:33,840 --> 01:05:38,500
 His dad was actually on the record-setting Oklahoma State basketball team.

1035
01:05:38,620 --> 01:05:39,940
 So there's a pedigree there.

1036
01:05:40,060 --> 01:05:41,540
 But that Huntsville team's really good.

1037
01:05:41,800 --> 01:05:44,460
 And I think we learned a lot from the Huntsville City Classic, as we always do.

1038
01:05:45,060 --> 01:05:48,060
 It's, in my opinion, the best tournament in the state all year.

1039
01:05:48,560 --> 01:05:50,600
 And I don't think that's really a hot take either.

1040
01:05:51,380 --> 01:05:53,720
 But James Clemens looks really good.

1041
01:05:53,800 --> 01:05:54,860
 Sparkman looks really good.

1042
01:05:55,280 --> 01:05:58,580
 Albertville boys are 17-3 or 18-3 right now.

1043
01:05:58,580 --> 01:06:04,580
 I mean, it seems like just that 7A in North Alabama is just really, really good this year.

1044
01:06:05,060 --> 01:06:08,360
 I mean, there's just a lot of teams that are really solid.

1045
01:06:08,500 --> 01:06:11,640
 I mean, and then you go down to 6A, Coleman's always good.

1046
01:06:11,800 --> 01:06:13,900
 You know, Hazel Green actually looks really good this year.

1047
01:06:15,000 --> 01:06:18,540
 You know, in my opinion, if we're talking about North Alabama, you know,

1048
01:06:18,560 --> 01:06:24,620
 it's much better when the May Jemisons and the Lee Huntsville and the Buckhorns

1049
01:06:24,620 --> 01:06:26,900
 and the Hazel Grains are all really good.

1050
01:06:26,900 --> 01:06:28,580
 Those really good 6A teams are good.

1051
01:06:28,780 --> 01:06:31,580
 And it seems like this year all four of those teams are pretty solid.

1052
01:06:32,600 --> 01:06:34,480
 We're just, you know, kind of looking at the whole state.

1053
01:06:34,620 --> 01:06:37,200
 But there's always some really good basketball in North Alabama.

1054
01:06:37,360 --> 01:06:41,040
 And last year was kind of the year of the seniors are really good.

1055
01:06:41,140 --> 01:06:43,600
 But this year there's a lot of really good upcoming talent.

1056
01:06:43,760 --> 01:06:45,080
 So it's made for a different year.

1057
01:06:45,180 --> 01:06:47,620
 But it's been a really good year so far.

1058
01:06:48,440 --> 01:06:49,580
 Yeah, I agree with you.

1059
01:06:49,640 --> 01:06:54,360
 I'm looking at the top 10, Albert Bull, 18-3 with the boys.

1060
01:06:54,640 --> 01:06:56,120
 Lord, the girls are number two.

1061
01:06:56,300 --> 01:06:58,660
 What a year Albert Bull's having in basketball.

1062
01:06:59,580 --> 01:07:02,840
 Stu Studeman at Coleman, they're 18-3.

1063
01:07:03,700 --> 01:07:04,880
 I agree with you.

1064
01:07:05,000 --> 01:07:09,220
 Frankie Sullivan, who's the coach at James Clemens, they've been rolling.

1065
01:07:09,360 --> 01:07:10,940
 They've won 11 out of 12.

1066
01:07:11,600 --> 01:07:16,440
 Christian Sweers is the program everybody looks up to now.

1067
01:07:16,620 --> 01:07:19,900
 And you're right, Evan Toms, I believe, is a junior.

1068
01:07:20,280 --> 01:07:24,800
 They beat Grissom last Friday 86-45.

1069
01:07:25,100 --> 01:07:32,600
 I think it's the worst loss in Josh Doss' illustrious career to get beat by 41 points.

1070
01:07:33,540 --> 01:07:35,120
 Pelham is number one.

1071
01:07:35,660 --> 01:07:39,320
 But also, as you mentioned, Guntersville is a team to watch.

1072
01:07:39,420 --> 01:07:40,700
 Hazel Green, you mentioned.

1073
01:07:41,960 --> 01:07:43,040
 And Oakwood.

1074
01:07:43,440 --> 01:07:47,720
 People forget that Oakwood is a very good basketball program.

1075
01:07:48,220 --> 01:07:51,920
 Whitesburg Christian with Patrick Harding, who moved from Buckhorn.

1076
01:07:52,620 --> 01:07:53,980
 And you mentioned Spartan.

1077
01:07:53,980 --> 01:07:58,360
 And, you know, we talked about this in football for the last couple of years.

1078
01:07:58,500 --> 01:08:01,860
 The power in the state is in North Alabama in basketball.

1079
01:08:02,240 --> 01:08:05,600
 A lot of teams represented in the boys' power team.

1080
01:08:06,520 --> 01:08:07,480
 Yeah, it is.

1081
01:08:07,740 --> 01:08:09,500
 And, you know, you're talking about Oakwood.

1082
01:08:09,620 --> 01:08:11,900
 And I think they're like 12-11 this year.

1083
01:08:12,080 --> 01:08:16,020
 But, I mean, they're not – I think they're just wiping the floor with 1A opponents.

1084
01:08:16,140 --> 01:08:17,240
 They're 7-0 in their region.

1085
01:08:17,820 --> 01:08:21,700
 I mean, they've, you know, gone toe-to-toe with Mae Jemison.

1086
01:08:21,700 --> 01:08:23,880
 You know, they beat Park Croft in the 6A.

1087
01:08:24,220 --> 01:08:27,180
 You know, they've lost by 8 to Huntsville.

1088
01:08:27,420 --> 01:08:30,640
 They beat – you know, they're beating a lot of really good teams.

1089
01:08:30,980 --> 01:08:33,260
 You know, they're playing a lot of really good teams.

1090
01:08:33,420 --> 01:08:35,640
 And coming close and beating some of them, actually.

1091
01:08:36,520 --> 01:08:41,420
 They beat Columbia by 2 and 5A John Carroll Catholic by like 3, I think.

1092
01:08:41,500 --> 01:08:42,680
 They've picked up some wins there.

1093
01:08:43,320 --> 01:08:44,580
 And then Patrick Harding.

1094
01:08:44,660 --> 01:08:49,960
 I seriously think that Weisberg Christian team has a really good chance to win a state championship in year 100.

1095
01:08:50,200 --> 01:08:50,740
 Patrick Harding.

1096
01:08:50,980 --> 01:08:51,920
 They're really good.

1097
01:08:52,060 --> 01:08:57,400
 I mean, a lot of those guys from last year, obviously they had –

1098
01:08:57,400 --> 01:09:02,020
 Caden Raglan-Morris is probably, I think, the most underrated prospect in the state right now.

1099
01:09:02,120 --> 01:09:03,740
 He's really, really good.

1100
01:09:03,880 --> 01:09:06,460
 Doing a really good job leading that team as a junior.

1101
01:09:06,460 --> 01:09:10,000
 But they had a lot of guys coming in that were eligible to play this year.

1102
01:09:10,380 --> 01:09:13,500
 Tripp Mason is a guy that's from – I think he's from Huntsville.

1103
01:09:14,280 --> 01:09:15,640
 And he's able to play this year.

1104
01:09:15,820 --> 01:09:18,240
 And they have some other guys that are, you know, getting some reps.

1105
01:09:18,460 --> 01:09:20,580
 And that's just a really complete basketball team.

1106
01:09:20,660 --> 01:09:27,340
 I think that they were up 15 to Hale County in the Huntsville City Classic and, you know, fell in overtime.

1107
01:09:27,660 --> 01:09:31,000
 But went on to beat defending 3A champ Montgomery Academy

1108
01:09:31,000 --> 01:09:34,560
 and made it all the way to the consolation bracket finals and fell to Hazel Green.

1109
01:09:34,560 --> 01:09:37,140
 But that's a really good team right there.

1110
01:09:37,240 --> 01:09:39,480
 But I think, obviously, a lot of that's with the talent.

1111
01:09:39,640 --> 01:09:42,060
 But Patrick Harding always does a really good job with his teams.

1112
01:09:42,160 --> 01:09:45,640
 And I don't think he gets enough credit just because when you have Caleb Holtz on your team,

1113
01:09:45,780 --> 01:09:48,940
 it's like, oh, you know, anybody can coach that team with Caleb Holtz on.

1114
01:09:49,120 --> 01:09:50,540
 But, you know, that's not true.

1115
01:09:50,740 --> 01:09:53,360
 But he's done a really good job over there at Weisberg.

1116
01:09:53,460 --> 01:09:58,300
 And I think it's good for him that, you know, he's getting a chance to do this with, you know,

1117
01:09:58,300 --> 01:09:59,660
 such a really good, talented roster.

1118
01:10:00,460 --> 01:10:04,100
 And anyone from that neck of the woods knows they've got resources to help him do it.

1119
01:10:04,140 --> 01:10:05,180
 They're doing their part as well.

1120
01:10:05,260 --> 01:10:07,220
 Thomas Ashworth, AL.com.

1121
01:10:07,260 --> 01:10:12,040
 One of the things we like about being able to do this type of show is it's not coming in from Timbuktu.

1122
01:10:12,180 --> 01:10:15,680
 It's local, which means we can talk about teams here.

1123
01:10:15,680 --> 01:10:18,280
 And let's talk a little bit about two perennials.

1124
01:10:18,480 --> 01:10:20,480
 Desher back up there at number three.

1125
01:10:20,680 --> 01:10:22,260
 Mars Hill, number two.

1126
01:10:22,740 --> 01:10:23,820
 Talking girls here.

1127
01:10:23,920 --> 01:10:24,540
 What a show.

1128
01:10:24,760 --> 01:10:27,260
 Reese Davis, the other Reese Davis in the shows.

1129
01:10:28,520 --> 01:10:30,400
 Hep and Desher rocking and roll.

1130
01:10:30,620 --> 01:10:33,180
 And then you look over on the other side of the coin.

1131
01:10:33,740 --> 01:10:35,940
 And Mars Hill also with their own standout.

1132
01:10:36,160 --> 01:10:36,880
 And Bell Hill.

1133
01:10:37,000 --> 01:10:39,140
 Your thoughts about the girls in North Alabama?

1134
01:10:39,940 --> 01:10:45,900
 Yeah, I don't think it's any secret, you know, that girls basketball in the state of Alabama is absolutely the best in the show.

1135
01:10:46,240 --> 01:10:47,820
 It's just at another level.

1136
01:10:48,460 --> 01:10:53,780
 You know, you're talking about consistently, you know, Mars Hill and Deschler at Lauderdale County.

1137
01:10:53,780 --> 01:10:56,880
 And, you know, Rogers is having a really good year over there.

1138
01:10:56,880 --> 01:11:03,220
 You know, there's just so many good schools over there that are really, really good at girls basketball in Northwest Alabama.

1139
01:11:04,000 --> 01:11:06,340
 But, I mean, like you said, a really good battle.

1140
01:11:06,500 --> 01:11:08,320
 I hate I missed it, honestly.

1141
01:11:09,060 --> 01:11:12,200
 But, yeah, Deschler able to pull away by 10.

1142
01:11:12,780 --> 01:11:16,400
 Reese Davis is having an awesome year, as everybody expected.

1143
01:11:17,000 --> 01:11:20,980
 She's an electric player, probably one of the best scorers in the state right now.

1144
01:11:20,980 --> 01:11:28,960
 And, like you said, Bell Hill, obviously, I think that over this offseason she was getting way more attention, which deservingly so.

1145
01:11:29,460 --> 01:11:32,960
 She'd probably pick her set of school wherever she wants to go.

1146
01:11:33,640 --> 01:11:38,760
 But the two really good players, like you said, going at it, Deschler able to pull away.

1147
01:11:39,160 --> 01:11:44,380
 And Deschler's in a really tough foray right now, especially when you're looking at Plain B is always really good.

1148
01:11:44,840 --> 01:11:47,680
 Good Hope, you know, they lost some good players.

1149
01:11:47,920 --> 01:11:50,060
 But, you know, they're still really good as well.

1150
01:11:50,060 --> 01:11:52,400
 Cherokee County, also excellent this year.

1151
01:11:52,500 --> 01:11:55,040
 And St. Michael, there's just so many good teams at 4A.

1152
01:11:56,080 --> 01:11:57,440
 And, you know, you're looking at 3A.

1153
01:11:57,540 --> 01:12:00,800
 Marcel Bible is going to have to run into St. James at some point.

1154
01:12:01,440 --> 01:12:02,860
 St. James plays a lot of guards.

1155
01:12:03,280 --> 01:12:09,740
 So it'll be interesting to see how Bell is able to, you know, fare if they actually meet in the final four of the state championship game.

1156
01:12:09,900 --> 01:12:12,300
 I don't actually know the lineups off the top of my head.

1157
01:12:12,580 --> 01:12:15,500
 But Lardell County is still a good team, I think.

1158
01:12:15,940 --> 01:12:17,460
 They just had a rough stretch.

1159
01:12:17,520 --> 01:12:19,720
 I think they went from, like, 9-2 to 9-7.

1160
01:12:19,840 --> 01:12:21,540
 But that's still a team with a lot of talent.

1161
01:12:21,780 --> 01:12:23,220
 They're a really talented team.

1162
01:12:23,780 --> 01:12:31,020
 So, I mean, I'm not out of the realm of possibility that a girls team from the Shoals win the state championship this year.

1163
01:12:31,060 --> 01:12:33,520
 There's just so much talent over there like there is every year.

1164
01:12:35,160 --> 01:12:37,040
 But it still amazes me.

1165
01:12:37,140 --> 01:12:39,560
 Rich Davis is a junior at Dashler.

1166
01:12:40,220 --> 01:12:43,500
 And Bell Hill is still a sophomore at Morris Hill.

1167
01:12:43,620 --> 01:12:48,880
 Both of these girls combined have scored 5,143 career points.

1168
01:12:49,020 --> 01:12:52,160
 It is amazing what a future both of them have.

1169
01:12:52,260 --> 01:12:56,360
 Just quickly, Seth Parker, new coach at Bob Jones.

1170
01:12:56,460 --> 01:12:57,820
 I thought that might be coming.

1171
01:12:58,040 --> 01:13:02,800
 Former receiver coach and offensive coordinator leaving Priceville.

1172
01:13:03,280 --> 01:13:05,520
 There's an opening at Russellville.

1173
01:13:05,660 --> 01:13:08,100
 Dustin Goodwin has stepped down.

1174
01:13:08,180 --> 01:13:09,920
 That is going to be a plum job.

1175
01:13:10,000 --> 01:13:11,420
 A lot of people looking at that.

1176
01:13:11,420 --> 01:13:13,760
 But congratulations, Seth Parker.

1177
01:13:14,040 --> 01:13:15,780
 Basically going back home.

1178
01:13:16,540 --> 01:13:19,220
 Yeah, I don't think it could have happened to a better person.

1179
01:13:19,460 --> 01:13:28,940
 And, you know, it's obviously hard to, you know, it's kind of unwritten rule to not have, you know, to have favorites.

1180
01:13:29,080 --> 01:13:31,760
 But he really is one of the good guys in the industry.

1181
01:13:32,040 --> 01:13:35,500
 Talking about high school football coach, he really is a good dude.

1182
01:13:36,140 --> 01:13:41,000
 Even before that, I mean, it's a guy that's been there when Bob Jones was having their success.

1183
01:13:41,000 --> 01:13:44,720
 And I don't mean that, like, they're not solid year in, year out.

1184
01:13:44,800 --> 01:13:48,880
 I mean, they've missed the playoffs, I think, like three times in the last 15 years.

1185
01:13:49,040 --> 01:13:54,940
 But I think the last time they won a playoff game was, like, 10, 15 years ago at this point.

1186
01:13:55,340 --> 01:13:56,580
 It's been a long time.

1187
01:13:57,040 --> 01:13:58,320
 And Seth Parker was a part of that.

1188
01:13:59,140 --> 01:14:00,480
 It's been a long time.

1189
01:14:00,640 --> 01:14:02,320
 But Seth Parker was a part of that.

1190
01:14:02,520 --> 01:14:07,560
 And, you know, the team that were able to, it was when everybody was 6'8", I think.

1191
01:14:07,680 --> 01:14:11,340
 And, you know, they were playing Hugh at Trustville and all those teams and actually beating them.

1192
01:14:11,340 --> 01:14:14,320
 And playing close games against Hoover and that kind of level.

1193
01:14:14,980 --> 01:14:17,660
 So, it's a much-needed move, I think.

1194
01:14:17,840 --> 01:14:23,700
 They definitely interviewed a really wide range of candidates, guys that were, you know, former NFL players.

1195
01:14:23,920 --> 01:14:27,360
 It's my understanding, guys who were, you know, in the Birmingham area as well.

1196
01:14:27,500 --> 01:14:29,800
 There was a wide range of candidates for this job.

1197
01:14:29,860 --> 01:14:31,700
 But I don't think they could have done a better hire.

1198
01:14:31,820 --> 01:14:34,940
 I mean, I think they just needed somebody who can not only recruit the hallways,

1199
01:14:34,940 --> 01:14:40,300
 but also, you know, understand what it takes and what Bob Jones is capable of.

1200
01:14:40,400 --> 01:14:42,340
 And I think he's the man for the job, for sure.

1201
01:14:43,500 --> 01:14:43,980
 Absolutely.

1202
01:14:44,500 --> 01:14:45,500
 Great job.

1203
01:14:46,040 --> 01:14:52,440
 It's going to be a fascinating January with reclassification coming on January the 23rd.

1204
01:14:52,500 --> 01:14:59,660
 This public versus private school, what kind of the score act, all sorts of stuff kind of in limbo.

1205
01:15:00,380 --> 01:15:03,800
 We should know a little bit more about this even beginning next week.

1206
01:15:04,020 --> 01:15:13,000
 But you're going to keep us updated about UAH, UNA, a lot of other schools, Jack State, and, of course, the high school scene.

1207
01:15:13,100 --> 01:15:15,240
 Where can we get online and get all the good stuff?

1208
01:15:15,760 --> 01:15:21,980
 Yeah, like you said, it's probably going to be one of the biggest couple of months in HSA history and sports history.

1209
01:15:21,980 --> 01:15:24,080
 So, it'll be interesting to see what happens.

1210
01:15:24,340 --> 01:15:25,980
 You can follow all of it at AL.com.

1211
01:15:26,060 --> 01:15:27,660
 It's right in the middle of basketball season.

1212
01:15:28,240 --> 01:15:29,800
 Basketball season is the best in North Alabama.

1213
01:15:30,100 --> 01:15:34,540
 So, you know, whether you're reading Florida's Time Daily or Decatur Daily or whatever, you know,

1214
01:15:34,680 --> 01:15:36,720
 this is the time for basketball in the state of Alabama.

1215
01:15:36,940 --> 01:15:38,500
 So, it's going to be a great year for sure.

1216
01:15:39,320 --> 01:15:40,760
 Thomas, we've got eyes on you, man.

1217
01:15:40,820 --> 01:15:43,400
 Listen, man, thanks so much for taking time out for us today.

1218
01:15:43,480 --> 01:15:44,660
 And stay safe out there, okay?

1219
01:15:45,240 --> 01:15:45,620
 Yes, sir.

1220
01:15:45,660 --> 01:15:46,280
 Thank you, guys.

1221
01:15:46,600 --> 01:15:47,080
 Thank you, bud.

1222
01:15:47,520 --> 01:15:50,480
 Thomas Ashworth, they're going to win this division there at AL.com.

1223
01:15:50,480 --> 01:15:55,440
 Coming up all over the SEC with a man, Joe Cox, on deck of the Bermode Bug Show.

1224
01:15:55,520 --> 01:15:56,100
 Stay with us.

1225
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1240
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 Welcome back to Winter Hack Radio.

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 The place for clever hacks to survive the season.

1242
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 Well, try spreading sand or bird seed to help with traction.

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 Well, grab a whisk, brush it off, done.

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 Catch COVID-19?

1247
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 Well, just get...

1248
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 Actually, there's no hack for COVID-19.

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 Member Week is on at Lowe's.

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 Point boosters subject to exclusions and more terms apply.

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 Hey, fans.

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 Welcome back to Fansville's Cheers.

1283
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 And tears.

1284
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 Okay, so like everybody deals with losing, right?

1285
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 To a rival on a last-second field goal.

1286
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 Whatever, it's fine.

1287
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 I'm totally fine.

1288
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 But I cope with losing with an ice-cold Dr. Pepper.

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 It's a pepper thing.

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 Avatar Fire and Ash has arrived.

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 Critics rave it's by far the best Avatar movie.

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 Good night away of Northwest Alabama is thrilled to announce the return of its signature fundraising gala,

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1321
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 Now in its fourth year, Shoals Royale has become one of Northwest Alabama's premier charity events,

1322
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1323
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 Proceeds directly benefit United Way of Northwest Alabama and the 12 local non-profit partners and 22 community programs and funds.

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1325
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1327
01:21:02,740 --> 01:21:04,160
 The Score.

1328
01:21:04,580 --> 01:21:09,360
 Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.

1329
01:21:09,360 --> 01:21:10,920
 Welcome back in.

1330
01:21:11,000 --> 01:21:13,700
 It is an absolute pleasure to say hello to Joe Cox.

1331
01:21:13,740 --> 01:21:15,780
 He's got it all covered there when it comes to the SEC.

1332
01:21:16,100 --> 01:21:17,480
 It's Saturday down south.

1333
01:21:17,580 --> 01:21:19,100
 His book's called A Fine Team Man.

1334
01:21:19,180 --> 01:21:19,920
 Joe, welcome in.

1335
01:21:19,980 --> 01:21:20,660
 How are you?

1336
01:21:21,560 --> 01:21:22,660
 Can't complain, gentlemen.

1337
01:21:22,780 --> 01:21:23,260
 Doing well.

1338
01:21:23,340 --> 01:21:24,320
 Hope you're doing likewise.

1339
01:21:25,160 --> 01:21:26,780
 Well, we're doing as well as we can, Joe.

1340
01:21:26,880 --> 01:21:27,540
 Listen, man.

1341
01:21:27,660 --> 01:21:30,140
 You're in the zip code of Kentucky.

1342
01:21:30,320 --> 01:21:31,880
 Rough start to conference play.

1343
01:21:31,880 --> 01:21:32,740
 Then you come back.

1344
01:21:32,820 --> 01:21:34,000
 You blow out Mississippi State.

1345
01:21:34,080 --> 01:21:36,340
 Get that big, important first conference win.

1346
01:21:37,000 --> 01:21:40,620
 And then the good in a hurry gets to bad with a medical report.

1347
01:21:40,760 --> 01:21:43,620
 Joe, what's the latest on Cat basketball?

1348
01:21:44,660 --> 01:21:50,040
 Well, the loss of Lowe, the point guard for the season, what you're referring to.

1349
01:21:50,440 --> 01:21:57,220
 But honestly, at this point in time, I think probably the best thing for everybody.

1350
01:21:57,220 --> 01:22:00,820
 He can now go ahead and apply for a red shirt after the year.

1351
01:22:00,900 --> 01:22:02,560
 He'd only played in nine games.

1352
01:22:03,640 --> 01:22:06,360
 So, you know, he doesn't lose the year.

1353
01:22:06,660 --> 01:22:10,140
 And apparently he had separated his shoulder three different times.

1354
01:22:10,360 --> 01:22:12,660
 And math has never been my strongest subject.

1355
01:22:12,880 --> 01:22:18,740
 But if nine games has three shoulder separations, then, you know, it's not really clear he was going

1356
01:22:18,740 --> 01:22:22,400
 to be able to provide a whole lot dependably for them moving forward.

1357
01:22:22,740 --> 01:22:25,840
 So Jasper Johnson is kind of the next guy up.

1358
01:22:25,980 --> 01:22:26,760
 He's a freshman.

1359
01:22:26,760 --> 01:22:27,900
 He's got a lot of talent.

1360
01:22:28,060 --> 01:22:28,940
 He's got a high motor.

1361
01:22:28,940 --> 01:22:35,420
 But, you know, as is the case often with freshmen, sometimes that high motor goes where it's supposed to.

1362
01:22:35,560 --> 01:22:37,180
 And sometimes it goes in the ditch.

1363
01:22:37,520 --> 01:22:40,120
 So, you know, we'll see how that works out.

1364
01:22:41,640 --> 01:22:44,660
 What is the biggest surprise to you in the SEC?

1365
01:22:44,940 --> 01:22:50,140
 I know we've played all the three games, but the Vanderbilt Commodore are still undefeated.

1366
01:22:50,340 --> 01:22:54,360
 They beat LSU Saturday, beat Alabama last week.

1367
01:22:54,360 --> 01:23:01,220
 And after 62 fouls and 88 free throws were shot.

1368
01:23:01,380 --> 01:23:02,960
 I'll kind of leave that there.

1369
01:23:02,960 --> 01:23:03,240
 I'll kind of leave that there.

1370
01:23:05,240 --> 01:23:15,060
 In Buckyball, we know about the controversy ending with the Auburn game, but they're 3-0 in the SEC.

1371
01:23:15,380 --> 01:23:20,300
 And people were wondering, well, can he teach his team how to play Buckyball?

1372
01:23:21,280 --> 01:23:23,900
 They're one of the best defensive teams in the country.

1373
01:23:23,900 --> 01:23:27,860
 Joe, what's your biggest surprise so far early in the season?

1374
01:23:28,640 --> 01:23:30,260
 You know, it's got to be those two.

1375
01:23:30,580 --> 01:23:37,900
 If anybody said, you know, here we go a week and a half into the season, it's going to be Vandy and Texas A&M on top of the league.

1376
01:23:38,280 --> 01:23:47,860
 You know, if they said that, then I might worry that they've got a bridge to sell me, too, because it didn't stack up that way.

1377
01:23:47,940 --> 01:23:50,960
 But here they are, and you do it in a different way, A&M.

1378
01:23:51,520 --> 01:24:00,380
 It's funny, A&M, they changed coaches, and they still are going to guard you for 94 feet, and probably a little more than that if they can figure out a way.

1379
01:24:00,620 --> 01:24:02,220
 You know, nothing changes there.

1380
01:24:02,440 --> 01:24:04,260
 And then, Vandy, I don't know.

1381
01:24:04,600 --> 01:24:13,000
 I kind of started to harbor some suspicions that Vandy made a deal with some supernatural entity, because it seems like all they do is win at everything now.

1382
01:24:13,260 --> 01:24:16,580
 I'm at a loss to explain it in any rational way.

1383
01:24:17,800 --> 01:24:20,240
 Well, they've always said we're the smartest school in the league.

1384
01:24:20,380 --> 01:24:22,200
 Maybe we need to start believing them.

1385
01:24:22,360 --> 01:24:23,940
 Joe Cox, Saturday down south.

1386
01:24:24,220 --> 01:24:26,680
 Joe, obviously, you know about Mississippi State.

1387
01:24:27,280 --> 01:24:28,680
 Kentucky's fresh from playing them.

1388
01:24:28,820 --> 01:24:30,480
 Now, it's Alabama's turn.

1389
01:24:30,620 --> 01:24:34,620
 At the hump tonight, your thoughts about the Dawgs and Tide tonight.

1390
01:24:35,500 --> 01:24:41,580
 Well, it was interesting in that game with Kentucky, because State came out and absolutely just punched Kentucky in the mouth.

1391
01:24:41,580 --> 01:24:48,260
 The first five minutes, State was shooting something in the 80% range, and Kentucky just couldn't get out of its own way.

1392
01:24:49,500 --> 01:24:51,520
 And so, you know, they're capable of that.

1393
01:24:51,600 --> 01:24:55,420
 And obviously, Hubbard is a guy that we know from years past.

1394
01:24:55,800 --> 01:25:06,360
 And, you know, if I'm Mississippi State, that's my plan is I've got to get that guy off for about 30 and then just, you know, hope that we can hang around defensively.

1395
01:25:06,440 --> 01:25:18,060
 I think that was what ended up doing them in against Kentucky, and I think it'll be what we'll do them in against Bama, just because I don't think they've got the athletes to match up defensively for 40 minutes.

1396
01:25:18,280 --> 01:25:22,800
 But, as Kentucky showed, they can certainly make it interesting for a while anyway.

1397
01:25:23,740 --> 01:25:25,960
 So, let me ask you to follow up at Alabama.

1398
01:25:26,120 --> 01:25:35,200
 Nate Oates, I thought, had an interesting, it's not unusual for a coach to say these things, but in the modern era, I think people give it a little more attention.

1399
01:25:35,200 --> 01:25:42,620
 And he said, basically, to paraphrase what I understood him to say, these kids now, losing doesn't bother them like it did at one time.

1400
01:25:42,700 --> 01:25:45,520
 You've got the NIL, they've got the checks going to cash either way.

1401
01:25:46,080 --> 01:25:55,780
 Your thoughts just about the intensity of some of these players now, because you see it in football, you don't see people going to the ground as much because, let's face it, they're going to get hurt and lose money.

1402
01:25:55,780 --> 01:26:02,540
 But your thoughts about Nate Oates and what you gleaned from his comments about, maybe these kids are not as hungry as they were at one time.

1403
01:26:03,120 --> 01:26:07,800
 I don't think he's alone in perceiving that, and I don't think he's wrong.

1404
01:26:08,620 --> 01:26:16,780
 You know, another big factor in that for basketball that I don't think has really been as big of an issue with football is the AAU culture.

1405
01:26:17,560 --> 01:26:23,860
 You know, for a lot of these guys, the high school team, it really doesn't make a whole lot of difference one way or the other.

1406
01:26:23,860 --> 01:26:33,320
 It's when you get in the summer and you play with your AAU team that you, you know, make your name and get your recruiting stars and whatnot.

1407
01:26:33,820 --> 01:26:36,440
 And the problem with that is nobody's taking that seriously.

1408
01:26:36,680 --> 01:26:45,000
 I mean, sure, you'd rather win than lose, but it's a bunch of guys playing around in the summertime, and if you lose, oh, well, ho-hum, move on to the next thing.

1409
01:26:45,480 --> 01:26:51,040
 You know, yeah, it just doesn't create the same kind of intensity that we're used to.

1410
01:26:51,040 --> 01:26:55,360
 And then, obviously, if money does matter, it'd be silly to pretend it doesn't.

1411
01:26:55,660 --> 01:26:58,700
 But, you know, I think that's the downside.

1412
01:26:58,920 --> 01:27:00,300
 The upside is it's parity.

1413
01:27:00,440 --> 01:27:01,260
 Anybody can win.

1414
01:27:01,380 --> 01:27:02,220
 Anybody will win.

1415
01:27:02,280 --> 01:27:03,920
 We're going to see more and more upsets.

1416
01:27:04,140 --> 01:27:04,840
 I mean, here we are.

1417
01:27:04,980 --> 01:27:06,000
 Indiana's good at football.

1418
01:27:06,160 --> 01:27:07,180
 Anything is possible.

1419
01:27:07,800 --> 01:27:18,500
 But the bad side of this is, yeah, if you're a fan of a blue blood program, a team that's historically had a lot of effort, hold on to your seat.

1420
01:27:20,220 --> 01:27:22,900
 Well, we talked about Texas A&M and Buckyball.

1421
01:27:23,040 --> 01:27:25,640
 They're traveling to Knoxville tonight.

1422
01:27:26,460 --> 01:27:29,800
 Florida ran Tennessee off the court on Saturday.

1423
01:27:30,060 --> 01:27:34,880
 They did the same thing last year, and they're going to do that to quite a few teams at home.

1424
01:27:35,000 --> 01:27:37,380
 But Rick Barnes has forgotten how to coach.

1425
01:27:37,500 --> 01:27:40,540
 By any means, your thoughts on Tennessee so far, Joe?

1426
01:27:41,320 --> 01:27:46,440
 Tennessee looked really good early, and then, you know, they've just hit a rough patch.

1427
01:27:46,600 --> 01:27:54,380
 They've kind of stacked up some losses, some bad losses, and it seems like the problem is going to be on the offensive end of the court.

1428
01:27:54,580 --> 01:28:00,780
 I mean, I don't think Rick's teams are ever going to represent themselves terribly on the defensive end.

1429
01:28:00,780 --> 01:28:05,480
 But offensively, they still very much seem to be looking for an identity.

1430
01:28:06,160 --> 01:28:09,240
 You know, I don't see anything there that's unfixable.

1431
01:28:09,540 --> 01:28:14,460
 I think this is one of those teams where you can be down in the mouth on it, but it's still January.

1432
01:28:15,120 --> 01:28:20,800
 And, you know, see where they are in six weeks, and that's going to be a little more relevant to the ultimate proof of things.

1433
01:28:21,040 --> 01:28:25,020
 There's cause for concern, but I think there's plenty of time to right the ship.

1434
01:28:25,820 --> 01:28:28,040
 Joe, quickly, your thoughts about the Auburn Tigers.

1435
01:28:28,520 --> 01:28:34,860
 Obviously, they have been in some interesting ballgames, to say the least, back to the Texas A&M finish and others.

1436
01:28:35,160 --> 01:28:37,820
 And then over the weekend, everybody said, well, it's going to be doom and gloom.

1437
01:28:37,820 --> 01:28:39,320
 And then they just blow out the Razorbacks.

1438
01:28:39,440 --> 01:28:42,380
 Back to your point, any given game, crazy things can happen.

1439
01:28:42,580 --> 01:28:47,780
 Your thoughts about the next showdown at Como, Columbia, Missouri, coming up tomorrow night.

1440
01:28:48,580 --> 01:28:50,380
 You would think they're sitting pretty.

1441
01:28:50,620 --> 01:28:54,580
 Missouri is not one of the more talent-rich teams in the league.

1442
01:28:54,640 --> 01:28:56,800
 But, yeah, it's been wild.

1443
01:28:57,020 --> 01:29:00,200
 They give up 104 to Georgia in overtime and lose.

1444
01:29:00,360 --> 01:29:02,340
 And it looks like they beat A&M.

1445
01:29:02,920 --> 01:29:06,480
 And the thing for me about that one, guys, I don't know.

1446
01:29:06,640 --> 01:29:11,280
 When I saw it, I saw the replay about seven times, and I kept seeing it at regular speed.

1447
01:29:11,280 --> 01:29:14,500
 And all I could tell at regular speed was, man, it's really, really close.

1448
01:29:15,460 --> 01:29:22,280
 So, I'm still not sure whether he got that shot up in time or not, but I guess it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things.

1449
01:29:22,360 --> 01:29:26,540
 So, yeah, hopefully they found some things in that Arkansas game to build off of.

1450
01:29:26,620 --> 01:29:28,340
 It's going to be tough on Steven Pearl.

1451
01:29:28,480 --> 01:29:36,280
 I mean, the whole nature of getting kind of thrown in at the last minute, I think it gets him a little grace from the Auburn fan base.

1452
01:29:36,280 --> 01:29:40,340
 But it's going to be a challenging season just because it's a challenging league.

1453
01:29:40,480 --> 01:29:45,100
 And to have everything shifted around at the last minute, I'm sure, has not done them any favors.

1454
01:29:45,960 --> 01:29:46,980
 Yeah, I agree with you.

1455
01:29:46,980 --> 01:29:48,900
 I think there's a lot of depth in this league.

1456
01:29:49,000 --> 01:29:49,440
 We'll see.

1457
01:29:49,540 --> 01:29:54,660
 We'll have a better ideal about this in two or three weeks and certainly going into February.

1458
01:29:54,660 --> 01:30:05,860
 We've got a very good ideal about what Saturday Down South can provide for readers with your stuff and Conor O'Gara's stuff and Adam Spencer's stuff.

1459
01:30:05,860 --> 01:30:08,420
 Where can we get online to get all the stuff, Joe?

1460
01:30:09,140 --> 01:30:09,620
 That's it.

1461
01:30:09,700 --> 01:30:10,840
 It's Saturday Down South.

1462
01:30:11,120 --> 01:30:14,100
 And, you know, those guys do the lion's share of the work.

1463
01:30:14,220 --> 01:30:15,800
 But I've got to admit, yeah, I'm just like you.

1464
01:30:15,820 --> 01:30:17,200
 I'm sitting there clicking away.

1465
01:30:17,340 --> 01:30:18,720
 And what did they come up with now?

1466
01:30:18,880 --> 01:30:21,280
 Because they always keep me entertained, too.

1467
01:30:23,000 --> 01:30:24,720
 Joe's always good to hook up with you, man.

1468
01:30:24,840 --> 01:30:26,340
 Thanks so much for your time today.

1469
01:30:26,380 --> 01:30:27,600
 And let's do it again soon, okay?

1470
01:30:28,340 --> 01:30:28,780
 All right.

1471
01:30:28,820 --> 01:30:29,600
 Sounds like a plan.

1472
01:30:29,720 --> 01:30:30,280
 Take care, guys.

1473
01:30:30,320 --> 01:30:30,760
 Thank you, bud.

1474
01:30:31,220 --> 01:30:34,160
 Anyway, J.C., Joe Cox, Saturday Down South.

1475
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1548
01:36:01,900 --> 01:36:03,720
 Welcome back again quickly with some breaking news.

1549
01:36:03,720 --> 01:36:08,520
 Mike Tomlin stepping down as the head football coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers

1550
01:36:08,520 --> 01:36:13,660
 following that loss last night to the Houston Texans and a fellow that we've had the privilege

1551
01:36:13,660 --> 01:36:15,880
 of working with over the years, BB.

1552
01:36:18,140 --> 01:36:22,880
 Mike Tomlin, 19 seasons, never had a losing season.

1553
01:36:23,060 --> 01:36:24,260
 Super Bowl champion.

1554
01:36:25,080 --> 01:36:28,300
 I don't know if maybe they just got tired of working with each other.

1555
01:36:28,300 --> 01:36:31,920
 And Rodgers probably played his last game.

1556
01:36:32,000 --> 01:36:37,040
 But you're right, the Texans have done, that former linebacker from Alabama

1557
01:36:37,040 --> 01:36:40,020
 has done a pretty good job as head coach for the Texans.

1558
01:36:40,220 --> 01:36:42,780
 And Nico Ryans, obviously, he's one of the up-and-coming coaches.

1559
01:36:43,160 --> 01:36:46,700
 Matt Michelle's always got it covered there with the Orlando Center in the podcast.

1560
01:36:47,420 --> 01:36:48,800
 It's called Grand Iron 365.

1561
01:36:49,300 --> 01:36:50,480
 Matt, welcome in.

1562
01:36:51,360 --> 01:36:53,080
 Are you on your way to Pittsburgh?

1563
01:36:53,640 --> 01:36:54,740
 Are you on your way to the portal?

1564
01:36:55,260 --> 01:36:56,260
 Where are you today, Matt?

1565
01:36:57,140 --> 01:36:58,400
 I'm on my way on vacation.

1566
01:36:58,560 --> 01:36:59,040
 How about that?

1567
01:37:01,420 --> 01:37:02,640
 Smartest person around.

1568
01:37:02,660 --> 01:37:03,360
 Matt, you're going on vacation.

1569
01:37:03,660 --> 01:37:04,580
 You're already rich.

1570
01:37:04,640 --> 01:37:06,580
 Where do people in Florida go on vacation, Matt?

1571
01:37:06,580 --> 01:37:07,640
 Everybody goes to Florida.

1572
01:37:07,920 --> 01:37:09,000
 Where do Floridians go?

1573
01:37:09,680 --> 01:37:11,420
 I go to visit my family, actually.

1574
01:37:11,440 --> 01:37:12,260
 I go back to the Midwest.

1575
01:37:12,560 --> 01:37:15,300
 I'm actually going to go where it's like 25, 26 degrees.

1576
01:37:15,300 --> 01:37:18,560
 So I'm not sure about that.

1577
01:37:18,740 --> 01:37:22,360
 But when family calls, you go spend some time with them.

1578
01:37:23,420 --> 01:37:28,700
 But, yeah, I mean, Mike Collins had an amazing career at Pittsburgh.

1579
01:37:29,160 --> 01:37:32,100
 I guarantee you there's a job out there for him lined up.

1580
01:37:32,560 --> 01:37:37,880
 Someone who will go in there and try to get him and get him what they do.

1581
01:37:37,880 --> 01:37:40,480
 The NFL is known for that, obviously, as well.

1582
01:37:40,680 --> 01:37:42,480
 It's really kind of recycling coaches.

1583
01:37:42,680 --> 01:37:45,600
 So I think Mike Collins is good enough of a coach to land somewhere else,

1584
01:37:45,680 --> 01:37:49,580
 which is just going to be weird not seeing him on the sideline in Pittsburgh.

1585
01:37:50,500 --> 01:37:51,100
 Here he is.

1586
01:37:51,240 --> 01:37:52,800
 Matt, I'm going to go on a limb here.

1587
01:37:52,880 --> 01:37:55,240
 You said you're going to go see the folks in cold country.

1588
01:37:55,640 --> 01:38:00,280
 If I'm not mistaken, that would be the state of Indiana.

1589
01:38:00,720 --> 01:38:04,000
 Is it cold up there or is it like 150 degrees

1590
01:38:04,000 --> 01:38:07,460
 if you take the temperature of Indiana football fans these days?

1591
01:38:08,100 --> 01:38:09,700
 Well, it's going to be interesting.

1592
01:38:09,700 --> 01:38:12,400
 You know, I mean, Indiana football fans are excited.

1593
01:38:12,600 --> 01:38:14,360
 They're eager to get this done.

1594
01:38:14,500 --> 01:38:17,500
 I mean, I wrote a little bit about this earlier today that, you know,

1595
01:38:17,600 --> 01:38:20,920
 Indiana has been known for, you know, for the most part,

1596
01:38:20,980 --> 01:38:22,320
 been known for being a basketball school.

1597
01:38:22,480 --> 01:38:25,800
 And now all of a sudden they're on the cusp of doing something they've never done before,

1598
01:38:25,900 --> 01:38:27,960
 which is win a national championship.

1599
01:38:28,460 --> 01:38:31,940
 And it would be an incredible feat for what they've done.

1600
01:38:32,640 --> 01:38:34,800
 An incredible turnaround for Kirk Cignetti.

1601
01:38:35,000 --> 01:38:35,780
 Indiana has won more.

1602
01:38:35,880 --> 01:38:38,940
 No team has won more games the last two years than Indiana.

1603
01:38:38,940 --> 01:38:44,520
 And right now they're on the brink of, you know, being something that's never been done for,

1604
01:38:44,600 --> 01:38:50,400
 you know, being undefeated and having a bunch of wins coming in.

1605
01:38:50,560 --> 01:38:53,520
 So I think that's the secret right now.

1606
01:38:53,640 --> 01:38:58,200
 It's just, you know, Indiana wants to kind of ride that wave in and see what's going on.

1607
01:38:58,260 --> 01:38:59,780
 And it's going to be a tough challenge.

1608
01:38:59,880 --> 01:39:05,920
 And listen, they're going right in to play a team that's playing on its home turf in front of its home fans.

1609
01:39:06,320 --> 01:39:11,260
 There's more than likely going to be a lot more Hurricanes fans than there are going to be Indiana fans at the game.

1610
01:39:11,300 --> 01:39:12,800
 And they're going to have to figure out a way to get past that.

1611
01:39:12,940 --> 01:39:14,180
 So it's going to be a challenge.

1612
01:39:15,780 --> 01:39:20,540
 Let me ask you, this isn't ironic, Matt, that here we are talking about something that no one's ever done,

1613
01:39:20,620 --> 01:39:21,320
 at least in the modern era.

1614
01:39:21,400 --> 01:39:23,860
 They can have a chance to go 16-0 in football.

1615
01:39:24,260 --> 01:39:31,560
 Correct me if I'm wrong, the last team in college basketball to go unbeaten was the 1976 Indiana team.

1616
01:39:31,720 --> 01:39:33,260
 What's in the water up there, Matt?

1617
01:39:34,140 --> 01:39:36,640
 Yeah, you know, it's taken a while, believe me.

1618
01:39:36,800 --> 01:39:40,240
 I mean, like I said, there have been a lot of bad years.

1619
01:39:40,400 --> 01:39:41,300
 There have been a lot of lean years.

1620
01:39:41,660 --> 01:39:46,660
 I just think, you know, we've been talking about this, but it's the job that Kurt Cignetti has done.

1621
01:39:46,880 --> 01:39:51,060
 I mean, it's the going in and the way he built that program.

1622
01:39:51,160 --> 01:39:57,820
 You know, it's not easy to come into a new school and change the culture and change the mindset

1623
01:39:57,820 --> 01:40:03,060
 and get the fans to get on board and to, you know, find a way to convince everyone,

1624
01:40:03,440 --> 01:40:07,780
 yeah, we're Indiana and we're known for basketball, but we're going to find a way to get in there and compete in football.

1625
01:40:08,340 --> 01:40:11,180
 And all of a sudden, he's done that in a short period of time.

1626
01:40:11,320 --> 01:40:15,660
 You saw Mark Cuban, you know, Indiana, you know, alumni who was at the game the other day.

1627
01:40:16,000 --> 01:40:21,420
 He already mentioned he's upped his contributions to the program, you know what I mean, when it comes financially.

1628
01:40:21,960 --> 01:40:23,820
 Those are the kind of things that come with success.

1629
01:40:23,940 --> 01:40:27,760
 And when all of a sudden, you've got people who are giving your money to your football program.

1630
01:40:28,260 --> 01:40:29,500
 You could do a lot more.

1631
01:40:29,720 --> 01:40:32,180
 Yes, you could do a lot more than you probably can.

1632
01:40:32,340 --> 01:40:39,720
 And so I think as long as Indiana can find a way to keep, you know, Kurt around and make sure that maybe he's happy what he wants to do,

1633
01:40:39,720 --> 01:40:45,120
 and believe me, the NFL is going to come at him hard again, you know, the NFL is going to come at him and try to go there.

1634
01:40:45,380 --> 01:40:51,180
 I'm sure he's, if he wins a title, it's going to be hard not to say, you know, yes to some of those deals.

1635
01:40:51,260 --> 01:40:52,540
 But I think he also likes Indiana.

1636
01:40:53,060 --> 01:40:57,440
 I think he's going to be there for a while, but to keep him there for long term might be really hard to do.

1637
01:40:57,500 --> 01:41:02,280
 And if that's the case, and they can't keep him, I think that puts Indiana in a good spot over the next decade or so.

1638
01:41:03,000 --> 01:41:07,020
 Man, these teams really are very good at not beating themselves.

1639
01:41:07,400 --> 01:41:11,880
 Indiana, one fumble, Miami three on the season.

1640
01:41:12,700 --> 01:41:21,400
 Sacks are 47 to 45, they're number one, or tied for second.

1641
01:41:22,900 --> 01:41:29,880
 Now, Miami ran for 191 yards and had 88 to 62 Ole Miss.

1642
01:41:29,880 --> 01:41:32,620
 I don't think they're going to be able to do that against Indiana.

1643
01:41:32,780 --> 01:41:34,820
 But they want to win the game at the line of scrimmage.

1644
01:41:34,920 --> 01:41:38,420
 They want to run the ball with Fletcher and friends.

1645
01:41:39,380 --> 01:41:42,500
 Carson Bank, I thought, delivered in that game late.

1646
01:41:43,000 --> 01:41:44,740
 How do you see the game coming out?

1647
01:41:45,620 --> 01:41:48,560
 Well, Miami's got a lot bigger size on both lines.

1648
01:41:48,760 --> 01:41:50,560
 And I think they're going to try to take advantage of that.

1649
01:41:50,820 --> 01:41:54,980
 But I think one of the things for Indiana is they've got to kind of do what they did against Oregon.

1650
01:41:55,320 --> 01:41:56,560
 They've got to come out on fire.

1651
01:41:56,560 --> 01:42:02,400
 I mean, they've got to come out and score quickly, kind of take the crowd out of the game.

1652
01:42:02,560 --> 01:42:04,800
 You know, put Miami on its heels a little bit.

1653
01:42:04,980 --> 01:42:08,920
 And then if they can take advantage of that and not turn the football over, like you mentioned,

1654
01:42:09,400 --> 01:42:15,240
 and really just kind of control the line of scrimmage and not let themselves get too caught up in all the hoopla that surrounds me.

1655
01:42:15,500 --> 01:42:17,860
 I think it's something that has brought up a lot.

1656
01:42:18,000 --> 01:42:19,820
 And these two teams haven't been in this spot.

1657
01:42:20,140 --> 01:42:23,360
 I mean, Indiana, we mentioned it, never, but Miami hasn't been there in a long time.

1658
01:42:23,500 --> 01:42:28,500
 And so to tell these players, okay, you've got to calm down, you've got to take a deep breath, you've got to go out.

1659
01:42:28,720 --> 01:42:31,400
 These guys haven't had to, you know, this is the first time they're going through this.

1660
01:42:31,480 --> 01:42:36,600
 So it's really about which coach can say, let's just take a deep breath, let's go out there and play football.

1661
01:42:36,740 --> 01:42:37,580
 We know how to do this.

1662
01:42:38,020 --> 01:42:40,120
 These both coaches, I think, are really good.

1663
01:42:40,260 --> 01:42:43,100
 You know, I mentioned Signetti, but then you've got Mario Cristobal.

1664
01:42:43,240 --> 01:42:44,320
 I mean, Cristobal's been there.

1665
01:42:44,580 --> 01:42:45,100
 He understands.

1666
01:42:45,820 --> 01:42:48,280
 So it's about who can handle the emotions right now.

1667
01:42:48,540 --> 01:42:53,540
 I mean, because there's going to be so much buildup to this game or every, you've got press events every day.

1668
01:42:53,640 --> 01:42:57,100
 You've got, then you get to the stadium and it becomes a big deal.

1669
01:42:57,580 --> 01:42:59,140
 They've got to be able to control that emotion.

1670
01:42:59,480 --> 01:43:03,500
 And I also think the key to this game is who can make the best adjustments.

1671
01:43:03,900 --> 01:43:06,820
 I mean, Indiana has done a great job of making adjustments when they had to.

1672
01:43:07,300 --> 01:43:09,160
 Miami has done that as well.

1673
01:43:09,220 --> 01:43:16,520
 The second half of games, it's going to be which team can make those adjustments quick enough so that they don't fall behind or let themselves get out of hand.

1674
01:43:16,640 --> 01:43:21,540
 And the last thing you want to do if you're one of these teams is fall behind by a couple of touchdowns early on.

1675
01:43:21,880 --> 01:43:26,420
 And then you spend so much energy and effort to try to come back to try to win the game.

1676
01:43:26,680 --> 01:43:27,860
 You'd like to be able to handle things.

1677
01:43:28,100 --> 01:43:30,600
 So it's going to be a challenge for both these two teams to handle that.

1678
01:43:31,320 --> 01:43:36,760
 And the body language of both Oregon and Alabama said Indiana came out and took her manhood away from us.

1679
01:43:36,780 --> 01:43:39,720
 And we're just going to sit here and play out the clock and go home and try to regroup.

1680
01:43:40,120 --> 01:43:43,420
 Matt, your thoughts about how coaches, we live in a copycat world.

1681
01:43:43,420 --> 01:43:45,580
 And you look at what Indiana's done here.

1682
01:43:46,160 --> 01:43:48,500
 Hey, I won't put you on the spot because we don't have it either.

1683
01:43:48,620 --> 01:43:54,020
 I would love to see where the recruiting rankings were of Indiana compared to Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon.

1684
01:43:54,380 --> 01:43:59,040
 And the transfer portal classes because everybody gets caught up in these numbers and all these stars.

1685
01:43:59,280 --> 01:44:00,580
 I'd love to see that.

1686
01:44:00,660 --> 01:44:02,200
 I did see a number the other day.

1687
01:44:02,380 --> 01:44:06,600
 Basically, Alabama outspend Indiana two to one as far as expenses.

1688
01:44:06,920 --> 01:44:17,100
 Well, coaches sit here and basically say, you know what, maybe we need to reevaluate because if we go to the high school ranks traditional route and we get a five star in here, we're going to pay him a lot of money.

1689
01:44:17,300 --> 01:44:19,000
 And then one of two things is going to happen.

1690
01:44:19,160 --> 01:44:23,520
 Either he's going to bust and we're going to waste our money or he's going to be exceeding those expectations.

1691
01:44:23,520 --> 01:44:30,160
 And next year, someone like a Texas, et cetera, is going to come in and outbid us and we lose a year on our investment.

1692
01:44:30,360 --> 01:44:35,960
 But your thoughts about the influence of how Indiana might influence putting rosters together going forward.

1693
01:44:36,600 --> 01:44:38,380
 Well, I think it's going to be, it's got to be.

1694
01:44:38,460 --> 01:44:43,720
 I mean, there's coaches right now watching these two teams and thinking, okay, what did they do that we didn't do?

1695
01:44:43,960 --> 01:44:44,220
 You know what I mean?

1696
01:44:45,200 --> 01:44:45,600
 Evaluate.

1697
01:44:46,540 --> 01:44:46,900
 Exactly.

1698
01:44:47,160 --> 01:44:50,540
 And Indiana went out and got guys that fit what they're trying to do.

1699
01:44:50,620 --> 01:44:53,820
 It wasn't like they went out and spent the most money and they didn't go after these guys.

1700
01:44:53,960 --> 01:44:55,360
 And you mentioned that the interesting thing.

1701
01:44:55,560 --> 01:44:56,480
 I think it's interesting.

1702
01:44:56,540 --> 01:44:59,520
 I talked to a college GM a couple months ago.

1703
01:44:59,520 --> 01:45:07,440
 We talked about high schools and talked about the star system and how the schools that were enamored with stars, they signed a five-star kid.

1704
01:45:07,920 --> 01:45:16,800
 The problem with that is that five-star kid now looks at his stars and says, well, I deserve more than a four-star and more than a three-star.

1705
01:45:17,520 --> 01:45:22,960
 And for a coach, the idea is if I sign you and pay you that money, you've got to produce right now.

1706
01:45:23,140 --> 01:45:24,480
 I can't wait on this investment.

1707
01:45:24,900 --> 01:45:27,400
 I can't wait a year or two for you to step up and earn that.

1708
01:45:27,400 --> 01:45:33,960
 Because what happens, as you just mentioned, is that player a year later says, okay, I'm going to go to Texas or I'm going to go wherever, Alabama, wherever.

1709
01:45:34,280 --> 01:45:38,300
 And the next thing you know, you've lost that money and you've lost that time.

1710
01:45:38,820 --> 01:45:41,100
 And then you've got to look and figure out, how do I handle it?

1711
01:45:41,160 --> 01:45:46,220
 So I think all these coaches right now are trying to figure out what's the best route to go.

1712
01:45:46,300 --> 01:45:49,760
 You don't want to give up on the high school system and say, no, it's not worth doing it.

1713
01:45:50,060 --> 01:45:55,160
 But I don't think the star system is really going to be beneficial when we get into the head.

1714
01:45:55,160 --> 01:45:56,220
 It'll still be there.

1715
01:45:56,420 --> 01:45:57,040
 Don't get me wrong.

1716
01:45:57,320 --> 01:45:59,540
 I just don't know if the coaches are going to be so enamored with it.

1717
01:45:59,580 --> 01:46:06,000
 I think they're going to look at where can I get guys who I feel I can play right now and get their money's worth.

1718
01:46:06,540 --> 01:46:08,820
 And they're also going to look at this idea of the transfer portal.

1719
01:46:09,000 --> 01:46:17,060
 Where can I get guys who were four-star, five-star guys maybe when they started out and now have somehow fallen down the ranks a little bit.

1720
01:46:17,200 --> 01:46:20,180
 And I can get them cheap and I can get them cheap and bring them in and bring them out.

1721
01:46:20,380 --> 01:46:23,000
 It is literally like the NFL free agency.

1722
01:46:23,180 --> 01:46:26,940
 You're trying to find guys that maybe you can hit on and you have some success.

1723
01:46:27,220 --> 01:46:31,260
 You know, Fernando Mendoza, it wasn't like three years ago everyone was clamoring to get him.

1724
01:46:31,420 --> 01:46:32,120
 You know what I mean?

1725
01:46:32,200 --> 01:46:33,740
 And trying to figure out what was going on.

1726
01:46:34,340 --> 01:46:35,380
 Some of that is development.

1727
01:46:35,580 --> 01:46:37,880
 But also, too, they've got to figure out what's going on.

1728
01:46:37,880 --> 01:46:41,280
 And I think that's something that these coaches have done a really good job of.

1729
01:46:42,100 --> 01:46:45,640
 Man, I was listening to Heather Dinnage of ESPN.

1730
01:46:45,840 --> 01:46:49,760
 She is basically the college football playoff committee PR person.

1731
01:46:50,480 --> 01:47:06,620
 And the deadline of January the 23rd to decide, are they going to 16 teams, going to expand to 16 teams in the college football playoff or stay at 12?

1732
01:47:06,620 --> 01:47:15,680
 And Tony Petetti, who is the Big Ten commissioner now, believes, well, listen, we're just going to zoom past 16 and go to 24.

1733
01:47:16,620 --> 01:47:30,220
 And I wonder if in the allotted time they've got to make a decision if they're going to say, look, why don't we just stay at 12 and make a final decision on this later this year or next year?

1734
01:47:30,220 --> 01:47:40,900
 One of the things that I've always agreed with that they want to tweet the selection committee is they question whether or not sitting athletic directors should remain a part of the committee.

1735
01:47:41,140 --> 01:47:44,780
 They've got a lot of things to figure out, not a whole lot of time to do it.

1736
01:47:45,600 --> 01:47:46,680
 Yeah, I agree with you.

1737
01:47:46,780 --> 01:47:49,860
 And I'm not 100% sure that I think it's going to expand.

1738
01:47:49,980 --> 01:47:52,500
 I mean, listen, it's going to expand at some point.

1739
01:47:52,880 --> 01:47:54,140
 I don't know if it's going to happen now.

1740
01:47:54,260 --> 01:48:00,500
 I mean, they've had more than a year, this group, to sit there and figure out what the next step is going to be in this playoff.

1741
01:48:00,760 --> 01:48:03,520
 And they haven't been able to come to some sort of agreement.

1742
01:48:03,780 --> 01:48:04,820
 They're not even close.

1743
01:48:05,520 --> 01:48:09,160
 And then you get the Big Ten saying, let's go to 24 instead of 16.

1744
01:48:09,500 --> 01:48:10,800
 Well, that changes everything.

1745
01:48:10,960 --> 01:48:12,820
 And then all of a sudden, wait a minute.

1746
01:48:13,200 --> 01:48:16,800
 You know, we don't have time to sit there and do this in a month, you know, to figure this all out.

1747
01:48:17,540 --> 01:48:24,580
 I just think this group has not been very focused in the sense of, let's do something that I think works for everyone.

1748
01:48:24,940 --> 01:48:28,760
 So my gut is that they're going to probably stick with 12 the next season.

1749
01:48:29,100 --> 01:48:34,300
 And then after that, like you said, maybe a year during the next year, they're going to sit down and work out what's best.

1750
01:48:34,540 --> 01:48:35,620
 I think they'll go to 16.

1751
01:48:35,720 --> 01:48:36,680
 I don't think they'll go 24.

1752
01:48:37,160 --> 01:48:39,900
 I think they'll look around and say, okay, 16 works for now.

1753
01:48:40,460 --> 01:48:42,500
 And they're going to move forward on that.

1754
01:48:42,500 --> 01:48:49,560
 And, you know, I agree with the idea of maybe sitting athletic directors don't make the best college football playoff selection committee.

1755
01:48:49,740 --> 01:48:52,080
 Maybe they need to remove those players.

1756
01:48:52,120 --> 01:48:55,480
 I know they have recusals and they can step away and stuff like that.

1757
01:48:55,520 --> 01:49:00,940
 But I just wonder if maybe the group needs to be differently structured to kind of figure some things out.

1758
01:49:01,060 --> 01:49:04,980
 And I think that, you know, it wouldn't shock me to kind of make some changes like that.

1759
01:49:05,020 --> 01:49:08,100
 But again, you're not going to make those changes in the next month.

1760
01:49:08,260 --> 01:49:10,320
 You know, it's going to have to take some time for that to happen.

1761
01:49:10,320 --> 01:49:12,540
 So, I think they stay with 12 for now.

1762
01:49:12,880 --> 01:49:14,880
 And then I think that maybe the following year it goes to 16.

1763
01:49:16,020 --> 01:49:22,580
 Before we get away, if things play out, we'll be talking to you after the finale in the college football world.

1764
01:49:22,720 --> 01:49:26,820
 Who walks away with the confetti falling on down in Miami?

1765
01:49:27,800 --> 01:49:30,500
 Well, you know, I've gone with them most of the playoffs.

1766
01:49:30,720 --> 01:49:32,960
 I think Indiana's the team right now.

1767
01:49:33,080 --> 01:49:34,400
 I mean, they've played the best football.

1768
01:49:34,820 --> 01:49:35,740
 They've looked the best.

1769
01:49:36,460 --> 01:49:37,340
 They've been dominant.

1770
01:49:37,340 --> 01:49:41,700
 And I think they've got a chance to put this away and get a win.

1771
01:49:41,800 --> 01:49:43,020
 I think it would be huge for them.

1772
01:49:43,560 --> 01:49:48,480
 And, you know, I know there's a lot of Miami fans in my area who are probably cursing at me right now.

1773
01:49:48,660 --> 01:49:54,440
 But it's, you know, I mean, I just think that, I just think overall, I think this team is kind of better constructed.

1774
01:49:54,680 --> 01:49:55,880
 So, it's going to be interesting.

1775
01:49:55,960 --> 01:50:04,620
 Like I mentioned, it's just, we've never had a championship game, at least I can remember, at least, and maybe I'm forgetting, where you've had a team that's basically playing a home game.

1776
01:50:04,800 --> 01:50:05,300
 You know what I mean?

1777
01:50:05,340 --> 01:50:11,980
 And it's going to be interesting to see how that kind of affects this, maybe this setup and how, you know, Indiana can handle that.

1778
01:50:11,980 --> 01:50:14,900
 But I'm going to still go sticking in with Indiana for winning it all.

1779
01:50:15,740 --> 01:50:22,980
 Yeah, I think there have been a couple of other teams that played in their state, their home state, but never their home stadium.

1780
01:50:24,260 --> 01:50:28,800
 And I still say, man, there's going to be a ton of Indiana fans in Miami.

1781
01:50:28,940 --> 01:50:30,600
 They're going to find their way down there.

1782
01:50:31,160 --> 01:50:32,080
 No question about it.

1783
01:50:32,100 --> 01:50:33,440
 Listen, have a great vacation.

1784
01:50:33,960 --> 01:50:35,420
 Enjoy seeing the family.

1785
01:50:36,000 --> 01:50:38,120
 Look forward to talking with you in a couple weeks.

1786
01:50:38,120 --> 01:50:41,460
 When you get back, where can we get in a line to get all your good stuff, bud?

1787
01:50:42,000 --> 01:50:47,400
 You can go to OrlandoSentinel.com to check out the latest or follow me on social media at OSMattMichelle.

1788
01:50:48,680 --> 01:50:49,360
 Sounds great.

1789
01:50:49,460 --> 01:50:51,860
 Safe travels to and from, and thanks for your time today, Matt.

1790
01:50:52,580 --> 01:50:52,820
 All right.

1791
01:50:52,840 --> 01:50:53,380
 Thanks a lot, guys.

1792
01:50:53,460 --> 01:50:53,820
 Take care.

1793
01:50:54,120 --> 01:50:54,520
 Thank you, bud.

1794
01:50:54,540 --> 01:50:56,680
 And Michelle, the Orlando Sentinel.

1795
01:50:56,800 --> 01:51:01,400
 VB, are you ready for some Alabama basketball tonight here at 93.9 this school?

1796
01:51:01,540 --> 01:51:02,320
 I am ready.

1797
01:51:02,320 --> 01:51:08,660
 We, in fact, pregame at 7 o'clock and tip off at 8 on the SEC Network.

1798
01:51:08,920 --> 01:51:12,020
 At the famed hump in Stark Vegas.

1799
01:51:12,120 --> 01:51:15,860
 That's going to take care of business for now on behalf of B.B., Greg, James Blair, the entire crew here.

1800
01:51:16,260 --> 01:51:18,000
 Harold LeBlanc, thank you so much for your time today.

1801
01:51:18,080 --> 01:51:20,180
 Let's do it again tomorrow, noon to two for the Boomwell Buck Show.

1802
01:51:20,560 --> 01:51:22,700
 Back here on Sports Radio for 93.9, the score.