Boomo Bugg Show 072726
93.9 The Score WYTK - July 27, 2026
https://www.939thescore.com/boomo-bugg-show-072726/

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

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Now, get ready to roll, Shoals, Decatur, Athens and all of Northwest Alabama and Southern Tennessee.
It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice.
The Boomo Bugg Show.
Your exclusive inside track to the tide, Tigers, Tennessee and the rest of the SEC.
Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Good afternoon and welcome here to the Boomo Bugg Show.
I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird.
Thank you so much for giving us a free ride around the Tennessee Valley.
Brett Beaird, welcome in.
And as Noah would say, only 40 more days and nights the college football floods the tube.
Good afternoon, welcome in and how are you?
Boy, it is getting here soon.
Happy Monday to you and the listeners.
Alabama lands four-star linebacker Tassir Young from Delaware in the 228 class.
Coach Brett Vick of Convert Heights High School will preview the 2026 season a little bit later on.
Adam is here right now to recap an interesting SEC media days in Tampa.
Well, we mentioned Noah.
Why not talk with Adam and maybe Eve would join us a little bit later on.
But first, Adam Spencer taking to the stage.
He's busy there.
It's Saturday down south, also sports betting dime.
Adam, welcome in.
How are you?
I'm doing great, guys.
How are you?
I'm doing.
Man, it seems like it's been a week since the SEC media days.
In some ways, it was yesterday and other times, just like it's a month ago.
Either way, Adam, what did you learn from all those smart people down in Tampa?
Yeah, I mean, I thought that the new crop of SEC coaches really stood out to me.
You know, I liked Will Stein's bravado.
You know, I liked some of the stuff that John Summerall said.
You know, Ryan Silverfield, he really impressed me.
Yes.
I thought that that was maybe the worst hire of the cycle.
But I liked what he said.
I think, you know, he's got a good head on his shoulders there at Arkansas.
And, you know, he's right when he brings up his record against SEC schools right now.
So, yeah, I thought that – and Pete Golding, I mean, might have been the best of the bunch.
You know, he was just open, candid, funny, didn't shy away from any questions.
So, yeah, I think that the SEC got all of these hires right, to be perfectly honest with you.
I mean, these were some great guys here.
You know what's amazing about it, Adam?
Coming in, everybody thought the spotlight would be, number one, Lane Kiffin.
Number two, Lane Kiffin.
And number three, you guessed it, Lane Kiffin.
It's almost like Lane took a backstage to the new kids in the block.
He was, by Lane's standards, subdued.
Well, yeah, I mean, when you give, like, a 2,800-word opening statement to try to avoid questions,
and he was up there, like, politician filibustering there.
So, you know, far cry from the pirate back in the day.
He had, like, a five-word opening statement.
You know, Lane was more of, you know, the Odyssey's in theaters now.
War and Peace.
This is more like the Homerian Odyssey-length soliloquy there.
So, yeah, I thought that, you know, when you – he still faced the questions,
and he still answered them, and I thought, well enough.
So, I mean, I'm not disappointed in what we got from Lane,
even if I wish he did have to face questions from –
or more questions from the media in the big room there.
I agree with you about Silverfield.
He was one of the most impressive coaches.
They bring in 80 players, which is amazing to me.
And a lot of the coaches ask about roster construction.
He said, look, we're going to try to sign 20 high school players,
maybe 15 from the transfer portal,
and then do something that Kellen DeBoer's been talking about the entire year,
and that's roster retention.
Pay current players to stay, or at least the ones who want to stay
and fit our system.
That was one of the big themes I thought throughout the week.
How do coaches now handle roster construction?
Yeah, and I mean, you know, we – I don't know if this happened in media days.
I don't think it happened in the big room.
But there was something out yesterday about, you know,
Sarkeesian saying that he needed to, you know, let some guys go,
like Parker Livingston and, you know, C.J. Baxter, et cetera,
to try to, you know, get some of these new guys in with the current, you know,
NIL budget constraints.
So, yeah, I mean, it's all a work in progress there.
I do think that player retention is super important.
I mean, you know, just look at it with – through the lens of college basketball,
and you see Florida as the number one team coming into the season
because they bring, you know, almost everybody back from last year's team.
So, yeah, in basketball and, you know, increasingly so in football, you know,
roster retention, getting guys to come back year after year.
And in addition to the roster, just the coaching staff, too,
like you need to bring your coordinators back, too.
You know, that was a big move for Lane Kiffin to get Blake Baker to stay at LSU.
You know, so I think that, you know, stuff like that kind of flies under the radar.
You know, you know, it was reported on at the time how important it was
to keep that defensive staff in place at LSU and, you know, some of these other places.
But, like, I think moves like that can be sneaky important to, you know,
hitting the ground running and having success.
Read all about it with Adam.
Adam Spencer, Saturday down south.
Adam, your thoughts about two teams closer to us, starting with Alabama.
Obviously, the question, the hub of the wheel, the quarterback,
like just about every team out there, but especially when you're breaking in
a brand-new starting quarterback, the question is who's going to fill in that blank.
And I thought some people had a good assessment when they talked about Mac,
who right now, I'm not saying he is.
This is a label.
He is considered to be a game manager.
Russell is considered to be a game changer.
Would you agree with that assessment?
And will experience or potential win out coming out of the gates?
Yeah, I mean, I think, yeah, I think that's absolutely right.
You know, Russell is going to have the plays that, you know, wow you both ways.
You know, he's going to have the play where he, you know,
accidentally drops the ball on his own, you know, 30 yards behind the line of scrimmage,
trying to get away from an edge rusher, and it's picked up for a touchdown, you know,
but he's also going to have the amazing plays where he dodges, like, seven defenders
and then fires a 60-yard path down the field right into the hands of Ryan Coleman-Williams.
And, you know, he's going to do – like, the ceiling is higher and the floor is lower with Elon Russell.
I don't think there's any secrets there.
Austin Mack's going to be the steadier presence.
You know, I think if we were a vintage Alabama team here in the Nick Saban era,
I think we've seen what Saban would have done,
and Austin Mack would have probably been the starter by now because, you know,
we had A.J. McCarron, we had Greg McIlroy with the title there, you know, Jacob Coker.
Yeah, you know, these guys are, you know, they weren't the most dominant quarterbacks,
but they – I mean, they were great.
Like, don't get me wrong.
I'm not trying to say slight A.J. or Greg or Jacob in any way here,
but, you know, they weren't the dynamic leave five defenders in your dust type.
It was the guys who could turn around and hand the ball to Derrick Henry,
Trent Richardson, Eddie Lacy, Mark Ingram, and just not put the defenses,
which were just insane defensive units, in bad positions.
And it'll be interesting to see what Kalen DeBoer decides
because that secondary is probably the best in college football.
So it's going to be tough to pass on the tide, and, you know,
so he might, you know, be thinking to himself, you know,
we just want to keep our defense in good positions.
So, you know, this battle I don't expect to be solved anytime soon,
but it's definitely interesting.
Well, it seems to me, Adam, what it is is what Nick did.
He wanted a quarterback that may not necessarily win a ball game.
He just didn't want one that would lose a ball game.
And I think he knew, like you said, he had a staff or a class of characters
around him, that backfield, an offensive line that went on
and played a lot of years in the NFL.
I think that's a big difference.
I think things have changed now with the question marks over this old line.
You need more of a game changer.
Yeah, I think so.
I mean, yeah, if you're going to have an offensive line
that's going to take time to come together and, you know,
might not be very good like it was last year,
then if you're not going to have a running back like those guys
that I listed off earlier, then, you know,
it's tough to have a game manager, a quarterback.
You know, if they had the best offensive line in the SEC
and they had Ahmad Hardy or Q1 Lacey or someone like that,
then, yeah, you'd probably start Matt.
But, you know, we saw Jalen Millrell have some guys
on the offensive line that wasn't elite.
Even though it had elite pieces, you know,
there were some guys that got drafted in the first round in those years.
But, yeah, I just think that this battle is going to go on.
But it seems like people think that Keylon Russell has the edge right now,
and I'm not inclined to disagree with that.
Adam, two things.
Your thoughts on Alex Golich.
He said, I'm not going to sit here and give you goals.
We're just going to try to establish a foundation and an identity.
Goals are like New Year's resolutions.
And Eli Drinkwith, who's always funny,
but he did mention the status of Ahmad Hardy probably,
I think beginning last week or two weeks ago,
on a five- to eight-week window to try to get back maybe never 100%,
but certainly close to it.
Your thoughts on Auburn and Missouri?
Yeah, with Auburn, I mean, I think that, you know,
it's going to all come down to that game in, like, week three or four
when they face Florida in Summerall's first SEC game.
Yeah, week three when they face Summerall in his first SEC game
and, you know, that's Golich's first SEC game.
So, you know, that Baylor, you know,
when you start with a power conference team, I mean, there's not many.
I think there's only three SEC teams doing that this year with Ole Miss
and Louisville, LSU and Clemson, and then Baylor and Auburn.
So that's a tough one out of the gates.
But, you know, Baylor's kind of a bottom-tier Big 12 team.
So in Atlanta, Auburn should win that one.
You know, so if they come into the Florida game 2-0 with, you know,
the home crowd behind them starting to believe and all that, you know,
that's a very important game.
So I don't really think that too much of what Golich says or does right now
or what he doesn't say, you know, I don't think that has too much bearing on it
until we get to week three because they start out with, you know,
three barely winnable SEC games with Florida, you know,
a Vanderbilt team that doesn't have Diego Pavi anymore
and then a road trip to Tennessee who might not fully have its quarterback situation
or its defense ironed out by that time.
So, you know, I think that the quiet, understated approach is the right one
from Golich and Auburn right now.
Adam, everybody coming in pretty much already had Texas penciled in
as the big dog coming out of SEC media days.
Georgia, part of the puns, the big dog.
Do you agree with the poll from the SEC media?
I mean, I'd probably have Texas at number one.
It's very close to 1A, 1B situation.
You know, I know when I ranked Texas number one in my power rankings coming into July,
you know, people were like, oh, well, how can you rank them there?
They haven't beat Georgia the past two years.
It's like, okay, well, these are two completely different teams now
with the way that roster turnover happens.
So, you know, I just think that Texas has the slight edge to me
because I like Arch Manning and Cam Coleman better than I like anybody on Georgia's offense
and I like Colin Simmons better than I like anybody on Georgia's defense.
And then from there, you know, I think Georgia has a slightly better defense.
I think Texas has a significantly better offense.
So, you know, I think that Texas would be my number one,
but I'm not too upset that Georgia had the edge in the SEC media poll.
Adam, great stuff.
I always enjoy beginning the week with you.
With SEC media days, it's here.
Most of these teams get started next week as far as summer count.
But I know you and the team is going to continue as far as your preseason coverage
leading up to summer camps, et cetera.
Adam, where can we get online to get all the good stuff?
Yeah, SaturdayDownSouth.com.
We've got a newsletter coming out tomorrow, so sign up for that.
And, yeah, we're going to be predicting every team's schedule starting in August here.
Sounds great, Adam.
Listen, man, great way to kick off the week.
Have a good one, and let's do it again soon, okay?
Sounds good, guys.
Thanks a lot.
Thank you, bud.
Thank you, Adam Spencer.
Saturday Down South.
Coming up, I tell you what, did they get any better than the Pride of Muscle Shoals?
A chance to go out and benefit Dominique Johnson with the details on deck.
Stay with us from the Boom O' Buck Show.
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The Score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back in.
It is an absolute pleasure for us to open the door and say hello to Dominique Johnson.
He's a live coach, speaker, and founder of Spark Coaching and coordinator of Mark Sears Basketball Camp.
Coming up very, very soon right here in our neck of the woods.
I won't steal the thunder.
Dominique, welcome in.
How are you?
Doing well.
Thanks for having me on.
Hey, Dominique.
Man, we appreciate it.
We want to get to the core of the conversation today.
But, Dominique, let's talk a little bit about Dominique Johnson.
Your journey to the Shoals and your connection with Mark Sears starting back in Chicago.
Chicago is where I, you know, lived for the past couple of years.
Actually, when I first met Mark, he was just transferring to the University of Alabama, and I was coaching basketball there.
And he actually needed an apartment for the summer.
So, we ended up living together for the first couple of months.
And ever since then, you know, been close with Mark, obviously, he's done some really big things for the university down there and love his family and just really excited to get down to Muscle Shoals and see his hometown this Saturday.
Dom, Harold mentioned you're a two-sport athlete.
You were drafted by the Edmonton Askimos.
In fact, the Canadian Football League started, I believe, last weekend.
Graduate assistant coach for Alabama, as you mentioned, in 2023 with Nate Oates, who I believe got married over the weekend.
That year was, of course, Alabama won the SEC Basketball Championship.
Tell us a little bit more about yourself before we talk about the camp.
Yeah, so, kind of have an interesting family story.
My dad played in the NFL.
My younger brother actually plays for the Giants right now, plays tight end.
And I played D1 football and basketball at the University of Buffalo, which is where, you know, I got the opportunity to play for Coach Oates.
But, you know, kind of had a tough childhood growing up, watching my dad really struggle with mental health and his transition after sports.
So, that's kind of why I pivoted.
Instead of pursuing pro sports, I wanted to start, you know, educating athletes on life skills to make sure that they're prepared for that transition after sports.
Which is a natural bridge.
Boy, you talk about a contrast.
You got your story there.
And then you got Mark.
And we just had his dad on recently.
Dad, Mom, you talk about a family that's close.
Talk to us about the Sears family, and particularly with Mark, before we get into all the specifics of the camp coming up.
Yeah, well, Mark, you know, amazing family.
I'm sure you guys remember the, you know, the NCAA tournament run.
And they would always cut the camera to mom's marches.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, yeah.
So, every single game, they did not miss a game.
You know, from what I remember when I was there, every single game, road game, you know, home game, doesn't matter.
Mark's always had his support.
And, you know, I think that showed on the court with how he played.
You know, fierce competitor, one of the hardest workers I've ever been around.
And, you know, with my organization, I only want people with good energy.
I only want hard workers.
And, you know, Mark embodies that fully, as you guys know.
Don, nobody could answer this better than you because you've seen the Alabama basketball program coached by Nate Oates from the inside out.
What makes Nate Oates so successful?
You know what?
A consistent obsession with winning and systems.
Yeah.
He's got systems.
He's got a way of doing things.
It doesn't matter who's in the building.
You know, when we were there, my final year of coaching there, all three of our assistant coaches got head coaching jobs at other schools.
Wow.
And the following year, you'd think, you know, if you lose all three of your assistants, the team's going to fall off.
But that year, they actually went further in the tournament than we did the year before.
And coach just has a way of doing things.
It doesn't matter who is in the building, what players he has on the floor, what the size is.
He has a specific way of running the summer workouts, a specific way of running practices.
And you bet your butt you're going to be running and running and running.
And so I think that's what makes him so good.
Let's talk about what makes Mark Sears so good.
You talked about the hard work.
But here's the problem.
Here's the situation, Dom, if you will.
Let's talk about the camp, how to get involved, because there are a lot of probably parents right now.
And when you come to the Shoals area, sometimes the odds are against you if making it.
I think Mark's living proof you can, another guy by the name of Reese Davis at ESPN, proof you can, is a host of other folks who can fill that blank as well.
But talk to us just about the inspiration that Mark brings to a whole group of young kids coming up, not on the Shoals here, but anybody listening to this and within his sphere of influence.
You know, I think Mark is an amazing inspiration, not only for his work ethic.
You know, he works extremely hard.
But, you know, I think to make it to the NBA, you know, when you're somebody that's not 6'9", trying to make it to the NBA, that's not an easy thing to do.
And I think Mark is a testament to, it doesn't matter what the odds are stacked against you.
He had all these guys talking about him in college, he's too short, can't do this, can't do this.
And he just ignored all of that, got to work, got to working on the things that makes him great, which is his three, his toughness, and his defense.
And, you know, I think it's just a true inspiration.
You know, if you work hard, if you chase your dreams, you can accomplish it.
So, I think Mark embodies that.
Absolutely.
Listen, tell us about the camp.
I attended the camp two years ago, had a lot of fun there.
It's great coaching.
I was really impressed with how the camp was organized, going from drill to drill.
And, again, a lot of talk about life skills.
And, as you mentioned, so much positive energy there.
It's going to be Saturday, mostly Shoals High School from 9 to 4.
Tell us a little bit more about the camp.
And if you're a parent and would like to get your child involved in it, how can they?
Absolutely.
So, some things, you know, the camp is amazing from what I heard.
I wish I was involved with it the first time.
But I'm excited to bring a lot of energy and juice down to Muscle Shoals.
So, yes, we're going to have stations again.
We're going to rotate from drill to drill and give really great coaching.
You know, obviously, the kids are going to get a chance to work directly with Mark.
But, also, we're going to be adding a couple new things this year.
We're going to have a custom photo booth for every kid that comes.
They're going to get a printout picture, which is going to be really cool.
We're going to have BioSteel, which is an electrolyte company up in Canada.
Sugar-free, unique, and really good product that sponsors my organization, Spark.
We're also going to have a life skills seminar on mental health, financial literacy, which, you know, for kids that have aspirations of playing at the next level, you know, NIL is really big in college athletics.
So, we want to make sure we have that conversation.
And then life after sports, because life's not going to last forever.
So, we're going to have a seminar portion.
We're going to have a really good camp.
We're going to work to have some food provided for the kids and just have really great energy down in the shoals.
We talked about Dom.
We talked about Mark.
Let's talk about Spark Coaching.
Can you, in a nutshell, tell us about Spark Coaching?
It sounds like it's more than just being able to draw up stuff on the chalkboard.
Yeah, for sure.
You know, everybody has something that they're uniquely gifted at.
And Spark Coaching was started when I was in Chicago, working with young men.
We're experiencing homelessness from the south and west sides of the city.
And during that time, I started to work with these guys one-on-one to help them land jobs and help them get back motivated and become productive in society.
So, Spark was really started to help athletes learn who they are outside of sports.
And, you know, you're seeing a lot of guys struggling after sports, specifically NFL players across the country.
I've been posting a lot of content on it.
And Spark was created to help former athletes and help athletes in general find their spark, realize that they're more than athletes, and that when the game ends, they still have a purpose in the world and they still have something to do for the next phase of their life.
So, that's really what Spark is about.
Do you see along that line, a lot of these guys that come out through 18 and 22, probably at that point in their early 20s, all of a sudden they have instant wealth overnight.
And friends in parentheses, is that one of the biggest challenges, those friends in parentheses who know how to help you spend your money?
It definitely is a challenge, you know, and when you make it and that changes overnight, now with NIL, you're having athletes that are younger, you know, getting paid more than ever, but younger than ever.
Yep.
And, you know, a big part of that financial literacy is maturity.
And, you know, taking it and investing maybe in assets and then using the income from those assets to pay for things that you want, like a car or whatever.
But some of these athletes are taking it and, you know, my brother saw it firsthand at Penn State.
Some of these athletes are just wasting their money and, you know, all your family members and friends, they don't know about the financial side.
They just see you with money now.
They just hear about what your contract is.
So, you know, it's definitely a challenge, not just for the actual finances itself, but for how you're perceived and, you know, some of those social dynamics.
Two things, again, if we've got parents listening, how can they sign up for the camp?
And I believe Zephi is also an official website for restoration.
Tell us if parents would like to restore their children, number one.
And then number two, if they would like to find out more about SPARC, about your organization, how can they find out more information about the camp and a lot more about SPARC?
For sure.
So, both of those will be on our website.
And that's SPARC, S-P-A-R-C, coach in.
So, pretty much coaching without the G, coachin.com.
As well, we're very active on Instagram.
We post all of our updates, our coach commits, our sponsors on there.
And that's at spark.coach on Instagram.
And, you know, if parents are listening and they use Instagram or Facebook, there's a link in our bio that will lead you directly to the website to get registered for camp.
We are a fully nonprofit organization.
So, we partner with Zephi to make sure that the donations and stuff can go towards funding the mission.
So, yeah, if parents would like to register, check out the website for sure.
Check out the Instagram if they have any questions.
They can message us on either one of those, too, and we'll make sure we usually get back pretty quick.
Sounds like a huge weekend ahead.
All the best to you, Dom.
And come on down.
Just bring everything but the humidity.
We don't need any more, okay?
Sounds good.
Really appreciate you guys having me on.
I'll see you this Saturday.
Thank you, Dom.
All right.
Thank you so much for taking time.
Dominique Johnson, hooking up with us, founder of SPARC, coaching coordinator of the Mark Sears Basketball Camp, again this weekend at Muscle Shoals High.
Coming up, time to talk Tigers to Brian Matthews, Don Deck on the Bumult Bug Show.
Stay with us.
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Rich Eisen here.
We talk a lot about battles in sports.
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Progressive Insurance presents the Sports Flash on 93-9 The Score.
Major League Baseball, the Atlanta Braves defeated the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, 3-2 in 11 innings.
Austin Riley had an RBI double, giving the Braves a lead for good.
Dominic Smith, a pair of RBI singles.
Ronaldo Cruz went 5-2, did not allow a run.
Atlanta's won six of their last eight games, taking two of three in the series.
They'll head to New York tonight to take on the Mets.
NASCAR saw Koi Heim take the checkered flag at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Sunday.
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I'm Tony Dazzieri on 93.9 The Score.
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Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back in.
As we mentioned, according to NOAA, 40 days and 40 nights can get you a great flood
or a great Saturday of college football 40 days away.
I don't have to tell Brian Matthews that.
He's got it all covered there.
Senior editor for AuburnSports.com.
Brian, welcome in.
How are you?
I'm doing terrific.
Thanks for having me in.
Hey, Boom.
We know what you were musing about last Monday.
What's Brian Matthews musing about on this Monday after the SEC Media Days?
You know, I just wrote a little bit about, you know, the SEC considering a breakaway.
I guess a partial breakaway is really the right way to term it.
And, you know, what it would entail, which would be, you know, the SEC and probably other
conferences would do the same thing at the same time.
Being able to set their own caps as far as spending on, you know, college athletics and
rosters and such.
And maybe being able to regulate transfers within their own conference.
I doubt they'd be able to regulate them between conferences just because, you know,
the NCAA right now is treated as a monopoly, you know, and antitrust law.
Of course, they keep losing these lawsuits.
Whereas an individual conference would not necessarily be treated that way.
And that gives them a little bit more leeway to set their own rules and regulations.
Yeah, let's face it.
It all comes down to this.
To me, people say, what's it going to take for it to happen?
It's simple.
ESPN says we'll work a deal out with you and forget the other guys because, let's face
it, in the modern era of the media, as far as television goes, the king, not the king,
but the ace is live sports.
Everything else can be streamed just about.
You can go back and see another show from 1921 if you want.
It's the live sport that drives the buzz.
So if the SEC and the Big Ten got together and said, why are we putting up with this c***?
Let's just go to ESPN and say, look, here's the pie.
Here's your share.
Here's your share.
Here's this share.
What would keep them from at least approaching that tactic?
Well, I guess the one thing I think that's keeping them right now is the legislation that's
still holding out hope for that task.
You know, we heard last week the House, I mean, not the House, Senate Majority Leader said
that it was unlikely to come to a full vote.
They've been, you know, working and trying to restructure the bill over the weekend and
still trying to push it to get up to the floor.
So we'll see.
But I think if that fails, then they've got to move to the next step.
I think they're going to try to move quickly that step.
And, you know, maybe the winds change and they decide, OK, we're just going to do employee
and collectively bargain, which should be making the most sense.
Or maybe they go this route, which is breakaway.
You know, the one thing that can't happen with this is you can't collude between conferences.
Each individual conference has to make their own decisions, has to do it on their own, has
to set their own, you know, caps and, you know, the way they regulate the conference and the
rules.
So that would be one thing you have to be really careful of because if you get caught
colluding, then you get in a lot of trouble and you probably lose the power to do what you're
doing.
And just to dovetail that into one of the points you made, what happens if the ACC and
the Big 12 get tired of, as you put it, playing second fiddle to the ACC and the Big 10 and
they go find them a couple of large private equity companies who are willing to put money on the
table to pay players.
And, you know, I can see that.
Again, I understand the frustration.
We've talked about this now for months, but I really wonder if it comes down to it and they decide to do it, if it's going to
open another Pandora's box.
Exactly.
And you're right.
What happens to the other leagues?
Yeah, because, you know, this has seen the Big 10 of the big dogs now, right?
They've got the most money, the best TV deals, you know, they've got all those things.
The star players.
And, you know, I hate the idea of private equity and sports, right?
Right.
But if you're maybe the Big 12, let's take France, for example, and you're tired of playing
second fiddle, you're tired of, you know, getting the scraps, okay, we're going to sign this
deal and for the next four or five years, we're going to be able to play double what the
Big 10.
I'm just throwing these numbers out there.
I don't know if this is true.
And they start getting all the best players.
Well, suddenly, you know, they're getting paid a lot of money.
Their profile goes up.
You know, does that change college athletics for the next 10, 15, 20, 25 years?
I don't know, but, you know, I just would be concerned, like you said, about the things you don't
really foresee that can happen.
You know, it's kind of like this bill they put into Congress.
They spent all this money lobbying, and the one they finally brought to the floor was one
that the FTC and Big 10 immediately said was terrible, but they didn't want.
So they've spent, you know, three weeks trying to reform that bill.
So I just, those unintended consequences, like you said, can be very dangerous, I think.
Yeah, they just kicked the can down the road.
Brian, Brian Matthews, looking at us, AuburnSports.com.
Brian, refresh your memory.
I don't know if you saw over the past few days, Tennessee inked this kid out of high school,
Baylor private school up in Chattanooga, basically for a $2 million deal.
I don't know all the details.
But remember that controversial deal that Bo Nix signed with Milo T.
Oh, yeah.
I wish you refreshed our numbers on that.
And the point being, when that first happened, people said, I can't believe that's happening.
And now, think about it, $2 million for a kid that's never played one down in college ball.
Where is this going to go if that happens?
Okay.
What's going to happen if XYZ and Auburn has a Heisman Trophy year?
What's going to happen next year when he goes in with his agent, his mama, and his daddy, and they sit down and say, okay, you've got a bargain.
Where's the bag now?
He's going to either get paid by Auburn and get paid by somebody else.
He's getting paid right.
That's just how it is.
There's no, you know, rules or guardrails when it comes to transferring.
And, you know, even though they've tried to cap things, it's really just, you know, finding new ways to get past the current system to pay people more money.
So, again, that's another one of the unintended consequences.
If you start, you know, trying to enforce things within the SEC, are you going to get schools, again, trying to circumvent things, trying to sue each other, you know, causing all these problems?
Now they just do the NCAA and the SEC.
So, you know, it's just, to me, that the answer has always been a collective bargain, but it doesn't seem to be the answer yet with the powers that be.
You know, on that theme, I saw, I don't know how credibly this story was.
Did you see that?
Did I see this story right?
I'm hoping that it was just a hoax out there that we saw what Diego Pavia did.
He can walk, talk the talk, couldn't walk the walk with the Ravens, got cut before he was all the daylight.
And now he's thinking about, with his team, suing the NCAA to come back for yet another year because of a loophole in the JUCO transfer.
If that doesn't illustrate Pandora being out of the box, what does?
Yeah, yeah, and we'll see what happens.
I will say the NCAA is winning around 50% or so of the eligibility cases.
They're losing a bunch right now because they didn't grandfather in players from last year into the five to play five.
So that's an issue, again, you know, not good foresight there.
But, yeah, it's just a system that needs some rules, needs some guidelines, and not have everything, you know, having to be settled in a court of law and disrupting everything you want to do or, you know, the way you want people to perceive your sport.
Let me ask you something, heaven forbid, on the field.
Offensive pace.
I know, once again, past Auburn coaches, and particularly Gus Malzah, talked a lot about, well, we've got to go fast.
He'd do that for a couple of games.
You know, Harold and I have talked about this.
It's great, but if you go three and out three times, your defense is gassed.
But Golich has proven that he can take this to another level.
His teams have been in the top two in FBS in seconds per play the last five years.
If he can continue that, I can assure you he can wear out some defenses with some long drives.
Yeah, and, you know, I think, you know, there's some talk at the SEC that, you know, the pace of play has slowed down, right?
But I think Golich wants to change that, so we'll see how that works.
And I think that's one of the reasons he brought in two offensive linemen, his quarterback, you know, a bunch of his wide receivers,
right in, running back, guys who have run a system before.
Because I don't think it's as easy as it might seem to go fast, you know, as far as just being in that kind of shape,
understanding the plays and what you've got to do and how you get lined up so quick.
I think that takes time to get that kind of a system installed.
But I think that's the plan.
I think it'll be really interesting.
You know, a lot has changed since, you know, 2013 or 2010 or, you know, I guess Malzahn era when that was so effective
and so many coaches would cry foul and saying that it should be illegal and it was dangerous.
Remember all that stuff, causing more injuries, et cetera, et cetera.
So defensive coordinators had a chance to adapt to it really, really well
and have used a lot of different ways to slow it down.
And now they even have the ability to speak directly to, you know, a couple players on the field through the microphone.
So it'll be really, really interesting, I think, to see how that works.
But, you know, I think Goal's a pretty smart coach, football guy, and if he believes, you know, that he can do something,
it'll give Auburn an advantage.
He needs to do it because, you know, I don't think Auburn is going to out-athlete or out-talent a lot of teams on their schedule this season
in the SEC especially.
So they need to find little ways or different ways to try to get a little edge.
If this does it for them, then I think it's a smart move.
Brian, a lot of folks at the SEC media poll agree with it.
They don't have high expectations about this team, but if you're a coach, you're certainly a coach.
You love being picked where Auburn was picked in July.
You don't want to wind up there, but that is, you're talking about a gift as far as motivation.
And let's face it, if you're number one, there's only one direction to go.
If you're picked down low, there's only one direction to go.
Your thoughts about where Auburn is coming out of the SEC media poll?
Yeah, it was 12th, right?
If I remember.
Right, right, right.
Which, if I'm a coach, I like that.
I like that in July.
Yeah.
But, yeah, that's not where Auburn wants to be, right?
I think 12th last year I looked with Florida.
You know, they had just a few wins, and the coach got fired.
Auburn was just below them.
Same situation.
Coach got fired.
So, you know, that may be the realistic thing that happens,
but I know Auburn and Golesh and everybody involved in this program is hoping this team can start pushing forward
and maybe get to that seven-win plateau and, you know, in this streak of five consecutive seasons.
So, the 12th would be a very disappointing finish, even though it's, you know, not out of the realm of realistic possibilities.
I think everybody would still be disappointed with it.
Let me ask you how Golesh uses tight ends.
He's a former tight ends coach, so he knows a lot about the position.
Jake Johnson, this is nearly a complete recycle.
Boarding ham, Herring, Eccles, Gee, on and on.
I know a lot of people think, well, tight ends are just there basically for in-line blockers,
but they can be a very effective weapon.
Believe me, the NFL's got a patent on this stuff.
How will tight ends be used in Golesh's system?
And, of course, Coach Golesh came up as a tight end coach.
So, that's been his position.
And he talked about it at SST Media Days how having different tight ends with different skill sets
can really help your offense take a giant leap forward because you can be so multiple.
So, your question to me is how is he going to do it?
I have no idea.
But the basis of it is just having a deep and talented room of guys that can do different things, right,
and finding ways.
I think he feels like he can get really good matchups with tight ends out there on the field.
So, he talked about going, you know, 12 or even 13 personnel, those extra tight ends on the field.
So, I think it will be interesting.
You know, you combine that with the pace of play.
You know, you get a defense call in a bad matchup and you go fast and take advantage of that.
So, we'll see how that, you know, develops over the season.
Absolutely.
Well, media day is behind us in the rearview mirror now.
Summer camp about to begin next week.
Tell us, I know a lot of teams have, quote, media days first and then they begin camp the next day.
What is the schedule for Auburn football now for the next two weeks?
Yeah, I kind of missed the days when it was, that's too many days was the week before and it's two weeks before camp starts.
So, Auburn will officially report, even though that's not really an important date anymore, August 4th.
And then, Patrick starts August 5th.
So, that's when we get rolling.
It'll be, what is that, a week from Wednesday, I believe.
Yeah.
So, yeah, we'll be going strong.
And, you know, it'll be a straight month before that opener against Baylor in Atlanta.
And I think, I'll think if I remember correctly, I go with just like 11 practices before they need to start making, you know, important personnel decisions.
So, that'll be something to watch, you know, midway through week two, I would imagine, somewhere in there.
We know that you got an eye on it, Brian.
Make sure we get the information.
Where can we get the latest with you?
Yeah, we'll have tons of information on football, on basketball practice, and the trip to Greece coming up, and everything else you can imagine, AuburnSports.com.
You can sign up online.
You can follow me on Twitter, such as X at BMATAU.
So, are you going to go to Greece with them or Sylacauga?
Which one, Brian?
I would love to go to Greece.
Yeah, I bet you would.
So much fun.
But I don't think it's happening this year.
Right.
Something to put in the bucket list.
Brian, listen, man, thanks for your time.
Stay safe and cool down there, okay?
I appreciate it, guys.
I'll take care.
Thank you, bud.
Brian Matthews, AuburnSports.com.
B.B., stay right there, because coming up the next hour, Alabama, very interesting times down in Titan.
What about the former players?
What are they saying about it?
The Redfish is going to be on board.
Vince Rohr talking about the $2 million man and busy times at a Colbert Heights coach, Brett Vick.
That other Brett and Morris right ahead of the Bumal Bug Show.
Stay with us.
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Former State Senator Dick Brubaker believes that the U.S. is fighting a proxy war for Israel
when it comes to all of the U.S. military attacks going on in Iran.
Brubaker was on FM Talk 106.5 out of Mobile when he spoke about the issue that he has been
following very diligently since his son is an active duty member.
Well, you can't even define your own war aims or just bad ideas.
And I'm hoping that Trump will, at the very least, not let this conflict escalate into something
even more destructive.
And also, I think it's high time that, I don't know.
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I'll be back with more Alabama stories after this.
The news cycle can be overwhelming, to say the least.
Andrea Tice cuts you all the noise with the daily detail from 1819 News, Alabama and national news in just 10 to 15 minutes.
What you need to know before you start your day.
Find the daily detail wherever you get your podcast.
The new Foley Public Library is set for a grand opening this coming August 4th.
The 40,000 square foot facility is located on Orange Avenue and is twice the size of the former library that is currently next to the city hall.
The old building will be renovated for municipal purposes.
I'm Andrea Tice.
For more news affecting Alabamians, go to 1819news.com.
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This is Daryl from Columbus, previously from the Paul Feinbaum Show.
Roman Harper.
Let's just be honest with the callers and the listeners.
No person has ever replaced the GOAT successfully in any sport, at any time, whether it's UCLA,
whether it's Belichick.
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The Paul Feinbaum Show.
Weekdays at 3 Eastern on the ESPN app and on the SEC Network.
Evan, Canty, and Michelle are unsportsmanlike.
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Weekday mornings starting at 6 Eastern on ESPN Radio and on ESPN2.
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For the first pitch to the last out, this Atlanta Braves club plays with an intensity that has the rest of the National League on notice.
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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.
New exclusive inside track to the Tide.
Tigers, Tennessee, and the rest of the SEC.
Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back in.
Our third of 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.
BB, are you ready for some football?
I'll tell you one thing.
Our next guest is ready for summer camp today.
Ah, the word there was today.
I don't think Coach Brett Vick would disagree with us.
Coach, welcome in.
How's life out of the Mountain Calvert Heights High School?
Guys, it is a great day at Calvert Heights.
We finished up our first day of fall camp just a little bit ago, and we're excited.
I think football's in the air.
Everybody's ready, and we're just in that rush to get ready.
Talk to us about that, because back in, at one time, there's a generation of folks listening
right now.
When there was an off-season, it's day one.
But, Coach, is there really anything such, and I know formally it is, but talk to us about
how things have changed from just 10, certainly 20 years ago to now on opening day for high
school camps.
It is almost year-round thing for us.
I think all your teams are speed and agility, your strength and conditioning year-round, and
the best thing people can do is play multiple sports.
At least then, you're getting some diversity in movement and competition and all those things,
and we encourage our guys to play everything.
It means we don't have them all the time, but it also means they're doing something.
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thing over and over.
It doesn't matter if it's football, baseball, basketball, whatever.
If you're a single-sport kid, you're probably playing the same thing all the time, so it never
stops.
It never stops.
You're in film.
You're in the weight room.
You're on the field with helmets all summer.
You're trying to get every inch you can while you can.
That's what I was going to ask you about.
It's summer conditioning.
I know it's obviously running the weights.
Some teams participate in seven-on-seven camps.
I was curious if you've done any of those, and also talk about some of your leaders.
I know we always want to talk about some of the guys who are coming back.
How was your summer?
Talk a little bit about your leadership during the summer.
We've had a really good summer.
Our attendance has been better.
I got here late in July last year.
I feel like we have been on time.
Guys have communicated when they've had to be out of pocket, which is a big deal for us.
We did participate in seven-on-seven over at UNA.
We're going to have a lot of returning players, but a lot of those players we didn't count on.
We're going to have some young folks having to step up, freshmen and sophomores having to step up and take some big roles.
The best part that I've seen, you know, first time we've worked out our basketball, baseball, and football together here in the summer in a few years, and it went really well.
I feel like it brought the level of competition up.
It brought the intensity up amongst everyone when you're doing drills and doing competitions at the end of your workouts.
You're competing with the best athletes at your school regardless of what you play, and it kind of helps build a little bit of camaraderie around athletics as a whole.
So that was a big step for us, and you're starting to see guys police your workouts and your practices without you having to say a word.
You know, if somebody skips a rep, if somebody doesn't finish a drill the right way, you're starting to hear the same language.
It's almost scary.
You're hearing the same language, the same phrases, the same things you say, almost with the same intensity,
but it's coming from anywhere from a freshman to a senior out on the field talking to another student, and that's a big deal.
We've got seniors like Jaden Salih, Jonah Hand, Dylan Counts, guys like Bentley Powell, Chunky Gonzalez.
Chunky was a freshman running back for us last year, had a really good year.
I expect him as a sophomore to step up and take a big role.
Sophomores like Harbor Vets have been great for us during the summer, coming back injury.
Harbor's been big.
We've got leaders across.
We've got some seniors, a couple of guys.
Caden Silva, he was injured last year.
He's coming back, missed his junior year, coming back for his senior year.
You know, guys are coming in and getting extra workouts.
We had a bad practice here a few weeks ago before Fox Football and South Media Days.
And, you know, guys called us later in the afternoon and said, hey, we've got teams coming up at 6 o'clock tonight,
and we're going to fix our stuff, whether you guys are here or not.
So, if y'all want to be there, we're going to have practice.
And I said, okay, we're moving in the right direction.
So, that's what you want.
You want to tell them, get it right so you don't have to do that again.
But if you don't get it right, you want the effort to fix it.
I think you're getting a great point, Coach.
As a coach, you want a good mix.
You want leaders on the field because these kids respond to kids in their peer group a lot more sometimes than they will to the coach.
So, I know you're happy about that.
You mentioned the media days.
It seemed like the one word that got kicked around besides the football a lot was reclassification.
Talk to us about your thoughts on it and how it affects Calvert Heights this season.
Well, it is what it is.
You know, we can't do anything about it.
I think that you're going to see just it has put, I don't want to say more pressure on the public schools,
but everything is moving down now with six classifications and 32 teams in 6A.
All those other teams have got to go down.
That means all your other classifications are getting stronger as well.
So, it's created some really strong regions.
We're playing in basically, you know, what I'd call the old 4A region.
You know, a lot of those teams are in what used to be 4A.
And for us, we're a really small 3A.
We were probably 12 or 15 people from the cut, something like that on the 2A line.
So, but, and all that being said, you know, when you want to change the culture
and when you want to win, we talk to our guys all the time,
a championship fighter doesn't fight a bunch of nobodies before he gets to a championship match.
He doesn't shadow box during his whole training.
He takes body shots.
He's got to have a strong jaw.
You've got to get hit in the mouth.
And the best way to do that is to play the teams that you want to beat one day.
And so, you know, having, having Lauderdale County Central, those guys in there, you know,
I love it because it's the fastest way to change the culture if we respond the right way.
And, you know, we're going to not win them all, but if we'll play right
and it changes the standard of how we play and what we do,
we'll turn this thing around quicker than any other way.
That's what I'm excited about.
It's just to see how the community responds and how our kids respond to that.
I actually kind of like the way your schedule is.
You open the season, hosting Convert County, who had a great season last year.
Then you've got three on the road.
East Lawrence, Lauderdale County, West Limestone, and then three at home.
What I call in the middle of the season, Rogers, Wilson, Central, Elkmont on the road,
Clements at home, Marion County in a non-region game on the road.
I kind of like that.
Well, it's a look of how it fell out.
There's some scheduling things with turf going into some of the counties in Limestone County
and all that, some of the schools there.
But I like it just because I feel like we've got a tough non-region schedule.
It's respectable.
At the very least, it's a really tough non-region schedule,
and that's going to get us ready for region play.
I'm just happy to, you know, I want the speed of the game to slow down by the time we get to region play.
I want the physicality to be there.
Sometimes, you know, if you schedule down at all, it takes a minute to get used to that.
And as tough as our region is, and that's what I saw last year, we didn't finish very well.
Because we were, you know, we played, all those teams are really good teams,
but we played a really strong schedule on the back half.
And, you know, I don't think we were ready to meet that and match that because we hadn't seen it yet.
And we'll have seen it this year by the time we get to week three and four.
We'll have seen some power and some speed.
So I'm excited about that.
Metal sharpens metal.
You talk about the culture, Coach.
When you look at Colbert Heights, there was a fellow a few years ago, about 20 years ago,
that went on to become, amongst other places, the offensive coordinator at Auburn, then Michigan,
and now the current offensive coordinator at Missouri.
That's a big-time job.
His name, Chip Lindsey, his first head coaching job was at Colbert Heights.
So what a culture at Colbert Heights.
Oh, man, it is incredible.
As a matter of fact, I went and ran in, and I hit our friend J.D. Byers up for a sponsorship.
We were out selling, and he's got an office by my house in Florence.
And he said, hey, I'll help you out, but also let me make a phone call right here.
I know a guy who might need a tax write-off and might be interested.
He had to be good friends with Chip.
Go ahead.
Go ahead.
Call it twice.
That's exactly right.
We need some of that.
You know, we're trying to improve facilities and things like that.
But, no, I kept it with Chip.
And Coach Higgins at Morris Hill, you know, now at Russell, him and Chip were good friends from their time in Deskler,
and they stayed in touch.
And I got to meet Chip and talk to him, you know, through Coach Higgins a lot, too.
So, I got some good perspective.
You know, there's Chip Lindsey, Ivan Denton.
Coach Leathers had a really good season up there in 2017.
There's a lot to be proud of.
And, you know, we want to get that thing back to where we've got.
When you play Calvert Heights, you know you've been in a fight.
It's been a tough night, win or lose.
And, you know, we just want to get back to where we expect to win.
And right now, sometimes I think we look at that schedule and we go, oh, man, Coach, that's a tough schedule.
And it is.
But we're not going to get any better, you know, playing anybody else.
We need to play these teams, and we're going to have to play them in and out of the region.
We need to get used to it.
And we need to get ready to fight at that level.
So, man, I've leaned on those guys.
I've leaned on Coach Denton and Coach Leathers and Coach Jeffries that's here for a year, too.
I'm taking some things from them.
And it's a great place.
You know, we're excited.
We just bought a house over here across from the school, kind of on the bluff.
Kids are excited.
Everybody's – it fits, you know, it fits, and we like it.
So, we're excited about being a part of it here.
Listen, we've followed you for years, and I knew you were going to be successful because of that pedigree.
Again, you were at Morris Hill for a long time, saw what Daryl Higgins could do with a wing T,
went to Shell's Christian.
It got to the playoffs, and now in your second year at Convert Heights.
When you – and I know you're not afraid to ask these guys, quite frankly, for advice and help,
but I knew over the long – you're going to get it done at Convert Heights and keep going,
but you've been around some very sharp football minds.
Oh, I've been extremely blessed, you know, to be around some really good football coaches.
And, you know, you're always learning.
You're learning what you want to do.
You're learning what you not want to do and why.
And I've played – made plenty of mistakes.
You know, I'm sure I've made plenty of mistakes along the way at Shell's Christian.
And even here in my first year, there's things you look back and you go,
okay, I would have done that differently or handled that differently.
But, you know, as men, your nature is competitive.
Your nature is always to not reach out and ask for help.
And my wife kindly reminds me regularly that I'm very poor at asking for help
and very poor for asking and taking assistance.
And so I got here last year and I had conversations, but the one thing I regret is not –
I got here so late I put my head down at work.
Yeah.
And I didn't have a chance to hit the reset button and reach out and talk to the guys
that I normally talk to as much as I wanted to.
And I've enjoyed that this offseason.
You know, that's been refreshing.
Get your perspective back to kind of slow down and get back into your roots
because sometimes you hit the ground running and you go with what you know is right.
Yep.
But it always feels good to have a conversation with other coaches.
And, you know, Jeff Mason is another guy that I didn't coach with or coach for,
but I've talked to Coach Mason over the years and we've talked a lot during the offseason
and Coach Lord at Lexington and a lot of these.
It's just a network.
Yep.
We're really blessed in northwest Alabama.
Man, we've got some really good football coaches and some guys that know what they're doing
and are really successful.
And to be a part of that fraternity, man, it's just awesome.
You think just a few years ago, Darrell reminded me of the other day.
He said, man, you were selling lumber a few years ago.
And now you're running around here being a head football coach.
He goes, it's just crazy.
And be happy.
Be where your feet are and be glad.
And we are.
They've forgotten more than I know.
So I'm going to have to call all those guys and make sure I stay sharp.
Well, that's the reason you're going to be successful.
You've learned from others.
Listen, nothing like the first day of summer camp, as you well know.
Thank you so much for coming on.
I know it's been a zoo all day long.
Listen, we wish you the best of luck.
Have a great season.
Hopefully we can do this again with you in August.
I appreciate you guys so much.
Thanks for having me.
Hey, thank you.
All the best, Coach.
Coach Brett Vick out at Colbert Heights.
Coming up, speaking of people who probably need a tax write-off,
did you ever think you'd hear an NCC player needing a tax write-off?
Tennessee stuff next with the V-Man.
Stay with us.
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The Score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back in.
Really appreciate giving us a free ride around the Tennessee Valley.
And, by the way, checking us out online here at 93.9 The Score.
I really appreciate that.
And, for the V-Man, has V-Man given up his five-star accommodations in Tampa, Brad?
No.
No, Harold, and I don't blame him.
And, you can get, listen, when you get breakfast, lunch, and dinner from Mama, I'd stay there, too.
And, that ain't all.
V-Man checking in, I guess, again from T-Town.
That's his new home, even though he's still driving to work on 99.1 The Sports Animal and on the Ball Radio Network.
V-Man, welcome in.
Are you out of bed yet down in Tampa?
How are you?
Yes, I am a week off with vacation this week.
So, no show for me.
But, yeah, I did plenty of shows last week and got a lot done at media days.
So, we'll be ready to rock and roll and get back next week.
Well, come on back because you need to go back to work.
Tennessee needs some money.
V-Man, did you contribute to the $2 million man?
Did you ever think we'd be having this conversation?
No, I mean, for quarterbacks, you know, that's obviously more normal.
But, you know, for running backs, it is obviously unusual.
But, I'm fine with this.
Some people are falling back on the, you know, basically the analytics of the position.
I think David Gabriel George is a generational player.
So, you do what you need to do to get that done.
And they got to the finish line with Ohio State.
And as you would expect, Ohio State is claiming that Tennessee just, you know, outspent Tennessee.
Whereas, if he would have gone to Ohio State, then it would have been a great recruiting job.
Yeah.
And vice versa, you know.
Thank you.
Yeah, I did.
Yeah.
So, yeah, he felt comfortable at Tennessee.
And my guess is he didn't go for, you know, $1 offer over the other offer.
It was essentially to, you know, big offers, competitive, and then it's just a matter of where he felt comfortable.
And that's a little bit of, I think, of a misnomer about the portal is that money is the only decision.
A lot of times, money is needed to be a factor in someone's recruitment and to be competitive.
But then you still have to check a lot of the other boxes in addition to that.
You just can't compete if you're not willing to at least get in the conversation with the Nile Dollars.
When asked about the quarterback competition at SEC Media Days, I thought Josh Heupel had an interesting comment.
He said, we've had seven offenses in the last nine years that were top ten in the country in scoring.
I mean, he's been here before.
Certainly every coach is trying to decide who's going to start the first game of the season.
You've got a lot of work to do in summer camp.
But, V, I believe Josh Heupel has done this before.
Yeah.
And seven of nine years, he's had a new starting quarterback.
And then, like you mentioned, he's had top ten offenses in seven of those nine years.
So, it is impressive.
It's a good stat for him to have, you know, in his back pocket to trot out there.
And it made people think, whoa, well, maybe he will figure it out even if he has a new quarterback and youth at that position.
So, it was well played by him.
I thought Tennessee's group did well.
And, you know, Josh Heupel was kind of feeling it.
He was joking around last week.
I don't think they had gone when we had talked.
I don't think they had gone through.
No.
Well, I guess, no, I talked to you on Tuesday.
Yes.
Yeah.
We talked about him taking jabs at LSU and Texas.
So, yeah, he was feeling good.
And crazy enough, I don't think anyone ran it back to either of those two coaches that Heupel said that.
You know, Kiffin's no longer on social media, allegedly.
So, you know, that would take it off the table, at least for now, anyway.
But we have time for him to decide he wants to get back on social media and give it back to Heupel in Tennessee.
I don't think LSU fans care about being on social media.
They want him to do well on the field.
So, we'll see how that turns out.
But the thing about Josh Heupel, by doing what he did on the recruiting trail this week,
how are they going to get rid of the guy with that kind of money down the line, the pop line?
And your thoughts just about before they get to the rock star in the making, they've got to get through this season.
Where are you with the brains putting Tennessee basically in the middle of the pack as far as the ACC media poll?
Yeah, I wouldn't surprise him that Tennessee was eight.
That's about where we've seen them in preseason polls.
It's about an eight-and-four season for them.
I think that's a good, fair spot for them.
You know, there's the upside, I think, for them to do better than that.
But if that quarterback position is not good, and it's one of the rare year where they don't have a top-ten offense,
with these young guys at quarterback, if that position doesn't look good,
then yeah, they could go south of that as well.
So it can definitely go a lot of ways.
And then, you know, how quickly Jim Knowles' defense improves is another big factor also.
I think they're going to be much better.
They'll be less predictable.
And Jim Knowles will scheme his way into some success on defense, and they'll tackle much better.
I think you'll see him maximize the talent he has.
They won't have the dudes they did at Ohio State, but I think he'll get more out of what he's got and try to build off of that.
So, yeah, you improve the defense to, you know, top 30, top 35, and at least you can, you know, if you can run the ball and make some plays in the passing game,
I think you'll see this team be an 8-4 caliber team.
Hey, man, what I'm leaning from what you're saying there is it's a classic quarterback with a game manager, a running back that can melt the clock.
The question is how good is the offensive line to allow that to happen?
And it's safe to say, we say this all the time, especially early on, this team's going to lean on the defense for success.
Yeah, I think Josh Heupel, like he did a couple of years ago with Nico, a quarterback, they weren't great throwing down the field.
And he had a record-setting running back in Dylan Sampson that year.
Defense was, you know, top 10-ish, so he played to the strengths of his team.
And I think Heupel deserved a lot of credit for that.
People think he just wants to throw it around 50, 60 times.
It's not really what they do.
They always run the ball.
It's just he adapted what he did to his defense and run game.
They also have a kicker that can make long kicks now, where that was a shaky part of it.
Last year, Heupel not only didn't trust his kicker to make long kicks,
he wouldn't even trot him out there to try.
They take unnecessary risks in opponents' territory.
So if he can have faith not only in his defense, but in his place kicker,
I think that'll change how they approach some things.
So as far as the offensive line, four or five starters back,
I think they're going to be really good,
because I think David Sanders Jr. is going to be a star at left tackle.
So the position that is the most concerning is center.
Sam Pendleton, former Notre Dame transfer, is there,
and he's got to be much better than he was last year.
But overall, I think they're pretty solid at the other spots,
and I think they're experienced there.
And, you know, you never know with health and all that kind of stuff how deep they are.
But, yeah, I think their first five can be pretty good.
Yeah, I've got some Tennessee friends who were telling me during the course of the year
and after the season, oh, this offense was terrible.
What they're really talking about were the turnovers that Aguilar had.
And I said, look, this is a Tennessee offense that was six in scoring, six in passing,
and seven in total offense.
I don't exactly call that bad.
And I think another misconception of Hypel, and we've talked about this.
I remember in 2021 with Hennon Hooker, Alabama, of course,
Tennessee beat Alabama the first time in 15 years.
They ran the ball so effectively in that game.
They've got key first downs.
Again, they went 45 yards, a kick, a field goal, and win the game.
But they think, well, all Hypel does is throw the ball all over the field.
No, he doesn't.
They've got one of the better running games in the SEC.
Absolutely.
And I think it was the next round, the guys from Birmingham,
the top rushing teams the last five seasons in the SEC, Tennessee is number one.
Yeah.
And just over 204 yards per game in rushing.
So, yeah, I do think as far as the turnovers, that came because I think of the failures of the middle of the line last year.
And so Aguilar was getting a lot of pressure up the middle, and he was taking some chances.
Oh, by the way, people forget he was dealing with a blood clot in his arm.
And so he wasn't able to be, he wouldn't help.
It was compromised.
So, you know, well, those guys, I mean, you mentioned game manager early.
I think Faison, if it's even, that's why I would probably lean towards Faison Brandon, because he can give you more upside.
I think he's more of the guy that can give you some escapability, some run game potential here and there to give you a playmaking option at that position.
I'm not sure they would get that from George McIntyre.
Yeah.
It's, they like it to be more than a game manager, but if that type of situation, I think he will make the most of that and play to his strengths.
Well, listen, Harold and I are praying for you to get through the week in Tampa with mom, Daphne, your cousins, friends.
Food.
Food.
And somehow, someway, try your absolute darndest to get through the week.
Where can we get online and get all the stuff for media days last week?
I appreciate that, guys.
Always, always enjoy being on with you guys and your friendship.
You can follow me on all the socials.
It's at Vince Sports.
I've got questions to players from all around the league and talking about existing Tennessee players from former teammates.
You know, Kai and Lee with a former teammate at Alabama and others, Arch Manning, talking about never having been to Neyland Stadium.
I've got some good quotes from a number of players around the league.
It was me and Adam Sparks as far as local guys in Knoxville.
And Adam was there just Monday.
So, it was just me taking a Tennessee angle.
So, if you follow me on all the socials, including Instagram, where I have a lot of those videos, it's at Vince Sports, V-I-N-C-E Sports.
So, I appreciate you guys and look forward to chatting it up next week.
Going to hold you, too.
In the meantime, enjoy the beach, okay?
Yes, sir.
If these storms would stop, we'd actually go there.
So, appreciate it, guys.
Thank you, buddy.
We're pulling for you.
Life is tough for the beach man, Vince Ferrara, down in Tampa.
So, let's go from talking big orange to talking tide with the red fish on deck.
Stay with us.
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Rich Eisen here.
We talk a lot about battles in sports, teams battling through adversity, athletes fighting for every yard.
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Progressive Insurance presents the Sports Flash on 93.9 The Score.
Former Auburn golfer Jackson Koivin won the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in Minnesota.
He finishes at 25 under par for a three-shot victory over world number one Scotty Scheffler.
Koivin was making just his third professional start on the PGA Tour.
He sets a tournament record and earns a two-year exemption on tour, putting the 21-year-old in the FedEx Cup playoffs.
NASCAR Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis won by Corey Heim.
Second win of the season, second of his career.
Held off Christopher Bell, winning by nearly three-tenths of a second.
Joey Logano finished third.
Todd Gilliland won the in-season challenge, finishing ahead of challenger Ryan Blaney for the $1 million prize.
And the Atlanta Braves defeated Baltimore Sunday 3-2 in 11 innings.
Austin Riley, an RBI double, giving the Braves the lead for good.
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The Score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back in.
Boy, I don't know about you, BB, but I've been waiting on this one right here, my friend.
Talking about William Redfish Barger, former University of Alabama standout there on the offensive line.
Now, co-host of Bounds Radio, William, welcome in.
How are you?
Man, I'm doing good, guys.
I hope y'all have been doing well.
We've been okay, William.
We've been sitting here getting all these questions, and basically what Brett and I said, we said either Google it or ask the Redfish.
So, we don't have Google here.
We have the Redfish.
You know what's interesting, William, is this time of the year, fans, if you won a national championship, they're still going to gripe.
Say, well, that was then.
This is now.
But if you don't, we know the conversation.
That's the fans.
Do we ever consider, because you guys have been in the trenches, you know how to assess the state of things better than any fan out there.
From that standpoint, as a former player, where do you start trying to answer some of these fans, William?
Well, I mean, I don't know what kind of questions they have.
I guess the best way I can give them the cliff note version of it is, you know, there was some quiet, cautious optimism coming out of spring practice.
And I say, you know, I say that, you know, on the extent of, you know, looking at how they ended spring practice and how they're going to enter fall camp.
You know, I think, you know, the biggest questions, obviously, are, you know, that quarterback competition.
You know, is it actually going to be settled a couple of weeks before the first game, like, you know, Coach DeBoer would prefer?
Or is it going to spill over into the season?
You know, sitting here right now, as we get into the last week of July, you know, if I was a betting man, I'd say it's going to spill over into the season.
Yeah.
You know, I'd say the second biggest question, you know, is going to be how that right tackle spot is determined in fall camp.
You know, I think they feel pretty good about the other four spots.
And I'll say this, I think they feel pretty good about a lot of the portal additions that they made in the offseason on both sides of the line of scrimmage.
And, you know, and I would say the, you know, the last kind of lingering question is, you know, what's the pecking order on offense going to be, you know, in that running back room?
You know, I would say if things hadn't worked out the way they did in spring practice, you know, people would probably be talking about, you know, Daniel Hill and Crowell and A.K. Deer.
But a kind of afterthought and a late addition in the recruiting process came out, you know, named Treshawn Brown and proved to be one of the biggest surprises in the spring.
And I think he's probably going to be a big factor in that running back room.
So much of a factor is I think if there isn't a opposite move made, then you might have a five-star, a former five-star running back looking for a new home at the end of this season.
If some things don't change in a hurry.
But, you know, that would be my, you know, quick take, hot take on how this offense enters fall camp and the questions they're looking to answer.
William, you perked a lot of ears there.
If you could elaborate on that possibility because, let's face it, the tail wags the dog now.
The kids have the options.
The ball is in their court.
Take whatever illustration you want to use there.
But your thoughts just about the X factor that Crowell brings to the table.
Well, I mean, I think when you look at the current running back room, I think both him and Brown, at least to this point, have shown that they've got an extra gear.
You know, something that I think if you look at last year's room, really the only one that kind of showed that they had an extra gear last year was pre-injury to Kevin Riley.
Yeah.
And I think they both are dynamic as receivers.
He's out of the backfield, you know, once they get the ball in their hands, the same way that Riley was prior to his injury.
And, you know, and I think that's another name you kind of have to circle and pencil is, you know, what does he do to that running back right now that he's 100% back as well.
And so there's a lot of depth, you know, I think on both sides of the ball for this team.
They've just got to get the right pieces in the playing rotation.
You mentioned right tackle, Jevin James, the transfer from Mississippi State, Nick Brooks from Texas, Ethan Fields is another one.
I'm going to be curious to see what he does.
Elaborate a little bit more on right tackle.
Well, you know, I've got a different spin on it.
You know, if James isn't the guy and you could make a case for or against that, then all of a sudden, you know, that's kind of why I mentioned the position.
You know, if he's the guy, is he your best option at right tackle?
Or if he's not the guy, does Mike Carroll slide back out there and all of a sudden you've got more pieces to look at in a fall camp setting to find the best offensive guard on campus?
And maybe that's where a guy like Nick Brooks, all of a sudden, you know, Nick Brooks isn't going to be a factor at right guard if 64 is at right.
Yeah.
And, you know, and I think he was playing out of position last year at Texas at right tackle.
I do think he's an interior guy.
And, you know, with a summer conditioning program under his belt, you know, he's never going to be a belt guy anyway.
I mean, he's a massive human being, you know, kind of in the same mold as a Caden Crocker.
But, you know, I just think that's the question is if Nick Brooks can improve.
And I think he showed some signs of that improvement.
You didn't really see during the latter stages of spring practice, you didn't really see a lot of competition behind him.
So, you know, I think it's still a to be determined with James at right tackle, but we got to see it.
And, you know, and again, I think that might be kind of like the quarterback position, you know, maybe they look at both options of Carroll and him at right tackle and some other guys at right guard early in the season.
And, you know, I think they've got some games there early in the schedule before they travel to Kentucky where they can, you know, do some experiments before they get the final thing set up.
Former Alabama offensive lineman William Redfish Barger.
Obviously, fans have their pick, but these coaches, any coach that listens to fans, it's going to be in the unemployment line soon.
Your thoughts about the quarterback situation, it's been well put.
One is considered to be a game manager, the other a game changer.
How do you think this staff is, we know both of them is going to play early.
How do you think it's going to play out eventually at that spot, William?
Well, I think if you kind of look at the evidence that we have from the head-to-head competition in spring, you know, and I think this is kind of a double-edged sword.
You know, one guy has more experience in this system going back to his time at Washington.
The other guy has, you know, less than a year in the system.
And there really wasn't any quantitative separation after the 8-8 game.
You know, I'd say if anything, if one of the two had any momentum going into summer workouts, it was Keelan Russell.
And, you know, make no mistake, Mack has an NFL arm, and, you know, he's not as stiff back there in the pocket.
So, I don't really classify him as a game manager, but he certainly doesn't have the same intangibles and set of wheels that Keelan Russell has.
You know, Russell's not Jalen Milrow straight-line speed.
You know, he doesn't have that top-end speed that Milrow has, but he's more sudden.
You know, he's got more twitch.
His improvisation skills are off the chart when the pocket breaks down.
You know, he's got the ability to bring a zone read package facet to the offense, which might help a stagnant running game this year.
And, you know, I think, you know, maybe Austin Mack might be a lot closer to his ceiling at this stage in his career.
And I think Keelan Russell's just starting to scratch the basement of it.
So, you know, if you put a gun to my head and said, who do you think slash hope is going to be the quarterback, I would say Keelan Russell.
But it's still to be determined.
What about this scenario?
You know, start Mack against East Carolina, things go as scripted, you know, play Russell the second half and see what happens with the live bullets and go from there.
You know, I think if it's not been decided yet, then I think you'll see it play out much in the same way that, you know, and maybe not the East Carolina games, not the losing league town match.
But if it spills over into the season, I think you'll see it play out the same way that the A.J. McCarron and Phillip Sims quarterback deal played out in 2011.
You know, the fans will get to see it.
The team will get to see it.
Right.
That type of thing.
And, you know, we'll just have to wait and see how it goes.
But, you know, I think one thing, you know, and I hate to look ahead, but if you look at the projected starters going into this season where things stand right now, there's really only one starter that's projected to go this year for Alabama that won't be back for the 2027 season.
And if that's, if Brian Williams takes advantage of his money here and goes pro early.
So this is a very young unit.
Yep.
Very inexperienced unit.
And so, you know, we might have to work through some growing pains during the month of September before all the pieces are in place and this thing really gets to clicking.
William, let me ask you about a room that I think is probably the most overlooked or underlook, whatever way you want to look at it, are the tight ends.
They've got five guys who are 6'5 and 260.
Caleb Edwards, sophomore now.
Josh Ford, the transfer from Oklahoma State.
Danny Lewis, in his fifth year, of course, was injured a lot.
Jay Lindsay and Marshall Pritchett, who's a sophomore, who's 6'5, 246.
Whether they're an 11, 12, or even a 13 personnel, and some of these guys, yeah, can catch passes.
William, your thoughts on the potential of this tight end room?
Well, I think the one that really excites me the most, and I've got to lump them in with one other player,
somebody that had an opportunity to see a lot of the spring practices told me, you know,
there's two guys that they added in the portal during the offseason that were removed from multiple practices for a fight.
Number one is the center, Rayson Delgatti.
Right.
And the second one is the, you know, real pure in-line tight end that they added from Oklahoma State, Josh Ford.
Yeah.
And, you know, not that you want to waste or spend a lot of time, you know, being a boxing referee in practice,
but, you know, you can't coach, you know, having a nasty mean streak.
Yeah.
Thank you.
You know, and I was told point blank, you know, don't expect Josh Ford to be, you know,
catching three or four passes a game, but he's going to be like having a true in-line tight end,
almost like an extra, you know, light in the loafers offensive tackle out there.
And, you know, I think they're really excited about that.
Yeah.
They've got so many guys that can, you know, split wide or be involved, you know, in the passing game.
And so, you know, but I think if you look at what kind of ailed this team the most last year, in my mind,
you know, the guy that I'm looking forward to seeing is the nasty redhead from Oklahoma State, Josh Ford.
Yep.
What you're saying, William, is you want a bunch of guys who eat nails, and when they go to the bathroom, I won't go there.
But anyway, you want to have guys on both sides of the ball, at least that kind of mindset.
So, obviously, it's a talking season.
We're going to find out starting, and it's hard to believe, 40 days from now.
But right now, William, why don't you gut tell you about this team?
You know, like I said, I'm always, you know, an optimist.
And I think that, you know, look, this is a kind of a double-edged sword for Kalen DeBoer this year.
A, this is the first season that he's had where this is going to truly be his roster.
Right.
But at the same time, that alibi slash excuse for it not being his roster is in the rearview mirror for him.
Yeah, gone.
And so, you know, there's some things that they need to get better at, and I think they took some baby steps in the spring to do that with.
You know, they're very excited about the, you know, the transfer portal defensive linemen that they were at.
They were bad, you know.
You know, Tompkins from USC, Green from Oregon.
They've got some guys that they're coming back from injuries like London Simmons, Beeman.
You know, maybe this is the year that Big Steve Mubonu, or however you say his last name, finally becomes a, you know, disruptive force.
And, you know, they've got to get the inside linebacker spot adjacent to, you know, Wooten, the transfer from Virginia Tech squared away.
They need to find another edge rusher to play opposite of Yon-Zi-Pierre.
We'll just skip right over the back end, because that might be the strength of the whole team, and maybe the best back end in college football from top to bottom.
Let me ask you before we let you go, and we'll go into more detail with this.
The assistant coaches, Clem offensive line, the new tight end coach, and then secondary, how much did Alabama upgrade their assistant coaches?
Well, the ones that actually have the on-the-field title, you know, I think they feel really good about Clem and, you know, the, you know, Derek Nix.
You know, he's an old school, you know, we're going to do things the hard way type of a position coach.
But, you know, behind the scenes, I think they really feel good, you know, about some of the lesser-known coaches.
You know, the extra O-line coach that's got the tight end coach title now, Richard Owen.
Right.
You know, they've got, they've got former Alabama player, Jared, Jared Johnson.
Exactly.
Working with the defensive line, and Trent Simpson from Oklahoma.
So, you know, there was some quiet additions, but I've, you know, I've, you know, heard a couple of people that listened to Kalen DeBoer speak at different events over the summer.
And he's very, he's very upbeat about the new additions on the coaching staff and the big boys that they were able to add along both sides of the line of script.
Yeah, I think you're right.
Listen, always a pleasure to talk to the Redfish on Mondays.
Hopefully, we can begin doing this with the season rapidly approaching.
Listen, have a great rest of the summer.
Let's do this again real, real soon.
Hey, man, it was great getting back together with you guys, and hopefully we'll talk again soon.
And they're going to hold you to it.
The Redfish, William Barger, former University of Alabama offensive lineman.
B.B., speaking of Alabama, are they going to recruit anybody in 2027?
This is the number one class for 2028 with another addition right now, B.B.
Yeah, Harold, it's absolutely amazing to me that they got the kid from Delaware who is the number one prospect.
In Delaware, it tastes sort of young.
Because there's only five players in Delaware.
Harold, I'm telling you, I'm going to wear a print for this 28 class than I am the 27.
Well, that's not hard to figure out, is it?
No, it's not.
You might want to consider, I'm not the smartest guy in the world, but you've got to get through 27.
Yes, you do.
Don't hold me to that.
Oh, don't bring that up.
I'm just saying.
In the meantime, the Braves tonight, five and a half games up right now in the NL East.
Check out the latest tonight on 93.9, the score.
We're going to take care of bids for now on behalf of B.B., Greg, James, Blair, the entire crew here.
Harold Buck, thank you so much for your time today.
Let's do it again tomorrow, noon to two for the Good Moe Buck Show, back here on Sports Radio 93.9, the score.
We'll be right back.