Blue Raider Podcast | 06.05.2026

[00:00:01] This is the Blue Raider Podcast on WG&S. Presented by Gold's Gym of Tennessee. It's your all-access pass to everything Middle Tennessee sports. Game recaps, player spotlights, and the latest from the heart of Blue Raider Nation. Now, here's your host, Jake Bolden.

[00:00:23] Welcome back to the Blue Raider Podcast presented by Gold's Gym of Tennessee. Today's episode, we are going right into post-spring camp updates with football. But before we do that, I've got to thank our presenting sponsor, Gold's Gym of Tennessee. They've got a new month-to-month pricing. Right now, it's available online with no additional fees.

[00:00:44] Their Gold membership is just $25 biweekly with a $40 enrollment, or you can upgrade to the family plan for you and your significant other at $45 biweekly with only a $20 enrollment. That membership gives you access to all 16 Gold's Gym locations across Tennessee, along with group exercise classes and childcare, all included, again, at no hidden cost to you. So visit Gold's Gym of Tennessee online at goldsgym.com to learn more and find a location near you.

[00:01:13] And thanks to you for tuning in to another episode of the Blue Raider Podcast. If you're not already following us on our social media outlets at Blue Raider Pod, we're on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok. And, of course, our live stream today is over on YouTube at Blue Raider Podcast. So make sure you subscribe so you don't miss another one of our weekly uploads. Today's episode is currently being recorded, so we will not have the ability to call into today's episode.

[00:01:42] But, again, I appreciate you tuning in once more. Giving you an idea for today's episode. I was very fortunate this week to record with my friends over at the G5 Hive, a part of our college huddle where we talk all things college football. But the G5 Hive guys in particular cover all Group of Five stuff. So I want to give them a shout-out.

[00:02:05] But this week I did record the Middle Tennessee special that is slated to come out at the end of June. I believe the date is June 18th. So keep your eyes peeled for that. Of course, again, on social media we'll be able to share that link with you if you want to see how we dive into it. But today I thought I would do our side of that spectrum, going over everything there is post-spring camp. Where does this team stand? What do these rooms look like?

[00:02:34] Who's going to be your starter coming this fall? There's so much really to really dive into and only so little time to do it. So I don't want to waste much time. Getting into it, this first segment, I really wanted to dedicate it to the offensive side of the football. The big storyline going into 2026 season is the new offensive coordinator. Bodie Reeder was here. One of the first hires for Coach Mason on his coaching staff was Bodie Reeder.

[00:02:58] And he parted ways at the end of this last year and actually coincidentally moved up north to Bowling Green and is now the offensive coordinator for the Hilltoppers. So that's an interesting side story for this year. But in Coach Mason brings Anthony Selfo, who was the offensive coordinator quarterbacks coach for southeastern Louisiana. He actually was there in southeastern Louisiana for five seasons, but was the offensive coordinator for the last two.

[00:03:27] So a lot of the stuff I'm going to be talking about in the offense is going to be drawing to those two years where he was the offensive coordinator because that's kind of who you want to know or what you want to know about him. And I guess the blanket statement is or where the differences might be from him versus Bodie Reeder. Bodie Reeder was a lot more a pass-first type of coach. He's a great play designer, but I always thought that the offense lacked identity under Coach Reeder,

[00:03:51] where now I feel, at least I feel like with Coach Selfo, that there is a greater identity or at least an idea of what Selfo wants to do. When you look back at his time at Selah, his last season, he had four players, three running backs, one quarterback, all rushed for over 400 yards. That's a group that loves to run the football by committee. Now, he didn't have necessarily any standouts this last year where he did his first year, and we'll get into that here in just a second.

[00:04:18] But I think the main takeaway is that he loves a balanced attack. Both his passing, rushing, scoring, and total yards of offense were all in the top 50 in FCS and, again, led two winning seasons there at Selah as the offensive coordinator. But as I alluded to, his first year as offensive coordinator, he had Antonio Martin, who is now a Blue Raider, transfer into Murfreesboro from Kansas State. So his sophomore year, he was in southeastern Louisiana and actually was a Walter Payton finalist,

[00:04:47] which is the Heisman equivalent for FCS schools. He rushed for over 1,200 yards, 11 touchdowns his sophomore season, and then transferred up to Kansas State where he saw limited action, but he's coming back home to Selfo as his offensive coordinator. So although last year I draw this comparison of a lot of running back by committee, but he got his running back number one that was with him down in southeastern Louisiana. So that is a really exciting add for this offense in particular.

[00:05:17] And the other thing, too, is he used quarterbacks that had dual threats. Now, Roman is an athlete, as much of an athlete as Nick Vadiato was, even as much of an athlete as, say, Brent Stock still was years ago. So I look forward to seeing how he's going to utilize not only Roman's arm, but more so Roman's athleticism, because we know how quick Roman is or can be. But is Selfo going to want Roman to be a pocket presence,

[00:05:44] or is he going to want him to utilize both aspects of his game? So it'll be interesting to see because of how good this running back group is. And I already previewed Antonio Martin, so let's go in more into those running backs a little bit. Jaquil Middlebrooks, your leading rusher and one of your better receivers last year, over 1,200 yards of total offense, has transferred out to Virginia. Ricky Hunt Jr. also played eight games last year, over 100 yards rushing. He transferred out, hasn't found a new landing spot.

[00:06:13] But who do you return? The big name that I like a lot is DJ Taylor, and then Austin Clemons, who was fighting a lot of injury last year, so he's back this year. The other running back spot is Terrence Brown Jr., who's coming in from Saginaw Valley State, who is kind of that receiving back, also great runner that we saw with Jaquil Middlebrook. So I'm interested to see how they will utilize Terrence Brown Jr. in this offense, because I think his style would work really good under Bodie Reader.

[00:06:41] But in an offense where Selfo didn't throw the ball to his running backs too often, that'll be key to how does Terrence Brown fit into that scheme? Does DJ Taylor become running back two? Or if he does utilize the running back in the passing game, maybe Terrence Brown Jr. slides into that two spot. So those guys are really interesting. And the backfield is quarterback play. I already touched on it. You know Roman Gagliano is going to be your quarterback one, but you might want to know who is the potential number two.

[00:07:10] The oldest guy in the room is Peter Costelli. He's the graduate transfer in from Northern Colorado, playing varying snaps throughout the year last year, not getting any starts for Northern Colorado. But then past that, you have four freshmen. The two redshirt freshmen are Stanley Anderson Lofton and Peter Grandjean. Stanley Anderson Lofton got a few snaps last year, but your two incoming freshmen are Rocco Williams and Mason Mallory. I really like the thought of Mason Mallory,

[00:07:38] a guy that's coming from St. Thomas Aquinas down in Florida, winning a state title, being a three-star quarterback at such a prestigious high school. I like the future for that. But something to take into account, all of these freshmen, four of the six quarterbacks in the room are freshmen. They're all only one year by eligibility standards below Roman. So in a perfect world, Roman has a great year. You can retain him for another two seasons.

[00:08:05] We may not see, I guess, the potential of these guys for years to come. So I really want to focus a lot on Roman and his season that he has coming up. Set the standard for himself going almost 500 yards in his first start against Western Kentucky, winning his last two games of the season against Sam Houston in New Mexico State. Almost 100 passer rating, an 84.4 power football focus passer rating.

[00:08:34] I think he's got so much potential that was just kind of tapped into in those last three weeks. So getting a new OC, I think that might be where maybe that could, we could see a regression early on. But I would think if you're going to get a new offensive coordinator and a new quarterback over the same offseason, that was really the best time to marry the two. So I think I look forward to what Roman and Selfo can do. Again, this is a pivotal year for a lot of people involved around this program.

[00:09:04] But Roman especially, he's finally taken the reins after sitting behind Vadiata for two seasons, really giving him an opportunity to lead this team. And I've been kind of impressed with who Roman has been over this offseason, taking that new leadership role seriously. And of course, going to media day. So that's exciting news for him. Other skill positions, the wide receiver room. As it always goes, you've got guys that are transferring out that were big names like Naze Cox was the best wide receiver

[00:09:33] the Blue Raiders had last year, fighting some injury. But he's out at Kansas, so you will get a rematch with Naze Cox in week four. But as far as retention goes, your best receiver you're bringing back is Cameron Lacey. Almost 550 yards last year and three touchdowns. And then you bring back A.J. Jones, who also started seven games, had over 200 yards and five touchdowns. A big lengthy guy that is going to be a big target down in the red zone. Other guys, though, that you got to see a lot of was Landon Collins,

[00:10:03] who earned that scholarship last year. That was a really cool story for Landon Collins in his last three games, going for 180 yards and a touchdown. And a guy very similar to Roman in regards that they've been here for the same amount of time. He's going to have a lot of familiarity, as they've both been the twos for the majority of last season. Other names to know coming in. Marcus Allen is a graduate transfer from Mississippi State.

[00:10:30] He played in four games last year for the Bulldogs. Tyree Patterson is not necessarily a new name. However, he's a name that transferred in from Central Florida two years ago but was injured in spring of last year. So he had to sit out last year for a leg injury. And then Hogan Wasson comes in from D2 Central Missouri, an All-American wide receiver who is undersized but is a great quick wide receiver. Very similar, I would think, skill set-wise to Cameron Lacey.

[00:10:58] So another guy that's on his last year of eligibility coming up to the Division I level. So the group collectively looks really good. I look forward to seeing Marcus Allen bringing that SEC-style talent that we've seen in years past. He is wearing the lucky jersey number one that we saw with Omari Kelly two years ago and Naze Cox. So whoever wears number one for Derek Mason always has an exceptional season. So I think Marcus Allen is poised for that. I think Cameron Lacey is going to take another step this year.

[00:11:27] Hopefully looking more for that 700-yard mark, getting more involved into the scoring for this team because he could be utilized in so many ways outside of just the passing game. The other guy I've got highlighted is Tyree Patterson. I know the staff was very high on Patterson going into last year. Unfortunately went down with the leg injury that put him out. And so now that he's coming back in, and collectively I think the top half of this room is thin.

[00:11:53] So we could see a lot of Tyree Patterson and really a lot of these guys that are relatively long. I'm looking at like Neo Clifton, the guy from Brentwood Academy who redshirted last year. Even Zeon Butler, the high school signee this last year from Jacksonville, Florida. So I think a lot of these guys have opportunities to play this upcoming year. And then lastly, you've got the tight end for the skill positions. Selfo doesn't utilize the tight end.

[00:12:18] Looking at his season last year, all of his tight ends collectively averaged one catch for 10 yards per game. For a coach that likes to run the football, I would have to imagine he's going to utilize his tight ends exclusively in the run blocking game. Or even in pass blocking as well, but especially in the run blocking game. So highlighting guys there that will be an impact. The one you obviously lose is Hunter Tipton who has transferred out to Memphis.

[00:12:48] Tavion Galloway was a guy that I really liked last year, but didn't utilize him two catches for 20 yards last year. I think that he becomes your number one tight end and he'll be utilized in such fashion. But I don't know that he'll be much of an impact like we saw with Hunter Tipton or even Holden Willis two years ago. Lastly, wrapping up that offensive line, you do return Alex Gale and Otto Van Rensburg. Otto coming off of that leg injury there late in the year.

[00:13:15] But you have two all-freshman selections and then a whole bunch of transfers coming in for you. Brennan Smith was a late addition with a fifth year granted from Mississippi State. Reese Tripp, highly recruited tackle out of Minnesota. You got Tim Jacobs coming from D2, Ohio Dominican, one of the first commits in this class. The big battle this year is going to be who's going to be your center. Gale and Otto both have interior experience.

[00:13:41] Otto, for my recollection, for his time at Sevier County, played center. So he's a guy that you could turn to. And then who is going to be your tackle position? Who's going to be your left and your right tackle? I think Reese Tripp is going to be a great option. Kyle Larkin was a guy that signed last year from Ravenwood. Is he taking that next step to earn that role? I would think Brennan Smith is in the front running for his age. But he was more of an interior guy at Mississippi State.

[00:14:08] And his jersey number 65 would also lead me to believe that he's an interior guy. But he has good size. And same with Tim Jacobs who played tackle. Or played tackle. But he also could play the interior. So the offensive line was an area that leaving spring camp, I didn't know that I felt particularly good about having a set lineup. They do bring in a new offensive line coach, Christopher Brown, who comes in from Arkansas, which bringing in a coach from a school that ran the ball particularly well.

[00:14:36] Arkansas was third in the SEC last year in rush offense. So if you could bring in an offensive line coach that led a group like that, along with an offensive coordinator that likes to run the football, I think that's a really good duo. That, again, if your objective, as Mason has said in years past, is to run the ball first, I think you've done a great job of that. I'm just concerned about the depth of this offensive line and where the trajectory is, where do we find your keystone players at tackle position.

[00:15:06] So something that I think when I get to fall camp day one, that's what I would be eyeing is who have they identified as their offensive line and how effectively do they think they can run the football, especially with a good running back in Antonio Martin. So that'll do it for our offensive segment. When we come back after the break, we're going to dive into defense a little bit more, and they had a lot of wholesale changes on that side over the offseason. So we'll be back after the break. You're listening to the Blue Raider podcast presented by Gold's Gym of Tennessee.

[00:15:35] This is the Blue Raider podcast presented by Gold's Gym of Tennessee on FM 101.9 and AM 1450 Murfreesboro, 100.5 Smyrna, WGNSradio.com, and the Blue Raider podcast YouTube channel. Now, back to your host, Jake Bolden. Welcome back to the Blue Raider podcast presented by Gold's Gym of Tennessee. We are diving into post-spring updates with football.

[00:16:04] In today's episode, we previewed the offense in our last segment. We're now turning our attention over to the defensive side where they had a lot of changes going on there. But first, I want to make sure you're following us, the Blue Raider pod, on your social media pages. We're on X, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok under at Blue Raider pod. And of course, our live stream today, as we do every Friday at 5 to 6 p.m. over at WGNS, is Blue Raider podcast.

[00:16:33] So make sure you subscribe so you don't miss another one of our weekly uploads. Today's episode is prerecorded, so we don't have the ability to call into the show. But of course, make sure you're following along when we do so you can always join into our episodes. Now, back to football post-spring updates. The offense optimistic because they have a lot of weapons returning, particularly bringing in good weapons as well. So I think that the offense is poised to at least see a step up

[00:17:02] from being one of the worst we've seen in Conference USA over the last two seasons under O.C. Bode Reader. I love the opportunity that Anthony Selfo has afforded himself with Coach Mason here. A pivotal year for a lot of people. I think that this was a guy that was worth the risk. I think the benefit that he brings to the table because he wants to run the football first, like Derek Mason said. So I think that's a great start. Now, the defensive side. We're going to have a lot of coaching continuity.

[00:17:30] As we all know, Derek Mason's past with coaching defense as well as his long-tenured Brian Stewart. No one's been in the game longer than Brian Stewart. And I think the defense was a part of this team that was really, really good last year, particularly the front seven. A lot of us talked about how good the front seven was all year. You had guys like DeMonte Smith. You had Sha'Kai Woods. You even had Anthony Bynum.

[00:17:57] And then, of course, at linebacker position, you had Parker Hughes, who, as we all know, got drafted in the seventh round to the Jacksonville Jaguars this year. I think that if you were able to create the same type of havoc that you did last year with this front seven, I think this is a great year because of how good the offense looks on paper. However, there is very, very little continuity on the defensive side of the football, particularly the front seven, as I alluded to.

[00:18:27] So you lose Sha'Kai Woods. You lose DeMonte Smith. You lose Anthony Bynum. Woods transferred to Arkansas State. Bynum transferred to Georgia Southern. And then DeMonte Smith actually ran out of eligibility. Now, looking at just the defensive line, now if you don't know, Brian Stewart likes to run a 3-4, so you're going to have three down linemen. The two names that you do return is Zeon Simpson-Smith. He'll be a redshirt sophomore this year. And then Felix Hickson, who plays nose tackle.

[00:18:56] Both of those guys played every game last year. Zeon Simpson-Smith actually was a Conference USA All-Freshman at the tackle position. Got a sack, 12 pressures. And then Felix Hickson, who had nose tackle experience, got one sack last year and nine tackles. Those two guys, I think you've shored up at least some sort of continuity, and you know who you've got. One of the transfers coming in, Emmanuel Guyanfi, who's coming in as a junior from Georgia Military Junior College,

[00:19:23] had 26 tackles, including seven tackles for loss and four sacks. He, along with Felix Hickson, are going to be the veterans of this rotation because past that, it's a bunch of underclassmen. So luckily, last year, the big mark was this defensive line was extremely thin. They basically ran the whole season with the five guys I've already listed, Woods, Smith, Bynum, Simpson-Smith, and Hickson.

[00:19:52] Two of those three do return, and I think you've got yourself a pretty good upgrade as far as your depth goes with Emmanuel Guyanfi from Georgia Military. Who else can you find in this rotation that can fit into that four or five spot that we saw Simpson-Smith and Felix Hickson? I like the local talent, Archie Roseman V, who comes from Blackman High School. You even have Tyon Robinson, who got a few snaps last year. He'll be a redshirt sophomore for you.

[00:20:17] And then incoming freshmen, Jaden Arenas-Michelle from Baylor High School down in Chattanooga was a big signee for Coach Mason. So I think depth is there. They're young, not a lot of experience, a lot of tape on these guys. But I think with great coaching, there is good potential with this front unit. Again, the big mark on them last year was thin depth. So they were all able to stay healthy. So I think that that's a good sign. Hopefully you can continue that this year.

[00:20:47] Now the backside of that 3-4 is the linebacker group. And this group was strong last year, a lot of top-end talent, but it has been stripped a ton. Parker Hughes, as I already alluded to, seventh-round picked the Jaguars this last year. Alex Mitchell fought a lot of injury last year. Only played four games. Really excited about him coming back home to Murfreesboro. But he was granted another year of eligibility. And he's headed out to Appalachian State.

[00:21:14] Mouaz Byard, distant cousin of – or distant relative, I should say, of Kevin Byard, was a junior. And he was very impressive last year with 42 tackles, four sacks. But he has transferred out to UAB. So as far as starters go, the only one that you're going to be bringing back is going to be Reggie Johnson, who is a redshirt senior, 12 games played, 10 games started, had 27 tackles, 25 pressures, six tackles for losses.

[00:21:42] I think he was – in terms of the power football focus rankings, he was your second-best linebacker last year behind Parker Hughes. So I think that does speak volumes to being able to retain him because I think a lot of us thought that he may hit the portal if Mouaz Byard and Alex Mitchell hit the portal as well. But you retained Reggie Johnson. You bring back Corey Smith, who had a lot of snaps throughout the year, started five games, a lot of it on special teams.

[00:22:09] But he did get 47 tackles in reserve duty, which is great numbers for a guy that only started five games last year. Now where else do you find some guys that can step in and fill roles immediately? Matthias Malachi Donaldson got a few snaps last year, played in, I believe, 11 games, had a few tackles in those few games. A transfer in from Mississippi Gulf Coast, BJ Osmer was one of the few transfers you had in. You also had Ashton Taylor from Jackson State,

[00:22:39] Kaven Call from East Tennessee State, big contributor out there for the Bucs, and then Lagaria Sims from East Central Community College. So there is some age to this group as far as experience goes. Not a ton, but I still think that there are guys that have played at these smaller schools that have good numbers that I think, again, under great coaching, there's a lot of really good potential from this front seven again. So I do have a lot of faith in Brian Stewart. I have a lot of faith in Derek Mason and his ability to coach on the defensive side of the ball.

[00:23:08] I think with these two groups that I talked about with the defensive line and linebackers, this group can really excel. And again, if the offense can answer the call that they weren't able to answer the last two years, I think that this team can be springboarded forward. However, the secondary is where I'm just very concerned. You lost a lot from last year's team, which in my opinion isn't necessarily the worst situation.

[00:23:37] Abdul Muhammad, Diari McDonald, Brendan Harris all graduated. Jawan Gaston, who was, I think, good with 32 tackles and four interceptions last year, has transferred out and he's gone to the SEC in Arkansas. So you've got to fill in all those shoes. The one player that you really get two players back, Jackson Lowe, who was a Conference USA All-Freshman, and then Kalen Woods, who started in nine games for you, had himself an interception as well.

[00:24:04] So I think that's a good start, but I don't know that they were always – Kalen Woods was not necessarily the best safety. Jackson Lowe wasn't necessarily the best cornerback. I really liked Christopher Noble. He's going to be an incoming sophomore this year. He started five games late in the year thanks to injury to Brendan Harris. But in his five starts, he got 25 tackles and a pass breakup. I think that, again, playing a lot as a true freshman will do a ton for his growth. Kamari Hall is another sophomore that started last year as a – or he played last year as a freshman,

[00:24:34] playing a lot of nickelback. I think that he has a ton of potential. K.J. Minifield was another guy that we saw play last year but had to sit behind. But the story for this group is the transfers. You have Ricky Lee III, who's coming in from Sacramento State, one of the highest-rated cornerbacks that hit the portal from the FCS level, had an interception, six pass breakups over 11 games.

[00:25:00] Then you have Dyson McCutcheon, who's a graduate transfer from Washington, who played 24 games for the Huskies in the Big Ten. So this is a guy that's played big games, big moments. And then another name I really like is Jason Hardy, who's a redshirt senior transfer from Grand Valley State, an excellent program at that level. Those three guys, I think, could step in. They have a lot of experience, even more so experience than the returners in Jackson Lowe, Kalen Woods, Noble, Hall.

[00:25:30] But my biggest glaring issue is the size of these guys. Jason Hardy is good size, but Ricky Lee, Dyson McCutcheon, both under 5'10". And those are cornerbacks that I'm listing as well. How do those guys fit the bill as good cornerbacks but slightly undersized? Because we saw last year's Mason's approach to the outside edge was length. He had a lot of length, and he still has some of those guys that he recruited last year. I'm looking at Jordan Chestnut in particular that have good length.

[00:26:00] But these guys are proven. I still think there's going to be a battle for who's going to be the starting cornerback for the fall. I like Ricky Lee and Jason Hardy potentially starting. Dyson McCutcheon might be rotational, might be playing nickel. Jackson Lowe, I'm sure, is in that conversation as well as far as starting goes. So it'll be interesting what they do there.

[00:26:20] And then as far as the safety positions, you've got Christopher Noble, Kalen Woods, and then the USC transfer, James Johnson, who was very highly rated coming out of high school, went to USC, didn't play. But an athlete who I think played both sides of the ball coming out of high school and looked at USC to potentially do that as well, but that never came to fruition.

[00:26:46] But he's coming to MTSU from Douglasville, Georgia by way of USC. They have him listed as a safety. So he's a guy that I would think, just given his talent, has to be in the rotation there as well. Um, Kennedy or Locke Kennedy is a sophomore that played last year, two snaps. He's from Battleground Academy in Franklin.

[00:27:08] So collectively, the group is either very old, like Kalen Woods and Dyson McCutcheon and Ricky Lee, the third, or it's very young looking at Christopher Noble, Jackson Lowe, Kamari Hall. All of these guys are sophomores. Locke Kennedy, like I said, is also a sophomore. So, uh, but you got both into the spectrum in terms of experience. It's just, you haven't seen this group play together yet.

[00:27:35] So when I, when I preface this segment by talking defense, that we are going to have a lot of wholesale changes and how does this group mesh with one another? You're going to learn it pretty quickly. Luckily, you start the season off against Murray State, who, um, hasn't had a particularly good football program over the years.

[00:27:54] But your week two matchup, you go on the road into Huntington, West Virginia and face Marshall and face a really good quarterback in Carlos Del Rio Wilson, which if you can recall when the thundering herd came to Murfreesboro last year, he lit it up in his, his second start for Marshall. And they found their quarterback of the future. And so luckily for them, he's staying there. So that's, that's the big storyline for week two is you're going to face a high powered offense in your second week of the season.

[00:28:21] How does this team as a whole hold up against that? I, I, I still think that again, on paper, the front seven has really good potential. They don't have a ton of depth and that's what worries me. And then on the secondary and defensive backs, I think that they're still trying to figure out who's going to be starting for them out there. The size isn't there like we've seen in years past. So how are they able to juggle that?

[00:28:49] And really this conference as a whole loves to throw the football. And this was one of the worst passing defenses in the country last year, not just in conference USA, but in the country last year. So they, it's hard to get much worse than where they were last year, losing four of their five starters. And again, that group last year faced a lot of injuries and a lot of guys had to step up in, in opportune situations. But when you're looking at a pivotal season ahead for coach Derek Mason, yeah,

[00:29:16] that this group needs to be good for this team to even go. I, I've always, I said that in my episode with the G five high previewing this upcoming season, that the front seven was good last year. They didn't always capitalize on their pressures, a lot of pressures, but didn't get the sacks or the tackle for losses to be effective. You can always say that it's easy for me to point that finger at them, but it's equally as easy.

[00:29:42] I would say even easier to point the finger at the secondary for not allowing that defensive front to get to the quarterback. If you're not in coverage for two or three seconds, you're not even giving them an opportunity to make a play in the backfield. So this back end for this defense, albeit considerably new to Murfreesboro anyways, they have to be better if we want to see the defense take the next step, much like we're expecting from the offense as well.

[00:30:08] So a lot of question marks still for the defense, particularly in that defensive backfield. I think they feel good about the front seven and where that's going, but a lot of eyes there week two against Huntington against Marshall and Huntington, West Virginia. And that's going to leeway me or segue me into my final segment coming up after the break. We're going to be finishing up with special teams and looking ahead to that schedule one more time. What game is going to be the most pivotal for the blue Raiders? We'll talk about that and much more after the break.

[00:30:36] You're listening to the blue Raider podcast presented by gold's gym of Tennessee. This is the blue Raider podcast presented by gold's gym of Tennessee on FM one Oh one point nine and AM 1450 Murfreesboro 100.5 Smyrna WGNS radio.com and the blue Raider podcast YouTube channel. Now back to your host, Jake Bolden.

[00:31:01] Welcome back to the final segment of the blue Raider podcast presented by gold's gym of Tennessee. We've given a breakdown thus far of the roster post spring practice. We've talked offense, we've talked defense, and now for our final segment today, we're going to be talking about special teams. And of course, looking at that schedule ahead as far as what is the most pivotal game up ahead for the blue Raiders this fall.

[00:31:26] But first, before we get into that, make sure you're following us on our social media at blue Raider pod. We're on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube where our show is being live streamed today every Friday from five to six. So you don't want to miss it. Typically, we have call in opportunities. Not today. We are pre-recorded, but looking forward to some episodes in the near future. We've got some women basketball players coming in. We've got some men's basketball players coming in as well in the future.

[00:31:55] So keep your eyes. Make sure you're following us on our social media so you don't miss any of those exciting episodes that you'll exclusively get here on the blue Raider podcast. My last segment, I always like to lead it off by what's happening this week for MTSU athletics. We've got track and field still not done because you've got Mustafa Bakpin who qualified for the national championships coming up next week.

[00:32:21] He actually will start on Wednesday the 10th all the way out in Eugene, Oregon. He did place well enough there in the quarterfinals in the East Regional in Lexington. So he will be competing in the 100-meter semifinal on Wednesday the 10th. That is at 425 p.m. local central time. And then he also qualified for the 200-meter semifinals that will also be on Wednesday the 10th at 529 p.m. central time.

[00:32:49] So those are all viewable, to my understanding, on ESPN+, for those that want to keep tabs on that. But that is the last athlete competing for the Blue Raiders as far as the 2025-26 athletic season. And he will, if he passes or if he gets through the semifinals on Wednesday, he will continue to compete again later on Friday of next week. So hopefully we'll have an update for you then next week.

[00:33:15] Back into our preview for the upcoming season, our post-spring camp preview where we're talking all things Blue Raider football after their spring camp. I really want to draw the attention over in two weeks to the G5 Hive preview where they interviewed me talking all things. So you can get even this episode in even greater depth with them, no commercials, anything like that, over on their YouTube at G5 Hive.

[00:33:42] But I really wanted to take an opportunity to give you guys your own quick breakdown this week as I'm out on vacation myself. But I think this is always a great time to take stock in what we have here in Murfreesboro in regards to football. What does this roster look like? What are our expectations after seeing a glimpse of everybody this spring? During this last segment, I want to quickly get into our special teams, which doesn't always get love in the national spotlight.

[00:34:08] But I will say something that Derek Mason has always done particularly well since he has been here is special teams. Now, I know they had a lot of untimely penalties on special teams collectively. And it is easy to point a finger and say that a lot of penalties are coachable or lack of coaching. But I always say that at least the stars of special teams, your punter and your kicker, have always been particularly good under Coach Mason. So this group does graduate.

[00:34:37] Some big performers for him. I should say particularly on the place-kicking side, you lose Baylon Woodman, who does transfer after being an all-freshman. He does transfer to James Madison. So they had to refill his shoes, and they went out and got a D3 All-American in Dominic Bourgeois, who last year up north—I'm not going to even try to pronounce his previous colleges.

[00:35:03] But he was 19 of 19 in 2025, including a perfect 5-for-5 for over 40 yards. And, again, that doesn't sound like a lot, but to give you perspective, Jacob Hathaway, who also graduated this last year at place-kicker, was 4-for-6. He was your deep threat kicker for him last year. He was 4-of-6 from 40 yards plus, which is still a good number. But prior to Jacob Hathaway, you had Zeke Rankin, who was your kicker for four years.

[00:35:30] In four years, Zeke only connected on five of his 40-yard field goals. The guy coming in, Dominic Bourgeois, was a perfect 5-for-5 from 40 yards. So that is a weapon, to say the least, for the offense, knowing that you have a guy that not only has the leg to connect from 40 yards—I believe he had two 50-yarders this last year—but not only did he have the leg to kick from that distance, but more importantly, he has the ability to be accurate from all levels.

[00:35:58] A perfect 19 of 19 on the year, perfect on his PATs as well. So I think that's a good add for them. I don't think that they lost anything, and you might even make the argument that they gained. And then they do retain Ashton Logan, which if you didn't hear the news this last week, he's going to be going to media days for the Blue Raiders, along with Roman Gagliano and Derek Mason. Certainly unique to send your punter out there.

[00:36:21] Normally you get an offensive player and a defensive player, but I guess Ashton Logan being second in program history last year with his 44.7 yards per punt was enough to get him a flight out to Conference USA media. So he was better than Grant Chadwick was two years ago, the All-Conference USA freshman. And I believe he was a freshman All-American punter as well, but he transferred out to LSU last year.

[00:36:48] And so Ashton Logan fell to the Blue Raiders from Oklahoma as he was a transfer in and arguably was better than Grant Chadwick was. And he is an older guy. This should be exhausting his eligibility this year, but he's a guy that was good, and he was one of the best punters. And certainly tongue-in-cheek, he had a lot of practice last year. But again, having those kind of weapons, because you can win and lose games on special teams. I mean, we certainly saw this team lose on special teams last year.

[00:37:15] I'm looking at the Missouri State game where you had a bad face mask penalty. You missed a field goal late to win it, but Missouri State hit a deep field goal to win. So special teams can certainly win and lose you games. And as thin as the margins were for Coach Mason last year, this is an area that you can't afford to just take lightly. So getting Dominic Bourgeois as your place kicker, retaining Ashton Logan as your punter, I think that's always good that that part of your game, the trifecta of football, having that one,

[00:37:44] I think, better than most of your position in Conference USA is something that you should boast about. Now, lastly, I've talked the last couple weeks about this schedule. We did get the broadcast schedule out. I was able to really, I guess, dive even deeper into it with the guys over at G5 Hyde, and I put a lot of thought in my head about how this season could go. And I know my tagline all season is they have to win early,

[00:38:12] and they have to win late if they want to make it to six games to be bowl eligible. They've got a really good, I would say, relatively easy start out the gate with Murray State at Marshall and Nevada. And then they end the season at Sam Houston and New Mexico State. Arguably five games that they should, could win. I'm looking at Marshall as the one that is definitely the swing game. But those are winnable games. Those five games are winnable.

[00:38:40] Now, Marshall could be good enough to win the Sunbelt Conference this year. I don't want to necessarily bow out and say Marshall is an easy game. I mean, going on the road to Huntington in and of itself is always a tough challenge because of the atmosphere that they generate for a G5 school. But because that offense is really good, they did retain Carlos Del Rio Wilson at quarterback, the Florida transfer two years ago. So I think Marshall is going to be a huge test for the defense in particular, as I talked about in the last segment.

[00:39:09] But the middle section is just so hard for this team. You wrap up your non-conference with a road game against Kansas. You got your bye week before you have your three midweek Conference USA games. Luckily, two of them are at home. Delaware on a Tuesday, you get a week and then you're in Miami against FIU. Then you got eight days and you get Kennesaw State at home on a Wednesday. So again, the midweek schedule doesn't work against them this year.

[00:39:37] They get to play three games over 15 days. So they do get a normal rest between the Delaware FIU and then a normal rest or actually a day extra rest between FIU and Kennesaw. And then they actually have a week and a half off until they return back home for homecoming against Western Kentucky. But and then after Western Kentucky, they go to Lynchburg to play Liberty. But that five game stretch is very, very tough.

[00:40:01] Delaware has the highest continuity roster continuity of any team, not only in Conference USA, but they're top five in the country as far as returning production from a season ago. So that group, luckily you get them at home. You're not having to go up to Newark in November when it's snowing or drizzling and it's wet and cold. So you get them home. You get to go to Miami on a weekday on Tuesday. Good to pay our friends, Coach Simmons, a visit.

[00:40:30] And then you get Jerry Mack at home with the defending conference USA champs, regular season champs, Kennesaw State. And then you get Western Kentucky at home for homecoming, get back to back home games in a matter of 15 days. Western Kentucky, always a good team. Obviously, it's 100 miles of hate. It means a lot. You're running on eight years, I believe it is, that you haven't beat Western Kentucky. You're looking to finally turn that corner. I think Western looks good like they always do.

[00:40:58] Helton does a great job as far as picking up a team despite losing so much in the portal year after year. And then at Liberty, I think that Coach Chadwell, as much grace as he's given by the national spotlight, I'm very underwhelmed by what Liberty has done over years past. They haven't necessarily solved their quarterback problems. I think Ethan Vasco took a huge step back this last year. So I'm not as impressed with Liberty.

[00:41:23] And maybe my opinion of them will have gotten worse or maybe better by mid-November when they play them. So you might even slide Liberty into the more winnable category than, say, at FIU, Kennesaw, Delaware, Western Kentucky. But that still remains to be seen. So when I was diving into this, when I was asked the question of the G5 high, where is the most critical game? And certainly you could put it anywhere in those midweek games because if you're chalking up San Houston,

[00:41:50] New Mexico State, Murray State, Nevada's win, that's four. You've got to find two wins somewhere else. But I personally think the Marshall game on September 12th is the biggest one. It's your first road game, something that Mason hasn't done particularly well in his career here. Going there, trying to, I guess, retaliate for that showing that you had last year against another good offense. But making sure the defense shows up. You'll learn a lot about how good this team is or how good this team can be based on that game at Marshall

[00:42:20] because they do unfortunately kick off their Conference USA season with Jacksonville State. And I don't know that they even have an opportunity. Jack State, in my opinion, is the favorite behind maybe Delaware to win Conference USA this year. But I think Jack State will edge out Delaware. But Marshall, you've got to perform. You've got to show that this team has made improvement. And going up against a team that is one of the favorites to win the Sunbelt Conference, if you can come out and be competitive in that non-conference game, come home and win against Nevada, you're going into Jack State at 2-1.

[00:42:50] And maybe if you win, Marshall, you're going into Jack State at 3-0. I think your complexion for this whole season changes tremendously. So if you had to ask me, like they did at the G5-5, what game is the most important? It's got to be that one in Huntington, West Virginia on September 12th. So that will do it for today's episode. Thanks to you for tuning in to another episode of the Blue Raider Podcast, presented by Gold's Gym at Tennessee.

[00:43:16] Remember to follow us on our social media, at Blue Raider Pod, on X, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. And if you're tuned in to our live stream on YouTube, subscribe so you don't miss another one of our weekly episodes. Thanks to my producer, Jackson Smith. You're listening to the Blue Raider Podcast, presented by Gold's Gym at Tennessee.