Boomo Bugg Show 071526
93.9 The Score WYTK - July 15, 2026
https://www.939thescore.com/boomo-bugg-show-071526/

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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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 tie. 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.
We're going to be right around the Tennessee Valley. Brett Beaird, welcome in. Where could there be an Iron Bowl flip in the makings?
Good afternoon, welcome in and how are you?
Happy Wednesday to you and the listeners. Mr. College Football, Tony Barnhart, gives us his thoughts on the upcoming season a little bit later.
Cody Gross, head football coach at Athens High School. We'll talk about the 2026 season.
And we are always delighted to bring in the Hall of Famer, Harold Bugg. I believe I'm correct on this and I'll let him confirm it.
He is one of two, maybe. Bob Holt was. The other one, God rest his soul.
Ron Higgins has attended every media days in history and I want him to confirm that.
I want to read his book. I don't care about the X's and O's. I want to read about the other stuff from Ron.
Well, why wait? Just go ahead and say hello to Ron Higgins, fine columnist for the Street Report, Bossier Journal.
Ron, welcome in.
Are you a rookie of these things called the SEC media days or what, Ron? How are you?
I'm good. I had my street broken last year. My wife got sick and I couldn't go.
Oh, that's right. You're right. I'm sorry.
The street was broken.
Blame it on the wife, Ron. We all do. Go ahead.
But, yeah, really.
Well, hopefully she's doing better. But, Ron, obviously it is next week.
Do you agree that it is, let's face it, the unofficial kickoff to college football season, particularly in our neck of the woods?
Oh, yeah. I mean, you know, you have all the coaches. This is a fascinating year.
Mm-hmm.
I mean, I don't know how people can predict this past the first couple of teams, honestly, because there's so many new coaches in different places.
Yeah.
I mean, it's just incredible. I've been a little while looking at it and like, how do you pick this thing?
They've got new coaches galore.
Yeah.
You took them down the line. I mean, Pete Golding, Ole Miss, I mean, LSU, Auburn, Florida, you know, Kentucky, Arkansas.
That's ridiculous. I mean, I'm just like, so anybody who thinks they can pick this thing, I mean, as far as I know, Georgia and Texas, that'll have been about seven teams together.
It's crazy. It really is.
Let's talk about this run. Obviously, back in the day when it was at Hoover, we thought it'd never leave, but of course, we know now that we were wrong about that along with a lot of other things.
But when the king came in, it was indisputable who was the king. He'd drive up his Mercedes. He'd have the court waiting on him and the escalators coming up to the bottom floor, the top floor.
Is it safe to say that your neighbor in Louisiana may be taking on that crown as far as the go-to interview and the one that basically is probably going to cause more ripples with one Paul Feinbaum next week?
Oh, probably, yeah. You know, the thing is, the thing about Lane is, is that Lane says more controversial stuff on social media than he ever does in an interview.
You're right.
And it's, you know, I kind of admit about him. I mean, now that you know he's here every day, you have press conferences, you see him like all these, when he first got here, all these guys who hadn't really been around him a lot, they're like,
You know, is he going to speak up? We can't hear him.
Well, this is the way, I mean, I've never seen a guy who's so bold on social media, you get in front of a microphone and he, and he doesn't really look you in the face and he kind of shifts him foot to foot.
Yep.
And he kind of speaks real slow and not kind of unsure himself. And, you know, it's crazy. It's like this, you know, but you, I guess you lock him in a room with a, with a, a phone, you know,
You know, throw stuff out there, but it's, you know, I think everybody's ready for this football season to get, obviously with Lane, you know, at LSU.
It'll be, everybody be, you know, there has to be paid for this thing.
You know, and people in Louisiana, I mean, some of the LSU fans are, let's put it this way, about three-fourths of them are delusional.
You know, you know, we should be the national championship hunt. You know, we should be right there.
I'm thinking, I'm thinking, man.
Realistically, what would you put LSU right now, realistically, if there is such a thing?
Probably in the league, probably about six.
Mm-hmm.
You know, and I'm thinking best case, with their schedule, best case scenario is nine and three.
But I'm telling people, I'm telling people, okay, you're talking, you know, we'll be a national playoff. You're going to be a national playoff.
All I want them to do is get a first down and third and one. All I want them to do is to block somebody coming off the edge.
All I want them to do is not jump offside every other play.
All I want them to do is not everything they did last year wrong. That's all I'm asking for, far at all.
Then we'll move on to other things.
But let's get the little basics taken care of that just ruined your season last year, okay, and then move on.
You've got 50-something new players, okay? You've got 50-something new players. You've got a quarterback who didn't participate in the spring, but he's well now. He really is. He's done a really good job golf season.
But he's got basically 30 days to get ready to play Clemson, and then two weeks after that, you play Ole Miss, and then three weeks after that, you play Texas A&M.
So you've got to be really good early, and that's why I think people are kind of, you know, I understand they're enthusiastic, you know, they've got, you know, the best play caller in the conference, the guy that's offensive-minded and runs a million plays every game.
But they've got to be realistic about how quickly he can bring all this talent together, and that's, this is the most new players L.C. has ever had in one season, and that's, and it's the most new players L.C. has ever had, too.
He didn't have this many players at all this in one year, so I think people around here kind of need to try to look at those things a little more realistically and think, you know, like I said, I think nine and three would be great.
We'll give them the playoff. I don't know. It depends who they beat.
That's the top side for me because when I start looking at their schedule, and you lead off with Clemson their first week, Ole Miss and Texas A&M, that's three of the first four games.
And then you have a little thing where you've got Kentucky, Mississippi State, and Auburn, and then you end up with Alabama, Texas, that, Tennessee, that, Arkansas.
The beginning and the end is h***, and the middle is probably more challenging than you think because you've got new coaches in Kentucky and Auburn, and you play both those on the road.
So all these LSU fans need to kind of like, you know, get a little more sober about what they're thinking.
Greg Sankey, the commissioner of the SEC, would do his State of the State address to begin the conference next Monday, and a lot of people thought that it's San Daston in the spring that he would come out and basically give the SEC platform,
we want 16 games, we're going to keep the championship game through the contract in 2031.
Again, he's got another opportunity to basically address the nation of college football, Ron.
What would you like for him to say?
I like him to say we're going to keep 16 teams and we're going to type up a championship playoff and keep the 31 to h*** the rest of y'all, okay?
I mean, really, I mean, if you want a 16-team playoff, fine, that's great, okay?
Great.
But you take it past there, it's just stupid, okay?
It'd be just, you take it past there.
It's all money at that point, Ron.
It's all money.
It's inventory for ESPNs or whatever network at that point.
Yeah, I mean, if you get past that, it's ridiculous.
They're not 24 teams worthy of playing in the top of a national championship.
No.
I mean, it's 16, you're pushing it, but, you know, my whole thing is you can't take it past there.
It gets to the point where it's like the NCAA basketball tournament.
How much more are you going to expand it?
Everybody gets, you know, everybody gets participation ribbon.
I just think if you're going to expand it, expand it to 16 and end right there, that's it.
And we're going to keep the championship game because, you know what, it's good for the conference.
It's lucrative for the conference.
And it makes money for the conference.
Everybody participates in it.
And it doesn't hurt you that much.
One time, it helps you.
And if you have one loss going in that game and you lose a game, you're going to still get in the playoff because you're in that game.
Yeah.
That's right.
Right.
I want him to stand for the SEC and say, you know what, we are who we are, and we're not going to agree to this stuff.
Y'all want to agree to.
And we, this is, this is how, this is where we are.
And let's go, let's battle about it.
Let's go.
Ron Higgins, hooking up with us.
Ron, in this day and time, how do you sort out what's fact and what's fiction?
I saw a blurb the other day and I kind of laughed at it.
Maybe the joke's on me, but it said, Nick Saban has the itch to maybe get back into the coaching game again.
Do you put any legs with that?
And if so, obviously, I still say the reason Nick got out, he was smarter than the rest of the crowd.
He saw where this thing was going and he knew that he was going to have to change his game book.
He's going to have to go out and buy players with the money he had on hand compared to Texas, A&M, et cetera.
But do you have any belief in some of these rumblings that Nick, I think he has the itch.
He's a coach at heart, but he's also a pretty smart guy.
He knows what he'd be facing now, especially at this age.
I think that Miss Terry is standing in front of him with a large bottle of calamine lotion.
Two shotguns loaded.
You're like a large bottle of extra-large of calamine lotion saying, I've got your itch right here, Nick.
Okay?
Or you're crazy.
And he would be crazy.
I don't believe that.
I don't buy that one minute.
No.
Not one minute.
Why would he want to get back in the game where there are no rules?
He's a control freak, Ron.
He can't control it now because he's got the money that controls it, and he has no control over how much money comes in now.
Right.
He's going to negotiate with players to stay on this team.
That's why he left.
Right.
He'll say, yeah, that's the reason he left.
I mean, he didn't want to – he just, you know – the last year for him was really hard health-wise.
He made it through.
Then he comes back to the playoff game.
People negotiate to, you know, leave or stay.
It takes – listen, it takes a certain type of coach these days to kind of survive that and understand that.
A lot of the old-school guys don't want to put up with it.
I mean, they're done.
You know, the other ones, it'll shorten their coaching lifespan for sure.
I mean, guys like Kiffin's age, they're coaching lifespan to be shortened because, frankly, they don't have to deal with this stuff every frigging year.
Every day of every year, you know, off-season, you know, it's just –
It's a mess.
And it's just – it wears you out.
It wears out – everybody involved, it wears out the coaches.
It wears out all your player personnel.
H***, it wears the media out.
That's right.
Yep.
And you know what?
It wears the fans out.
The fans are – I mean, they're kind of tired of it.
I really do believe that.
I mean, they love – they love college football, but they really don't love what it's become.
And they're kind of like, you know, how much money do I got to pay to go see a game?
How much money do we got to pay to buy a quarterback?
How much money is the first three words?
How much money?
And it's come to that to the point where it's not a h*** of a lot of fun anymore.
It's just basically who you can buy and how many rules you can bend and what kind of judges you get in your state to keep your players eligible.
And nobody can – has any jurisdiction over anything.
So it's tough for people to watch.
And honestly, I mean, the selective few have always been the same.
They'll probably even be more because they have more money than anybody else.
And every once in a while somebody will buy themselves into there and buy themselves into a playoff spot.
And, you know, say a Texas Tech, you know, they'll buy themselves into a playoff spot.
Well, if they can stay there, who knows?
But I just find it – it's really tough to watch.
And, you know, I'm not – I'm not naive to think this – I mean, this stuff wasn't going on 10 years ago.
But, like I said, there was an – there was honor among thieves, so to speak.
And it got to the point now where, you know, schools want to see other schools because they took their players and they said they broke their contracts.
Ole Miss wants to see LSU through the players.
Like, okay, really?
I mean, come on, man.
I mean, it is – everything's litigation.
I'm surprised in the middle of a game that a key third and one that falls short, they're going to call in a judge right there on the field and have litigation.
Oh, man.
We'll just count it in, Ron.
Absolutely.
But we always enjoy the conversation.
Safe travels to Tampa to begin your streak again of attending SEC Media Days.
Ron, where can we get online to get all your good stuff?
Go to streetportbusierjournal.com.
You can find me there.
Theyronhiggins.org, which I haven't written in a while – I've been about a month off from writing to try to find some new verbs and adjectives in the same month.
And on Twitter, at Ron Higgins.
And on Instagram, SEC Ron.
Ron, listen, man, it's always a pleasure to catch up with you.
I want to echo those sentiments.
Safe travels.
And before you know it, we'll blink and it'll be here.
But in the meantime, thank you so much for your time today, buddy.
All right.
Hello to my son and my wife.
Absolutely.
There you go.
See y'all.
See you, buddy.
Ron Higgins, fine columnist, Streetport, Bossier Journal.
Coming up.
He's a legend at the place called UNA.
And now he's a golden eagle.
Coach Cody Gross on deck.
Stay with us.
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The Score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back in.
How about this, BBB?
We just got done talking with a Hall of Famer down in Louisiana and this thing called the media with Ron Higgins.
Why don't you say we say hello to another Hall of Famer with roots closer to us?
Absolutely.
Let's do it.
Cody Gross, Hall of Famer at a place called UNA has something to do with winning back-to-back-to-back national championships.
Now, I think he's a golden eagle over at Athens High.
Coach Cody Gross, welcome in.
How are you?
Doing great.
I love that introduction.
That was a long, long, long, long time ago in a former life, but I was blessed to do it.
I don't know how long it is, Cody.
You're always going to be remembered when it comes to UNA football fans, but let's fast forward to this chapter of your life.
Crimmie, if I'm wrong, Cody, but is this the 10th year, I guess, which would be what, the 11th season?
Yes.
That you're now the head coach of Athens High.
Hey, y'all are pretty good.
Yes, sir.
It's the 11th season.
Hard to believe.
I have to get it when I can there, Cody, because it's hard to remember some of these things,
but obviously in 10 years, that in itself is a story in itself.
Talk to us about the journey to this point and about this team and how things are going in the offseason coming in.
Well, we lost a lot of guys two years ago, but then last year played with a lot of seniors who had not played a lot of ball.
That may not make sense, but we had a group before them that had played as sophomore, ninth graders, 10th graders, 11th graders.
So we had really some inexperienced seniors last year, but we lost a lot of those guys.
So now we've got a smaller senior class this year and a lot of young guys that are going to be playing for us.
So it has been a journey this offseason from the time the season ended to now, trying to build a team, see what it's going to be made of, who the leaders are going to be.
We've had a, I really do believe, a great offseason.
We've gotten much, much stronger, but we had plenty of room for growth because we were not very strong.
And when you're not very strong, you can get a lot stronger.
But the kids have put in the work, they've done that.
So, you know, I think we've also gotten faster.
I hope we've gotten tougher because that's going to be what winds up being the determining factor, I think, in how our season goes.
Because we've got really good kids.
I think we've got a great coaching staff.
And I think our kids are working hard.
It's going to be, what are you going to be able to do every Friday night against really, really, really good opponents week in and week out.
That's what I was going to mention to you.
I'm looking at the Class 5A Region 7 schedule, and you have never been shy about challenges.
You begin the year with West Morgan, and then you've got three consecutive road games at Bob Jones, East Limestone, at Decatur, the 98th meeting with Decatur.
Austin at Florence, Russellville, Hartzell, Muscle Shows.
My goodness, that is a challenging schedule.
It is.
Our region is basically what it was when I came here in 2016.
Austin and Florence were part of it before they moved up.
You know, you get them back in the mix.
That's two playoff teams from 7A last year.
You obviously Muscle Shows is Muscle Shows.
Hartzell is Hartzell.
Decatur is a young group.
It's going to be better.
Russellville with Coach Higgins coming in.
You know, I know what kind of coach he is and what they do schematically adds another wrinkle to it.
So, they're going to be extremely tough.
You know, we open up with West Morgan, who's won 30-something regular season games in a row.
Drew Phillips is probably the best coach in the state of Alabama.
And then you go to Bob Jones, who's got Seth Parker, a new coach there.
Both Phillips and Parker were part of my staff at one point.
But, you know, Coach Parker will do a great job of Bob Jones.
And, you know, like I say, then you get into region play, and you've got to strap it on every week.
And, you know, as a competitor, that's what you're looking for.
I mean, so we're going to get it.
But, you've got to show up each and every week ready to play.
Coach, Cody Gross in the huddle with us.
Cody, let's give some love to these kids.
Obviously, the folks over in Athens, they can't wait to get to make these household names.
I know the list is too long to get the complete list.
But, if you will, to the extent you can, talk to us about some of the guys you've got coming back on this team.
Well, I think the first guy that comes to mind is Aiden Lovell.
Aiden will be a three-year starter for us offensively.
He's played receiver.
He's played each back.
He's played running back.
He's involved in all special teams.
And he's a tremendous football player, about a 6'2", 210-pound kid that will line him up about anywhere offensively.
And he's a guy, obviously, we have to get the ball to.
James Newby is a tight end.
His dad played at NC State with Phillip Rivers.
And James, he'll be a three-year starter for us as well.
So, those guys offensively, obviously, are going to have to carry a big role as far as leadership goes.
And, you know, touching the ball, even Newby at tight end, he's turned into a good receiver.
Obviously, a good physical blocker.
But those are kind of the two guys offensively that we've got to try to get the ball to.
And then, you know, receiver, we've got a lot of guys in the mix, but really nobody with much experience.
Quarterback, we've got a little battle going there between really three guys that's in the mix.
But Cam Carden, Zayden Holman, and Jackson Moore.
And Carden and Moore, two guys that can also play receiver.
Offensive line, Shamar Yarbrough is back as a starter.
He'll be a senior at center.
Max Shinkunas started the last half of the season for us at guard.
He'll be a junior.
He's the third Shinkunas brother to play for me.
And then the last.
And then Desmond Malone is a guy that started the last half of the season as well.
So, you know, three starters back, but two of them started the last half of the season.
But that speaks of the growth that they had.
So that's kind of where we got as far as returners are offensively.
And then defensively, kind of starts at inside linebacker, Austin Campbell.
It will be a three-year starter.
He's a two-time state champion wrestler.
And he'll start in there at Mike Forrest.
Austin Barker started about half the season at linebacker as well.
He'll be there.
And then Brady Johnston at safety started about the last half of the season.
And Caden Bledsoe, all those guys I just mentioned defensively will be seniors.
So, two inside backers and two safeties are seniors that have experience.
And then beyond that, it's going to be a lot of guys that have not played a whole lot of ball.
But they have some ability, and they're just going to have to grow up pretty fast.
Let me ask you something.
I was looking.
I was doing some prep work last night.
It's certainly the schedule, which we mentioned.
But I was – something caught my eye.
The student enrollment at Athens High School right now is 1,014 students.
That's 34th in the state.
Every time I go through Athens, it seems like it takes me longer.
The growth in Athens has been incredible.
I did not realize, too.
I saw that you've now got over 1,000 students in the school.
Yeah, and it's going to keep growing.
Your elementary schools and the intermediate school and the middle school, those numbers continue to go up.
So we'll graduate a class, and then the ninth grade class coming up, replacing them, we'll have 75 more kids, 100 more kids.
So I figure the highest classifications in our future.
But it is a fast-growing area.
It's a beautiful place to live.
But we still have the old downtown.
We've got the square.
And it's still the one-school town.
So that's something special.
And I think we're committed to keeping it a one-high school town.
At least I hope so.
If it becomes more than that, somebody else will be the coach at both of them.
Listen, we always enjoy the conversation catching up with you.
Have a great summer.
Good luck to you.
God bless the players and the coaches.
Hopefully we can do this again with you real soon.
But once you get into practice in August.
Oh, yes, sir.
Well, thank you all.
It's always a joy talking with you all.
You do such a great job.
And I really appreciate you.
I know you cover a lot.
But what you all do for high school sports is important.
And we really do appreciate you.
Absolutely.
Cody Gross giving us a preview of the upcoming season for the Athens Golden Eagles.
When we come back with Rodney Orr talking Crimson Tide when we return to the Boom O' Buck Show on 93.9.
Let's go.
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Progressive presents the Sports Flash on 93.9 The Score.
The American League shut out the National League in the All-Star game last night in Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park.
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Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back here.
When it comes to Paul and the Crimson Tide, who does it better than Rodney Orr?
He's the founder and editor of TiderInsider.com and also the find out of the book Bigger Than Bama.
Rodney Orr, welcome in.
How are you?
Hopefully, we'll be able to get Rodney on board with us here shortly.
Hopefully, he's hiding behind door number two there, B.B.
In the meantime, looking at the trio of Tiders heading over to Tampa for the SEC Media Days,
you think opposing quarterbacks are taking a close eye.
No quarterback, but two defensive backs, along with a wide receiver in Ryan Coleman-Williams.
It tells you a little bit about how Alabama feels about their secondary, B.B. coming in.
Well, I've been saying this for months.
I think Alabama's got the best secondary in the country, much less the SEC.
Zabian Brown is an incredible playmaker.
Ray Hubbard, I know, got embarrassed in the Florida State game.
But listen, he played his tail off the rest of the year.
But I think Rodney's rejoined us.
But, Harold, that's the reason why you've got the best secondary in the SEC coming to Tampa.
Rodney Orr, again, was said again.
He's the founder and editor of tighterinsider.com and the fine author of the book, Bigger Than Velma.
Rodney, welcome in.
Would you have one foot out of the door heading to Tampa to get there early for SEC Media Days?
How are you?
Not me, buddy.
I'm going to let the rest of them have it this year.
How about that?
Yeah, we're just sitting here talking as far as it's always a fun topic this time of the year.
Who's going to represent?
And now we know the answer to that question.
But Brett and I were talking about two things that's interesting about this.
You've got a wide receiver in Ryan Coleman-Williams.
He was made for a camera, number one.
He's got the smile.
Everybody wants that smile.
But you've got not one but two defensive backs in Zabian Brown and Bray Hubbard.
Rodney, that basically goes ahead and confirms what everybody knows.
The staff loves their secondary coming into this season.
Yeah.
Yeah, you're right.
I was thinking there's no big uglies as Keith Jackson used to call them, right?
Yeah, right.
Yeah, they love their DBs and they love, you know, tight ends and quarterbacks and those types of things.
And it's really not a surprise that those were the guys that were selected, actually.
I mean, that's kind of, if you were guessing beforehand, those would have been the three that would have probably come to mind first.
And, you know, all of those guys, obviously, are going to be really key factors in this coming year.
And so, you know, again, it's not really a surprise who's representing.
Let me ask you about that.
Obviously, the secondary is getting a lot of love.
But, Rodney, how do you feel about the defense overall?
Because secondary is great.
But if the other team can run the ball, they ain't going to have to throw a whole lot.
Your thoughts about the defense as a whole.
Everybody's talking about the offense and who's going to be the quarterback.
But let's say it's about half the time.
You're going to have to keep the other guys out of the end zone.
Yeah.
And I think, you know, the feeling is, and again, this is their feeling, I think,
that they did a really good job on the portal additions on the defensive front.
They got bigger.
They got stronger.
They got some experience.
You know, Terrence Green, Devin Tompkins, Kedrick Bingley-Jones, you know, those guys,
certainly when you add them to some of the ones that they have, that, frankly,
it's time for those guys to take a step.
I mean, I think we need to see Steve and Bo Moa.
We need to see him take a step.
I mean, he's got incredible potential.
He's going into year three now.
I think he's a tremendous athlete.
He's raw power.
I mean, it's unbelievable just watching how strong he is.
And now it's time for him to take that step.
I think Edrick Hill, you know, Jeremiah Beeman, there were a lot of expectations last year,
and he was injured, you know, right around the FSU game afterwards.
You know, he didn't play anymore.
So some of those guys need to take a step up.
But I think to answer your question, the feeling is that the defensive front is going to be a lot better or be better, should be better.
And I think they feel like they can do a better job of stopping the run.
I think the one question, Harold, if you look at the defense, it's probably inside linebacker.
And part of that's just the lack of experience.
You know, we may not be calling it a question mark seven, eight weeks into the season anymore.
But right now, as you look at it, a lot of young players.
And, you know, I do know, obviously, you mentioned Caleb Woodson, the transfer from Virginia Tech,
because he is an experienced guy.
He's been very productive at Virginia Tech.
So he's a guy that you look at and you say, okay, he brings what they need in that regard to the inside backer core.
Ron, you had a quick note this week about Noah Rogers that seems to be promising.
I think a lot of people just simply did not know the extent of the injury.
You mentioned that you thought it was a knee tendon or heard that.
But he is now running some routes, appears to be moving well.
Now, does that mean he'll be ready for East Carolina?
Probably not.
But, you know, instead of coming back at Halloween, it appears, Ron, if he continues to make progress,
it'll be earlier than that.
And I know Alabama's got some very good receivers.
But, believe me, Dem still helps.
I guess I'd use the word promising, Bronny, about Rogers.
I think so.
I mean, based on what I heard, it sounded really promising, actually, the progress that he's made,
how he's moving around.
And, again, let's be clear.
I'm not – I wasn't told that he was moving full speed or anything like that.
But just how far, how much progress he's made.
And, like you said, I think the feeling was he would be out at least until mid-October to late October.
And now, you know, again, just the feel I got, the sense I got was there's some optimism that maybe,
maybe where he is right now, it could be a little sooner.
We'll see.
Rodney, you're hooking it with us, tighterinsider.com.
Rodney, obviously, we're going to talk recruiting and about the latest additions to the class for 2028.
Get your thoughts on the strategy as far as this class opposed to the next one.
But a lot of rumblings about Cedric Simmons out of Selma, three-star wide receiver, committed earlier to Auburn.
Rumblings now that there's a possibility he's going to flip from Auburn to Alabama.
Is this just smoke for the Internet, or does this have teeth to it, in your opinion?
Yeah, I mean, again, I think when you look at him, there was a feeling early that he was going to commit to Alabama, pick Alabama.
And then as he got closer to the time he made his decision, he picked Auburn.
Again, his brother obviously played there, Malcolm, and now at Texas Tech.
But, yeah, you're hearing that right now, that there's a chance he'll flip.
What that really tells me from experience, Harold, is we've seen when these types of things happen, just hold on.
Because it could go back and forth for a while.
So, again, I know everyone gets excited and all of that.
And he might flip, and he might stick.
But I do say history tells us when it gets in a battle like that between Alabama and Auburn, you kind of see it go back and forth a few times.
Here's the other part of it, too, as far as what's being unsaid.
But I think a lot of folks probably think it.
Does it also say something about Alabama's chances with sales, Alabama's sales?
Because, obviously, you know they had budgeted a lot of money to pull him to Alabama.
And now it looks like right now it looks like that Alabama's on the outside looking in.
Again, let me make sure we're not saying that.
That's just according to the sources.
Anything, as you mentioned, can happen.
But is it basically a way of saying Alabama says, okay, let's go ahead and maybe go all in now, budget-wise, with a young man out of Selma?
Yeah, or go more in for sure.
Yeah, I mean, he's not going to get sales money.
Right, no.
I mean, you know that.
But, again, he is, yeah, I mean, I think it gives him an opportunity there to kind of reconsider where they are with people.
So, and, again, I think it would be a really good pickup because Cedric Simmons is a really productive player.
He's been very, very productive.
Had over 1,000 yards receiving, 20 touchdowns I think he had last year.
So, you know, certainly would be a nice addition.
Let me ask you about Blaylock, the offensive lineman, the four-star, big kid from Ohio, many considering to be the best player.
Again, he's a 20-28, and we know all of the, you know, listen, they couldn't keep six of the 20-27 early commitments, much less a 20-28.
But the six that they've got are pretty impressive.
And, again, I've heard a lot of good things about that kid.
Ronnie, we've got a long way to go, obviously.
We're not through 20-27 yet.
But your thoughts on the Blaylock kid from Ohio?
Yeah, I mean, I think it's a great pickup.
I think, obviously, you only have one offensive lineman committed in this class.
Now, again, they could go to the portal later.
But you have one, so I think it would be more of a priority next year to, and plus it gives Clem a time, to Adrian Clem, the offensive line coach, time to kind of evaluate the guys that he likes, the relationships that he has.
And it kind of, I think, I think overall, when you look at it, when Cap left, they lost some of that.
So, I do like Blaylock a lot.
I mean, obviously, he's got great size.
He's got some versatility.
He could potentially end up as a tackle.
I think most people think he'll be a guard.
You know, sometimes you have to get him here before you know.
I mean, Brett, you and Harold know this really, really well.
When these guys recruit, they evaluate, they do all of these things.
But it's not an exact science.
I mean, sometimes you get a guy here, and you think he can do one thing, and you see he can do more.
Sometimes you see he can do things that you didn't expect that make him better somewhere else.
So, I think you just have to kind of get a kid like Blaylock here and see where he fits in.
But it's a big pickup.
Now, we'll say this, and I always warn my group on tighterinsider.com.
Some of them don't like to hear it, but it's the truth.
And you guys know, you said it, Brett.
It is early.
And, listen, if he continues his stock, he's rated pretty high now.
If his stock continues to elevate, he hasn't seen his best or biggest NIL offer yet.
Oh, no.
So, keep that in mind.
Things can change very rapidly.
2026 is what we're saying, right, Rodney?
Obviously, media day signals a lot of things, as most would say,
the unofficial beginning of college football season, as if it ever ends here at tighterinsider.com.
But one thing I think that kind of gets lost on the shelf as far as success of a season is the offseason program and the vibe coming out.
What are you hearing about the offseason programming as far as basically getting nastier, stronger, and a vibe that says,
let's don't get in the fetal position over the last two seasons.
Let's take the lessons from that, but not the pain.
Let's get busier.
What are you hearing out of the building coming in, if you will, the unofficial beginning of college football season?
Well, Harold, you know, I posted some stuff a few weeks ago, and I got the response was Missouri, you know?
Chill me.
Just chill me.
I'm tired of hearing it.
We heard it last summer.
It was going to be this.
It was going to be that.
And then you came out and laid an egg against Florida State.
So, I said, okay, I won't share that with you if you don't want to know.
But I do think this, based on things you hear, I think they feel really good.
And I think that they're using the things that happened last year, the negatives, as a motivational factor, using it to motivate.
I think, you know, based on some things I've heard, Baloo is really wearing the players out about the Indiana game.
And, you know, that it was an embarrassment and it's not going to happen again and this kind of stuff and all of that.
And, you know, at the same time, we heard that last year, that after the Michigan Bowl game, that they held a closed-door meeting and said, hey, it's going to be our way.
The highway, you don't like it, hit that door.
And nobody hit the door.
And so, I think this year it's still kind of that same tone that you hear.
It's like, hey, you know what?
We've got to get better.
We've got to play with more consistency.
You know, we've got to be more physical.
Those types of things.
Now, again, the proof is always in the pudding, right?
So, we'll see.
We're not that far away.
And I think those first five games, Harold and Brett, are going to be really, really key.
I agree, Ronnie.
And I say this every way.
You kind of want to know about who's going to be the quarterback that's going to play itself out.
Are they going to run the ball more effectively?
I do believe they will.
But, Ronnie, you win games at the line of scrimmage.
You've got to be physical.
You've got to be tough.
And I've heard that the practices have been tougher.
Look, they're not Gene Stallings tough or Nick Saban's tough.
But they've come a long way, I believe, in two years.
But you've still got to win the line of scrimmage.
But one thing we do know that is a consistent winner is Titer Insider, best sports coverage of Alabama, football, basketball, recruiting, coaching changes, if there are any.
Ronnie, the 24-7 message board, Titer Insider TV.
Where can we get online and get all the great stuff?
And, once again, we talk about five stars on and off the field.
You need a book.
If you're on the beach reading, you're at the lake, you need to be reading Bigger Than Bama.
Yes, I appreciate that, Brett.
And TiterInsider.com, it's only $48 a year.
And you can get access right now with your credit card if you prefer.
There is an address there to send a check.
And then, also, you mentioned the book, Bigger Than Bama.
You can go to RodneyOr.com.
It's RodneyOr.com.
Or you can go to Amazon, either one.
And you can get all the details there.
Rodney, get some rest.
I got a feeling the boys and girls on TiterInsider.com are going to really heat up the chatter here before you know.
So, get some rest, okay?
All right, guys.
I appreciate it, Harold Britt.
Take care.
You too, Rodney.
RodneyOr, he's busy there at TiterInsider.com.
Bigger Than Bama is the book.
Coming up the next hour, I'm going to be taking you all over the place.
Going to be checking in with Double D, Drew DeArmond.
Mr. College Football himself, Tony Barnhart scheduled to be with us.
And Little Auburn Talk with Jason Caldwell.
It's all straight ahead.
Stay with us.
You're on the Boom O'Buck Show.
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Alabama House delegates voted in favor of a bill that would make daylight savings time permanent throughout the U.S.
This would mean that clocks are not changed at two different times during a year.
The Sunshine Protection Act passed the U.S. House and now heads over to the U.S. Senate,
where its future passage is very precarious.
Republican and Democrat House members representing the state of Alabama, all but one, voted in favor of this bill.
Congressman Mike Rogers did not.
Congressman Robert Adderholt said that the Sunshine Protection Act provides consistency throughout the year,
and he has heard a lot of frustration expressed by his constituents about the twice-a-year change to clocks,
which affects families, businesses, and workers across the state.
Adderholt did express concern about what the clock changes will do for safety for children who are waiting for a school bus in the dark.
However, he believes that a solution can be found while also enjoying the benefits of ending clock changes.
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,
both in audio and video format.
At 1819 News, the podcast, we are in pursuit of a free and flourishing Alabama.
Every week, we're having important conversations with guests from across this great state,
all with the goal of equipping Alabamians to be in pursuit of a free and flourishing Alabama with us.
A 42-year-old man turned himself into the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department on sex crime charges.
42-year-old Michael DeWoodie is being held without bond in accordance with Anaya's law
for charges of sexual torture, rape, sodomy, and abuse of a child under the age of 12.
A Geneva man died this past Tuesday after a large limb from a tree fell on him.
68-year-old Melvin Dixon was struck by that limb while he was walking his grandson on County Road 4.
I'm Andrea Tice.
For more news affecting Alabamians, go to 1819news.com.
And while you're there, subscribe to the daily newsletter.
Valley Broadcasting Corporation, WITK-FM, Rogersville, Athens, Decatur, The Shores.
Sports Radio 93.9, The Score.
Westwood One Sports presents this World Soccer Update sponsored by Gusto.
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I'm Erika Herskowitz.
Argentina and England meet in the second World Cup semifinal in Atlanta today.
Both teams endured plenty of drama to get to this point.
England trailed in the second half against DR Congo, survived a red card to beat Mexico,
and needed extra time to get past Norway.
Argentina got through via extra time against Cape Verde, then had a memorable 3-2 comeback against Egypt,
and yet again needed extra time to beat Switzerland in the quarterfinals.
England manager Thomas Tuchel expects a tough battle.
It's two big football nations.
We expect an intense match.
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The winner moves on to play Spain in Sunday's final after La Roja shut down France yesterday 2-0.
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Time to say hello to the man who's always got George on his mind.
Fields, James, is the king of radio in the Peachtree State.
You hear my things?
It's just the Braves and Fields.
Well, guess who's also just three games back, tied with Fields.
The Marlins, they have not only one legitimate chaser, but they've got two.
And let's face it, the Nationals are not too far back at seven.
Well, we've got a pittance race.
There's no question.
We've got a pittance race.
And I think the Marlins have been, I think it's 26 and 8 since June 1st.
Yep.
It could be any of the three.
You know, it could be Atlanta and Philadelphia or Miami.
It could be legit.
I mean, they've got a lot of no-name players.
I don't think Jeff Conine's playing for them anymore.
But I mean, they've got a lot of no-name players.
Young players have done really well.
And you've got to give credit for that.
Tommy John says hello, by the way.
He's got a control to that.
His legs, his arm's not too good, but his mouth's pretty daggum loud.
The Boomo Bugg Show, weekdays, noon to two, on 93.9 The Score.
93.9 The Score weather.
Today, a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms with a high around 85.
Tonight, partly cloudy with a 20% chance of showers overnight and a low near 70.
Or mostly sunny with a 60% chance of showers and thunderstorms with a high around 90.
Tomorrow night, partly cloudy with a low near 70.
And for your Friday, mostly sunny with a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms with a high around 90.
Your weather from 93.9 The Score.
Now, get ready to roll, Shoals, Decatur, Athens, and all of Northwest Alabama and Southern Tennessee.
It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice.
The Boomo Bugg Show.
Your exclusive inside track to the tie.
Tigers, Tennessee, and the rest of the SEC.
Now, your host, Harold Bugg, on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back in our tour to the Boomo Bugg Show.
I'm Harold Bugg, alongside Brett Beaird.
Thank you so much for giving us a street ride around the Tennessee Valley.
And for Jason Caldwell, taking time out of his busy schedule.
There's columnist at Auburn Undercover and 24-7 Sports.
Jason, welcome in.
How are you?
I'm good, guys.
How about y'all?
Hey, Ben.
Man, we're doing all right.
Can you imagine, what were the odds of one year ago, Byron Brown saying,
I'm going to go face the media here in Tampa, Florida, but I'm going to be representing the Auburn Tigers.
What?
Talk about coming full circle.
Jason, it's amazing how life sometimes plays itself out, is it not?
Yeah, it's a little crazy.
So, yep, you look in Tampa, first of all, and I mean, it is, I guess, semi-SECC because Florida is the school that probably dominates much of the attention there.
But to go there and to go, you know, Auburn taking a coach and a quarterback there that everybody's pretty familiar with, you can go like, hey, kind of back home again for those guys.
I think it's going to be interesting to see, this is the first time they're going to be, let's face it, in all due respect, the South Florida, but no one in their right mind would say they're going to, the spotlight there is as hot and as focused as it is in the SEC.
In a particular place like Auburn where the fans are hungry for not only success but immediate success, it's going to be interesting to see, just right out of the bat, how he handles that much attention, is it not?
Yeah, and I think it would be interesting because it's a big city, obviously, in Tampa, but big cities normally get less attention from local media because you've got the Bucs and you've got the Rays and you've got the Yankees right there in town in terms of where their farm team is.
So, yeah, it'll be a little bit different, obviously, but I think the spring, you get a taste of that when you show up for practice and post-practice and there's 12, 15 folks waiting to talk to you.
So, I think you get to understand that, but no, SEC media days will be very different when you're talking about several hundred folks.
It'll be by far the largest gathering and, hey, look, it's going to be different for, I mean, for a lot of folks this year, you know, Ron Silverfield and some of these guys that are going for the first time.
I mean, even, I mean, you know, look, Pete Golding coached in a playoff game, but this is a completely different thing where now it's your team.
You got to go, I mean, so, yeah, I think it's going to be interesting because we were talking about this week, it's like, there's nine teams that aren't taking a quarterback.
Wow.
And you look at this league and you go, okay, that, that is a, that's not to pay attention to.
In LSU, you feel like, you know, the quarterback is, but for everybody else, there's a lot of quarterback battles, about half of this league.
That's going to be really interesting in this day and age where normally you're going to get a transfer quarterback and plugging them in to have a bunch of battles is really interesting.
You got Auburn already knowing theirs, but talk about the other nine.
In your opinion, it's just a fun topic here, Jason, away from Auburn for a second, but in your opinion, who is in the best position as far as, like you said, LSU, obviously be the answer there.
But a lot of these guys, let's face it, it's a roll of the dice for the other seven or eight teams out there.
It is.
I mean, you look and go, um, you know, when you look at that one, I mean, I mean, look at Alabama and you go like, you got two really talented options, but you're rebuilding an offensive line.
Can you run the football?
I mean, like to me, that one is, Alabama and Tennessee to me are the two most interesting just because of the expectations for those versus Bandy, Kentucky, um, you know, some of the other Arkansas, Missouri, even maybe like you think Alabama, Tennessee, and you're thinking,
well, they're ready to plug their next guy in and for them now, it's like, okay, you got a competition going on a little bit.
So those are probably the two most interesting ones to me.
I think the other thing we're going to learn again, you've got six new coaches.
You, you, you address some of this in one of your columns on Monday morning.
Quarterback is maybe this will give us a little bit more of an ideal about the talent, as you said, on the teams.
And I think strength of weaknesses, and again, coaches are not going to come out and say, look, we're going to stink at linebacker.
But I think you may get a little bit of an ideal about what positions that they need to shore up.
On Monday, Josh Heupel's there.
And as you noted, you know, he's going to be asked about, well, how do you, but you know, how successful will Alex Goldich be at Auburn?
Well, you know, I can talk about that because he coached for me and beat Alabama twice, by the way, at least once while he was there.
And then you mentioned Pete Golding was the most interesting coach for you among everybody.
And it's not the fact that he and Dabo got into a social media thing about a recruit.
He, to me, is just a football coach.
Everybody tries to make him out to be more than what he is.
You know, you tutor under Saban, then you go into Lane Kiffin, and even as crazy as Lane can be, he's a very good coach.
But no, you're right.
This is one of the more, I don't know what would be the word, open-ended.
But maybe we'll get a little more information about these teams next week.
Yeah, and to me, it seemed like Pete Golding has been going out of his way to try to be more than just a football coach.
Yeah.
And to me, that's what you can't be.
If that's who you are, just be that guy.
Be it.
And it feels like he's trying to get into some of these wars with other guys and do those things.
And, you know, how much does that impact you, the distraction?
Hey, now it's your team.
Your play caller's gone.
You know, all these people, like, it's going to be a little different.
And all of a sudden now, he had no pressure.
There was zero pressure when he coached in the playoffs.
Zero.
Right.
And now you go, okay, now people expect you to be good again.
Oh, yeah, absolutely.
And you spent some money, and you've gone out to say you're still the portal kings and all these things.
I'm like, there's a lot of interesting dynamics in this one.
Like I said, then you go, you know, Texas, Georgia feels like the two teams that are going into this a cut above.
You know, with A&M kind of right there.
And then you go in Alabama, and, you know, it feels like a little bit the next kind of group there.
But they're right there, too.
And, you know, you look and go Georgia and Texas and Texas A&M, the three most solidified quarterback groups in this league right now.
Right.
And I think that's a big deal.
And so, yeah, there's going to be a lot of attention on those teams especially.
And, you know, I kind of feel like the same thing about Texas A&M where you go, can he continue to just be himself?
And he is the definition of just a football coach.
Can you not get caught up into trying to be other guys?
Kirby Smart's done a good job.
Kirby Smart has leaned the other way, which is, you know, my dog, I'm going to keep reminding you that I don't care about any of these other things, even when you know he does.
I mean, like, you know, he goes out of his way to get – he learned from Nick Saban very well, which is I'm just going to be huff and gruff about everything that goes on.
Meanwhile, you know they're good, and, you know, and so I can't wait to hear them say about being an underdog in a game this year or something like that.
I'm sure that'll be brought up.
But, no, it's, you know, it's the media days now for me.
It's like how much can you go learn about teams because, like, I'm doing previews of teams, and every time I do it, I go,
I didn't remember that guy being there, or I thought he left, or, hey, I thought – I remember that guy playing it, you know, in high school 17 years ago.
He's still playing football or whatever it is.
Well, Jason, we all started with 14, so we're coming up on our 30th birthday.
That's the way that works.
Jason, Caldwell, Auburn undercover.
You mentioned an interesting fact here about Golding.
Everybody loves the first-year coach.
The honeymoon is on.
They haven't spilled the milk yet and had the wife tell them about spilling the milk and other things, not boiling the grass, et cetera.
But here's the test on these first-year coaches.
Everything's going to go well as long as you win.
Boy, that's deep, is it not?
But the problem is going to come after that loss, especially that unexpected loss.
See, Coach DeBoer and Vanderbilt, to me, it's a test of how thick your skin is after that, if that makes sense.
Jason, of the new kids on the block, who, in your opinion, is going to have the best first year as a head coach in the SEC?
Yeah, no, you look and, you know, it's interesting because the thing you don't know, and like I said, I said this this week on our podcast, but the thing you don't know is when you have 16 teams, what does the schedule look like at the end of the year?
Right.
Because, you know, you look at it going into the year and you're going, man, that's right.
You know, this FDI garbage, all these things, like it means zero.
Because you don't know what that team is going to be.
Because I said, I compared it this year, Auburn baseball, and you go into the year, and you go, man, you miss LSU, and you miss Vandy, and you miss South Carolina, and you miss Tennessee, and you're going, wow, that's awesome.
And three of those teams didn't make the NCAA tournament.
Yeah, wow.
Like, those are teams that are winning national championships, and that's what you don't know.
You don't know what the schedule looks like when the dust has settled, and I think that's it.
I mean, look, I think this Auburn team, because of Byron Brown coming with Alex Goldish and with the OC and with the offensive line coach, I think that, to me, gives you a chance to maybe not have the growing pain that some other programs might have with the first year.
So, I think that's helpful.
You know, and you got, like everybody, a couple of key games early.
They can, you know, to me, if you can take care of business early and then you can beat Florida at home, you've got a chance to give yourself a little momentum and potentially go to Tennessee with a big game.
And so, you look at, you know, Kentucky, you know, glowing remarks about Will Stein and some of the things he's done and brought in, but you just don't know with a new quarterback and a new system.
I mean, Arkansas is the same way.
I mean, like, it is as much of a crapshoot as you can have.
I mean, I guess technically Pete Golding would be a first-year guy, and so because of that, you'd probably have to put them up there.
But I think you look and go, look, I think there's teams that are – I feel like about six to about 13 are going to be – you could almost shake them up in a bag and roll them out there.
But I think it's – just like it was last year.
I mean, Auburn went five and seven and lost one game by ten points and six games by seven points or less.
Wow.
JC – yeah, go ahead, bud.
I say that's the difference.
Can you – you win two or three of those games and all of a sudden you're eight and four and you're playing in the Outback Bowl and people are going, hey, man, we're the playoff team the next year.
I think it's that close.
I think this is going to be a – I think the defense is going to be similar to last year.
D.J. Durkin's always going to have a good defense.
Kicking game's going to be solid.
I think the offense is going to be much better than last year because they already know what their identity is.
But I keep going back to this.
Auburn has got – beginning with Florida, they have got the toughest six-game gauntlet in the country.
Now, I'm not slapping Arkansas, Mississippi State, but Florida, Vandy, Tennessee, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, and three of those are on the road.
Show me a team that's got a tougher six-game stretch.
Yeah, no, I think that's the thing about this league now.
You look at it and you go, Kali, everybody has these runs.
I looked at Mississippi State and I went, Kali, that's brutal.
And, you know, you look and go, there's a bunch of them out there that when you start to go, what's that going to look like?
It's crazy, but I think there's a lot of them.
But, yeah, no, there's some challenges along the way and can you survive it and, you know, right now, can you take care of the ones you're supposed to take care of?
If you do that and then win a few along the way, then at the end of the year, you'll go, okay, we feel like you've got a chance to be successful.
A lot of great stuff on the side.
Top five position battles.
You looked at cornerback.
Kay and Lee, Jay Crawford gone, Pleasant coming back, would-be winners, et cetera.
Gabe Gross moving to a new role in the athletic department with baseball.
A lot of news about baseball with Major League Baseball draft, et cetera.
And then get ready for media days.
JC, where can we get online to get your stuff, Nathan's, and the team's?
Yeah, yeah.
Having seen today, we're now, instead of auburnundercover.com,
we're officially auburn247.com.
Okay.
I love, I love, I love that move.
We're auburn247.com.
Nothing else has changed.
We're still part of Paramount CBS.
So, still got the Paramount Plus subscription with our site as well.
Auburn247.com.
So, it's easy, it is easy, just go auburn247.com.
Find us there.
All those social media platforms, auburn247.com as well.
So, made the streamlined move today.
And so, you're right, we've got a ton of stuff up today.
We've got some more basketball thoughts coming in the next couple of days.
But some insider things today and recruiting and more.
So, come check us out and join us and be here for the ride.
Sounds great, Jason.
By the way, Brett is still known as Brett Romeo Beard.
Oh, yeah.
No question.
Nothing has changed.
Nothing has changed.
Nothing has changed.
That's right.
Hey, listen, say, travelers are heading down, and let's do it again soon, okay?
Thanks, guys.
Appreciate it.
Thank you, bud.
Jason Caldwell, 24-7 Sports.
Coming up, he's always Mr. College Football TV.
On the TV, Tony Barnhart, next day with us.
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The Score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back in.
You know it's getting so close, you can almost reach out and touch it when you say the name Tony Barnard.
Mr. College Football, board member for the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation, noted author of the 19 of green.
Tony, welcome in.
How are you?
I'm doing great, guys.
I told somebody, and I told my wife back in May that this would be the fastest summer ever.
Well, guess what?
We all congregate in Tampa next week.
Yeah, Tony, before we jump into that, did I see it, if I'm wrong, and I definitely hope that I am.
I mean, don't hear that often from men, but certainly in this case, this is where I hope I am.
Did I see, we mentioned the 19 of green.
Did you recently lose one of your family members there?
Unfortunately, we did.
We've lost two this summer.
We lost, on the cover of the book, the team picture, we lost number 22, Al Kaysen.
And we lost, just a week ago, we lost Tommy Moon, who was our starting center.
And so, I gave the eulogy for Al, and it was tough.
It was tough.
But, yeah, we've lost two of the 19 of green in the past month.
Talk to us about the 19 of green before we jump into it, because, Tony, here's the bottom line.
There's a lot of guys right now listening to this, and they say, amen, brother.
A lot of people don't go to class reunions because they don't recognize anybody.
Over the years, people change, which is another way of saying, don't blink, life gets by in a hurry.
And your book, 19 of green, to me, should be kind of a go-to book to kind of put things in perspective.
Well, I'll give you a great example.
Charles Turner was our quarterback.
His book was about the 1970 high school football season, Green County High School.
There was a black school and a white school, and those schools merged.
And for the first time, a lot of us had African-black friends.
Charles Turner was our quarterback, came over from Florida T. Corey High School.
And here, 50 years later, he and I stay in touch.
I talked to him three days ago, and I talk about Tommy Moon.
And so, yeah, we're not here very long, guys, and for the time we have.
That's exactly right.
And, Tony, SEC Media Days next week, I think a lot of people are interested in getting to know six of the new coaches.
They certainly know some of them.
Some of the new players, the strength and weaknesses of the teams.
I know Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Tennessee get everything started on Monday.
Tony, what coach are you particularly interested in or maybe the most intrigued by?
I know, Greg, Sankey's State of the State will be interesting Monday.
What are you looking forward to next week?
Well, you mentioned there are five new coaches, six if you count going at Ole Miss.
I think John Summerall, the head coach at Florida, is the one that's really intriguing to me because they have a good roster.
This guy's won every place he's ever been.
And I think Florida might have a better year than a lot of people think.
I think the other thing that everybody's going to be following next week, Lane Kiffin, who makes his debut at LSU.
What's that going to be like with a $40 million roster and all those things that, as Coach Kiffin once said, enjoy it.
Make sure you get your popcorn.
Tony, I thought of you this morning.
I saw one of these lists these people come out with.
I have no idea how to come up with it.
But they had the best coaches in America.
And they had that guy in Indiana, number one.
And that guy down the road from you, number two, Cignetti or a guy named Smart?
Tony, I know he's the latest flavor.
He won a national championship last year.
To me, two things can be true at the same time.
Yeah, that was good.
But the question is, who's the best coach long-term?
Well, I think you determine that on a consistency basis.
What do you do over the long haul?
And he's the fourth winningest coach in Georgia football history.
He's only been there 11 years.
Right.
Wow.
I've got to tell you something.
And he's going to have another good team.
My Georgia friends complained when they got beat by Ole Miss.
Of course.
Guys, he's won three of the last five SEC championships.
Yeah, but Tony.
Two national championships.
I know, but.
And he's got another really good team.
So, we will see.
But, you know, what they have done at Iowa is great.
It's a tremendous accomplishment.
But over the long haul, Kirby Smart has proven.
With the retirement of Nick Saban, I don't think it's any question
that Kirby Smart's the best coach in college.
Tony, the proverbial question,
who's the sleeper in the SEC will be asked countless times next week in Tampa.
And you can bring up a lot of guys, Missouri, with drink, Eli Drink,
with Oklahoma, and John Mateer stays healthy.
You mentioned Florida with Jon Sumrall, Auburn, Vandy.
Who's Tony Barnhart's, quote, sleeper this year?
I like Texas A&M.
They came close to having a big season last season.
They have Marcel Reed, their quarterback, back.
And I think Mike Elko's a really good football coach.
We will see that some strong early games A&M has got to be involved in.
As a matter of fact, I went to A&M, went to their Midnight Yell,
something that they've been on my bucket list forever.
And I flew in, and they took me on a tour of it.
It was incredible.
So, I like Texas A&M as my dark horse.
Tony Barnhart, Mr. College Football.
Tony, you know where we live.
So, where do you put the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn Tigers once we get down to business?
Well, I'm intrigued by what they're going to do at Auburn.
Obviously, the goal is coming in.
The head coach, Brian Brown, is going to be a great player.
Led the nation's total offense last year.
So, I'm fascinated.
But I'm really intrigued by Alabama.
You know, it's a playoff team.
And, you know, it's a team that looks like a playoff team again to me.
And so, I think it's an interesting dynamic right now about where the Alabama people, where they're headed.
Tony, could Vandy be a surprise team?
10-3 last year.
Clark Lee has built a foundation there.
Jerry Curtis is coming in.
Is he going to replace Pavillon with Moxie?
No.
But he's a very talented five-star high school.
Well, they've, of course, got two big games with Georgia and Alabama.
Your thoughts on what Vandy has morphed into now?
Well, Clark Lee has built a football program.
I talked to him a couple of times in the summer.
He feels good about where they are now.
Diego Pambia is a generational player.
Yeah.
And he's gone.
But everything I've seen says that Jerry Curtis is the next big thing.
And so, the pressure is going to be there.
Can he handle it as a freshman?
If he can, they will be a team that will be hard to deal with.
And so, it is nice that Vanderbilt is in this kind of conversation.
Yes.
Absolutely.
I guarantee you.
Let me ask you this.
As far as pressure, we have a lot of Tennessee folks as well, Tony.
We know he came in.
He's rocking and rolling.
And it's almost like a plane.
He got off the ground.
But by Tennessee fan standards, Heupel has kind of leveled off.
Your thoughts, how is he going to keep the dogs off?
Not Smokey, but the other dogs off of him as far as numbers this season in Knoxville?
Yeah, Tennessee is going to be fine.
I mean, we all know what Josh Heupel can do.
And it's a matter of rebuilding, building your roster back up.
And so, I think they're going to be fine.
I really do.
And bringing in, this is, not a lot of people, bringing in Jim Knowles, the defensive coordinator.
Yes, that's him.
That's big.
That's huge.
He's one of the top three or four D.C.'s in the country.
And so, I think Tennessee is going to be all right.
Now, they've got to play at Georgia Tech early, I think the second season.
Georgia Tech's rebuilding, but I'm telling you, that's a very well-coached team.
Tennessee better be ready for them.
Mm-hmm.
Before we let you go, let me ask you about your books again.
Tell us again where we can get the 19 of green.
It's an incredible book.
And also, give us an update.
Mr. College Football, 50 years of SEC memories.
We talked with you about this last year.
Will that come out in print by the end of the year, early next year?
Where can we get?
Go ahead.
Well, it'll be early next year.
But I spent a lot of time traveling last season for it.
I went to Oklahoma, went to Texas A&M, went to Alabama, went to a lot of places.
And the book is done.
The book is done.
University of Georgia Press is publishing.
And we're in the process of gathering our photos and things right now.
So we're very excited with the way the book turned out.
And it's just that.
It's a memory book.
It's not a list of the greatest players of all time.
This is my personal memory and what it has meant to me.
And I had a blast.
Steve Spurrier, Jerry Spurrier, my wife and Maria are good buddies.
And they threw us a party in Gainesville, Florida, to celebrate my 50th year in the business.
And Coach Spurrier's 80th year of being on the planet.
Well, we're excited about that.
But it'll be out.
UGA Press has slated it for next spring or summer.
I just hear Coach Spurrier now.
Tony, don't tell him I made you, okay?
There's a great story in there.
They got up to toast each other.
And Coach Spurrier said his buddies didn't want him to toast me because, after all, he's a bulldog.
He said, well, that's okay.
Tony's okay.
He's not like them, it's a word that I can't say on the radio.
I bet.
It begins with dumb.
He's not like those other dumb bulldogs we deal with.
He was social media before social media.
Tony, it's always good to catch you with you.
Thank you so much.
And let's do it again soon, okay?
All right, guys.
Take care.
Thank you, Tony.
Tony Barnhart, hanging up with us.
Meets you there as Mr. College Football.
Quick story with Steve Spurrier.
Flew down to Gainesville.
Did a preseason report back years ago.
And the SID was just terrified of Coach Spurrier.
He didn't want to bring him over.
And I explained to him the situation.
So he goes over and he comes up on a golf cart and says, how are you doing?
How can I help you?
Nicest guy in the world, BB.
But he could present himself as a bear.
Oh, yeah.
The one, the only, Steve Spurrier.
Coming up, Double D, Drew DeArmond on deck.
Stay with us.
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The Score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back in.
He is busy.
He is DD.
Drew DeArmond, host of Talking Ball, and host with 97.7 FM The Zone.
Drew DeArmond, welcome in.
How are you?
I'm good.
How are you guys doing?
Hey, buddy.
Man, we're doing all right.
Are you resting up for the storm next week in Tampa, Florida?
I'm getting ready, man.
I'm looking forward to it.
I've never been to Tampa before.
You know, I've been to Orlando.
You know, Brett and I can tell you about that road trip.
Yes, we can.
It was quite interesting.
It was the Citrus Bowl in 2000, or excuse me, in 2019.
And I would imagine that Jim Harbaugh hadn't stolen those signs yet
because Alabama scored on the first play of the game and throttled the Wolverines.
And it was kind of a preview of what was to come in the fall because Alabama won the national championship the next year.
And Matt Jones proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was not going to lose the job to the great Bryce Young,
even though Bryce was going to be there as a true freshman.
You know, Matt was ready to go, and certainly he had played well in the Iron Bowl before that.
And certainly against Arkansas during that season.
And it was just sort of a preview of what was to come.
And Alabama won that game against a good Michigan team.
Najee Harris had a great game, then decided to come back to school, and it kind of set all the dominoes, you know,
in play for Alabama to win their last national championship under Nick Saban in 2020.
And now going to be headed out to Tampa.
Looking forward to that.
And, you know, I was asked earlier in the week, you know, who would represent Alabama, you know,
the three young men.
I got them all right.
I thought it would be Bray, Zabian, and, of course, Ryan Coleman-Williams.
And certainly it is.
I'm looking forward to seeing Alabama and everybody, all 16 teams, over in Tampa next week.
Absolutely.
D2, we've talked about this, and the conversation will go on shortly through,
probably mid-September when everything settles down.
But the offensive line, William Sanders coming back, returning from an injury.
If he is healthy, I think he certainly is competent to play left guard.
But who is for his competition there?
And we've talked about the offensive line with you.
That's going to be the key to this season.
Can William Sanders hold that down if he's healthy?
Well, I think he will.
I think they're very confident in his ability.
You know, certainly he was banged up and wasn't able to get any reps there, you know, in spring practice.
But I think they've felt like, you know, since really the final third of last season,
when he continued to work his way into the lineup more and more,
and then you started hearing a lot about him, about his progress in the offseason, certainly.
And then, you know, spring practice rolled around.
He wasn't able to take any reps.
And, you know, certainly that is an ideal when you're trying to basically rebuild an offensive line from scratch.
Because it was not a good O-line last year.
I think we all understand that.
But I will say, too, even though, you know, it was a struggle, they did have some guys, you know,
like a Mike Carroll who they felt really good about.
But, you know, it's kind of an old face in a new place because Mike got a ton of reps, you know, inside at guard.
And I think ultimately that's where he's going to go.
Because Alabama was aggressive, you know, in the transfer portal, they went and got Javon James,
a guy they played against from Mississippi State who I think is very likely to be the right tackle.
You know, and then Jackson Lloyd was a guy that they were very, very high on coming out of high school.
He wasn't ready to challenge Caden Crocker for the left tackle spot last year.
But certainly he made a lot of progress, and I think he had a solid spring.
And then, of course, you also have to factor in, you know, certainly the change at offensive line coach with Adrian Clem,
new coach.
And I know some people say, well, it's the same system.
But still, yeah, and here's where that doesn't jive.
Because what we heard for 17 years under Nick Saban, even though they did make changes,
especially offensively, is it was always Nick Saban's offense.
Well, this is Kaelin DeBoer's offense, but, you know, coaching matters.
And certainly a new voice there, I think, is going to help the offensive line.
And I do think Javon James, while he may also be a backup to Jackson Lloyd at left tackle,
I do think he'll eventually, he's going to be the right, or he is going to be the right tackle.
I think, you know, they brought in some freshmen like a Bryson Cooley.
I think they definitely, and I have to go, guys, we're going to have to reprogram ourselves.
We can't say red-shirting anymore.
Yeah, that's right.
There's five years.
So, I think he will continue to develop, let's just say, behind Jackson Lloyd.
But I think Jackson Lloyd is going to be a, you know, they consider him still, I guess, a red-shirt freshman.
He's really a sophomore.
But Jackson Lloyd looks like he's ready to go.
I think, you know, Nick Brooks got some looks there at left guard in the spring.
And Nick Brooks is versatile.
He can also play the right tackle spot.
He's a transfer, of course, via Buford High School from Texas.
Caden Strayhorn is another one that I think you could get some looks at both center and guard.
But I think as far as Jackson Lloyd, David James, I think they're going to be your tackle.
I think Sanders and certainly who we just got to be talking about, Michael Carroll,
is going to be the guard.
And then I think Racine Delgatti, who, by the way, Delgatti showed a lot of toughness.
He had a little bit of a shoulder issue that he practiced through in the spring.
That was, I think, correct to be a surgery in the offseason right after spring practice.
So, he should be ready to go.
And he's got big shoes to fill because Parker Brelscher is one of the better centers in college football last year.
But I think they feel like he's a really good fit.
And then don't forget the Ole Miss transfer, Ethan Field.
Yeah.
I think he's another one that will compete at guard.
But ultimately, when you're going guard to guard, I think William Sanders, Christine Delgatti, and Michael Carroll will be the interior.
And then Jackson Lloyd and Michael Carroll, or excuse me, Jackson Lloyd and David James, pardon me, will be your first five.
In the huddle with Rudy, I think when DeBoer takes the podium and he's facing the questions, would it be fair to say that some of the questions are going to be, in the offseason, did you develop a tougher attitude compared to the last two seasons overall?
And what would you say to those who say, after a big game like Georgia, or have you learned anything, maybe going forward taking on a Vandy or an Oklahoma?
In other words, can you put back-to-back games and not just put all your eggs in one basket, but be more consistent across the schedule?
Well, I mean, I think that's probably the biggest question going in, is being more consistent.
Though, I will say, after they lost to Florida State, they won seven games in a row.
And if it hadn't been for some special teams meltdowns, and then one of the few big mistakes that Ty Simpson made a year ago, which is that pick-six he threw against Oklahoma.
He didn't make many of those mistakes.
You know, Oklahoma had to have everything go right to win that game.
Because, honestly, when you look at the stats, they got completely outplayed.
But Alabama beat themselves.
But I will say, I thought Alabama responded after that as well.
When you go to Oklahoma, spot them 17, and then win the playoff game, I think that answered a lot of questions.
I think a lot of the frustration over Indiana is overblown.
Because, look, I mean, whether it was 38-3 or 10-3, they lost.
Okay?
You lost to the national champ.
Certainly, you didn't like losing the way you did.
But the bottom line is, Indiana was the better football team that day.
They were going to be the better football team.
I didn't expect Alabama to win that game.
So, you know, you have to – you know, I certainly believe that finishing is going to be a big mantra, you know,
heading into this ball camp and being better and more consistent.
But I'll just say this, too.
People want to call it an excuse, but it's not.
It's a fact.
Alabama was kind of a shell of themselves.
They were injured.
They were hurt.
And I think that's why they went out.
They were a little more aggressive in the transfer portal.
And then they wanted to retain a lot of guys.
And then I think it was key to retain the majority of its coaching staff because I'm telling you,
when you change coaches in this climate, you've seen so many new players on each team.
Continuity can be a real big key to this.
And I think Alabama's got a very solid roster.
You know, and I think they're starting to develop some depth.
Certainly, you'd like to develop a second offensive line that you can down on.
Because if you get guys hurt, you need guys ready to go.
But we've already talked about Javon James and his versatility.
I think he's good enough to play both tackle spots if needed.
We talked about Nick Brooks playing both guard and tackle.
Strayhorn from the transfer from Michigan playing both center and guard.
Casey Poe, he played some left guard in the spring.
He was a little rough when, you know, he kind of struggled out there.
You know, so we'll see what kind of progress he makes.
And then Ty Haywood, another Michigan transfer.
I think he's got ability to play both tackle spots, too.
So, I think they can develop, you know, a good offensive line based on what they have.
And certainly, I felt like they had two really good players last year.
They're both going to start in the NFL in Parker Brelsford and Caden Proctor.
The other guys, I just don't think, you know, they had a very good production.
And I think that was a lot.
That had a lot to do with the offensive struggle.
So, if Adrian Clinton's going to come in here and get these guys to jail and they're better,
I think there's enough skill talent, both at the wide receiver spot, tight end,
and at running back to be a good offense.
And I'll just say this.
I mean, some will worry because they don't have experience.
But after you saw, you know, them get Jalen Milro drafted, which I think in hindsight was a minor miracle.
And then when you get him drafted in the third round, and then you see what they did with Ty Simpson in one year.
When he came into last year, while he was a redshirt junior, he had no game experience.
And he developed into a first-round pick.
I have supreme confidence after they were able to develop Milro and develop in a year and develop, you know, Ty Simpson,
that whether it's Keelan Russell or Austin Mack, I think they're going to be very productive at the quarterback spot.
But the consistency will come if they're better along the offensive line.
Because I think the offensive line struggles had a lot to do with the offensive inconsistency a year ago.
I think you're exactly right.
D2, just about time for SEC media days.
But if you know it's time for media days, it's also time for high school media days.
I know we've been talking with some of the coaches, and we'll continue to do that throughout the summer.
97.7 had very good media days at Toyota Field.
I know y'all talk to a lot of coaches, a lot of players.
Going to be here next time we turn around, my friend.
Safe travels to Tampa.
But where can we get online and get some of the interviews you had on Monday and also listen to the show?
Yeah, absolutely.
And we've got a little bit of breaking recruiting news as well coming on to your show, just as I was coming off of the segment.
Alabama has flipped Cedric Simmons, the Selma wide receiver from Auburn to Alabama.
He committed to Auburn almost about three weeks ago.
It's not quite been a month yet.
It's closing in on that, but it would have been.
But the wide receiver from Selma, who visited Alabama after his offer, he got offered, I think, June the 1st, and then visited in mid-June.
A lot of people thought he was going to commit to Alabama then.
He decided to commit to Auburn.
I think a lot of that had to do with Alabama still recruiting Munchon Sales and some other targets.
And now Sales certainly looks like he's going to – I think he's going to end up at Maryland.
And then they get Orsani Gales committed.
He's now a five-star.
Cedric Simmons led the state in receiving last year 20 touchdowns, you know, 106 catches over 2,000 yards.
So he's now committed to Alabama.
That's their 14th commitment.
So nice split for Cael and DeBoer.
And certainly we look forward to maybe discussing that on Talking Ball absolutely tomorrow.
But if you want to, you know, connect with us, certainly you can listen to us 7 to 10 a.m.
Monday through Friday on ESPN 97.7 The Zone.
If you miss any of our content, of course, you can go to our SoundCloud page, 97.7 The Zone, ESPN 97.7 The Zone,
and then 977ESPN.com on the website.
But we certainly look forward to being in Tampa and being around a lot of these great coaches and athletes.
It should be a fun week, and we always look forward to being on the Boomo Bugg Show,
and we appreciate the opportunity to Talking Ball with you today.
Sounds great, Drew.
I echo the sentiment.
Safe travels to and from, and thanks so much.
Now, let's do it again soon, okay?
Thank you, guys.
Thank you, buddy.
There you have it.
Drew DeArma, 97.7 FM The Zone.
If you're driving down the road and you're not going through Winslow, Arizona, Alabama,
and we've been talking about this now for about two or three days,
and just moments ago, Cedric Simmons flipping from Auburn to Alabama.
He's only a three-star, but here's the bottom line, B.B.
Auburn right now, they are thin at that spot.
So this is big news for both Alabama and Auburn, B.B.
Yeah, Simmons, even though he's a three-star, 5'10", 195, Southside Salma, very talented receiver.
I think he will eventually end up being a four-star, 2,100 yards receiving last year, so that's quite impressive.
But, yeah, Alabama flipping Cedric Simmons from Southside Salma over to the Tide.
In case you missed it, AL4, NL0 in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
The Braves off tonight, off tomorrow night.
We'll get back in action Friday night against those Rangers over at the Chop Shop.
Enjoy the downtime.
That's going to take care of business for now.
On behalf of B.B., Greg, James Blair, the entire crew here,
Harold Bogg, thank you so much for your time today.
Let's do it again tomorrow, noon to 2, for the B.M.O.
Buck Show, back here on Sports Radio, 93.9, The Score.