Boomo Bugg Show 042026
93.9 The Score WYTK - April 20, 2026
https://www.939thescore.com/boomo-bugg-show-042026/

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

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Now, get ready to roll Shoals, Decatur, Athens and all of Northwest Alabama and Southern Tennessee. It's time for the Valley's Exclusive FM Sports Voice.
The Boomo Bugg Show. 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.
Good afternoon and welcome here to the Boomo Bugg Show. I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird. Thank you so much for giving us a free ride around the Tennessee Valley. Brett Beaird, welcome in to where. The question is, what are they saying about Auburn's spring fling and NATO gets new lights on the latest portal party in Tuscaloosa. Good afternoon, welcome in and how are you?
Happy Monday to you and the listeners. About 30 minutes ago, Alabama against Boise State transfer 6-11. Drew Fielder, who averaged 14 points a game, but what caught Nate Oates' eyes was 41% from three.
We'll talk about a lot of men's college basketball portal action today with Alabama, Auburn, and Tennessee.
We'll talk to Brian Matthews about the Auburn A-Day game.
Ben Thomas of AL.com recaps a big week of changes for high school sports.
Adam is here right now to talk some SEC spring football and a little NFL draft.
Adam is Adam Spencer. He's visited there. It's Saturday down south.
Adam, welcome in to this Monday edition. How are you?
Hey, guys. I'm doing great. How are you?
Hey, man.
We're doing all right. Adam, obviously, more of the spring flings coming out this weekend.
For the once, what was it, eight games across the SEC.
Which one had the most interesting storyline, or are you out of the campuses?
It's a spring game. What can you learn no matter where you go?
I'm more of the latter.
Sure. I mean, I think that as these college coaches are getting more and more paranoid about showing anything,
I mean, you know, we've seen half the league just doesn't even have a traditional spring game anymore.
You know, it's just, you know, I don't think that there's a ton to learn from a public-facing, you know, scrimmage like this.
You know, I think that when somebody doesn't have a lot of success, when somebody struggles, I think that that's noteworthy a little bit more than when they put up video game numbers.
So, you know, I think that, you know, a couple weeks ago when Alabama had their A-Day game, I mean, you saw the O-line and the running game continue to struggle.
And I think that those are the kinds of things that you can kind of be like, oh, okay, so this is still an issue.
But, you know, when somebody puts up, you know, five touchdown passes or whatever, you know, I think that you've got to take those with a grain of salt.
I agree with you, Adam, because let's face it, these coaches, they're in total control of both sides of the ball.
And if they want to get a message out, what better way to kind of sit here and influence the script would you agree trying to build whatever their objective is as far as momentum with the fans?
Fans love rock and roll shows on offense.
They'll complain about the defense, but they really like someone to light up the scoreboard, like you say.
So, I mean, let's face it, these coaches, if they want some good PR, they kind of know how to craft that, do they not?
Yeah, I think you're exactly right.
I mean, these aren't real games.
These aren't, you know, sometimes they even just stop the game to redo stuff and they work on specific situations.
So, yeah, you can craft whatever narrative you want.
And even though it's still like five months, six months from the start of the season, I mean, these guys are just so leery of putting anything of value on tape that an opponent could get an advantage on.
And so, you know, I think that these things are all manufactured and, you know, you don't want to see a quarterback throw an interception.
You know, that's not great.
But, you know, the defense could have, you know, like you said, this could be manufactured to send a message to the quarterback or to, you know, build up the confidence in the defensive back.
So, you know, I think that there's ways that they can manipulate this sort of thing.
So, it's hard to take anything hard and fast away from any of these scrimmages.
Adam, one that did catch my attention was Jared Curtis, the five-star quarterback at Vandy, replacing Diego Pavia.
It's not going to be easy, but Vandy was able to swipe him away from the state of Georgia.
I think he will end up starting, at least eventually, for Vanderbilt.
I saw some clips of him.
He reads the field well, nice release.
I think Vandy's got a pretty good one in the five-star.
Yeah, I think so, too.
And, you know, I think that that was probably a thing that they wanted to get going this spring is let him air it out a little bit,
let him show off that the raw talent is there.
And now they'll get back to work in the film room and try to build him up mentally.
I mean, he seems like he's already a sharp kid, but, you know, there's a lot that goes into these offenses these days that are more and more pro-style.
You know, you're seeing less and less of the Mike Leach air raid where it's like, well, we've run this one play.
There's just five different options to go to, and here's where you get, you know.
So, there's a lot more complexity to the game these days, though.
It is tough for a true freshman to step in, but if anybody can do it, it's Jared Curtis.
And, you know, he's got all the physical tools necessary to step right in and at least have an impact as a freshman.
And, you know, he's got three years before he's draft eligible, so I bet, you know, I wouldn't bet against him becoming a star.
Adam Spencer's the star there Saturday down south.
The one thing that coaches do not want is what happened with Alabama and wide receiver Noah Carter and Texas A&M and Damian Sanford.
That's the one thing coaches do not want.
Your thoughts about the impact of the key injury there at Texas A&M and then earlier before the game, Georgia with a big loss as well in the practice field.
Yeah, I mean, that's what you always want to get through.
You always want to get through spring practices.
Guys are going to get banged up when you play football.
That's just the way it is.
You know, but you always want to get through the spring scrimmage, especially without an injury.
You want to make it through the spring session itself without, like, season-ending stuff.
And it's always a shame when it happens, especially at, like, key positions there.
Like you mentioned in Texas A&M, you know, Alabama with Noah Rogers, the C-State transfer.
And, you know, he's just losing that.
You don't want to see a team get weakened in the spring window.
And, you know, it's tough to see that, but that's the game of football.
You know, you could tear your ACL on a non-contact play just on a normal day, you know, just going through it, walk-through style.
So, you know, it's just the risk that you take, and it's just always unfortunate when you see it during these spring scrimmages.
Adam, the NFL draft, hard to believe, begins Thursday.
And quite a few NCC quarterbacks are in the top ten.
Ty Simpson from Alabama, will he be a late first round or early second round?
He seems to have gained Curry with a lot of teams.
We'll see which way he goes.
Garrett Nussmeyer, some people picking the third round.
The NFL physical actually found a cyst on his spine, which was one of the reasons why he did not have the best of years.
Carson Beck, a lot of people think may go in the third or fourth round.
And then Green, Taylor Green from Arkansas in the fifth round.
Your thoughts on some of the NCC quarterbacks and how they may do in the draft.
Yeah, I think one thing that we need to watch as the pre-draft process builds up
and maybe even into Thursday night is what the Arizona Cardinals do with that number three pick.
Because, you know, there's some rumors that they're listening to offers
because there could be some teams that want to move up to get Jeremiah Love
because a lot of Mocs have loved going fourth to the Titans.
So if he's there, you know, you've got to get up to three in the Cardinals.
They're rebuilding, so they need to, you know, they need to get more bullets in the chamber
to take picks and take chances here.
So if they traded with, like, say, the Chiefs and get pick nine and then pick 29,
now that becomes interesting because if Ty Simpson falls past the Steelers at 21,
well, then the Cardinals are set up to take him in the late first round there.
And I think that that's where he'll end up going late in the first round
because, you know, it's just you don't really see it these days with drafts that go the first round
with only one quarterback taken.
I know it's happened.
The Kenny Pickett year, I believe, was one of those years.
But, yeah, I think Ty Simpson has a great chance to have a team move up
or, in the Cardinals' case, trade down to get multiple first-round picks
to take him with one of those.
So, you know, I'm watching the Jets for him.
I'm watching the Steelers for him.
And then the Cardinals could make a move back into the first round to get him late.
And I want to talk more draft week in a second.
But first, if we could circle back as far as to round up the spring games,
your thoughts about Auburn.
Obviously, Goldish is doing everything he can to change the narrative down there.
He's staying off the golf course.
He's in the pulpit.
He's preaching what the fans want to hear.
Your thoughts about being able to walk the talk?
Yeah, I mean, it's just going to take a little bit of time.
Brown had a kind of up-and-down performance.
So, you know, it's not surprising when you lose guys like Cam Coleman
and Eric Singleton in the receiver room.
That's going to be a bit of a rebuild there.
So, you know, I didn't see anything overly concerning.
I didn't see anything overly great.
So, you know, I think that if he can just have these guys playing competent football
by the time this fall comes around, you know,
this isn't going to be a 10-win team all of a sudden.
You know, that's just not the way that the infrastructure is built right now.
There's been too many changes lately.
So, he just needs to take a step forward.
He needs to show a team that fights hard.
And, you know, Hugh Freeze's team put up good numbers and had good metrics.
They just shot themselves in the foot over and over and over again in the worst situation.
So, you know, I think that if Goalish's first Auburn team can avoid doing that,
can make a couple-win improvement, get to a bowl game, maybe win a bowl game,
I think that the fans will be happy there.
And then it just becomes, like, now you have to scale that.
Now, year two, you have to, you know, be pushing for a playoff spot.
You don't necessarily have to get one, but you have to be pushing for one.
And then year three, you've got to be in the playoff.
And I think that that's the roadmap that he needs to follow.
I think that, you know, it's tough to take anything too strong away from this spring game
as to where he's at in that process.
But, you know, I think that he's got the guys there.
He's brought a bunch of guys from USF that he knows and trusts.
So, you know, we'll just have to wait and see how they look this fall
and, you know, patience being the key word there on the plains.
And I know that they've had people tell them to be patient for the past decade here, basically.
So, we'll see how much longer they can wait around.
Who are your top five picks in the NFL draft?
Mendoza, I think, seems to be across the board.
Number one, Arville Reese, a linebacker from Ohio State, maybe to the Jets.
You mentioned now a little bit up there, David Bailey from Texas Tech to Arizona.
We'll see if that last you mentioned.
I think everybody said, Jeremiah Love to Tennessee.
And then the Giants at five, Sonny Stiles from Ohio State again.
Who are your top five picks?
Yeah, I actually have the Chiefs trading up to number three to take Jeremiah Love.
So, I think that they'll try what they can do to get ahead of the Titans there.
And then that throws the Titans into disarray.
It's probably a little too early for Jordan Tyson at that spot.
But that's a guy that they could look at as a wide receiver to put with their young QB, Cam Ward.
Number five, I think you're right about Sonny Stiles with Love off the board.
I think that the Giants just take Sonny Stiles or David Bailey there.
But, you know, the Titans could take one of those guys, too.
The Titans could take, you know, they could stretch for Mansoor Delane out of LSU.
You know, I think that Delane is probably going to go seven to the Commanders if he drops that far.
So, we'll see.
That number four pick, though, if the Chiefs do end up trading up, then the number four pick is where things really start to get interesting.
Because the Titans, you know, probably had their sights set on Love.
So, we'll see what they would decide to do there.
Maybe they go, David Bailey.
You know, David Bailey, I think, is going to be a heck of a football player for the next decade plus.
So, whoever gets him is going to be pretty happy.
It's just, you know, will that be the Titans?
I don't know.
But Sonny Stiles, five.
Yeah, and then, you know, like I said, I think Ty Simpson goes before the end of round one.
It just depends on where.
Well, I know SDS is going to have the NFL draft covered.
Caleb Downs of Alabama and Ohio State, I think, 10.
Peyton Proctor, we'll see.
I've seen as high as six or even mid-range in the first round.
Jamon McCoy, who didn't play a play last year for Tennessee, are very few.
Number 12 to the Cowboys.
That's going to be interesting.
Adam, where can we get online and get your stuff and the teams?
Yeah, SaturdayDownSouth.com.
We've got some baseball stuff coming later today, power rankings on Friday.
We'll have our round one mock draft for the NFL draft this week.
And plenty of NFL draft content.
So, yeah, SaturdayDownSouth.com.
Another plate full.
Adam, a great way to kick off the week.
Thanks so much.
And stay safe out there, okay?
Yeah, guys, thanks for having me.
Always appreciate it.
Thank you, bud.
Thank you.
We appreciate you, Adam.
Adam Spencer, Saturday Down South.
Coming up, football, basketball.
Folks in Tuscaloosa and having a ball and a concert.
Andrew Bones, Jack, stay with us.
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The Score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back again.
It is a privilege for us to say hello to Andrew Bone.
He's a fine columnist and recruiting editor for BamaOnline.com, part of the On3.com family.
And his book is called The Road to Bama.
Andrew, welcome in.
How are you?
How you doing good, guys?
How we doing?
Hey, man.
We're going to see if you can hear.
I mean, I don't know where you were at Saturday night, but Bryant Denny had a flavor of Tennessee.
Nick Saban makes another appearance out of the tunnel.
Well, your thoughts about the Monday after the big concert and what it might have meant at the cash register for Alabama.
Yeah, obviously it was a big deal down in Tuscaloosa with Morgan Wallen playing.
And, yeah, I think it sort of sets up for concerts at Bryant Denny here in the future.
Obviously, I think it was a big test to evaluate and kind of see how things were running and see how smoothly it went.
And, obviously, things went pretty well.
And, you know, the fan base and everybody there seemed to enjoy the walkout guests.
So, yeah, I was not there.
I was actually in New York at the time.
So I didn't get a chance to see the concert.
But I'm sure it was a pretty fun experience for all.
So, yeah, I mean, I definitely see this as a money-raising opportunity for Alabama to be able to give a percentage of that to these college athletes.
So I think they will certainly look at this more in the future.
And I don't know if they're going to do it once a year.
But, you know, I think it certainly opens the door to simply do a couple times.
I'd love to see a music festival there, to be honest with you.
Have four or five different bands there on a nice Saturday.
So we'll see how that goes.
But it was a cool experience for Alabama to have something like that finally.
Do you think the next time they do it they might invite the current head football coach to come out too?
Maybe so, maybe so.
Let's see if we can win some championships.
Andrea, let me ask you about a little bit of recruiting.
We talked last week about what many people consider to be the top quarterback in the country,
five-star quarterback Elijah Haven, Dunham High School in Baton Rouge.
He is announcing Saturday, April the 25th, and seems to be between Alabama and Georgia.
I know Auburn was in there, too.
Put up video game numbers.
Louisiana Gatorade player of the year, 4,000 yards, 62 touchdowns.
What are you hearing now?
And you had a very good article on maybe the best defensive back in the country.
John Meredith out of Texas, Fort Worth, Texas.
A lot of people think that he will end up in-state staying with Texas A&M, but Mo Lindquist, who is a Cracker Jack recruiter, is in on him very...
In fact, he's coming back again May 29th and 31st.
Will Alabama pick up a five-star quarterback?
And your thoughts on John Meredith?
Yeah, I think the timing of Elijah Haven's commitment is a positive thing for whoever gets him, and it certainly seems like Alabama is in the driver's seat.
It's down to Alabama and Georgia.
Now, Georgia's done a really good job.
They weren't considered kind of one of the top two schools for him, but they've, over the last few months, they've really turned up the heat.
They like him a lot.
You know, I feel like they've done a good job recruiting him, but Alabama's really kind of been there, you know, in the driver's seat since last October.
And I think they've done a tremendous job, led by Kalen DeBoer and Ryan Grubb.
But when Brian Ellis moved over, that relationship has certainly grown.
He had a really good relationship with Nick Sheridan before his departure, but Michigan State did not make the cuts.
Alabama still remained at the top of the list.
He was in Tuscaloosa for eight, multiple days, and he seems ready to make that decision.
So, you know, right now, you know, I feel like Alabama's position with him, you know, heading into this commitment on Saturday.
Now, you know, he commits to Alabama, and that's a big thing because Alabama doesn't really have a lot of commitments right now.
They have four commitments, and I'm not sure what's going to happen with Cole Lumpers, who's a tight end commitment from the Northeast.
He's been committed since December, but he also hasn't visited campus since last April.
So I think that's something to kind of watch, and we've kind of seen him bounce around to some other different schools throughout the spring.
He did not return to Tuscaloosa.
So I think, you know, let's just say Alabama has, you know, three and a half commitments right now.
And so going into the summer, when you have so many top guys that are uncommitted, that are waiting until after official visits to make a decision.
And, you know, you get a guy who's number one quarterback recruiting in the country coming on into Tuscaloosa for these big official visit weekends,
and not only for his official visit weekend, but, you know, also other weekends as well to come in and try to help recruit.
And I think he's scheduled to be in for the May 29th through 31st weekend, which is pretty much Alabama's biggest weekend of the summer,
or at least on paper right now, because you do have Munchu Sells, the five-star wide receiver coming in that weekend.
You have John Meredith, as you mentioned, five-star cornerback coming in that weekend, and so on and so on.
So you get Haven on board before that weekend, getting him on campus.
I'm not saying that, you know, kids make decisions based on others, but when you have a little bit of help, you know, any pitch is a good pitch.
So I think that, you know, that certainly helps.
And then flipping over to John Meredith, you know, number one cornerback in the country, taking a few visits to Alabama.
Now, he hasn't been back since January when he came in for the junior day.
Now, when he was on campus, he spent multiple days in Tuscaloosa.
So it was almost like an official visit before his official visit.
And we've seen a lot of these recruits, top-end guys that have been able to come in on a Friday, stay all day, visit all day on Saturday,
and then depart campus on Sunday morning.
So it's basically an official visit without paying these guys to come in and paying their travel expenses.
So, you know, right now Alabama is in that top two, top three with Meredith.
A&M has really been at the front of the pack for a while because of his relationship with coaching staff.
They've been recruiting him since he was a freshman.
But he's got a great relationship with Moe Lindquist, who has gone out there and seen him multiple times in Texas.
I don't think he's going out there this week, but I expect him out there next week.
And they should go out and they'll probably go out and see him a couple different times during this spring contact period.
So, you know, we will see.
I mean, we've seen crazier things happen as far as kids making decisions to go elsewhere when they were heavily favored.
Yeah, I remember Peter Woods, you know, at a time he had visited Alabama about 30 different times
and had only visited Clemson once and goes up for his official visit
and completely shuts down his recruitment, which shocked everyone.
So you never know what might happen during the course of the spring and then when official visits start.
So, you know, I think Alabama, you know, still feels like they've got a chance there.
You know, is it a very strong chance?
So I'm not sure about that, but they're going to keep on swinging and kind of see what happens there until the end.
Stay tuned for the latest with Andrew, Andrew Bone, BamaOnline.com.
Andrew, let's talk basketball recruiting Alabama.
How in the world do you ask this question, the comings and goings?
I guess the very latest, Amari Allen, I don't think anybody's shocked, got to test the NBA draft waters.
So the folks unacquainted with that, that's different than entering some of this other stuff.
That means the door swings both ways.
It's still got a chance to come back.
But your thoughts about Nate Oates, the portal, and recruiting there?
Yeah, I think things are starting to come together for Alabama.
And they obviously got a big commitment today.
And Boise State transferred Drew Fielder, who's probably, I would say, probably the biggest potential impact player so far.
He was an all-Mountain West player last season.
You know, averaged close to 15 points a game, six rebounds.
Yeah, I think, you know, the biggest thing, you know, he's 6'11 and shoots, you know, 40% from three-point range.
So, you know, this is a guy that looks like a great passer based on film.
He's aggressive.
You know, he's a guy that, you know, I think they certainly like a lot.
And I feel like, you know, from what we've seen, you know, they've been really able to add some good size in this class so far.
You know, you look at a guy like Brandon Garrison from Kentucky who's over 6'10".
Jamarian Davis Fleming, who's, you know, about 6'9".
You know, and I think they've done a really good job of getting some players that, you know, can make an impact.
Cole Cloer, who transfers them from NC State.
I mean, these are some really, you know, productive guys that, you know, they feel like can come in and make an impact.
So, I think they're still looking to add, you know, at least a, you know, a guard-type player.
You know, still looking around, seeing what's available, see what they can bring in.
But, you know, I think Nate Oates and his staff are excited about what they've been able to add now.
Obviously, we saw, you know, Maury Allen declare for the NBA draft last night, but still giving him some wiggle room to come back.
So, yeah, I think that, you know, that's a situation that, you know, we'll kind of see how that plays out.
But I envision he'll be back.
So, I'm not saying that he will, but I envision it sort of like, you know, we saw with Phylon last year.
So, we'll see how that plays out.
But, yeah, I think they've done pretty well in the portal class so far.
You're exactly right.
London Jimmison announced over the weekend he is coming back.
Davey and Hannah is going to enter the portal.
Have not heard from Keaton Bristow.
And, again, the deadline to end the portal is tomorrow.
And then Colin Zoe, the young man who had a heart defect that they discovered.
Great stuff, be it football or basketball.
Andrew Bone has got the absolute latest.
And May is about to really get heated up for you and the recruiting staff.
A.B., where can we get online and get all yours and the team's good stuff?
And also, where can we buy your book?
Yeah, well, come check us out at bamonline.com.
You know, this is, you know, really peak recruiting season for those, you know,
recruiting junkies that are out there.
You know, we have the spring contact period.
So, coaches are out there on the road coast to coast, you know,
visiting with their top targets.
We'll see probably some new offers get extended.
And then the official visit season starts next month.
And this is when, you know, we pretty much see 90% of these recruits
throughout the country make their college decisions.
So, you know, it's an exciting time on the recruiting front.
Obviously, basketball is, you know, with the transfer portal.
We're waiting to see kind of how that shakes out.
You know, we'll have a lot of team coverage throughout the summer
as far as summer workouts and stuff like that.
And we obviously follow baseball, softball, and everything else.
So, come check us out at bamonline.com.
And, you know, as you mentioned, my book, The Road to Bama,
is still available for purchase.
Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, and Amazon.com.
So, if you haven't gotten any summer reading yet, looking for something to take to the lake
or the beaches over the next few months, please go get you a copy.
And, yeah, I think you'll certainly enjoy it.
Sounds great, Andrew.
Listen, man, thanks for your time, Dan.
Have a great week, okay?
Yeah, let's do the same.
Thank you.
Thank you, buddy.
A.B., Andrew Bowen, fine columnist, bamonline.com.
That's part of the yon3.com family.
And, again, the book is called The Road to Bama.
The Monday after the spring fling on the plains, Brian Matthews' thoughts next.
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Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back in.
Time to head on down to a place called Auburn.
Say hello to Brian Matthews.
He's a senior editor for AuburnSports.com.
Brian, welcome in.
Anything exciting going on over the weekend in your backyard?
How are you?
Oh, not too much happening.
We're pretty quiet.
Just hang out with the family, you know, watch a little TV.
How about you guys?
Pretty quiet on this end, too.
Obviously, we say that tongue-in-cheek, Brian.
The spring flames in the books.
Where do you start in breaking it down for the folks who might have missed it?
Well, I mean, it was a high-scoring A-Day, although I'm still not sure I quite understand
exactly how they came to that conclusion with the final score.
But, you know, we saw some pretty good players running around out there.
I thought, you know, a D.C. crowd showed up around 30,000, according to the stats there.
I don't know if that's true or not, but that's what they put out there.
I think 34 was the number.
But, you know, I thought it was a well-played game for the most part.
And I just try not to draw too many conclusions from A-Day because I've seen so many, and most of them don't really matter.
And most of what you see in the A-Day game doesn't really show up in the season once we get to the fall.
Totally agree with that.
Obviously, we talked earlier about this.
These coaches, they pretty much have a script of what they want to see and basically what they want portrayed.
So they can influence that stats for better or worse.
The thing that they can't control is injuries.
I'm assuming Auburn came through without any key injuries.
And the other part of that is, no matter what, sometimes it's not what you see but what you don't see.
And that is any flaws, starting with a quarterback spot and basically a brand-new group of wide receivers.
Yeah, and I think the coaches are both careful not to put too much out there, as coaches can be.
They're a little paranoid, even in spring practice.
I would say Auburn's been very fortunate during spring.
I don't think they've had any major injuries.
They held a few guys out of the scrimmage, but nobody for a serious injury.
Stanton, Ramell, I'm not sure exactly how to spell it, say that correctly, gave me.
He came in with an injury.
He's getting better, and he should be cleared for full contact this summer.
I think he started doing some things in practice at the end of spring.
So that's an important piece there at left tackle.
That's the one position to come out of spring not really sure about so far.
I'm trying to think.
A couple other guys banged up, but nothing serious there.
I think that's good.
As far as the quarterbacks go, I thought Tristan Tia had a great game, looked fantastic.
The redshirt freshman transfer, I believe, from Oregon State.
I think he's made a really strong case to be the number two quarterback this year.
Byron Brown threw a couple of interceptions, didn't really have the game maybe you'd want him to have.
But then, as I reminded people in my story, Cam Newton was three of eight 16 years ago in the A-Day game.
I'm not saying Byron Brown is going to beat Cam Newton, but what I am saying is you can't put too much into a quarterback performance in A-Day.
You mentioned on Monday Musings, which is always mandatory reading for Auburn and SEC fans, the best unit on the field, linebackers, Bryce Dees, may have been the best player on the field.
Xavier Ankins, we know about him, Melendez, and friends, and you said maybe the most improved area was defensive line.
Cody Sigler, Dallas Walker, St. Ferrier, Malik Altry, Deshaun Womack, Jared Smith.
Go into a little more detail about what could be a very good front seven defensively for Auburn.
Yeah, well, you mentioned Cody Sigler, and he's come in and just been really, really good on the field and off the field.
I think that's a unit that's got a bunch of second-year guys coming back that are sophomores now, most of them.
Some freshmen, some freshmen, and they need a leader in that group, and he's really stepped up in that position.
And then Dallas Walker getting him back and eligible was really important for Auburn.
They need an experienced nose, and that gives some of those younger guys an opportunity to gain experience and get better behind them.
But I think he's going to be ready to step in as a full-time starter.
And then I think Jared Smith is a guy that was signed as a really highly recruited player in the, I guess it was the 2006 class.
And I think he's really showing that potential now.
He had a nice interception there.
I think he had another fumble recovery, I believe.
And really, you could see his athleticism and probably the best pass rusher on the team right now.
So he's an exciting player to get.
And then they signed a really good transfer defensive end, Deshaun Womack.
He's an old miss.
But he's come in and stepped in and also been a leader and one of those important guys to, you know, bring those young guys along.
So I feel like they did a great job sort of rebuilding that defensive line, which lost all four starters.
And, you know, they're really making a move there.
So I like that.
It gives those young guys, you know, the secondary guys a chance to, you know, get better and not be thrown into these roles where you have to play right away or start.
Brian Matthews, senior editor, AuburnSports.com.
We don't talk about him until you need him.
Your thoughts so far about what can you say about the special teams coming out of camp?
Well, I mean, I don't know that there's that much to say about it.
You know, I think you're going to see something similar to what you saw last year.
I certainly think that, you know, we'll see if the punting can get a little better.
Yeah, they brought a new guy in, McGuire, and we'll see if he, you know, that competition with Hudson there and how that goes.
And, you know, as McPherson is back, and as long as he stays healthy, he should be one of the best place kickers in the league.
So I think they feel pretty good there.
And, you know, as far as return guys go, you know, we'll see.
They've got a few guys I think they're looking at, but I think that's just the start.
And I don't think this is anything set in stone yet.
I think that's going to be determined once we get to fall.
Cole Bass did not have the best game of his career.
I heard he had some inconsistent snaps.
You mentioned Stanton Ramell, Joe Simmons, Lyre, Strand, again, mix and match.
What stood out for you, good and bad, on the offensive line?
Yeah, Cole was a little off there, but, you know, he's a seasoned veteran, so you figure, you know, he'll get that worked out.
Okay.
And I think Joe Simmons has been one of the standouts there, along with Derek Lodge.
Joe's been playing with the right tackle, positive playing guard, you know, Cole Bass in there.
And we'll see how the other positions sort of work themselves out.
But I think those are three players that you can point to on that offensive line.
And I just think that's the one unit that's going to take some time, more time, to figure itself out, to find those five starters and find the next three guys.
And then, you know, be able to play together and play at a high enough level.
I think they've got some other people on offense that can be productive.
I just think they've got to get that unit and figure out who's going to be the left tackle, too, of course.
Let me ask you about basketball.
Brayton's Owen Freeman is the latest big man for Auburn, all 16 of them, to go along with Bucky, to Bucky Boyer, in the French dude.
They're seven feet.
And Auburn was able to keep so many of these guys, which is real plus for them.
Overton, Simon Walker, Sebastian Williams-Adams, Hedifert was huge coming back.
B, Matt, talk a little bit about Auburn's size in the post, which is going to be quite impressive, and where they are now as forced transfers.
Yeah, they are so much bigger.
You mentioned they added, you know, Aboye from Santa Clara.
He's a seven-footer.
They signed Narcisse Ngoi, I think is how you say it, from France.
Yeah.
He's a seven-footer.
And then they added Owen Freeman, who started out at Iowa.
He was a Creighton last year.
He's 6'10 forward.
He can also play some five if you need him to.
He is coming off a couple of injuries.
He had, I guess he injured his finger or hand pretty bad at the end of the 25th, had surgery.
And then right before he started at Creighton, he had a knee injury, had to have surgery.
So he had a really tough year last year.
But, you know, he's the guy that was, I think, the SEC freshman, I mean, the big 10 freshman of the year, a few years ago.
So he certainly has that ability, when he's healthy, to be a difference maker at that post position.
And I'm really intrigued by him, because I think as a sophomore, he started to shoot threes more.
And maybe that was part of his game they're adding to be more of a stretch forward.
But then, you know, last year, the injuries, I think, really hampered that growth there.
So we'll see if that's something that he can work on here during the offseason, maybe prove on.
Because I think if he can play four with the size, Auburn's now got a five, and he can be at least a threat at three-point range,
that will really open things up for the rest of the team.
Let's talk a little bit.
Baseball, good news with Tigers.
Here's at the expense of the Gators.
And in particular, talk to us about Mason McCrane.
Is he getting enough love for the Tigers?
Well, he was just named SEC co-presenter of the week, again, the second time to earn those honors.
And, you know, he has been a really, really good player for Auburn.
He got hot there, did not start the season as a starter, came on when some starters struggled,
got into SEC play, hit a little bit of a wall there.
But they held him out for, I'd say, maybe a couple weeks or so.
And he worked on some things, and he's come back and been terrific.
Had three home runs in that Florida series.
Was really, really good.
Last week, it was key at Auburn being able to come back and win that series after losing game one.
So, yeah, and he's just a terrific athlete, too.
You know, he's got probably the best arm on the team, and, you know, I think maybe one of the best arms in the SEC.
Outfield arms, you know, I would not suggest trying to go first or third on him or take up second on anything that's not to the wall.
And certainly a guy that just has a ton of power, big duties, about 6'6", over 200 pounds.
And when he gets a hold of one, he can hit it just about as hard to build on that team.
Let me ask you about the Jordan-Hare North project.
You put this in Monday Musings.
A lot of people don't realize the stadium's nearly 90 years old and needs a facelift, and they're going to get it.
But we talked about this last week, being able to host events, a year-round restaurant, retail and event space where you can have meetings, community events, weddings.
Whatever the case may be, in Alabama, I had a big concert over the weekend.
Now, Auburn is doing soccer, international soccer, who Brian Matthews is a fan of, coming this summer.
And then I believe there's a country concert in October.
They may talk about, again, you've got to be looking for additional revenue streams.
I think this is a good one for the facelift for the stadium, and then the other two special events to make a little money off of.
It is.
I think it checks off all those boxes, right?
It looks better, which you mentioned, which I think is so important, because Jordan-Hare Stadium is the symbol of Auburn football,
and it needs to look impressive and imposing and be like Sanford Hall represents Auburn University.
So, at least the drawings do.
We'll see what it looks like when it's actually done.
But it's going to serve so many different purposes.
It's going to be a great place for students, opening up some more restaurants right there in the, you know,
close to the center of campus and places, I guess, where they can study and stuff.
Like you said, they can hold events there.
And they're certainly working on Jordan-Hare being able to host more things inside, on the field, like the soccer match and, like, concerts.
Anything to bring in more revenue that will eventually be turned into however you work it through the system,
into being able to afford to pay players to compete for Auburn and win games for Auburn.
Well, it helps.
I can assure you, it also helps to get online and get the absolute latest as far as recruiting.
Big May and June coming up, Ryan Matthews.
That Auburn recruiting, basketball portal, you've got to tomorrow to enter that.
Auburn baseball, recapping a day and looking forward to the season.
Where can we get online to get all the good stuff?
Yeah, we'll continue to have a ton of basketball portal information.
Auburn is still building that roster, and you've still got to keep an eye on things, you know, until tomorrow.
With current players, you know, nothing's settled.
You know, even if you may think it is, that'll be something to watch there.
And, you know, baseball's got another big series coming up this weekend.
They've got an incredible finish.
I think it's Oklahoma coming in this weekend.
They've got some tough, tough series coming up to finish the season
and try to figure out their place in the postseason.
All that and more, AuburnSports.com, recruiting, football recruiting, of course.
Follow me on Twitter, so that's X at B-MAT-AU.
That's great, Brian.
Listen, man, thanks for your time, Dane.
Have a great week, okay?
Appreciate you guys.
Thank you.
Thank you, Buck.
And Tigers or Brian Matthews, if your life doesn't seem to be going in the right direction,
just hang on.
Just ask the Braves.
Would you agree, B-B, what a difference the year makes for the Atlanta Braves?
They're on a heater.
They swept the Phillies on the road first time in 10 years.
They've been able to do that one last night, four to two.
They're leading Major League Baseball in many, many categories, including five right now.
They're very early in the season.
But, yes, the Braves are playing well.
Five-game lead over the Marlins to the Nationals.
By the way, guess who they play tonight?
The Nationals.
The chance to push it even further back.
And just as important, the Mets with that big payroll.
Eight games in last place behind the Braves in first place.
Coming up, the first guest of the next hour is going to be Ben Thomas.
It's coming up for a historic week in the world of high school basketball in the state of Alabama.
It's all straight ahead here to the B-M-O-Bug Show.
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Hey, this one also says you get a free phone if you switch.
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An independent candidate has announced his race for the state Senate District 10 seat.
Jesse Battles originally qualified as a Republican a few months ago, but was then disqualified
by the state party leadership this past February when it comes to running in the Republican primary
race.
Battles has now decided to run in the same race as an independent.
Andrew Jones is the Republican incumbent, who is also being challenged in that primary by Amy
Minton.
After Battles made his announcement this past Sunday, he said that his campaign was never
built in back rooms, but by neighbors, friends, and family who deeply care about the future
of their community.
Battles will now gather the necessary signatures to secure his ballot access.
I'll be back with more Alabama stories after this.
Where I was living was not a great place to live anymore.
I began to pray for a place to go, praying for all of these things that a nine-year-old would
want.
I wanted horses, big house with a bunch of people my age.
I wanted parents.
I wanted a mom and a dad.
Before I even prayed it, the Lord had already answered my prayer with the
Big Oak Ranch.
Who would that nine-year-old be if she never came to the Big Oak Ranch?
I would be trying to fight for survival instead of fighting to break a cycle.
Big Oak Ranch, a Christian home for children needing a chance.
The Mobile County Sheriff's Office is now investigating a triple homicide that occurred
in Wilmore this past weekend.
The victims have been identified as a 46-year-old woman, 17-year-old girl, and 12-year-old boy who
were all found dead at the same home where they lived.
No one has been arrested at this time.
The residents of Rehoboth are mourning the loss of their very first mayor, Joe Collins.
Collins served as the town's mayor for 20 years after first helping incorporate that
town back in 1996.
Collins was also the mayor in 2017.
When tornadoes caused severe damage there, he coordinated the recovery efforts.
Flags are now flying at Hathstaff in honor of Collins and the news of his passing.
I'm Andrea Tex.
For more news affecting Alabamians, go to 1819news.com.
And while you're there, subscribe to the daily newsletter.
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This season isn't a reset.
It's a reminder.
The champions don't disappear.
They reload.
And the 2026 Atlanta Braves are ready.
And Acuna swings a mighty bat.
That thing is way out of the ballpark.
Tonight, the Braves take the division battles back on the road.
This time to Washington, D.C.
As they get an NLE showdown with the Nationals.
Braves Radio is on the air at 530 Central on the Braves Radio Network.
Brought to you locally by the law firm of Johnson, Pesher, Medley & Virtual.
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Atlanta Braves Baseball.
Tonight versus the Washington Nationals on 93.9 The Score.
93.9 The Score weather.
Today sunny with a high around 75.
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Tomorrow mostly sunny with a high around 80.
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Now, get ready to roll Shoals, Decatur, Athens, and all of northwest Alabama and southern Tennessee.
It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice.
The Boomo Bugg Show.
Your exclusive inside track to the Tide.
Tigers, Tennessee, and the rest of the SEC.
Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back in.
Hour 2 of the Boomo Bugg Show.
I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird.
Thank you so much for giving us a speed ride around the Tennessee Valley.
With that, we say hello to Ben Thomas and thank him for coming on board with us.
Ben, visit there at AL.com.
VT, welcome in.
Can you say a busy, busy last few days?
How are you?
Hey, I'm doing good.
How you guys doing this week?
Hey, Ben.
Well, our head's swimming, and I'm sure yours is, too, trying to figure out what all's going on.
For the folks who've been on vacation and expect high school sports to look next year like they've looked over the past few years,
buckle up, buttercup.
It's going to be different.
Ben, where do you start in talking about really and truly, I guess it could be said,
a historic week or last few days for high school sports in the state of Alabama?
Yeah, a lot's happened, guys.
I don't know if anything really shocking has happened, but there definitely was some decisions made.
You know, last week at the central board meeting, I was there.
It was a marathon meeting, about four and a half hours.
Now, they were in executive session about two and a half of those hours,
and then they went straight into legislative council.
But a couple of points, you know, I think that came out of it.
Number one, let's talk basketball first.
They have decided to implement the shot clock for all schools, all levels, starting next year.
So the 35-second shot clock with the 25-second reset will be in.
I think that's good.
I think most people wanted that.
I mean, the main question there, I think, is, you know, for these smaller rural schools,
will it be a financial hardship for them?
What they said at the meeting was that their cost analysis was about $5,000 for two shot clocks.
Maybe you might could get them for less.
So I think that's the only hiccup there.
They have to be mounted.
And you have to have one on each side, either mounted on the goal or the wall.
So I think it's a good thing.
I mean, they have that at all the levels.
I mean, I think that's a good thing.
And the other thing that passed was the mercy rule going through the championship round.
We had that pretty much through the regional round.
That's a team's up by 30.
They have a running clock in the fourth quarter.
I think that was probably necessitated by the one known as 101-40 victory over Silicon Valley
in the 5A championship game.
The one thing they talked about that took no action on was, you know, we've heard for a year or two now
that especially the bigger schools, now the Class 6A schools, wanted to go from basketball areas
to three-, four-, five-team areas to regions or districts, much like they have in football.
They took no action on that.
So for right now, we remain with areas.
So that's the basketball summary that we learned.
B.T., let's talk about the football.
Super 7 now simplified to football championships, five days of competition, four flag football games
on Tuesday.
And a lot of people were wondering, including the three of us, what the private school championship
games were going to look like.
Two championship games on Wednesday.
And then you've got the championship games for beginning, I believe, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday
at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.
The middle game, the 3 p.m. now, being eliminated, which is interesting.
B.T., your thoughts on the changes for the football championships that will be held in Mobile?
Yeah, I mean, that's pretty much the way they had to do it.
I don't know.
The interesting thing will be, you know, I'm not sure the reason that, you know, they're
in South Alabama this year at the Hancock-Whitney Stadium, which is, I told you guys, it's going
to be a great environment for the championship games.
It's about a 25-seat stadium, I think.
It'll look really good for the bigger schools.
I think that'll be a neat environment.
The main issue there with the middle game was they didn't have a locker room for that
middle game.
So the reason the times are at 11 and 7 is so they'll have time to come in and disinfect,
do whatever they have to do.
They need at least an hour, I'm told, to get the locker room cleaned out and get them ready
for the next football team that comes in.
So people are wondering, well, that seems like a long time between games.
That's why it is, so they can make sure that the locker room is disinfected.
So not surprised by that, although I am wondering what I'm going to be doing, you know, for four
hours between games.
But it is close to now, so maybe I'll return home.
But I think it's interesting that the flag football games will all be on Tuesday.
That won't be an issue because they play a lot of their games are on Tuesday, early in the
week.
And then the private school games, we learned about the private school pathways for basically
every sport last week.
And football-wise, the lowered private school division only has three rounds, so they'll be
off the semifinal week when everybody else is playing semifinals.
And the bigger schools, this was kind of a surprise.
The bigger schools, right now, eight of the 16 teams will get into the playoffs.
A lot of those bigger schools wanted it to be 12 of 16 teams.
They wanted that.
The talk I heard was that 12 of the 16 would get in and then the top seeds would have a
bye in the first round.
But right now, what they've passed is eight of those 16s get in, so they won't have games
either the first round or the fourth round, which is really unusual.
That still may change.
I mean, the private school, the first private school, you know, they formed this private school
committee and their first meeting is going to be in June.
So, you know, maybe there's still some adjustments there that can be made, but it'll be an interesting
run in football and also, you know, I think the football championships is what we're calling
it now.
But I think that'll be a fun week down here in Mobile is just be different.
Anyone who's ever played and been in one of those locker rooms, that is music to their
ears to disinfect that sucker before you come in because that can be a lifetime experience
in itself.
Ben, a lot of talk about the private school and we're blessed with a lot of them up here.
Your thoughts, I think right now, the question is, does all these changes benefit or hurt or
is it one of those classic situations where it's just too early to tell, only time is going
to tell?
I still think we've got to wait and see.
I mean, I'm not for it.
I mean, my child goes to a private school.
I would have, you know, I've always been in the corner of, I'd like to for them just to
keep playing together.
I think there's some definite hurdles that still have to be cleared.
I wrote a little bit about it in my column the other day.
One of them is like a sport like girls wrestling, which has not a ton of, maybe not a ton of
student athletes to begin with, but now in private schools, I think there's only 10 that
field in the girls wrestlers and probably none of them field a full team.
So, you know, in a situation like that, what do you do is there, you know, you're not, is
it even a real championship?
So, um, I still think it's a wait and see, um, you know, my, and my son plays football for
Bayshore Christian.
He's only in eighth grade and probably won't play much next year, but you know, it scares
me a little bit for him to go up against, uh, programs like a mobile Christian or a Bayside
Academy.
Um, so I still think there's some hurdles to clear.
I'm hoping the private, this private school committee, I think I like Keith Harmon.
I think he will listen to what people say and we'll try and, uh, improve it, but he just
almost did a no win situation.
I mean, somebody, people are going to complain no matter what's done and they just have to
try and do what they believe is best for all student athletes in the state and not just
one group of student athletes.
Let me ask you about the transfer.
You put this in your Thursday column this week in high school transfers dragonfly, which
is the site for team roster schedules and results proposition 11.
Tell us a little bit more about proposition 11 in the update is for its transfers.
Yeah, this is a big deal.
I mean, to me, this may have been the biggest thing to come out of last week if they can police
it.
Um, so a couple of years ago, they formed this transfer task force committee, which was based
on some information that there were clusters, mainly football wise, there were clusters of,
uh, athletes that ended up transferring to kind of the same schools.
Um, and so at that point last year, you know, you were supposed to mark in, in dragonfly, which
for those that don't know dragonfly is like the software that keeps up with the schedules and
the rosters of all the teams.
Uh, so you're supposed to mark in there, whether a student athlete transferred or not within the
last 365 days.
Uh, now a couple of changes on that, uh, by June this year is what they approved.
The first change was, it's not just the last 365 days.
It's any student athlete who transferred after the first three days of their seventh grade
year is considered a transfer and they have to be marked as such dragonfly.
And the other thing is for, for us three in the media and anybody else, it's battle information
will now be public.
So you can call up school X and look at their football team and you can say, good grief,
35 transfers out of 60.
That's a lot.
Right.
Now, a couple of things on that.
First of all, that doesn't necessarily mean you're cheating.
Uh, I mean, you know, there are people that transfer to do it, do it the right way,
make a bonafide move, whatever.
Um, but I think what they're hoping is that maybe by doing this, it'll kind of, they can,
if they see a cluster of athletes transfer into one place within a month, they can at least
go in there and look and say, all right, is there anything fishy going on here?
But here's the other thing.
Like I just mentioned earlier, somebody's got to make sure that information is being
entered in dragonfly.
And right now I can tell you, if you guys have ever used dragonfly, I use it a good bit.
Um, and I went the other day to look up a baseball roster cause I was trying to get an ID for
a photograph we had.
And there not only were some of the athletes not listed on the baseball roster, none were
listed.
That's a red flag.
I see that.
I see that all the time where the roster is not complete or not filled out at all.
And you're supposed to be fine if that happens, but somebody has got to be in charge of making
sure that information is entered.
Ben, if 35 come in as a transfer, uh, I'm going to say Lane Kiffin might be the head coach
there.
I guess the question being is, are we done, uh, as far as the summer you you're close to
the epicenter?
Uh, are we, can we see you and tap the brakes on some of these changes or as they say, there's
still more to come.
Well, I mean, I think there's still more to come.
I don't know if it has, you know, anything happens before we get started with the fall or
not.
I mean, like I said, they, they, they're going to meet with that private school committee.
Sometime in June.
So I think it's possible that something comes out of that, but we've now gone through the
legislative process of the HSAA, which is, you know, schools suggest rules and then the
legislative council votes on those only three of 21 past, um, past the legislative council
so that the HSAA does have a process of changing rules and adjusting things.
So I don't know that you'll see a ton of difference before the fall, but, uh, I think maybe only
in the private school situation, if, if something, you know, if they're adamant about one certain
thing, maybe they could adjust it.
But I think going forward, I think we just have to take a wait and see attitude on, on what
it looks like, what all this private school thing looks like.
Also in basketball, I should mention, you know, we talked about this, but they're going to
add another day to the, uh, to the basketball finals because they're, they're adding about
six games.
So it's going to be, you're going to start on a Monday.
They're going to play through Saturday, take Sunday off, and then it's going to finish the
next Monday at Legacy Arena.
So that's a big change.
Uh, boy, you got that right.
Uh, BT baseball, the opening of playoffs begin this week.
1A through 6A will play the first round, best of three, uh, beginning Friday, I believe.
I don't know if there are any Thursday games in the class 7A is May 1.
A lot of stuff going on.
BT, what else have you got coming out later this week?
Going to AL.com.
Well, we'll have the soccer pairing, soccer playoffs start.
We're getting ready to start.
We'll have those up a little bit later today.
Um, the rank, we'll have a final softball and baseball rankings on Thursday.
Uh, gotta get, you guys need to get Randy Kennedy on because he's retired, got nothing else
to do, but he'll have two posts this week.
He's doing on Wednesday morning, he's doing a top, top guy, top recruits who've kind of
blown up, uh, recruiting wise in the last couple of months in our state and also on
Thursday, he's looking at, uh, athletes, recruiting athletes on the watch list.
So some good stuff coming from Randy and, uh, we're, we're about to get into post-season
for spring sports and there's a lot of that going on.
So we'll try and keep you updated on that.
Retired and living by the beach.
Life must be good for Randy.
Listen, Ben, thanks so much for your time, Dan.
Have a great week.
Okay.
All right.
Thanks guys.
Y'all have a good one.
You too, bud.
The beach express been Thomas, AL.com.
Coming up time to talk UT with Mr. B.
Vince Ferrara on deck.
Stay with us.
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From the University of Alabama, this is Crimson Tide Today.
It's a daily update on Bama sports, and it's brought to you by Guthrie's,
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Hello again, everybody.
I'm Roger Hoover.
Hero highlights from Alabama baseball's Sunday victory at fourth-ranked Texas.
Swing and a grounder up the middle into center field.
Base hit.
Giving the wave around third.
Luke Vaughn, he'll score without a play.
The throw goes to third base.
Steele is safe there, and safe at first with an RBI single, Jason Torres.
Payoff pitch.
Swing and a grounder up the middle.
Skips past the mound to LeBron, who goes into a knee.
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The throw to first.
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Today's final score in Austin.
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The score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
The Score.
Welcome back to you.
It is an absolute pleasure for us to talk UT with Mr. V.
Vince Ferraro in 99.1, the sports animal in Knoxville on the Ball Radio Network.
Vince, welcome in.
Happy Monday to you.
How are you?
Same to you guys.
I'm doing well.
I hope you guys are, too.
Hey, bud.
What does Vince Ferraro do now?
The Spring Flames in the book.
You've got baseball.
You've got basketball.
You've got all the other things going on.
B-Man, where do you go?
Or could it be that maybe you focus on the portal class coming in for Rick Barnes?
Pretty impressive so far, is it not?
Yeah, no doubt.
Well, football never ends.
So that's the year round.
So that discussion.
And then we're still bringing people interviews from the spring that we hadn't had a chance to get in
because, you know, they gave us access to a lot of players and coaches.
So we're still, you know, working on those.
And then, obviously, the portal, like you mentioned, is a big deal for the men and for the Lady Vols.
And both having to virtually remake their entire rosters for different, far different reasons.
But, yeah, tremendous success for Rick Barnes, for sure.
And it's not only the portal guys.
There are five guys in the portal, but they even added to their 2026 high school signing class as well.
So nine new players right now, two returners, and then Nate Eamon, TBD,
even though it's most likely that he goes to the NBA.
Miss, we want to talk about the men in a second.
But the thing that was the national story just a short time ago,
looking at the number of players for the Tennessee women, and we saw zero.
Where are things now as far as numbers for the women?
Yeah, they actually have seven players right now.
Six from the portal, and then they had one signee.
One of the portal players was a player from Great Britain in England in Ireland,
Obauto, that was signed with Boston College.
He had a coaching change, so let her out of her scholarship.
So she's a true freshman, but I guess technically out of the portal.
So we have six players, a couple from Georgia, one from Stanford, one from Liberty,
and then the top freshman scorer in the country, Naomi White from Northern Arizona,
who averaged 21 points and five rebounds per game as a freshman.
So they still have a long way to go, but they've kind of filled, I guess, about half of their roster.
You know, plus you had two coaching changes on the staff, so a lot that's new,
and all those players, eight of them that left the program, they all found new homes.
So it has been very busy with Lady Wall's roster news for sure,
but there's still a lot more to be done to get to the finish line.
By the way, the other high school player you mentioned is Chris Washington,
the fourth high school commitment for Rick Barnes.
Former Alabama commitment, who decommitted last year and now is committed to Tennessee.
They are on the heater as far as bringing in scores.
J-Day Ames from Cal, 17 points a game.
Jalen Harrelson from Notre Dame, 16.
Terrence Hill from VCU, who I think committed this morning, 15.
Tyler Lungblade from Belmont, 16.
Myles Rubin from Loyola, Chicago, and they're trying to bring in Juke Harris,
who's only averaging 22 points a game.
I would say that Tennessee fans have been clamoring for offense.
They may get it next year.
Oh, there's no doubt.
I mean, the players, even before Hill, all those players are offensively advanced,
definitely from what you're used to seeing Rick Barnes bring in,
and now you have depth in scoring.
You know, it's really, I think, patterned after what Michigan showed that you need
in today's college basketball, and that's shooting and scoring threats
from all top players on the court.
And too often, you know, Rick Barnes is adjusted,
but I think he was, you know, a little hesitant.
You know, you have those defensive guys,
because he didn't have guys that they would develop over, you know,
a two-, three-, four-year period.
It's not today's college basketball anymore.
You can't wait on guys to advance their game and just focus on defense.
And, you know, what would end up happening is guys that would just have a defense
rebounding type of role when they'd be on offense, especially in the half court.
They're playing four on five because opponents wouldn't have to defend those guys.
And then they would miss a shot or they'd be hesitant to take it
and try to pass to someone that isn't as open, and it just made it a real grind.
I think the fact that Rick Barnes has gotten the teams that he has to three straight and eights
shows how he made more, got more out of what he realistically had.
Now he's going to be armed with a roster that will be a threat with almost everybody.
Now, those guys are going to have to defend to Rick Barnes' level.
But if you have offensive ability to start and you can get them to defend and be tough
and shot makers at the end of the game,
another thing that they were looking for is guys to make shots at the end of the game.
Nobody made a game-winning shot in the final seconds in a game this year.
It's good as Gillespie and Ament were.
So they've addressed a lot of specific characteristic skills, shooting, scoring, driving,
guards that can rebound, a lot of things.
And they're going to have a lot of guys fighting for minutes, too.
Really interesting how these puzzle pieces work.
But Hill Jr., that's the guy.
Like, if they had to add one guy, that's the guy they needed
because he is the closest thing to a true point guard.
The other guys would have had to kind of force some point guard minutes
where they're maybe a true two or more of a scoring combo guard.
Mitch Rohrer, 99-1, the Sports Channel.
It's going to be interesting to see the style of play coming up in the next few years
in the SEC because it's been a jackrabbit league.
Very fast-paced Alabama probably leads the group there.
They've gotten at least three guys who are trees,
Auburn with two over seven feet.
It's going to be interesting to see if they're going to still be able to get to the old,
how they're going to blend the old style where they were up and down
with all these guys who are 6'10", 6'11", over seven foot,
how that style of play is going to look going forward.
Your thoughts about just going forward in the SEC.
Well, it is interesting that Alabama, I mean, their big focus was to be big.
Florida was so big.
Tennessee was really big this year, and they got to the Elite Eight also.
But, you know, as much as some of those teams are loading up or reloading in terms of size,
Tennessee still has to fill those post positions.
And the tallest player is Myles Rubin from Loyola, Chicago at 6'10".
He's really a field of Florida type.
Not super advanced on offense, but tall and long, a rim runner, shot blocker, rebounder,
that kind of thing.
But after that, it's Dwayne Brown at 6'8",
and Chris Washington and Ralph Scott, two signees, at 6'8".
And that's it.
And then you got me and the guard.
So they've kind of gone the other way.
I don't think it's intentional, but they had three posts leave them and go in the portal.
Part of that, I do think Tennessee had numbers for those guys,
and I think they may have wanted more than what Tennessee thought they budgeted with them
and looking to fill.
But Tennessee's in the mix for more bigs.
So, you know, they may not get the seven-footers,
although they are in the mix for a couple of those.
But even if they don't get those,
I think they're going to see some bruising kind of Jalen Carey types
to where they can still be physical inside.
Absolutely.
It still amazes me Florida is bringing back three of those guys in the post.
Their NIL budget must be something else.
V, where can we get online to get the absolute latest,
be it baseball, football, basketball, or anything else,
or even pictures of Daphne?
Yeah.
Most importantly, you buried the lead there for a second, VB.
Yeah, you can follow me on all the socials.
Same handle on all of them.
It's eventsports, V-I-N-C sports.
And if you see on social media a list of coaches,
the best portal coaches in college basketball,
and Rick Barnes is not listed in there,
keep moving because he doesn't have any credibility.
They need to call Daphne and get some credibility.
She still needs to be on a game day set with the reason those guys.
I think you would agree with that.
V-Man, it's always good to look with you.
Thank you so much, and have a great week.
Okay?
Always a treat.
Thanks, guys.
Have a great week.
You too, bud.
The V-Man, Vince Ferraro, 99.1, the sports animal in Knoxville.
It was supposed to be a feel-good spring weekend in College Station.
A bit of a nightmare chapter.
Olin Buchanan on that and more.
Straight ahead, stay with us.
You're on the Boomo Bugg Show.
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Progressive presents the Sports Flash on 93-9.
The score.
The Auburn Tigers took 2-3 this weekend.
On the road at Florida,
the Tigers won the series on Saturday
with an 8-5 victory.
Auburn is 10-8 in the SEC
and 27-12 overall.
Alabama won at Texas yesterday 2-1.
The Crimson Tide salvaged game number three
of the weekend series.
Crimson Tide is now 9-9 in the SEC,
28-13 overall.
North Alabama was shut out yesterday by Lipscomb, 6-0.
South Alabama, top Marshall, 4-1.
Jaguars won 2-3 on the weekend.
They're 10-8 in the Sun Belt.
Troy outlasted Louisiana yesterday 15-11.
Trojans are now 10-8 in the Sun Belt.
Bundle auto and home renters or condo
and save with Progressive.
I'm John Thayer with the Sports Flash
presented by Progressive on 93.9 The Score.
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The Score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back in, as our old literature teacher back in the day said,
head west, young man.
And we shall all the way to College Station, Texas,
and say hello to Olin Buchanan.
Be sure there at texags.com.
Olin, welcome in.
How are you?
Can't complain too much.
Free football in the books.
So, don't have to do that anymore.
That's a good thing.
You know, Olin, obviously, before we get into the specifics,
your thoughts about the spring game.
These coaches, you would think, they pretty well know what's going on.
And the one thing they don't want to happen,
happen to Alabama, and over the weekend,
happen to Texas A&M, and that's key injuries.
You're always going to be nicked up.
That's just football.
Your thoughts just overall about coaches heading into this,
how they orchestrated to stay clear of that,
and yet, despite their absolute best efforts,
key injuries sometimes still happen.
Your thoughts about that and the impact it may have
on this A&M team going forward?
Well, the impact of losing Damian Sanford,
their best linebacker, arguably their best defensive player,
he was the, I think, you know,
he didn't start last year until the Scooby Williams got hurt
in the third game of the year,
and he still finished, I think, with fourth in tackles
and second in tackles for losses,
and he was second in sacks among players
that were returning for this year.
So there's no way to spin it.
We've got some guys that they think are going to be pretty good
at linebacker that maybe somebody will emerge
and step up like he did last year when Scooby got hurt.
But, yeah, there's no way to get around it.
I mean, if he missed a significant time,
and if you saw the injury, you kind of think he's going to.
You know, it's a bad loss.
No way around it.
And it'll be hard to replace him.
That said, you know, personally, I mean,
is there anything you could really do to keep from having injuries?
No, no.
Just not have the game.
But, you know, and I agree with that.
I wouldn't have the game.
I don't think the risk is worth the reward.
But, you know, last year,
they lost Ruben Owens for almost the entire season.
I'm talking about two years ago, I should have said.
Yeah.
Because he got hurt in a spring practice.
So anytime you're playing football,
an injury is a possibility.
But it just seems that the ones that happened in a spring game,
I mean, those are the ones that you think could have been reverted,
could have been avoided if you just.
Well, what did Ole Miss last year that decided just to have a,
like a fan experience and races and things like that?
I don't know if that may be the way to go.
But I'll say this.
I can understand why a coach wants to play a spring game,
especially in this transfer portal era when your roster changes so dramatically
year to year that you need as much, I guess,
live game look to evaluate and get cohesion.
So I think something comes down to having bad luck.
Let me ask you about two transfers from our neck of the woods.
Isaiah Horton, a bigger receiver, can catch the ball,
which you have found out.
Wilkin Forby is a pretty good-sized young man himself,
both transferring from Alabama.
Forby, of course, was the right tackle for Alabama last year.
Isaiah Horton came on about mid-year on, showed what he could do.
What have they done so far in spring practice, in the spring game?
It's obviously harder to evaluate offensive linemen, who they're going against.
I guess you say that about the receivers.
But Isaiah Horton's one of the stars of the spring.
In the spring game, they threw at him three times.
He made dramatic catches on two of them.
In the third one, he almost made the catch.
And just the fact that he made it a possible catch was remarkable
because it was a fade that was so poor in the end zone,
that was so underthrown that I thought there was no chance at all that it could be completed.
And yet he made an effort to come back for it that almost made it.
So he's been one of the stars of the spring.
I think all spring, I think I saw him drop one pass.
And he's going to give A&M, he feels the need.
Look, I'm not saying he's going to be Casey Concepcion, losing Casey, huge loss, hard to replace.
But at 6'4", 6'3", to 6'4", like you mentioned, Isaiah's a big receiver.
And that's the one thing he didn't have last year after Noah Thomas transferred to Georgia.
They didn't have that big.
They had a lot of little guys.
But they didn't have that big guy that could go up and maybe hit you a 50-50 ball consistently.
So, yeah, I think Isaiah's going to be a massive role in the offense this year.
Especially those tall guys, those fade patterns.
Yeah.
I'm sorry, Olin.
Especially when you go to that fade pattern in the back of the end zone there,
those tall guys really can pay dividends.
Olin Buchanan, visit there at texags.com.
Olin, is it impossible now when you cover these teams to answer this question,
what's realistic as far as numbers?
Because everybody's new, you've got to wait and let them get in to the rhythm of things,
see how they gel as a team.
But your thoughts, what are some realistic numbers?
And your thoughts about Mike Elko now that, let's face it,
the honeymoon is well in the past in College Station.
What is realistic for Mike and his team this season?
I don't want to discount anything for Mike.
He's done such a great job, and he's been so good in the transfer portal,
not necessarily getting the high, you know, but bringing in guys that just fit what he's trying to do
and fill a need.
Yeah.
So, you know, I think they're going to be very similar to what they were last year.
Now, the biggest question to me, with the exception of linebackers,
since Damian Sanford got hurt, and you've got to, you know,
you've got to take that into consideration.
But to me, the biggest question is, last year their offensive line was really good.
It wasn't elite.
It was really good on the left side.
It was above average on the right side.
But it wasn't elite, but it was really good.
And they brought in four guys like Wilkin, who were starters in the SEC last year,
a kid from South Carolina, two from LSU.
And they have some guys coming back, so they feel like that they're going to be okay
in the offensive line.
But being okay may not be good enough.
Well, here's what you don't want to do.
They lost four starters.
You don't want what happened to LSU to happen where you just didn't even look
like the same team because the offensive line, the guys you replaced,
just didn't – it wasn't nearly as effective as it was the previous year.
So we'll see.
But I thought they looked solid on the offensive line.
So, you know, right now, from what I saw, I'm thinking, you know,
they probably looked very similar last year.
And I would think – I would think you're shooting for ten wins every year,
of course.
But, you know, I think nine could be realistic.
You know, maybe you have to settle for eight,
but I still think they were going to have a solid year.
Let's face it, it's all relative to your schedule.
Last year, A&M had a favorable schedule at the front end,
and started paying some price at the end.
I don't have a schedule in front of me.
How does it look for the Aggies as far as – and let's face it,
it's not only who you're playing but where you're playing.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's hilarious.
You know, last year, this time, everybody was talking about how tough A&M's schedule was.
Man, you've got to go up to Notre Dame.
You've got to play South Carolina.
You've got to go to LSU.
You hadn't won there since 93.
You've got to play in Texas.
You've got to go up to Missouri.
And they went three and one, or four and one, the game they just met.
But I mentioned, and everybody's, oh, their schedule was easy.
Look, they've got to play – they've got to go – they've got to go to LSU.
They've got to go back over there again, I believe, in the fourth game of the year.
We'll see how that goes with Lane Kiffin in charge over there.
Texas, they're going to end up with Texas.
They've got to go to Alabama.
Yeah.
South Carolina – they've got to go to South Carolina.
I saw one time, one interview that Shane Beamer said they were going to be in the playoffs this year.
So, they've got to play Missouri again, and they've got to go up to Oklahoma.
So, is it going to be easy?
No, it's not supposed to be easy.
It's the SEC.
But you just never know.
This time next year, I might be talking to you guys and say, hey, man, that's two years in a row you've had such a soft schedule.
Because who knows what everybody's going to be from year to year.
I think it's a bigger question, Mark, now than ever.
And, by the way, I would ask y'all, because you know better than me.
I've asked you before, now that spring football is over.
Give me an idea of why Alabama is going to be better than they were last year.
Well, I don't think anybody – I think Alabama, the answer to that question, is the same for anybody.
Even LSU, half the roster is coming in brand new.
I think after the third game, we can answer that question just about across the board.
Anytime, especially in this modern era.
And you're right as far as having a legitimate question there with Alabama.
They're breaking in a brand new quarterback with little or no experience.
So, after game three, come back with that question.
I think we'll be in a better position to answer it.
Yeah.
So, I guess the point I'm making is you just never know who's going to be good from year to year.
We think Alabama's always going to be good because they're Alabama.
But last year, we were thinking LSU is going to be good.
And you know what?
They weren't bad, but they kind of – it looked to me like they kind of quit after that A&M game.
Because they played – didn't they play Alabama?
Wasn't that like a touchdown game late?
It could have gone either way.
I think it was the same kind of situation with Ole Miss.
So, look, their SEC team, go play an SEC game, I'm assuming it's going to be a difficult schedule.
I mean, tell me who has the easy schedule in the SEC.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, now that they've added the ninth conference game, Olin, which the coaches thought they were all going to 16,
that's going to be, again, added a conference schedule without a double buy,
which they're going to get probably in 2027, according to some of the early reports.
Olin, who else?
Contrae is forced transfers.
You mentioned Tyree Adams from LSU, Ball from South Carolina, Saka from Northwestern.
And Ricky Gibson, yeah, Ricky Gibson from Tennessee was hurt last year.
Jamon McCoy did – I don't know if he played three plays last year.
He may get drafted in the top 15 come Thursday night.
Olin, who else caught your eyes for his transfers?
Well, we haven't seen much of Ricky because, you know, he got hurt, nothing major,
but he didn't play in the spring game and missed some practices.
So, I don't think they're too worried about it.
He's still projected to start.
You mentioned Anto Saka.
He looks really good as a defensive end, kind of the jack position, you know, the stand-up.
And he's going to be trying – he's one of the guys that's going to be trying to replace the production,
at least to some degree, of Cassius Howell, the SEC Defensive Player of the Year.
I thought CJ Minns, a defensive tackle from North Carolina, looked pretty solid.
There's a tight end – actually, two.
One tight end from Fresno State, Richie Anderson.
One from Texas, San Antonio, Houston Thomas.
I think they're going to make – they're going to give A&M more of a passing threat in the past.
They had some solid tight ends.
I think these guys are a little more athletic and might be more effective in the passing game than they had last year.
So, those are some guys that stand out.
One of the guys they're really excited about, though, is the linebacker.
And good thing they got him now, especially.
But Ray Coney, he came in from Tulsa.
He was 10th in the country in tackles last year.
So, he's a pretty fast, active guy.
And I'm pretty excited to have him.
And he's looking pretty good.
So, those are some of the guys off the top of my head that I've said, you know,
these guys look like they can come in here and really contribute at a high level.
Olin, let me close with basketball transfer portal.
You know, we've talked about Bucky quite a bit.
During the season with you, they got off to a tremendous start,
maybe hit a little bit of a wall, and then won some games going down.
I've been saying this.
It takes about two years to get adjusted to his schedule.
Olin, how is Bucky doing in the transfer portal going into next season?
Well, I think he's looking pretty solid.
He's got a guy from Kansas State, P.J. Haggerty.
I've heard he had to outbid LSU for him.
But P.J. Haggerty averaged about 23, almost 24 points a game for Kansas State last year.
So, that's the big one.
They brought in a guy from Radford.
And I'm thinking, okay, I'll keep my mind open.
I've got to be honest with you guys.
You know, I didn't see a lot of Radford basketball last year.
I'm kind of ignorant about this guy.
How the f*** do you like him?
Okay.
And they just got last week a kid from Tennessee, Kate Phillips.
I think he was hurt most last year.
And one time was a four-star recruit.
So, we'll see what they find with him.
I think they're still looking for somebody big.
And they've got the money to spend.
We'll see how it works out.
But the big get, the big get is P.J. Haggerty.
Now, look, I'm not going to discount Bucky either because I thought that there was no way in h*** that they were going to have a chance to even have a winning record in the SEC.
And what do you know, they finished on the top of the fourth and win an NCAA tournament game.
And I think they should build a statue for him for that after what he took over.
So, he's far, far exceeded expectations here.
He's already beloved.
And so, I would say, if he's got Haggerty to start building a team around, I wouldn't be surprised to see him do something similar next year just because the guy can coach.
Yep.
We're not surprised at all.
But everywhere he's going, he's won with his system.
It takes a little while to get in it.
But, no, I'm like you.
I thought they had a very good season.
Always glad to talk to Olin Buchanan, buddy.
Where can we get online and get all of the good stuff?
You know, we do feel like Tex-Aggs is the premier outlet for all things Texas A&M Sports.
So, if you want to give us a look, we'd appreciate it.
If you did, it's texags.com.
That's just an abbreviated version of Texas Aggies.
Tex-Aggs.
So, you can follow us on Twitter at Tex-Aggs as well.
Olin, it's always good to hook up with you.
By the way, if you ever make it to final Jeopardy, the mascot for Radford, the Highlanders.
So, if you ever make it to Jeopardy and win, just keep in mind the small people when they cut up that loop, okay?
The Highlanders.
I got it.
Thanks.
The Highlanders from Radford, Virginia.
Who are the Highlanders?
What's a Highlander, right?
We'll answer that the next time.
And, in the meantime, stay safe out there, Olin, okay?
Olin Buchanan again is texags.com.
BB, coming up tonight, set your radio.
Are you ready for this?
Coming up, 545 Braves and Nationals.
Are you ready for some baseball?
Yeah, they want to continue.
They're on a heater right now.
Now, Bryce Elder, who everybody scoffed at coming into the season, 2-1 with a 0.77 ERA.
A win against the Nationals tonight.
We'll push the Braves to sixth in front of the Nationals.
And we'll see what the Marlins do.
It's in the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Cardinals win there.
And the Braves win tonight.
And the Braves will go to bed six games up in the National League East.
That's going to take care of biz for now on behalf of BB, Greg, James Blair, the entire crew here.
Harold Boggs, thank you so much for your time today.
Let's do it again tomorrow at noon to 2 for the Bill Moe Buck Show back here on Sports Radio 93.9 The Score.
Thank you.