Boomo Bugg Show 042216
93.9 The Score WYTK - April 22, 2026
https://www.939thescore.com/boomo-bugg-show-042216/

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 Tigers, Tennessee and the rest of the SEC. Now your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Good afternoon and welcome in to the Boomo Bugg Show. I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird. Thank you so much for giving us a free ride around the Tennessee Valley. Brett Beaird, welcome in where Alabama takes their recruiting machine with the latest in Kirby's backyard. Good afternoon. Welcome in. How are you? And I know you've waited a whole year for me to say this, but happy Earth Day to you. How are you?
Happy Wednesday to you and the listeners. Rodney Orr and Drudy Orrman will tell us about the latest Alabama football commitment, as you alluded to, from three-star edge Stephen Thornton of Cairo, Georgia.
We'll be previewing the NFL draft starting tomorrow night and talking Ole Miss, Tennessee, Alabama and Auburn.
But right now, BB is here to talk about some of the safest picks in the NFL draft.
Bill Bender is BB, the voice of the Sporting News. Bill, welcome in. Happy pre-draft day to you. How are you?
You know, I'm wrapping up some of my pre-draft coverage, and I want to tell you guys, it looks like Alabama might have 10 guys drafted.
Wow.
So that's a really, yeah, like looking at our mock draft, there's a good chance it'll be 10.
Obviously, Ty Simpson getting a lot of attention, but I mean, it's easy to forget about those second and third and fourth round guys all the way down to like Cuavers and Overton and Keenan.
A lot of Alabama guys are going to get to hear their name called this weekend.
I thought Nick Saban was gone. I didn't know he was still the head coach down here, Bill.
So the reason we talk to you, we learn something new every day. We want to talk more about that.
But Bill, we're going to go out on a limb here, and you can correct us if we're wrong.
We're going to say the number one draft pick is going to come out of Indiana, and his name is Fernando Mendoza.
Are we being too risky here, or would you agree?
I finally found something wrong with him, and it was a clip that came around this morning about him showing him throw a baseball.
And I texted a buddy. It looked a little awkward, and I'm like, you know, when we were kids, I legitimately think, and I'm having fun with Fernando.
You know, he obviously knows how to throw a football, but when we were kids, I think that was the first athletic skill we were taught.
Right.
It was to throw a baseball. And then, you know, if you could throw a football or shoot a basketball later, great.
But, yeah, I was surprised at the awkwardness of his first pitch last night.
You had a very good article, the safest picks in the NFL draft.
And as you said, don't overthink this.
When you look at some of these guys, what they have done in the last year, you look at it and say, that can't happen.
Caleb Downs, who our listeners are quite familiar with, he transferred to Ohio State.
He only allowed 92 yards after the catch and did not allow a touchdown in coverage.
Jeremiah Love of Notre Dame, who is probably going in the top five, 4-3-40, 2,500 yards, seven yards a carry.
Spencer Fano, F-A-N-O, tackle from Utah, get this.
Did not allow a sack in 357 opportunities last seven last year.
Only allowed five quarterback hurries.
LSU cornerback, Mansoor Delane, three interceptions, nine pass breakups, runs a 4-3.
Sonny Stiles, who's going to probably be in the top five of Ohio State.
We're joking a little bit, but it's like you said.
Why in the world do you want to sit down and spend three months trying to figure some of these guys out?
These stats are incredible.
Yeah, you know, I had fun.
I always had fun prepping for the draft because it's a nice crossover from covering the college game.
And you know, you miss sometimes.
Obviously, a guy can be a great college player and struggle in the NFL.
I mean, Caleb Downs is open and shut to me.
You guys had him for a year at Alabama.
He is an intelligent, athletic, good kid.
All of those things.
From day one.
Right.
And I think from day one to be able to have success at Alabama and Ohio State, two of the most high-pressure places to play in the country.
You know, playing for the Giants might actually be a little bit easier in some ways.
So, I could see him having a long, profitable, awesome NFL career.
Bill, let's have some fun.
Pressure's on.
Let's go to Penn State.
The guard.
O.I. are his initials.
Yeah.
The stage is yours, Bill.
We're just down here.
We go short and call him O.I.
Vernass it for us.
I go with Vega, obviously.
So, you can cheat on the first name and then I only.
You know, hey, we had to learn how to pronounce tongue of my law off the back of you guys.
And I still know how to do it.
There's others that I misfire on.
He's a nice start.
Safe pick.
Good interior lineman for the Nittany Lions.
He reminds me a little bit of Howard Booker last year.
The guard from Alabama that had a successful start to his career.
So, you know, you get, when you, guards aren't sexy picks.
Nobody, like, starts losing their mind when they draft a guard.
But you need them.
And we all know that.
So, let's circle back.
You know our zip code here, Bill Bender.
Talk to us about maybe a double-digit haul from Tuscaloosa.
Let's start with the obvious.
Ty Simpson, is he going to be the highest one off the board?
Or would that guy named Proctor or some of the others might steal that top spot?
If you will, talk Ty to us.
You know, I think Ty is going to come down to, does somebody trade up and grab him late in the first round?
Or do they just wait to day two?
And then does it become a contest between Arizona, the Jets, and the Rams?
Those seem like the most logical landing spots.
Now, the Rams have also been linked throughout this process to Garrett Nussmeier, the LSU gun-flanker quarterback.
You know, had a nice career, too.
But I think he's a guy that Simpson will either be late first round, early second round.
Pretty good.
You know, he's a really good quarterback.
Had a great combine, had a great first half of the season last year, for sure.
And, you know, when he has a running game behind him, he's really good.
So, I do think he'll end up in one of those two spots.
I would guess early second round.
That's just how I feel about it, because I don't know there'll be a lot of trades in this draft.
Will Caden Proctor make the 10th, I know it's 10, 10th consecutive year for a first rounder?
In fact, there are, Alabama's had two in the first round, I believe, for 10 years.
Where do you see Caden Proctor, who is a huge human being, was Alabama's left tackle?
Where is he going in the first round?
Yeah, he'll go in the first round.
I think our guy, Vinny Iyer, has him going to the Bears around that 25 range.
I believe Alabama, is it true, they have had a first rounder every year since 2009?
Yes, it's an incredible streak.
Incredible.
Yeah, and I think he's the better bet to keep that streak going.
And like I said, then you get into the day two and the day three guys that will go after that.
Bill Bender, the supporting news.
Bill, we were talking earlier, welcome to 2026.
Some of these kids, good news is you're going to the NFL, bad news is you'll take a pay cut.
Case in point, probably a guy like Carson Beck out of Miami by way of Georgia.
Your thoughts about that, Diego Pavia, possibly he'll take a pay cut.
Where do these guys land?
Well, I think Beck, we have him projected as an early day three guy, maybe day two guy if he gets lucky in round three.
I think we put him to the Dolphins.
Others have linked him to the Cowboys.
Pavia may go undrafted, which, well, I still think he'll get drafted in the sixth, sixth, seventh round.
We have him to Carolina, which, you know, they did host him for a workout.
He's going to be one of those guys that, you know, how they have to fill the air time on day three.
They talk a lot about Diego Pavia on day three.
Not more than Shador last year, but they'll definitely talk about him a lot.
You think he'll work at the next level?
He's got the attitude.
Will his attitude match the level of play in the NFL?
You know, we picked Diego, as you guys know.
We picked him as our player of the year last year, which was kind of a controversial decision in some ways.
But I had a chance to speak with him shortly after the debacle at the Heisman Trophy.
He didn't want to talk about that, but you do kind of see a kid that plays with an edge.
He's told no a lot, played really well for Clark Lee, and I know Clark liked him a lot
and was very candid about, you know, that whole situation.
But, you know, the bottom line is Vanderbilt doesn't win 10 games if he's not the quarterback.
You know, that Alabama game last year isn't a game in the fourth quarter.
It maybe might have been a different game in the fourth quarter had he not had a couple turnovers
if Diego Pavia is not on the field.
So, I guess, Harold, that's my way of saying I am very interested to see how he does in the preseason
and if he catches on with the team.
Yeah.
Most mocks have, of course, Mendoza, number one,
Marvell Reese, the Ohio State edge, linebacker, number two.
Number three, to the Cardinals, will it be David Bailey from Texas Tech or Jeremiah Love?
Most, up to this week, had Love going to Tennessee, who, by the way, may be hosting the Super Bowl in 2030,
according to Dan Patrick.
Sonny Stiles, number five, with Ohio State.
Who's Bill Bender's three through five?
Well, I mean, that's really fluid.
I do think the Giants are going to take Caleb Downs.
You know, it becomes if the Arizona Cardinals take Jeremiah Love, whoever takes Love is going to throw everything off.
And I think at number two, the Jets, it's a very real, I still think they're going to take Reese.
Would not be surprised if they go David Bailey there.
If you look at David Bailey's production, it's pretty out of this world in some ways.
So, you know, that top five's going to have some interest.
Sonny Stiles, if Tennessee can't get Love, I think he ends up there, you know.
So, Ohio State, there's a good chance, and I've been researching this all morning,
a good chance they have four picks in the top ten.
Wow.
And that hasn't happened.
That hasn't happened since Michigan State, 1966.
And I know you know who this guy is, Bubba Smith, also known as Hightower,
from the Police Academy movies, was the number one pick that year.
So, put it another way, Bill, if Ohio State has four in the top ten,
why did they not win a national championship last year?
Well, oh, and I think it was 1967, by the way, with Bubba.
You're forgiven.
I don't want to correct me.
Self-corrected.
Yeah, you know, I mean, obviously Miami got them.
I mean, you got an NFL team.
Well, I mean, Ohio State had four first-round picks last year.
Okay.
You know, and those guys were ready to go.
They, it goes, doing this list research that I've done this afternoon,
it really is, you know, the Alabama-Georgia-Ohio State thing,
where those three schools produced NFL talent better than anybody else
for a very long time.
Will Miami's offensive tackle Francis Maoga, will he be in the top seven?
We're going to find out.
You know, I think I was impressed with him through the pre-draft process.
Miami is going to have a nice first-round night.
You know, they're going to have Bane, and then they're going to have Mesador,
and they're going to have Malgoa.
They'll all be first-round picks, and we talked about Carson Beck earlier,
and you kind of look down the line, you know, you start getting next year,
Mark Fletcher and Malachi Coney in two years.
So they've got talent back there.
There was a stat I dug up this morning.
From 2001 to 2004, they had 19 first-round picks.
I mean, that's still the most insane run by any school.
Alabama's really close.
But, I mean, 19 first-round picks, Hall of Famers like Ed Reed and Andre Johnson,
they had the factory, just like Alabama had the factory goal with Nick Saban
at levels that they're really hard to replicate.
By the way, tell us where we can get on.
Yeah, I know you've got all the pre-draft buildup looking at the safest is amazing.
I certainly advocate looking at that.
Where can we get on line to get it?
And number two, will Auburn have their first number one first-round pick since 2020?
I said 2019 earlier in the week, but it's 2020.
Kendrick Falk looks like he may be between 23 and 30.
Will Auburn have their first number one draft pick in six years?
I think Kendrick will get taken in the first round, and I think he's worth that first-round pick.
So, I see that happening.
And, yeah, like you said, we have so much content at Sporting News right now.
A lot of NFL draft content.
I'm ready to go.
Got everything ready to roll.
And looking forward to tomorrow through Saturday for sure.
Bill, kick back, get the industrial-sized popcorn, okay, and enjoy.
I will.
I'll talk to you guys next week.
Thanks so much.
See you, Bill.
Looking forward to it, Bill.
Bill Benner, the national voice for the Sporting News.
Coming up, speaking of the Auburn Tigers, let's dive deeper into the gang of the planes with
Logan Fowler straight ahead.
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The Score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back in.
It is always a privilege to press open the door and say hello to Logan Fowler.
Busy there coming to the Auburn Tigers at 1819 News.
You can check that out right here on 93.9 The Score.
Logan, welcome in.
Happy, what, hump day to you.
How are you?
Doing very well, guys.
How are you?
Hi, man.
Doing fine, Logan.
Obviously, we all know the worst-kept secret of the NFL draft tomorrow night.
The question, Jermaine, to this conversation, will the draft for the Auburn Tigers when it comes to getting guys to go in the first round finally end tomorrow night?
Yeah, I mean, I think it's going to end tomorrow night.
Keldrick Falk will be sitting in the green room, you know, hoping to come the first-round selection since 2020.
It was Derek Brown and Noah Igbenogany in that 2020 draft.
You know, I think you're going to hear Connor Lue's name called in the early rounds.
You know, I think he was a guy before that ACL injury that obviously could have been a first-round pick.
But unfortunate, you know, news for him when he went down with the ACL tear.
I still think he's going to hear his name called in the early rounds.
And then Keron Crawford's had a strong, you know, showing at the NFL Combine.
Had a strong day at the Senior Bowl.
So those three guys are, you know, three guys who I would expect to hear maybe in the first through the fourth rounds with Keldrick Falk being the headliner of that group.
And then obviously you've got, you know, an offensive lineman in Jeremiah Wright, who's also been fairly strong in, you know, showing at the Senior Bowl and throughout the draft process as well.
Could he be a possible, you know, fifth, sixth, seventh-round guy as well?
You know, mock drafts have him, you know, like I just mentioned, fifth through the seventh rounds.
So, you know, it could be a good NFL draft for Auburn.
And hopefully it's a sign of things to come where, you know, Auburn is consistently putting guys in the first round in the NFL draft.
Let me ask, we wanted to review, recap, A-Day, the spring game on a lot of fronts.
But one name that I've heard nearly every day during the spring, and it amazes me sometimes at how players in the state of Alabama can just simply get overlooked.
Cody Sigler may have ended up being the most impressive defensive lineman in the spring.
He is, he played at New Hope, Alabama.
Yes, that New Hope in Madison County.
He went to, played one year at Arkansas State, went to West Alabama for a couple of years, and is now at Auburn,
and has just turned into a tremendously productive player.
Tell us a little bit more about him.
Yeah, I think Cody Sigler, first off, he's proven to be a huge pickup this offseason for D.J. Derrick and Alex Golesh
and those guys on the defensive line.
Vontrell King-Williams is trying to mold him into the next, you know, uber-productive defensive lineman that comes out of Auburn.
Like you mentioned, strong ties to the state of Alabama.
Comes over from Arkansas State.
I believe, if I'm not mistaking, he was closely tied to Golesh and that staff at USF as well before he went over to Arkansas State last year.
So, you know, yeah, he's somebody who's just absolutely been raved about this offseason.
He's been disruptive.
You know, I think he's obviously going to start at that defensive tackle position.
Can he be, you know, we've talked a little bit about on this show before, who's going to step up as a leader in the middle of that defense,
and especially on that front line, and I think he's got a huge opportunity to do so.
I think that Malik Autry as well is going to be playing right behind him.
He's slimmed down a little bit, and it's kind of learning to play that three-tech spot, kind of like Cody Sigler is.
So I think you have a really strong one-two punch right there with Cody Sigler and Malik Autry.
And, I mean, just back to Sigler, I think he's somebody that the staff really values and think that they've kind of struck gold through the portal and signing him.
Logan Fowler got the Auburn Tigers covered there at 18-19 news.
Logan, let's go back to the players themselves, the Jimmys and Joes, in this case, Double B, Byron Brown.
Coming out of the spring game, a lot of folks said, well, he didn't live up to the expectations.
The counter to the data that we're hearing anyway, Logan, is, yeah, but Cam Newton didn't have a spectacular spring game his first time around either.
Look how that turned out.
Where are you objectively in trying to break down Brown's performance so far in spring?
In other words, not just the game, but the body of work overall in camp.
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, that's obviously the main takeaway that people are choosing to focus on is the performance of Byron Brown on Saturday,
who, you know, he didn't have the best day to throw in the football, 7 of 14, 85 yards and a couple of interceptions.
You know, Goalers said afterward he didn't think Byron really just, he just didn't see the field well on Saturday.
He thought that after he missed the two deep balls in the early goings, he thought he was fine mentally,
that he reset and he flushed it, his composure was fine.
But he just simply didn't see the field well.
So, I mean, look, it's going to leave a quote-unquote sour taste in the mouth of Auburn fans
and it's going to give the college football world, you know, bulletin board material to throw at Auburn for the rest of the offseason.
But, you know, we can't forget, you know, who this guy is.
We can't sit here and act like Byron Brown is in a year removed from throwing for 3,000-plus and rushing for 1,000.
You know, only 11 other players in NCAA history have ever done that.
So, can't act like you didn't lead all of college football last year with 42 touchdowns.
You know, it was a bad day at the office on Saturday and it certainly doesn't excite anyone.
But I think that things are going to be fine.
You're taking one practice out of 15 this whole spring where, you know, we've heard that Byron Brown has just been efficient.
He's been effective.
He's been a leader.
You know, again, you're choosing to see, which obviously we're not all allowed to watch every single practice
and every single minute of it, but we're choosing to see one game.
And, you know, I think that when Byron Brown gets in live settings, when he gets to use his legs,
I think he probably would have ran for, you know, 80 to 100 yards on Saturday.
So, that's going to be another element of his game that is going to excite people.
He's a playmaker in a live setting.
I think he's going to be great.
You know, if it's still happening after the first week, after you take on Baylor and you're heading into conference play,
then maybe it's time to worry.
And then, obviously, Tristan Tia showed what he's capable of on Saturday.
So, you've got to feel comfortable with that.
But I really think you need to take what you saw on Saturday with Byron Brown, you know, take it with a grain of salt.
Two receivers who stood out for the spring game, Deshaun Spencer from Sarah Land.
That didn't surprise me.
He was quite an athlete at Sarah Land.
Nine receptions, 93 yards.
Keyshawn Singleton, three for 58.
And then Chase Nimrod, who is a very good receiver, only hit one for six.
Again, I take that with a little grain of salt.
But, once again, Auburn's got some very solid, productive receivers.
Oh, absolutely.
I mean, you have to be excited about the young crop of receivers that Kelly Burns is working with,
especially after what you saw on Saturday.
Auburn's offensive MVP came from the wide receiver room, like you mentioned, Deshaun Spencer.
You know, he had a long catch of 23 yards and 33 yards after the catch.
So, just an uber-athletic kid who, you know, if he can continue to progress as a true freshman,
I think he can do really great things in this offense.
But, you know, he wasn't the only young buck who had a productive day.
Duke Smith, a redshirt freshman out of Selma, Alabama, went for 84 yards on three catches.
54 of those coming after the catch.
Like you mentioned, Singleton, Keyshawn Singleton had a nice day.
He danced through a couple of tackles out in the open field despite being a bigger body.
44 of his 58 total yards came after the catch.
So, lots to be excited about in that room.
I think Chas Nimrod had the, well, he had a would-be touchdown,
but it was called back on an offensive pass interference, if I remember correctly.
So, lots of potential, lots of athleticism in that room.
I think that, you know, the USF guys, we continue to talk about that.
Goal is just coaching those guys really hard.
But, you know, I mean, again, you have to be excited about what Cody Burns has out there, outside.
You know, especially when Byron Brown gets going, I think it's going to be pretty lethal.
Just closing with this, I think Auburn fans are going to be a little more excited about Auburn basketball next year.
Sebastian Williams-Adams surprised some people and declared at the last minute, jumped in the transfer portal.
But Auburn made up for it pretty quickly.
Adam Olsen from South Alabama.
A forward is coming in, actually native of Canada.
And George Kimball III from Vanderbilt.
So, two last-minute additions.
I think they're looking for one more, but two last-minute additions for Stephen Pearl.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's been a whirlwind of the last 24 hours, really, on the hardwood for Stephen Pearl and through the transfer portal.
You know, yesterday at around 1 p.m., you pick up Thomas Dowd from Troy, and then very shortly afterward,
Sebastian Williams-Adams announced he's going to the portal.
He commits to Vanderbilt rather quickly, so it seems to have been a move already in place.
I think the main takeaway from this portal haul for Auburn is just the fact that you've addressed your main problem from last season,
which was this lack of size and having a true big man, a dominant force down low, not to knock Keyshawn Murphy,
but just about every guy that you've signed to take over that five in those four spots are bigger than Keyshawn Murphy was last year.
You're adding 6'8", transferring Dowd at 6'10", and Owen Freeman.
Alexis Engoy from France, 7-footer, and then Buki Aboye from Santa Clara, 7'1", who can really move.
So you're addressing the need that you, you know, a skill that you lacked last season, a true dominant, dominant big man.
You know, last year, I think that Auburn fans had to quickly realize that they didn't have a Walker Kessler or a Janai Broom on the floor.
And not to say that these guys are going to live up to those expectations, but it certainly helps when you have a couple of 7-footers around the rim to help you defensively.
So I really like what Auburn's doing, and like you mentioned, George Kimball III, medically redshirted last year.
Vandy, but was super productive at Eastern Kentucky.
You know, I'm thinking in my head, can he be, you know, that Javon McCormick, Peter Jarrett Harper back in the 2018-2019 season, right?
So, obviously, getting Todd Paterford back was huge, but can George Kimball return to form like he was at Eastern Kentucky?
I like that pickup as well.
Absolutely.
Great stuff.
We appreciate it.
A lot of stuff to cover, NFL Draft, Portal, get ready for next year.
Where can we get on line, Logan, and get all your good stuff?
Absolutely.
You can check me out over at 1819news, and you can give me a follow on X at Logan F. Fowler.
Guy with the toughest job next year for all our basketballs, the one that's got to pronounce all those names.
Good luck.
Logan, listen to you guys.
Thank you so much for your time, Dave, and stay safe out there, all right?
Absolutely.
Thank you, guys.
Thank you, bud.
Logan Fowler, 1819news.
Coming up, Crimson Tide is his main thing.
Rodney Orr on deck.
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The Score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back in.
Time to say hello to Rodney Orr.
He's the founder and editor of tighterinsider.com, and his book is called Bigger Than Bama.
Rodney Orr, welcome in.
How are you?
Doing great, guys.
How's it going today?
Hey, Benny.
It's always a fun time, is it not, Rodney?
The NFL draft.
Brent, what was the number that we had as far as the streak of first-rounders for Alabama going?
What was it, back to 2000?
Wow.
Rodney, that's the history.
What's going to happen tomorrow night to keep that streak running?
Well, I sure hope that Alabama has at least one, and hopefully two.
You know, again, I think Ty Simpson certainly has a real crack at making the, you know, being drafted in the first round.
I hear a lot of people speculating the Cardinals, but who really knows sometimes in these drafts, you know, how it ends up.
And then, of course, Caden Proctor, you know, there's a chance that he might go.
I don't know if that's, you know, what the level of chance is, but, you know, certainly he could go in the first round as well.
But you would hate to see that streak ended, wouldn't you, Harold and Brett?
I guess nobody more so than the current coaching staff.
Rodney, we're privileged to talk with a lot of folks up and down all over the country.
And one of them is Bill Bender.
He's the national voice for the Sporting News.
He has no dog in the hunt as far as Alabama, Auburn, anything in the SEC.
He's up there in the backyard of Ohio State.
But he does an objective job, and his number, now this is not first round, of course, but overall he is saying Alabama could have as many as 10 guys drafted.
In other words, no Nick, but Alabama before this draft is over, could hit double digits.
Yeah, how many of those, I wonder, you know, where they would be drafted.
I mean, I think probably most of them would be after the third round or so.
But still, that's a good number.
I mean, that is a good number of draft picks, no doubt, a high number.
You know, if that happens like that, even though some of those guys would be lower rounds, you know, I'm sure that some people are going to say,
well, you know, okay, Alabama was 11-4, but did they actually, you know, perform to their highest level or potential?
I think that might be something that would raise some questions.
I think one thing that's different between the numbers now and when Nick was there, this as a whole, not taking any personal shots,
but the perception, you know what to say about perception, it's reality is this team is softer.
It makes you wonder, if you go to the NFL, soft ain't going to cut it.
You might get your foot in the door, but you ain't going to keep it there long.
Your thoughts just about the mindset of this group coming in.
This group coming in?
Yeah, as far as into the draft.
In other words, the NFL is not going to sit here and say, your team is 11-4, but sound when you get up here, this is big boy football, you've got to be tough.
Exactly, and look, I think there is some degree of, you know, validity or, you know, you can certainly understand why people kind of think, okay, you know,
the Saban teams were mentally tougher, physically tougher than what we've seen the last couple of years.
I think there's possibly some other factors involved there.
I mean, when you're talking about NIL, the portal, there's some issues that you have to deal with that I think certainly that aren't related to the head football coach
that make it really tough nowadays versus, you know, a few years ago.
So there's some of that, I think, that's involved there.
But I do think, you know, again, that the one thing that we do know about this team, frankly, moving forward, this Alabama program is,
and I think Kalen DeBoer has addressed it himself, they have to be at least physically tougher, and I think that starts mentally.
And, you know, he's kind of addressed that a little bit about how they need to be physically tougher and play more physical up front and all of those things.
And so I think those are certainly things to, you know, as you look at this program, those are areas here.
That is an area, Harold, that I think is something to really watch this year and to see if Alabama takes a step in that direction.
You're exactly right.
I would also add Josh Cuevas, Rodney.
I think he may get lit the third day.
We'll see where that goes.
And I know we've all impressed Alabama certainly missed him last year when he got hurt.
You had an extensive article looking at position by position May and June or right around the corner as far as some of these guys making commitments to certainly official visits.
Alabama gets a little bit of a surprise, according to many of the Alabama recruiting dudes.
Edge, Stephen Thornton from Cairo, Georgia, three-star, announces his verbal commitment to Alabama.
91 tackles, 20 tackles, four loss, eight sacks during his junior season.
Rodney, your thoughts about the latest verbal commitment to Alabama?
Well, it's kind of funny because, you know, last night when this all happened, he announced it.
I think he surprised everyone, you know, with that commitment.
And I was like, when I heard his name initially, I was like, who's that?
Who's that three-star?
And then I went, and I immediately went to my prospect list on tighterinsider.com, and he was listed, which means I put him in there.
And so, and I thought for a second as I looked at him, I said, oh yeah, I remember this guy.
I remember watching his tape.
I remember thinking, you know what?
This guy is really quick off the edge.
I like him.
Now, again, he's not highly rated.
He's 6'5".
He's maybe 205 pounds, maybe.
Wow.
But, listen, here's one thing I said, and times have really changed.
You know how it is.
You want people that can come in and play and get developed quickly.
But they are still taking guys that are developmental.
And don't forget now, it's been a long time ago, but Eric Curry got here at about 6'6", 200 pounds.
Right.
And, you know, we saw what he turned into.
And, again, I understand that was a long time ago, but you still have stories like that.
You know, guys that develop.
And I look at this kid, Thornton, and I say, okay, you look at his speed.
You look at his quickness.
You look at his frame.
He's 6'5".
If he fills out, if he sticks with it for a couple of years, this kid could really develop as a nice player.
I mean, really good because he's so, you know, athletic and so fast in the frame.
So, listen, I think you have 105 now.
They probably, frankly, didn't pay a lot for this guy in terms of NIL.
So, I think it's a scholarship.
But, you know, it looks like to me it's worth – he's certainly worth it.
Ron, you're a tighter insider.com.
I appreciate you bringing up that point because a lot of folks say, why is Alabama taking all these three stars?
Well, the reason is now they've got about 20 more spots to fill in.
And you've got to keep everything under budget.
So, they're going to take a flyer and hope that basically it's a good bang for the buck, a good value.
The other side of the coin is very interesting class compared to back in the day with that guy named Nick.
You do have more three stars.
But one thing about it, there's still some five stars.
The question, Rodney, will they add to the five-star class in the next few days with Elijah Haven at QB?
Seems to be a lot of confidence that he'll pick Alabama over Georgia.
You know, and anytime you're dealing with Kirby Smart, though, you know, Kirby can pull him out of the hat.
Yeah, that's right.
There is some sort of a, you know, degree of, I guess you could say, reluctance to go ahead and say that he's headed to Bama.
But I think that, yeah, I like Alabama's position with him.
I do think he's from a great family.
I do think that, you know, there's a lot of factors involved.
I don't think he's one of these guys that's simply, you know, looking at the dollar signs by any means.
He's well-informed.
I think it's, like I said, I think he's got a good support system.
A really smart kid.
So, you know, again, I think that he's looking at the big picture.
And I do feel that Alabama's in good position with Elijah Haven.
Now, I will say this, too, and I think he's a fantastic player.
But, you know, you're talking about all these visitors coming in in the summer.
And if you do that positional breakdown, what's interesting about it is two things.
Number one, there's one offensive lineman scheduled to visit.
I noticed that.
That can change.
That can change.
There's only one offensive lineman scheduled to change.
And on the other side of that, there's what I would say are three true defensive linemen.
And one of those is already committed to Alabama.
So you're saying there's really two that are open game still.
And I think one of them, Mitchell Turner, is probably Alabama's lean right now,
although Texas is coming after him hard, so be careful.
And Donovan Moore is committed to Auburn.
Okay, so all that said and done, I always think, you know, I hear people say,
well, Alabama may sign only two defensive linemen and two offensive linemen.
Well, that's four high school linemen that you're signing.
So that's okay, but that means you've got to really expect to do something in the portal.
Thank you.
Again, Harold and Brett, I hear the argument that, well, they've got 15 or 16 coming back
on the offensive line next year.
Well, how do you know that?
That's right.
How do you know that?
You really don't know.
I mean, you could lose seven, eight, nine guys to the portal.
In one night.
I think you have to be prepared, and you never want to get caught short on linemen.
So it's interesting right now.
And I will add this.
I think they did lose contact with several offensive linemen with Coach Kapp leaving.
You know, so I think that in this regard, I think that was probably not helpful for Alabama.
Let me ask you this, Rodney, on that.
People don't follow this as religiously as some of us.
Your thoughts as far as netting, the plus and the minus.
He had a lot of criticism.
From everything we're able to gather, that was a plus when Kapp left hand.
Not taking a shot at him.
We're just talking about nothing personal, just the job that was rendered down there.
Well, I think, you know, a lot of it depends.
I mean, again, speaking to people that are close to that offensive line room,
I do think there was a disconnect with Kapp.
And some of his players, I mean, frankly.
I mean, I've heard some things from players that were here, multiple players that were here,
that, you know, where they are now, they felt like they were learning more
than what they had learned under Kapp in two years.
So, again, those are players that they left, and they left for different reasons and what have you.
I think there's also some, probably some validity to Kapp and Ryan Grubb weren't on the same page.
That's what I hear.
And you know Grubb's original specialty was offensive line, you know.
I think those were his original roots for the offensive line.
So, whatever it is, I think we all agree that it needs to be fixed this year, right?
And the offensive line needs to be a lot better.
Let me ask you about a couple of edge dudes.
Antoine Jackson, you've got him listed 6'6", 245, a three-star from Collierville.
Tennessee, I've heard a lot of good things about him.
The other one, as I'm scrolling down, Rodney, well, let's see, is K.J. Green, five-star edge.
I know he's visited Alabama quite often, 6'4", 215, and Rainey Kennedy of AL.com is really high on A.J. Pauley.
In fact, he had his top ten players that have really blossomed and said that.
But, anyway, just going back, K.J. Green, Antoine Jackson, I've heard a lot about both of them.
Yeah, I mean, I think most people think Alabama is in pretty good shape for Jackson out of Memphis right now.
K.J. Green, I mean, I'm hearing some positive things about Alabama's position with him.
And, again, some people have him a five-star, so you know what that means.
I mean, there's going to be some competition.
And, you know, just you guys, you follow it.
I mean, Mitchell Turner, I mentioned him.
He's a fast riser, a defensive lineman from Louisville, Mississippi.
He's really shot up the ranks.
And Texas is now involved, among other schools.
And I'll say the same thing about Mon Sean Sells,
who is a five-star wide receiver out of Indiana, that Alabama, his nickname's Bama.
I mean, he's originally from the state of Alabama.
And a lot of people have been saying since January,
oh, this guy, he's leaning strongly to Alabama.
That's why I tell you, be careful with the early hype.
Thank you.
Because now he's got an agent out there.
And, you know, they're looking for it, certainly to –
I'm not saying he's going to take the biggest offer,
but I am saying that Texas is involved there now hard, too.
So, you know, you have to be careful.
The way this is, this day and time, man, it's a real challenge.
Rodney, if our listeners would like to get online
and look at your breakdown by position of official visitors,
TITV, Alabama in the basketball portal,
and a lot of those guys are going to be returning.
Keaton Bristow is one announced officially this morning
in the 24-7 message board.
And if you're going to the lake here soon,
you need to have something to read while you're looking at other five stars.
And I think you've got a book you could highly recommend.
Well, I appreciate it, Brett.
Yeah, first of all, it's tighterinsider.com.
As you mentioned, it's only $48 a year,
and you can get instant access with your credit card if you prefer.
There is an address there to send a check.
And that includes our all-sports forum.
I mean, like I said, it's nonstop.
It keeps you up to date with just about everything there is.
And then also the book, yes, Bigger Than Bama, you can get that.
You can look at it.
You can grab the details there at Amazon.
Or you can go to RodneyOr.com, RodneyOr.com,
and you'll get all the details of the book.
And, you know, if you're interested in it, certainly the way to order it.
Rodney, it's always good to hook up with you.
I think, Brett, when he was talking about when you go to the lake
and check out other five stars, he's talking about big bass.
We'll check with him.
Yeah, that's exactly what it was.
I was kind of thinking of something else, but whatever.
Yes, I know you were.
We'll find out more next time.
In the meantime, enjoy the draft, okay?
Okay, guys, appreciate it.
Thank you, bud.
And you're tighter, insider.com.
Coming up in the next hour, what's life like with that lane in Oxford?
Who knows better than Brett Dorsworthy?
He's going to be on that.
Talking Big Orange with Ryan Callahan.
And Drew DeArma's got everything else covering the second hour of the Boomo Bugg Show.
Stay with us.
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The Appropriations Committee for the U.S. House has advanced funding proposals for the U.S. Space Command headquarters,
which will be built at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville.
The committee is allocating $565 million for fiscal year 2027.
This includes military construction, veterans affairs, and other necessary agencies at the Redstone Arsenal location.
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I'll be back with more Alabama stories after this.
Brian Dawson here, CEO of 1819 News.
I'm also the host of 1819 News, the podcast, and we'd love for you to join us by listening to our weekly show on all the top podcast apps,
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At 1819 News, the podcast, we are in pursuit of a free and flourishing Alabama.
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A man accused of being a fraudster on social media has been extradited from North Carolina back to Baldwin County in order to face charges.
57-year-old Brenton Fillers has used more than 30 aliases online in order to meet women,
pretend to be romantically interested in them, and then steal their money or property.
Spanish Fort police caught on to Fillers' online activity back in 2023 and dubbed him the TikTok trickster.
A Pinson man is sentenced to life in prison for the sexual abuse of children.
42-year-old Graham Ashe received four life sentences, which totals 280 years behind bars.
Investigators say that there were 25 victims in this case, ranging in age from 7 to 14 years old.
I'm Andrea Antis.
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What do you say we go to, literally, the home of the champions?
Wife wins national championships in football.
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Andrea Adelson from ESPN.
What's in the water at the Adelson house, though, in Orlando, Florida?
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Well, I'm doing great, fellas.
You know we're home to the two best universities in the whole entire world.
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Shoals, Decatur, Athens, and all of northwest Alabama and southern Tennessee.
It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice.
The Boomo Bugg Show.
Your exclusive inside track to the Tide, Tigers, Tennessee, and the rest of the SEC.
Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9, The Score.
Welcome back in our tour of 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.
And for Brett Norsworthy, coming off the shores of the Mississippi River in the Bluff City, a.k.a. Memphis.
He's hosting Sports Time 3 to 6 afternoon.
Drives you home.
They're on Sports 56 in Memphis, Tennessee.
And if you listen to Ole Miss, you can't miss him.
He's on before, during, and after when the Rebs play football.
Brett Norsworthy, welcome in.
How are you?
Harold, I'm well.
Thank you and Brett for having me.
How are y'all guys doing?
Hey, bud.
Man, we're doing all right, Brett.
It's not often we get to say this, but another Memphis native has come out with some strong verbal bouquets for this Ole Miss football team.
A fellow by the name of Paul Feinbaum, you may know that name, says that Ole Miss, Brett, may have the best quarterback slash running back tandem in the entire SEC.
Would you agree?
I would agree with Paul, and I'm glad he's touting it.
This is going to be the summer of the quarterbacks in the college football and the SEC, and I think Ole Miss has the proven quarterback.
I know one game shouldn't be an indicator of a whole lot, but I like some of these rankings that I'm seeing that have Dante Moore at Oregon ahead of Trinidad Chambliss,
and I see a lot that has Julian Sane ahead of Trinidad Chambliss.
Well, all three played against Miami, and only one could crack an egg against them.
Talk to us overall, Brett, about life after Lane.
Everybody, you know, how life is.
Once somebody with that kind of a strong personality leaves, it's all doom and gloom.
I don't think, if you go back to last year, that was a case there in Oxford.
You've had a little more time to digest it.
Your thoughts now that kind of the dust has settled how life is for Ole Miss football these days.
Well, for me, in my perspective, it's the same as Thanksgiving weekend when he left for LSU,
and then the hiring by Keith Carter of Pete Golding is thank you.
Thank you for making us relevant.
Thank you for the great job that he did.
Thank you for the last five years.
We've won 52 football games in the last five years.
I had a Razorback friend of mine tell me, and he was with the AD when they picked up Ryan Silverfield in Memphis to hire him,
and he picked up AD first, and then they were going over to Ryan's house.
And he said, boy, I bet you're glad you're not dealing with everything that Lane Kiffin or Ole Miss is dealing with,
and that Hunter Urechek said, yeah, but I'd like to have those 52 wins they've had.
Yep.
Good point.
I don't doubt that one bit.
Tell us about some of the new guys who have come in.
We know Deuce Knight from Auburn at quarterback.
I like Priest Corn, Brady Priest Corn, the tight end from Michigan.
Jay Crawford is a pretty good cornerback from Auburn.
Edwin Joseph from Florida State.
I'll tell you somebody, I'm going to ask you to watch this fall, Jordan Bernard from Alabama.
He had some injuries, but he got caught up in a numbers game on that defensive line.
I'm telling you, he is really going to help you.
I know Blake Purchase, I believe, came in from Oregon.
Who are some of the new guys as far as transfers who you've heard about or may have caught your eye in the spring?
Well, Brett, I like that you went with offense and defense, but I also mentioned the defensive guys,
because I think that will really be the story outside of Trinidad and Kawhi and Lacey about Ole Miss this year.
Ole Miss will be so improved on defense that if they had to, I don't see many times that Ole Miss is going to be in
and just score 17 and win, but if they had to be in a game to win it 17-14,
to win it 20-17, they can because the defense is going to be so good, both with the returners and what you just mentioned.
Those defensive ends, Renault from Alabama and Blake Purchase from Oregon,
and everybody that's watched Jalen Crawford in the secondary from Auburn have just fallen in love.
And then the guys that are returning, like Sontarian Perkins and like Will Eccles and Cam Franklin,
and what we knew we were having back, and the linebacker, the very controversial linebacker from Clemson
that caused Dabo to cry himself to sleep.
He's going to be a big help and will be the green dot on defense.
And I would just tell Dabo, I'm very sorry, Dabo, you want to be stuck in 1992, and it's not anymore.
Brent Norris, where they'd check him out on Sports 56 Afterdoons on the way home there in Memphis, Tennessee.
But I think we spent a little bit on that.
I mean, Dabo at one time, under the old rules, he could rock and roll.
And I really believe, and maybe you disagree with me, I think Nick was smart enough to say,
you know what, I got all these coins in the bank.
I see where this thing is going. I'm not going to get in and go through that circus.
I could probably do it, but I don't want to at this age.
Back to Dabo, your thoughts.
Will he finally turn the light switch on and get with it, or is he just going to sit here and say,
you know what, I'm going down with this ship, whether it works or not?
Peril won't open a night at Death Valley after opening at the other Death Valley last year.
Won't Clemson and LSU tell us a lot?
Will tell us a lot about what Lane has with Sam Levitt?
You know, tell us a lot about Clemson.
Let me be clear, I picked at him.
I respect Dabo Sweeney enormously.
His story, his convictions, what he stands for, I really do.
And we all remember when he was a special teams player at Alabama on that 92 national championship team
and looked at and was treated by Gene Stallings almost like a father-son relationship.
I respect Dabo Sweeney.
But I also remember Dabo Sweeney a few years ago saying that when we start paying the players, I'm out of here.
Well, we're paying them, and he's still there.
He's still there.
He's still there.
I was going to ask you about John David Baker, the offensive coordinator.
Charlie Weiss, of course, was there with Lane.
I always get amused when I'm listening to a national sports broadcast, and they're talking about Ole Miss,
and they said, oh, yeah, Lane Kiffin, he's going to throw the ball 70 times a game.
No, he doesn't.
They're up-tempo.
They're balanced.
If I had Kewan Lacey, I'd turn around and hand the ball off to him a lot.
Your thoughts on what John David Baker will bring to the offense?
Well, he's got a big-time running back and a couple other running backs behind Kewan Lacey,
but he's going to be the featured guy.
And I agree with you, Brett, just nationally.
It's like Ole Miss went out and hired a new staff from Madagascar.
A lot of them have been there.
Exactly.
In the building, helping with success all the way, and it's just going to surprise them.
And the surprise of the year is going to be when Ole Miss goes to Nashville Labor Day weekend
and puts it on Louisville.
And then maybe that will wake them up.
But, yes, John David Baker is going to run the ball, and we all know this.
When you've got a good running game, you know what that helps more than anything else?
It helps your defense.
Yes.
And it gives them plenty of rest, a.k.a.
And obviously, it also helps the passing game, loosens up the opposing defense.
Brett, let's talk a little bit about what is, what Baskin Robbins got 31 flavors, take your pick.
And that's the way it is with coaches and their personality.
Lane's got his.
Talk to us about the personality of Pete Golding.
And anyone who's been around the Ole Miss program, to me, it's just a hand and a well-fit glove.
He seems to be a natural fit for Ole Miss.
Well, he has been and his family.
And just very fortunate to get him off that great Alabama staff and what he accomplished there
and how important he was there.
And the talent evaluator that he is, Lane, Coach Kiffin really needed him to help with recruiting.
And it's just an old-fashioned recruiting.
Ole Miss is doing really well.
But the talent evaluation with Joe Judge and others on that staff to identify quarterbacks, you know,
from Ferris State, hey, we need a backup quarterback.
Our backup is hurt.
The backup quarterback was going to be somebody different last year, but he was hurt.
So they had to go and find someone.
And they did.
And then look at the story that developed from him.
You know, this time last year, if you had told someone, hey, Indiana's got a transfer quarterback from Cal
that's going to lead them to an undefeated season, a national championship,
and really be the beast of college football, we would have laughed in that person's face.
I'm telling you right now, one year from right now, the overall number one quarterback in the NFL draft
will be Trinidad champions.
I think you're exactly right.
Let me ask you about Ole Miss.
It's better than Arsh.
It just doesn't have the package.
There you go.
Or name.
Pedigree.
Tell us about what you expect for Ole Miss in the draft.
I know Deshaun Stribbling I've seen probably going in the second round,
Xavier Harris, Harrison Wallace, Jane Williams, Diego Pounds may get there on the third day.
How many guys from Ole Miss do you think will be drafted through the weekend?
I think a good number of them.
None of them on the first day, unlike last year with Walter Nolan and with Jackson Dart and Trey Harris.
Trey Harris went second round.
We're going to have plenty of players go, and it's going to be once again an awakening of just what has been assembled at Ole Miss.
The player accumulation.
And we all know in that draft, you've got to be a little bit lucky on where you go and who gets you.
Thank you.
And if it's the right fit or not.
That's it.
And still kind of decide that on some of the guys from last year.
But we know a right fit from last year.
It's Jackson Dart.
They're clearly building around him with new head coach John Harbaugh.
So, Brett, now that you've seen the body of work this spring, what are realistic numbers for this Ole Miss football team this fall?
Back in the playoffs.
That's the goal to win it all, Harold.
Mm-hmm.
Well, you know what?
On offense, you mentioned the defense, and everybody's not sitting here giving enough love.
If you've got the quarterback and you've got the running back, and to me it comes down to this, Brett, if the offensive line just does their job, you can put some points on the board.
Yeah, we've got three out of five back in the offensive line.
I think the best center in the league in Bryson Sanders.
How Patrick Kudis got better with every passing week last week, loaded and tied in.
Brett, you mentioned Brady pre-scoring.
I think a healthy and a full season of Luke has, and we saw how great his hands were with that fastball, Trinidad Chandler Stewie, in the Sugar Bowl.
He had to catch it out there on the fingertips in that end zone, and he did.
And we're doing it again at wide receiver.
The depth, the kicker with Lucas Carnero back.
He only kicked the biggest field goal in Ole Miss football history in the Superdome.
To win it all is the goal.
By the way, I mentioned to you last time you were on, according to some of the national media,
I don't know why the SEC is going to put teams on the field this year now that the Big Ten has taken over everything.
But I've reminded some of our guests, yeah, the SEC plan on playing this fall.
Yeah, we're going to play fall this fall, and we're going to play nine conference games,
and I think that's great, first and foremost, for the ticket-buying public to give them more value for the season ticket package.
Even if it should cost the SEC with playoff bids, it's still the right thing to do, but the playoffs will work itself out.
I think it will be four or five from the SEC, and I look at the September schedule on opening day for opening opponents.
Ole Miss has got a real opening opponent, but so does Alabama with East Carolina.
That's going to be a good game and a good test for Bama the week before they go to Kentucky.
Auburn's got a great test hosting Baylor after winning out at Waco last year, and I mentioned LSU and Clemson.
We know that's going to be good stuff.
Ben, before you jump off, a friend of the show, Kevin Johnson's big St. Louis Cardinals fan.
He wants to see if you can get them some runs today.
They're trailing the Marlins right now for nothing, but on the balance of this season,
and relative to the expectations, the baby birds are doing pretty well, are they not?
They are, and you tell Kevin they're in good hands this weekend because I'm going up,
and I've got a 43-31 all-time Duke Bush Stadium record at 581 winning percentage,
and that includes two closeouts for World Series against Detroit and the Rangers.
Are you listening, KJ?
Always enjoy the conversation.
Where can we get online to listen to the show this afternoon, my friend?
Thank you, Brett.
Sports56whbq.com, and sure appreciate you guys for having me on,
and I want to tell your listeners they're lucky to have you all,
and how you all do it with passion and commitment every day,
and also thank you for cooperating with me the last couple times you've asked me to be on.
I had conflict, and I always love being on with you, and I'm sorry I couldn't then,
but I was glad to be able to do it today.
Right back at you.
You are one of the famed stations of the entire country when it comes to radio.
Just ask Rick Dees and all those guys, George Klein, et cetera.
Brett, keep up the good work.
Thank you so much for your time today.
You got it, and George Lapidus was always at WHBQ, too.
Yep.
Before going over to Channel 3 at WREG, Brent Norsworthy is there.
He's busy afternoon on Sports56 in Memphis, Tennessee.
Speaking of Tennessee, let's go to the other side of the state and talk Tennessee football with Ryan Callahan next.
Stay with us.
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From the University of Alabama, this is Crimson Tide Today.
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Hello again, everybody.
I'm Roger Hoover.
On Thursday's edition of Crimson Drive, driven by NASCAR, we'll be joined by Alabama softball catcher Marlee Giles.
People that can run really fast, people that can hit it really far.
We've got some really good pitchers, and we've got really good defense.
So I would just say that this team is very diverse, and I think that is our biggest strong suit.
Can you believe it's your senior year?
No.
No, it's flown by.
It really has.
I mean, some amazing moments for you in your career.
And I know the Senior Day celebration had to be part of it.
Is it nice the way that Coach Murphy really celebrates every senior individually?
Yeah, especially we had a group of seven seniors this year.
So them taking the time for us each to have our own Senior Day really meant a lot.
And we know that it's a lot of planning, especially on the coaching staff side and Jaden's side as well, who are our director of ops.
It's a lot having to do it in separate days.
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Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back again.
Time to head to East Tennessee to a place called Knoxville.
And say hello to RC.
Ryan Callahan visited their covering UT at Go Vols 24-7.
Ryan, welcome in.
How are you?
Hey, guys.
Doing well.
How are you?
Hey, man.
Free drafts.
So, Ryan, how many of the big orange crews going to pick up the big green tomorrow night in the NFL draft?
Well, tomorrow night, we'll see.
Most of what you see out there in terms of projections, mock drafts, would tell you probably just two at most tomorrow night.
And at times, it looks like there was maybe an outside chance of three.
Some people would tell you there's maybe still an outside possibility of that.
But fewer and fewer mock drafts here down the stretch have had either wide receiver Chris Brazel.
And this one's just an outside, just, you know, an occasional projection here or there that's more of an outlier.
But Joshua Joseph has gotten a first-round projection or two.
But that one is an extreme long shot, I think.
So, either way, those two guys are more likely to go in, you know, the second, third round, somewhere around there.
And tomorrow night, you're mostly looking at the two cornerbacks that have been widely projected as first-round picks,
Jermod McCoy and Colton Hood.
And the interesting thing about that is it's been kind of dramatic here for McCoy down the stretch
because there have been reports of some concerns with his surgically repaired knee being something that might cause him to slip down some team's boards here
kind of at the last minute, or at least reports have come out at the last minute.
It's not as ACL that's a concern.
It's reportedly a bone plug that was added, used to repair some cartilage, so defective cartilage.
So what we'll see if that ends up being something, it doesn't sound like it's something that would be a concern for this season in all likelihood,
but it's something that could end up needing to be repaired at some point, whether that's, you know, in the near future or five years down the road.
So that's something that NFL teams, at least some, might have some pause about.
So no one really knows where to put him on their draft boards going into tomorrow night.
So it'll be fascinating to see whether he goes in the top 15 as originally projected a lot of places,
or if he slides to later in the first round or potentially out of the first round.
It's going to be, he'll be one of the more, the bigger wild cards tomorrow night.
You bring up a good point because this is kind of related to it.
It's amazing how the human body works.
Years ago, uh, Huntsville has NASA and one of the guys that was in charge of physical therapy after I did a story with him.
And he talked about that.
He talked about runners.
They would injure their left leg.
Their right leg would be okay, but they had to overcompensate.
So the right leg would end up being injured too, because it was overcompensating.
So I don't know if that's the case here, but back to, uh, McCoy, your, your thoughts, let's just say that he does go in the first round.
Uh, is that not an interesting strategy?
Because if you're just joining the party here, didn't play last year.
Uh, and yet he sat out, did he get NIL money for that?
Uh, or what was the deal there?
And your, your thoughts just about the fact that if he does go to the first round, that, that'd be one of the more intriguing stories in the draft.
Yeah.
Some people sort of compared it a little bit.
It's not the exact situation, but kind of comparable to, to miles Jack years ago that had an injury coming out of college.
And, uh, and, you know, the, the Jaguars, I think for the team that drafted him, he still went pretty early, uh, and, and, you know, end up having a pretty good career.
So, you know, it's, it sounds like the type of thing that is not likely to be a long-term concern, but it's still one of those things that could cost him a season at some point.
Because if he has to have that surgery again, it would come with a fairly lengthy recovery time.
So if some team wanted to go ahead and get it done just to, to, to attack it on the front end, you know, he'd probably have to sit out this season.
And that, that would be a, uh, uh, obviously a blow for anyone wanting to use the first round pick on him.
Uh, but at the same time, you know, it's the kind of thing that teams, most teams seem to think he could probably play this year.
And it's not a, not an issue and it's something that might never be an issue.
It's just one of those things that you kind of have to know in the back of your mind, taking a player like that, uh, that it, that it could pop up as an issue at some point.
So, uh, 32 different NFL teams, 32 different team doctors.
And that's probably what's going to come down to is what do all these team doctors think of the situation?
Who all, who all has looked into it that closely?
And, and, you know, there might be some teams that have been kind of scrambling for more information here down the stretch because maybe they didn't have the same read on the situation.
And now these reports have gotten out over the past week that allude to it being an issue.
But, um, to, to your, to your point or question, he didn't have, uh, it doesn't, it was in the same knee, I believe as, uh, as the ACL that he tore.
Uh, but there was just something else that may, may have been damaged in the, in the process of the injury, whatever the case, when they were in there,
they apparently repaired that cartilage as well.
Um, so yeah, it's not the ACL itself that we heard so much about last season that kept him from playing,
but this may have been part of the concern of why he didn't come back last season, which, you know,
drew some, some frustration from Tennessee fans that saw it after he got hurt in January,
that he might be back at some point last season and he never was.
And, uh, to your point, he also, yeah, he, he got NIL money and revenue sharing money and never,
never got to play a game for, for Tennessee last year.
So tough break for the ball.
And that's, that's just how it works for all these teams these days.
You never know what you're, uh, what you're getting, especially with a one-year deal out
of the transfer portal.
And in some of these cases, that's, that's the risk every team runs.
And, uh, it's not like, not like the NFL teams that have, uh, insurance and things like that.
If there's an injury, you know, you just, you just lose that money.
So that's, that's part of the deal.
But here's the deal on that.
Also, you said they got 32 different doctors, but they have one thing in common.
If they can drive your value down, it's still a business.
These guys are probably for the most part, billionaires.
They got to be a billionaire because they got a bang for the buck.
They, they, they bought low and sold high.
So anything they can do to lower your value, we'd be naive to think they wouldn't do that either.
Yeah, the flip side to that is, I mean, a lot of people see Jermod McCoy as, you know, quite
possibly the, the, the, the number one corner in this class and a draft class, but at worst
number two.
Um, so if, if teams still see a, that kind of talent out there at such a premium position,
I think he's, you know, he still has a chance to go high because of that.
And he, and he still showed up at Tennessee's pro day and ran a, uh, ran in the high four threes,
uh, reportedly.
So, uh, had, had, had a good showing at Tennessee's pro day, despite that and look, look fine
and drills to, to, to us at least.
Um, so it seemed like he, he didn't have any major concerns coming out of that.
So again, there's, there's still some thought that he's going to be just fine for this season.
And it may be something that he not, you know, if, if he does have to deal with it, might
just be more of an issue down the road.
Uh, so for a team that, that sees him as a, as a potential starting cornerback this
year, you know, if he can still play like that, and it's not an issue that there are
going to be some teams that see him as being worth, uh, at least a little bit of risk there.
So I, you know, it's going to be fascinating to see.
And again, you never know what one team's doctors might say compared to another.
So all it takes is one, uh, team that's willing to kind of bite the bullet and, uh, and take
a player that's got a little bit of injury risk like that.
We were talking with you.
I remember about three, three and a half weeks ago in Tennessee fans throwing the hands up
there about where in the world is the basketball roster going to come from with everybody leaving.
And now you look at a offensive, um, uh, onslaught as far as these guys who come in day, day
aims from Cal 17 points game, Jalen Harrelson from Notre Dame, 16, Terrence Hill from VCU,
one of the latest at 15, Lund blade, uh, Lund blade from Belmont 16.
Uh, I know they're still trying to get in Duke Harris.
You may have an update on that.
Miles Rubin, they even picked up a former Alabama commit for high school, Chris Washington, uh,
to say that Tennessee has loaded up with offensive players and shooters would be an understatement.
Yeah, this is, this is a little bit of a different looking team from what Rick Barnes has often
had at, at Tennessee.
Uh, you know, we, we, we sort of had heard this around the time the portal opened and leading
up to that, that Tennessee, you know, had gotten some additional, uh, at least commitment to,
to, to, to raising its payroll for basketball.
Same, same as a lot of teams.
We're hearing this a lot across the country where, you know, Michigan obviously had some
success with that this past season and, uh, lots of other programs wanting to, to win despite
basketball and not being a, uh, a huge profit driver for a lot of schools.
There's still a lot of desire to, to win in basketball.
And so, so we, we weren't sure what that would result in though, is that, is that, you know,
if you raise your payroll, is that just going to be enough to keep you competitive and bring
in about the same thing you usually do, uh, out of the transfer portal, or was it really
going to make a difference in whatever the case they've, they've managed to, uh, to, to
bring in a pretty deep, uh, roster here, uh, with, with very few players coming back from
last season.
Uh, just a couple guys, really Troy Henderson and Dwayne Brown that are, that are going to be
back on this team from last year, unless Nate Amitt returns, which is still a little
bit up at the air, but yeah, they've done a really nice job, um, have some front court
depth right now because they've got some talented freshmen coming in a little bit of wild cards
there in terms of knowing what those guys might be able to contribute as freshmen.
So they're, they're still actually looking for some post help.
And I think would still be, uh, interested in adding, uh, an additional shot blocker or
interior presence that could, uh, maybe give them a little more offensive punch there, uh,
to go along with miles Rubin, who's, uh, who's more of a rim protector.
I think kind of in the vein of Felix Akbar that they've had, uh, this past couple
of years.
So, uh, they, they've done a nice job so far, but as you said, a lot more offensive firepower,
uh, that, that, uh, that was sort of the goal.
And I think they see that as maybe the key to getting Tennessee over the hump and getting
them to that first final four, uh, on the flip side, it's going to be interesting to
see how this team looks and sort of in the vein of what Rick Barnes typically prioritizes,
which is defense.
Uh, can they defend as well as they typically have been able to, uh, under his watch, but they've,
uh, they've got a lot of talent and, uh, you know, Terrence Hill jr.
The point guard from VCU, kind of the latest big pickup there that they, uh, they, they're
pretty excited about.
So now we'll see that Duke Harris is the one that's still up in the air.
And I think is probably going to be potentially for weeks, uh, that that's a fascinating situation
where he is still weighing the NBA, maybe a little bit.
In addition to a few college options, it's been Tennessee, Michigan, North Carolina, you
know, you hear at different times, some people will say, well, North Carolina might be fading
in that one, or Michigan might be fading, but Tennessee seems to be a constant in that
one.
So if they can add him and he's, he's a sort of a wing who would, uh, would give Tennessee
another major score there, that would be pretty tremendous scoring depth, uh, relative to
what they've had in, in recent years.
So I saw someone in another market throw this out there, uh, a couple of days ago, this
might be Rick Barnes is best roster, uh, that he's put together at Tennessee.
And that's a pretty good statement considering they're coming off three consecutive elite
eight appearances.
So they've, they've done a really nice job so far.
And Rick Barnes, we continue to say it has adapted really well to this era and they continue
to, to, to seemingly get stronger with each off season.
Uh, two things, uh, where can we get online and get all the good stuff recruiting really going
to be ramping up in May and June, Tennessee baseball hosting Alabama, uh, finishing with,
uh, the spring game.
Uh, uh, and then number two, what's your gut on Nate?
Amen.
I really thought he was for sure gone first round draft pick.
And I hear portal, I hear he's going to enter the draft.
I don't know if he's coming back.
Um, where can we get all your good stuff?
Number one.
And number two, in your gut, what, what, what, what will he eventually end up doing?
Yeah, I think still more likely to go to the NBA.
If, if I, if I had to guess based on everything we've continued to hear, there's, you know,
if he goes through the pre-draft process and, uh, doesn't get a ton of feedback suggesting
that he's going to going to go in the top 10 or at least be a lottery pick, then that's
where you can maybe see him have more consideration of, of, uh, of returning for another year
at Tennessee.
And it doesn't sound like he's, he's there in the portal.
I think that that ship has likely failed, but, um, but would, would, would, would potentially
be able to return to Tennessee, uh, if, if that were to happen.
But I think that's a, uh, maybe not a super long shot, but it's, uh, it's probably a bit
of a long shot, uh, that he returned.
So I wouldn't say the odds of that are particularly high and there's still plenty of projections
to have him as a top 10 pick, um, even in a deep draft this year.
So we'll see where that goes in the coming weeks, but yeah, full coverage of, uh, of the
basketball transfer portal and all that, uh, lady ball still active on that front as well.
Obviously baseball in full swing, NFL draft coverage and football recruiting, uh, coaches
on the road, a lot going on right now.
Great time to check out go balls, 24, 7.com.
Big orange buffet, Ryan.
Thanks for your time today and stay safe.
Okay.
All right.
You guys do the same.
Thanks a lot.
Thank you, bud.
Ryan Callahan, go balls, 24, 7.
Coming up, double D, Rudy Armand on deck.
Stay with us.
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In college baseball action yesterday, the 11th-ranked Auburn Tigers winners in Hoover.
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Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
The Score.
Welcome back here.
Time to say hello to Double D.
Drew DeArman.
He's host, Talkin' Ball on Hustle's 97.7 FM The Zone.
Drew, welcome in.
Happy Hump Day to you.
How are you?
I'm good, guys.
How are you?
Hey, bud.
Well, we appreciate you taking time out, Drew.
It's the NFL Draft Eve.
Back in the day, it was not a question of would Alabama have a first-round draft pick.
It was how many.
Coming up tomorrow night, a chance to fill in the blanks for that class from Alabama.
So, Drew, where do you start in breaking down the NFL draft relative to the Alabama Crimson Tide?
Well, I mean, you have to start with Caden Proctor.
You know, I think he's definitely going to be a first-round draft choice.
He plays a value position, which is the offensive tackle, and I think it will very likely be a right tackle.
He could eventually slide inside the guard.
He seems to be in much better shape than he was when we saw him play against Florida State in Tallahassee in the first game of the regular season.
I was asked by somebody yesterday, you know, or I was in a text thread that your co-host knows a lot about, and he said,
how in blue heck, basically, did Alabama lose to Florida State?
It's still a mystery.
And I said, well, the left tackle was 400 pounds.
And couldn't block a true freshman rushing across his face.
And I'm just stating fact, once he got back in better shape as the season wore on, he played well.
And I think he's been in good shape for this draft process.
He's shown off a lot of freakish athleticism.
And again, if you're a guy with a lot of math that can play offensive tackle, and it doesn't matter if it's the right or the left side, you're in demand.
So I think it's a deep draft.
It's a position.
I still think he'll probably go anywhere from, you know, the top 15 all the way to, you know, the 32.
But I think it'll be somewhere in the first round, and I think it'll be, you know, a situation where he can be a plug-and-play guy.
Absolutely.
Tess Simpson has been widespread speculation.
Arizona has been one of the top choices.
And I think Jeremy Bernard is going to be a Friday pick, too.
We talked to Bill Bender of the Sporting News.
He said, guys, I think Alabama is going to get maybe 10.
And we'll see late.
Josh Quavers, I think, is another possibility.
How many do you think will be chosen overall in the three days?
Where does Tess Simpson go?
Will he go?
And will Jeremy Bernard be on Friday?
Well, I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if Jeremy goes in the second or third round.
I think he's a second-round pick solidly.
Probably a top 50 player.
I said this on Talking Ball this morning.
He has some traits that remind me of two of my favorite players in the NFL.
One is from back a ways now.
But I think he's a borderline Hall of Fame player.
And he was one of my favorites in college and was really underrated coming out of Georgia
and then had a, I think, Hall of Fame career with the Steelers in that time's Ward.
I think Jerm plays with the same kind of toughness.
He's a tough dude.
He'll block you.
He can run with the football.
I mean, you can use him as a runner.
Even line him up at tailback.
And that's where he kind of also reminds me of Debo Samuel of, you know, of now.
You know, again, Debo, you know, to me, is still, I think he's with the Washington Commanders still.
He's a good player.
You know, I thought he was a great fit with the 49ers.
I hated to see him move on from there.
But I think he has some of those same traits.
I think, you know, as many as eight guys could get drafted, honestly.
And we'll see, certainly.
That'll play itself out.
I mean, I still think, you know, especially on that third day, you could see, you know, three, four, five guys go.
But I think, and I've been a little bit surprised, and maybe it's because of the size that Parker Brelsford has been considered a third-day pick.
I think he might be considered a second day, and I think he could be a value guy.
In a way, if he goes in the third day, I hate it because I wish he had come back to school and, you know, could still be in the pivot for Alabama.
But certainly, I still think if you draft him, say, in the fifth round, you could get a guy that could be a value pick and could start for you.
So, we'll see.
But I think it's probably about a seven-eighth man class being drafted, and with three guys potentially going in the first two rounds, which would be good for Kael and DeBoer.
And it would continue that streak of Ty Simpson.
I still think Ty is anywhere from 20 to 32.
I think somebody will trade back into the first round to get him.
I hope it's the Rams because I think that would be the perfect fit, or potentially the Pittsburgh Seward, where he could sit behind either Matt Stocker or Aaron Rodgers and learn and then take over.
I know Arizona really loves him, but I don't love the thought of him starting at Arizona right away.
I think he needs to learn and then maybe get his shot to start, you know, a year or two down the road.
Drew DeArmond, host, Talking Ball.
Huntsville's 97.7 FM's address.
Just thinking back to your comment there about Proctor coming in at 400 pounds, and I think a lot of folks are wondering the same thing.
How much of this is on – what did the coaching staff learn from that?
I mean, it's no secret you're going to be playing a ball game on a certain date.
Why not get the guys in as good a shape as possible?
What did this coaching staff maybe learn from that?
Well, I mean, this is what I said on the show this morning.
You know, and it was – we had been asked about – by one of our callers about, you know, the commitment yesterday for Alabama out of the high school ranks of Stephon Thornton from Cairo, Georgia, the edge rusher.
And there was a little bit of concern about him being 6'5", but barely over 200 pounds.
And I said, well, to me, it's easier to stack weight on a guy than get weight off.
And trust me, I am not a small person, so I can tell you that with experience.
It's harder to lose the weight than, you know, than it is to gain it, in my opinion.
And so, if you've got – if you're having to reshape a guy and put weight on him, we've already seen Alabama do that, you know, with a lot of the freshman class this year that has – you know,
it's got – like Xavier Griffin, for example, who may very well contribute heavily as a freshman.
I think he's already gained like 25 pounds.
It's easier to get guys on the nutrition program and get them – and get their bodies, you know, and start adding weight and reshaping themselves and building their bodies up for the rigors of college football than it is to, you know, get weight off.
I mean, I remember when they signed Terrence Cody, they had to get, you know, 30, 40, 50 pounds off of him.
We just talked about Caden Proctor.
I thought J.C. Latham had some weight issues at Alabama because it's tougher because they need to lose weight to be able to sustain.
And so, I just think it's a little bit tougher to do that.
But, you know, we'll see what happens.
But, if Proctor can keep his weight around 345 to 350, I think he can be an elite player because he has great feet and a lot of bounciness, great vertical jump.
I think he could be a really good player with the right organization if he can keep his weight under control.
Absolutely.
Nate Oates, D2, is happy that the transfer portal officially closed last night at 11.59.
London Jimmison, we knew, was coming back.
Keaton Bristow made it official this morning.
We'll see about Colin Zowe.
He's got to get medically cleared.
Aiden Holloway's got to get his legal issues cleared up.
Amari Allen has entered the NBA draft but is eligible to return if he doesn't get where he wants to go.
Preston Murphy Jr., I believe, is still there.
What is the roster number right now?
I know still looking at some guard play.
What have you heard there?
And your thoughts right now as far as the Alabama basketball roster?
Well, I mean, I still think it's to be determined.
And that's what I was telling some people last night.
I mean, you just kind of mentioned it because I think right now, if you wanted to ask how many they've got,
they've got the three signees, Terrence Bowie, Clayton Samuel, Jackson Richardson, four out of the portal.
That's seven right now.
And then when you talk about the returnees, for sure now, you know that Keaton Bristow is coming back.
That's eight guys.
London Jemison, that's nine.
And then it's some uncertainty.
Certainly they're going to have room and money put to the side for Amari Allen.
And I don't blame them for having him, you know, explore his options.
But certainly I think they would love to have him back.
Aiden Holloway, I think that's another reason you haven't heard about him because of his uncertainty with his legal situation.
But they would certainly love to have him back.
I mean, right now, guys, he's the only pure guard on the roster.
Yeah, that's right.
And really the only ball handler.
Amari Allen would be another ball handler.
But he is not certain that he would return.
Preston Murphy is a walk-on, a good player, nice, solid guy.
But he's not somebody that's going to play heavy minutes.
So, to me, right now, in college, only as you walk, I'm sure they would love to bring him back.
But you've got to get him medically cleared.
If all that works out in your favor, you've got 12.
He can have as many as 15.
I still think they're going to bring in another ball handler and guard.
I honestly thought it might be Wilkins, but he ended up going to Kentucky for confirming.
So, we'll have to wait and see.
I don't really have a name right now.
But I've got a funny feeling Nate Oates and Preston Murphy have a, you know, kind of a rabbit under their hat that they're working on.
And I would almost be, I'd be shocked if they didn't have another guard that comes in for this team to do it.
You're going to work on the situation with Holloway as hard as you can and try to make sure and try to get him back.
And then continue into constant communication with Amari Allen because I think Amari, he did not finish strong offensively last year.
I still think if he came back, he could make a lot of money like you're going to see with certainly LeBaron Phylon very likely being a lottery pick in the draft coming up.
Absolutely.
Great stuff, as usual, my friend.
Tell us where we can get online and listen to you and Scott with the expanded show.
Well, yeah, we're 7 to 10 a.m.
Scott's doing some beach volleyball the rest of the week.
So, it's myself and my esteemed colleague Steve Moulton.
We had a lot of fun this morning talking about the NFL draft coming up starting on Thursday, the first round.
And then second and third round Friday, and then fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh on Saturday.
We'll continue that conversation this week.
Certainly, we're going to continue to talk high school athletics.
Shout out to Huntsville High.
Girls, Tennessee, win their first state title since 2015 yesterday.
Big time for them.
That's outstanding.
So, we certainly will continue the conversation.
We're going to look at some SEC baseball the rest of the week.
Alabama traveling to Tennessee tomorrow to take on the ball.
It's after taking a tasting from Coach Kennedy and the UAB Blazers.
But Auburn coming off of a big win.
They've got a big weekend coming up at home.
So, we're certainly going to continue the conversation.
If you missed any of that, you can come check it out on 97.7 The Zone.
And that's our SoundCloud page.
And then 977ESPN.com.
But we always enjoy being with you guys and talking some ball on the Boomo Bugg Show.
We appreciate your time, Drew.
Thanks so much.
Enjoy the draft, okay?
Thank you, guys.
Appreciate it.
Thank you, buddy.
Well, the 97.7 FM, the Zone.
BB, the Braves, it bounced back time, as you mentioned.
Like Alabama, they took it on the chin last night.
Yeah, 11-4, the Nationals, not a good night.
Lopez, I don't know if he got out of the second inning.
But the Nationals put that game away early, snapped a sixth game, winning streak for the Braves.
Perez pitching for Atlanta tonight.
Hopefully, they can begin another streak tonight.
You can hear that on 93.9 The Score.
Kick back and enjoy.
That's going to take care of business for now.
On behalf of BB, Greg, James Blair, the entire crew here.
Harold Buck, thank you so much for your time today.
Let's do it again next time, noon to two, for the Boomo Bugg Show.
Back here on Sports Radio, 93.9 The Score.
Back here on Sports Radio, 93.9 The Score.