Season 2, Episode 10 feat. Connor Nute, Oliver Baltz, and 700 Pelham Road

[00:00:07] Thanks for tuning in to another episode of the Blue Raider Podcast hosted by Jake Bolden and presented by the Canseco Group General Contracting and Mighty Dog Roofing.

[00:00:17] Don't miss another Tuesday episode by subscribing to the podcast on all streaming platforms or catch our visual presentation uploaded every week on YouTube.

[00:00:25] Don't miss our next ticket giveaways by subscribing and following on all Blue Raider Podcast social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok at Blue Raider Pod.

[00:00:40] Welcome back into the Blue Raider Podcast. I'm your host, Jake Bolden.

[00:00:44] Today's episode, we're going to recap the Kennesaw State game with Connor Nute as well as get a women's basketball preview out of him.

[00:00:52] And then Oliver Baltz will be joining us to talk about men's basketball because, as you know, this Friday night, the basketball season kicks off with the Lady Raiders exhibition game.

[00:01:01] So we're getting all the basketball previews out of your favorite analysts from GoMiddle.com.

[00:01:05] And then we will wrap the episode up with an interview with 700 Pelham Road Podcast, our Conference USA Roundtable partners for the Jacksonville State Gamecocks.

[00:01:15] So we look forward to that kickoff tomorrow night.

[00:01:18] But as always, before we get into the episode, I want to take just a second to thank our sponsors, beginning with Mighty Dog Roofing.

[00:01:24] When it comes to your home, trust Mighty Dog Roofing Nashville East for all your needs.

[00:01:28] As a veteran and locally owned business, we're honored to be one of just 11 Owens Corning contractors nationwide to win their prestigious service award.

[00:01:36] From roofing and gutters to windows and siding, our expert team delivers top quality craftsmanship and unmatched service.

[00:01:41] We're here to protect your home with pride and precision.

[00:01:44] Choose Mighty Dog Roofing Nashville East where excellence is a tradition.

[00:01:47] Call us today at 615-MD-ROOFS, that's R-O-O-F-S, or visit their website at MightyDogRoofing.com to get that free quote today.

[00:01:58] And also thanks to the Conseco Group.

[00:02:00] Since 1987, the Conseco Group has been turning dreams into reality.

[00:02:04] Whether it's pre-construction consulting, construction management, design build, or renovations and improvements, we're here to exceed your expectations.

[00:02:11] At Conseco Group, we don't just deliver.

[00:02:13] We deliver with passion, precision, and unparalleled quality.

[00:02:16] Our hands-on approach ensures your investment is maximized and your vision is brought to life.

[00:02:20] From Clarksville to Columbia and beyond, trust Conseco Group to handle every detail with expertise and care.

[00:02:26] If you're ready to build your future, contact the Conseco Group today at 615-298-9907 or visit their website at ConsecoGroup.com.

[00:02:35] Once again, thank you to Mighty Dog Roofing and the Conseco Group for sponsoring today's episode.

[00:02:40] Real quick, right before I get into that interview with Connor Newt, I want to take just a second to highlight our recent season ticket giveaway for both men's and women's basketball tickets this season.

[00:02:50] That's right.

[00:02:50] The Blue Raider Podcast is giving away two tickets to both men's and women's.

[00:02:55] And unfortunately for you, you've already missed it.

[00:02:57] So if you don't want to miss the next giveaway, you've got to follow us on all of our social media.

[00:03:02] That's at Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, at Blue Raider Pod, as well as on Facebook, Blue Raider Podcast, and of course on YouTube at Blue Raider Pod.

[00:03:11] So if you want to be a part of it, make sure you're following us on all of our social medias and keep an eye out as our next ticket giveaway will come around for one of our spring sports.

[00:03:18] So for those that entered, I appreciate everyone that participated, but a special congratulations to Richard Miller.

[00:03:24] I've got your profile picture posted here on the YouTube page if you're not listening on YouTube.

[00:03:29] But I appreciate you for participating.

[00:03:31] You are our lucky winner.

[00:03:32] I'll be reaching out to you later today to get you your tickets for both men's and women's basketball season.

[00:03:39] Thanks to him and thanks to all that participated.

[00:03:41] Now let's get right into that interview with Connor Newt.

[00:03:45] Now time to roll into it.

[00:03:47] Coming fresh off of our loss or what feels like a loss, but really it's a win to Kennesaw State 14 to 5.

[00:03:53] Joining me now is a producer at 102.5 The Game, as well as an analyst for us at GoMiddle.com.

[00:03:58] It is Connor Newt.

[00:04:00] Connor, how's it going, my man?

[00:04:01] I'm doing well.

[00:04:02] How are you?

[00:04:03] Well, I slipped up by saying we lost last Tuesday, and it kind of feels that way a little bit because it wasn't necessarily – I mean, we won.

[00:04:12] That's the outcome we want, but it wasn't the way we wanted to win.

[00:04:15] And I'm sure you and many fans kind of feel the same way, but a win's a win, right?

[00:04:20] Right.

[00:04:20] You take them where you can get them, especially with this team.

[00:04:24] Clearly this team isn't to the standard that Blue Raider fans want it to be, but it is still our football team, and you take a win wherever you can get it.

[00:04:33] Absolutely.

[00:04:34] And I know that Coach Mason will echo that same sentiment.

[00:04:36] So before we get really talking into it, let's hear from the head coach after Tuesday's game.

[00:04:42] His football team.

[00:04:45] Kennesaw State's a tough football team.

[00:04:48] And our guys fought hard tonight defensively.

[00:04:52] Man, we came to play.

[00:04:54] And it's excited.

[00:04:56] Excited first conference win.

[00:04:58] Man, we needed it in the worst way coming off a short week.

[00:05:03] And I really believe, man, that our guys learned some things about themselves tonight.

[00:05:10] Nick Vardyato woke up at 2 a.m. dead sick.

[00:05:15] Dead sick.

[00:05:15] And I didn't even think he was going to play.

[00:05:17] And we couldn't stop him from not playing.

[00:05:20] You know, that's what's crazy.

[00:05:21] I mean, like, that's what we need.

[00:05:23] That's what we have.

[00:05:24] You know, like, you need leadership when leadership is called for.

[00:05:29] And to see him come and play, I think it was pretty cool for those guys in that locker room.

[00:05:37] Defensively, it was nice to see those guys bounce back after a tough week,

[00:05:42] especially on a short week trying to play triple option,

[00:05:44] which is something that you haven't seen all year.

[00:05:46] Okay, 20 guys had tackles tonight.

[00:05:48] So, obviously, the emphasis of doing – it was called a mind your business game.

[00:05:56] You know, everybody had to mind their business and do their job,

[00:05:59] and I thought they did a good job of doing that collectively.

[00:06:03] Special teams.

[00:06:05] It was nice to see Amari.

[00:06:06] You know, we finally, you know, get a hold of one and take one to the house.

[00:06:10] We know he has that ability.

[00:06:13] And what we have to do is just play cleaner football.

[00:06:16] But, man, I'm going to take an ugly win.

[00:06:19] And I'm never going to apologize for it.

[00:06:21] I think at the end of the day, this football team, you know,

[00:06:25] laid some foundation for itself tonight because, believe me, it's hard to stop some

[00:06:31] of the bleeding, man, when you don't necessarily know what one fix is going to make it happen.

[00:06:36] And tonight, man, I thought they, you know, found a way to put the brakes on it.

[00:06:41] We found a way to get ourselves off the field on third down.

[00:06:47] And, unfortunately enough, man, scored some touchdowns the ugly way.

[00:06:51] But that's okay.

[00:06:52] The turnovers were huge in the secondary.

[00:06:56] All right.

[00:06:57] So we hear from Mason there, and he put it in his own words that he'll take an ugly win any day.

[00:07:02] And certainly after having a five-game losing streak like we've seen,

[00:07:05] Nick Vadiato, as I'm deeming it, the flu game throws for 200 yards and a touchdown.

[00:07:10] Omari Kelly kind of has some mixed reviews amongst the fans because of some of the fumbles that he's had,

[00:07:15] untimely fumbles at that.

[00:07:17] But he breaks through with his own punt return touchdown as he touched on.

[00:07:21] And then I guess the question mark I put is the defense played good relative to who they played this week.

[00:07:28] And Kennesaw State had rolled through their second and third-string quarterback.

[00:07:31] So a little bit of mixed feelings about how the defense's performance is technically portrayed by the team that they played.

[00:07:37] But, again, I think they did play well given the circumstances.

[00:07:40] So, you know, those are kind of my beginning opening statements myself.

[00:07:45] But, Connor, you know, what did you see on Tuesday night?

[00:07:47] I agree with you 100%.

[00:07:48] Defense was good, but you also have to look at who they were playing.

[00:07:53] Kennesaw State quite literally is the worst team in the Conference USA going 0-6.

[00:07:58] I believe UTEP won last night, so they are on the board with a win.

[00:08:03] Nick Vadiato, waking up dead sick, as Derek put it, 2 a.m.

[00:08:08] You deemed it the flu game, which is 100% what it was.

[00:08:11] Solid for a sick quarterback.

[00:08:13] I believe he was just under 200 yards with a touchdown pass as well.

[00:08:19] Amari Kelly, I know you said mixed reviews for sure.

[00:08:22] He has definitely had some moments for me where I'm like, what are we doing?

[00:08:26] But he was solid the other day.

[00:08:29] You said leads Conference USA in receiving yards.

[00:08:33] I believe that is still true today.

[00:08:35] And as of yesterday, I saw he is in the running for a Bolitnikov Award,

[00:08:40] which is given to the best wide receiver in the country.

[00:08:43] So that's pretty cool to see a Middle Tennessee player on a national award list.

[00:08:52] My other takeaway, special teams, not good.

[00:08:56] I mean, three illegal formation penalties from them.

[00:09:00] And I believe Derek Mason did say they haven't changed very much from the prior week.

[00:09:07] So special teams continues to be a struggle.

[00:09:09] But all in all, a pretty great performance from a rough MTSU team,

[00:09:14] kind of putting it together against a bad team and pulling out a win.

[00:09:19] Yeah, the explanation that he gave in the postgame, for those that may not know,

[00:09:24] yeah, three illegal formations and nothing seemed to change.

[00:09:27] And two of them were back-to-back.

[00:09:29] The explanation he gave was that the formation that they used on Tuesday

[00:09:32] is the same formation that they had used in the six games prior.

[00:09:36] So he was asking for a little bit more consistency in the calling because,

[00:09:40] well, the call is too many men in the backfield.

[00:09:42] You can't have more than four.

[00:09:43] Well, someone is obviously off the line.

[00:09:46] And someone's not covering up someone who they should be.

[00:09:49] So I would say we needed to change something at that point.

[00:09:52] But he was looking for consistency.

[00:09:55] He was saying that this crew in particular was a little harsh in how they called it,

[00:10:00] which, in my opinion, it shouldn't really waver.

[00:10:03] Do you have four men in the backfield or do you not?

[00:10:05] I think it's a pretty easy answer to that simple question.

[00:10:11] But outside of that, yeah, winning is tough.

[00:10:15] And if this game was any way to prove that, it's just not easy to win a football game at the FBS level.

[00:10:21] I don't care who you are.

[00:10:22] Alabama is a great example of that, of what they've gone through the last two weeks.

[00:10:24] I'm not going to put MTSU in the same boat as Alabama.

[00:10:26] However, winning football games at this level is tough, and especially in this era where the playing field seems to be a lot more even because of NIL and those kind of opportunities.

[00:10:37] But I think MTSU, talent-wise, is significantly better than where Kennesaw State was.

[00:10:41] But they didn't necessarily show that on Tuesday, which is a little disheartening.

[00:10:44] But we keep hearing the same excuses, or I don't want to say excuses, because Mason doesn't lean on that.

[00:10:50] And I don't want to paint that picture that he is making excuses for his team.

[00:10:54] But you're winning with what you got.

[00:10:57] That's good.

[00:10:58] You're going to go into Jacksonville State this next week.

[00:11:01] It's a team that has really transformed.

[00:11:03] Tyler Huff has taken over the starting job from Logan Smothers early on this year.

[00:11:07] They're kind of finally getting their feet underneath them.

[00:11:10] And I'm going to be entirely honest.

[00:11:11] I love that we kind of have some wind under our sails going into the matchup tomorrow night on Wednesday against Jacksonville State.

[00:11:19] Diari McDonald, the star cornerback who got an interception against Kennesaw State, made the comment that we're just finally seeing the defense for what it is.

[00:11:28] And I know we've been a little punitive to their efforts thus far with who they played on Tuesday.

[00:11:36] But he's really going to have the rubber meet the road this week when they played a really good offense in Jacksonville State, Connor.

[00:11:43] Yes.

[00:11:44] Jacksonville State is an offensive powerhouse in Conference USA.

[00:11:47] I believe they're averaging over their last three games 54 points a game, which is unheard of.

[00:11:53] Just unbelievable.

[00:11:54] So the defense is it's good that they have a little bit of wind under their sails.

[00:11:58] They played a great game against Kennesaw State.

[00:12:01] Can they carry that momentum over against one of the better teams in the Conference USA?

[00:12:07] Tyler Huff, you mentioned it.

[00:12:09] I would venture to say elite quarterback in terms of Conference USA.

[00:12:14] Also a good runner.

[00:12:17] Dual threat quarterback.

[00:12:18] I believe that he has 500 yards rushing this season and that's second in Conference USA first for quarterbacks.

[00:12:26] So they're going to have to have to look to limit his mobility.

[00:12:30] Maybe send a full blitz package on him.

[00:12:33] Always have a spy on him.

[00:12:35] But like I said, he can carve you up in many ways.

[00:12:38] Running is not the only way he can he can move that ball.

[00:12:41] He can throw it, too.

[00:12:41] So the defense is going to have to be on its heels against Jack State, especially the secondary.

[00:12:49] Yeah, I agree.

[00:12:51] And the way you laid out who Tyler Huff is is an excellent thing to bring up because of his mobility and the threat that his mobility is to us.

[00:12:59] Because we've seen what that quarterback does, right?

[00:13:02] So Jackson Dart of Ole Miss, a guy that very mobile, created a lot of problems.

[00:13:08] I'm not going to say that, you know, this is the same offensive level that Ole Miss is, but he's just as capable of making the plays that Jackson Dart is with his feet and with his arms.

[00:13:19] Jacksonville State doesn't necessarily have the talent on the wideout positions that we see from the likes of the Omari Kellys of the league, of the Treon Sibleys of the league.

[00:13:28] So it'll be interesting to see what we get out of Jacksonville State, what looks we're going to give them in regards to trying to contain a quarterback.

[00:13:36] Because we've had issues with that.

[00:13:38] Even in the Tennessee Tech game, we couldn't even contain a mobile quarterback.

[00:13:44] So I think if you're able to limit Huff to being one-dimensional, you're going to give yourself an opposite side of the coin.

[00:13:50] You've still got to stop the run game in general.

[00:13:52] Like Trey Stewart, their senior running back is averaging five and a half yards a carry.

[00:13:56] So not only do we have to just contain the quarterback, we're going to have to contain the run as well.

[00:14:01] Ten touchdowns, I believe he's top half of the league.

[00:14:04] He might even be top five in the league in rushing touchdowns.

[00:14:07] I mean, Ten's a lot at this short period of a season for running backs.

[00:14:10] So he's a guy that you've got to key in on the run and make this team one-dimensional.

[00:14:15] That's probably your best bet.

[00:14:16] Plus, this team plays a lot of speed.

[00:14:18] That's kind of one thing that Rich Rod is known for, even with his years at Michigan, is they want to play fast.

[00:14:22] They want to get as many snaps off as they can in a game.

[00:14:26] And then secondly, another thing I really am scared of is the secondary that we're going to be facing.

[00:14:30] They have nine interceptions this year, which leads Conference USA.

[00:14:34] It's one of the best in the country with nine interceptions.

[00:14:37] That's a daunting task, given that we've had our luck this last Tuesday night with the drops that Kennesaw State had.

[00:14:45] There was, I believe, a count of two dropped interceptions, albeit one of them was tipped up in the air.

[00:14:50] But you're putting the ball in harm's way.

[00:14:54] And when we get in games like we saw with Louisiana Tech, you're forced to put the ball in the air.

[00:15:00] You're forced to throw it over five yards.

[00:15:02] You're going to put the ball into harm's way from time to time.

[00:15:04] And when we get aggressive in the passing game, we have good success like we saw early in Louisiana Tech game.

[00:15:09] But also, we're bound to take a step back a little bit like we saw at the end of the Louisiana Tech game.

[00:15:15] So I'm a little weary of what offense we're going to see against Jacksonville State.

[00:15:21] Because we've had flashes of being able to move the ball.

[00:15:24] I mean, I would even venture to guess that beginning at the end of the Tech game, well, you can say the beginning of the Tech game.

[00:15:30] But the end of the Tech game, the two-minute offense is great.

[00:15:32] You know, we can move the ball when we are very aggressive.

[00:15:35] But it's got to be, you know, we've got to find the guy.

[00:15:38] You know, we can't be, when Nick gets to his second and third check down, we don't have the offensive line that's going to be able to protect him.

[00:15:45] So that's kind of the scary part of it, is running the plays effectively to the point where we hit the guy that we want.

[00:15:52] And keep moving the ball and keep the defense off the field.

[00:15:55] Again, Jacksonville State's going to move the ball quickly.

[00:15:57] They're going to get snaps off.

[00:15:58] They're going to win the time of possession battle, I would assume, because of how good their offense is.

[00:16:02] But you've got to try to play as close as you can in that time of possession.

[00:16:05] Because the longer the defense is on the field, the more that Rich Rod offense is going to wear on you.

[00:16:11] So those are parts that scare me.

[00:16:13] But, you know, Connor, I'll turn it over to you about your thoughts about this coming up Wednesday.

[00:16:18] You know, I don't feel good about it, personally, because of who we're playing.

[00:16:23] And also, I'm a little self-aware about who we are.

[00:16:25] But if you were to give us an opportunity this Wednesday night, what do you think needs to happen from MTSU's side?

[00:16:32] Well, for starters, you need to see some play from the quarterback.

[00:16:34] I need to see, obviously, he was sick, the flu game, as you have deemed it.

[00:16:38] But I need to see Nick Vadiato take a step from this Kennesaw State game.

[00:16:43] I need to see him take a step to improve.

[00:16:45] Maybe hit more guys in stride.

[00:16:47] Maybe find the open man.

[00:16:49] And I think the offensive line is not going to give him the time to do that.

[00:16:53] He doesn't have the time in the pocket that he would have with a good offensive line.

[00:16:57] But I think if he can create his own space and find his open guys, then we can see kind of that improvement from Nick Vadiato.

[00:17:04] Another guy that ultimately hinges on the offensive line, but I think is kind of a secret weapon for MTSU, Flip Cradle.

[00:17:12] I want to see him move outside the zone, run some outside zones with him.

[00:17:17] He has the speed to go down the field in a hurry.

[00:17:22] So if you can get Flip Cradle involved early, I think you can see some major rushing production from this offense.

[00:17:29] As far as defense, we need the same effort from the defense that we saw against Kennesaw State.

[00:17:34] I know Jacksonville State is a much better team than Kennesaw State was.

[00:17:41] But the defense played with intensity and they played together.

[00:17:46] That is what wins you football games.

[00:17:48] And that's how you can at least keep this game close against Jacksonville State.

[00:17:53] Yeah, your comment there about Flip.

[00:17:55] I mean, we had great success running outside the tackles.

[00:17:59] We didn't see a lot of that.

[00:18:00] The play calling is not there that's allowing those types of runs to happen.

[00:18:03] But getting outside the tackles does great for us.

[00:18:07] So I would love to see a little bit more of that action.

[00:18:10] But yeah, I agree with everything there.

[00:18:14] It is going to be a daunting task because now you're to the point where you're 2-5.

[00:18:18] If you still want the opportunity to win six games, as I've talked about this every week on the episode,

[00:18:25] what is the outlook on Conference USA?

[00:18:27] What needs to happen for the stars to align for all that to happen?

[00:18:31] Well, at this juncture now, now that you've lost to Louisiana Tech,

[00:18:33] one of the swing games that I predicted earlier in the year,

[00:18:35] I'd already chalked Jacksonville State up as a loss.

[00:18:38] I've already chalked Liberty up as a loss.

[00:18:39] So right now you're staring down the barrel of five wins.

[00:18:43] So that means you're going to have to swing the Jacksonville State game or the Liberty game.

[00:18:47] Well, unfortunately for us, now's the time.

[00:18:51] You've got to start winning the ballgame.

[00:18:52] So hopefully, I would love to think that that is still a goal, an objective for the team, if you will,

[00:18:58] to win this game.

[00:18:59] I don't have high hopes for it.

[00:19:00] But maybe if you make it a better game than maybe what we've seen this whole year

[00:19:05] with more competitive teams like Louisiana Tech, like Memphis,

[00:19:08] if you can make it a more competitive game,

[00:19:10] I would be more apt to feel a lot better about the games against New Mexico State,

[00:19:14] against UTEP and against FIU to end the year.

[00:19:17] So, Connor, as we close up our football talk here,

[00:19:20] do you see the likelihood still?

[00:19:22] Is the six-win possibility still there for this team?

[00:19:26] That's such a loaded question.

[00:19:28] I would like to say yes.

[00:19:30] The Blue Raider in me, the student,

[00:19:32] the fan I am in MTSU,

[00:19:35] MTSU, I'd like to say yes.

[00:19:37] But based on the way this team has played in big games

[00:19:40] and on bigger stages than Floyd Stadium,

[00:19:43] I have to say no.

[00:19:44] It's just there's too many factors going in.

[00:19:48] This is the beginning of a Derek Mason era,

[00:19:50] and I think some things need to mesh together well

[00:19:53] in order for this team to improve later down the line in years in the future.

[00:19:58] Yeah, I agree.

[00:19:59] But, you know, I'll give Mason and this Blue Raider team a benefit of the doubt.

[00:20:05] You know, I want to see them succeed, obviously,

[00:20:08] as you put it.

[00:20:11] So let's hope that, you know, here's to them surprising us this week

[00:20:14] and they go into a much-needed 10-day break

[00:20:17] before they get right back into conference play.

[00:20:18] So, but yeah, that kicks off tomorrow night.

[00:20:22] Final, final midweek game.

[00:20:23] We can all go back to sleeping at our regular hours throughout the week

[00:20:27] and get back to Saturday football games thereafter.

[00:20:30] So now let's shift our attention over to the Lady Raiders.

[00:20:35] Some news, I know that when this comes out,

[00:20:37] this would be a week-old news,

[00:20:39] but the news that the Lady Raiders received some votes

[00:20:42] in the preseason AP poll,

[00:20:43] that's always exciting to kind of already have your name

[00:20:45] on a few ballots this early on.

[00:20:47] But I want to preview a little bit about these Lady Raiders.

[00:20:50] I know I spoke with Rick Insul two weeks ago.

[00:20:52] Great stuff from him.

[00:20:54] We had the Conference USA Media Days last week.

[00:20:56] So, it's coming.

[00:20:58] And this Friday is the day.

[00:21:00] And I've said my piece a lot about what I feel about this Lady Raiders basketball team.

[00:21:04] But Connor, you're new to the fans, to the listeners here.

[00:21:07] What's your take on this Lady Raiders basketball team?

[00:21:09] I mean, they have reloaded in every position, I feel.

[00:21:14] Obviously, this team last year made a run to the second round of the tournament,

[00:21:18] losing to LSU, but had them trailing at a point.

[00:21:22] And then Coach Rick Insul hits the portal hard this season,

[00:21:26] brings in two really good key pieces, Courtney Blakely out of Arizona

[00:21:30] and Alina Ariki out of Texas Tech.

[00:21:33] Blakely is really a high minute per game player.

[00:21:38] She won't get you the points you need, but she is a role player.

[00:21:41] She's a glue player, in my opinion.

[00:21:44] And CRI says she's the fastest guard in college basketball.

[00:21:47] Oh, that's pretty impressive for Rick Insul to bring in.

[00:21:50] Ariki averages 12 points a game, just about.

[00:21:53] Obviously, you're bringing back your supporting cast.

[00:21:56] Jalen Gregory is always going to be my X factor for this team.

[00:22:00] I'll see you as a second team last year, just under 13 points per game.

[00:22:05] I believe she might be the best player on the floor when the Blue Raiders hit the floor.

[00:22:09] But I have really high expectations for this team.

[00:22:13] I believe they're going to go in, very much compete for a Conference USA title,

[00:22:18] if not win it.

[00:22:19] I believe they will be playing in March.

[00:22:22] And this is going to be a fun team to watch.

[00:22:24] I can't wait.

[00:22:25] Yeah, and for good reason.

[00:22:27] Yeah, I think the portal, one thing when you go through the media days,

[00:22:31] or really anyone who follows Conference USA,

[00:22:33] the big question mark that they're going to have is who is this team,

[00:22:37] given that they lost their number one score,

[00:22:39] and then they lost one of the greats that is Courtney Whitson.

[00:22:43] So what are they going to do to replace that?

[00:22:45] Well, I think Rick Insul put it eloquently two weeks ago.

[00:22:48] So if you haven't listened to that interview, I highly recommend it.

[00:22:50] But you're not bringing in Courtney Blakely to be Savannah Wheeler.

[00:22:54] You're bringing in Courtney Blakely to be Courtney Blakely.

[00:22:58] And the same goes in the opposite direction.

[00:23:00] Blakely is not – or sorry, I'm going to get my words mixed up.

[00:23:03] Courtney Blakely is not Savannah Wheeler, but Savannah Wheeler is not Courtney Blakely.

[00:23:08] So she provides something entirely different, something about Savannah

[00:23:11] that I think if you had to discount her on anything was the defensive end.

[00:23:15] And Blakely, that's something that she provides with her speed, athleticism.

[00:23:18] Like you said in the media days last week that Coach Rick Insul said

[00:23:23] that she was the fastest guard in the country.

[00:23:25] So, yeah, that's quite the praise, especially as someone that's been around the game

[00:23:28] as long as he has.

[00:23:30] Aline, I love her game a lot, especially who she was at UTEP.

[00:23:33] I'm super excited to see what she brings to the table this year,

[00:23:36] especially, again, back on the defensive end.

[00:23:37] So if you're so concerned about how many points we're scoring,

[00:23:40] I would be more concerned that can you score enough to even beat us anyways

[00:23:43] because of how strong I expect this defense to be.

[00:23:47] You touched on Gregory.

[00:23:48] Yes, X factor.

[00:23:50] Absolutely, 100%.

[00:23:50] I mean, if she's able to space the floor with a three ball,

[00:23:52] and she can space the floor more than just three-point line.

[00:23:55] So I 100% agree on her.

[00:23:56] Boldereva, I think she's going to have an X on her back this year,

[00:23:59] given the talent that she's going to have.

[00:24:01] I think she will be a frontrunner for Player of the Year.

[00:24:05] Her and Bella Smuta, the center over at Liberty.

[00:24:08] But I just think Boldereva's better.

[00:24:10] I mean, she beat her three times last year.

[00:24:11] That's not a coincidence at that point.

[00:24:13] So I think I've earned the right to be a little cocky about who Anastasia Boldereva is.

[00:24:19] So her and then Tamiya Scott is another one that,

[00:24:21] when you talk about the starting lineup in particular,

[00:24:23] that she, for whatever reason, is underrated amongst these five players.

[00:24:27] I mean, she averaged double digits last year.

[00:24:29] And as Coach Rickinsall said in the media days,

[00:24:32] she is very capable of scoring 20 points.

[00:24:34] She's very capable of scoring 20-plus when the team needs her to do that.

[00:24:40] So you can't look at the two transfers.

[00:24:43] You can't look at Gregory and Anastasia and think,

[00:24:45] all right, these are our bases.

[00:24:46] The fifth one's a weak link.

[00:24:47] No, Tamiya would start on any other team in this conference.

[00:24:52] So she's not even one to underlook.

[00:24:53] But for whatever reason, myself included, I put her on the back end of this.

[00:24:57] But she could very easily be the number one.

[00:24:58] And she has that type of talent.

[00:25:01] She is definitely a player that, again, Rick Insull said she could be in the WNBA draft

[00:25:05] after her senior season next year.

[00:25:07] And she definitely has that level of ability.

[00:25:08] So I look forward to seeing her game continue to improve this year.

[00:25:12] Supporting cast is, you know, there's so many.

[00:25:15] Jada Harrison, the redshirt freshman who sat out last year with the ankle injury.

[00:25:19] You've got the incoming freshman, Savannah Davis.

[00:25:20] I expect to see some rotation there, especially with Harrison and Blakely

[00:25:24] as the point guard 1A, 1B.

[00:25:26] I think Blakely's going to be the obvious 1A.

[00:25:30] But Harrison has the ability.

[00:25:32] I mean, she was, I want to say, McDonald's All-American nominee

[00:25:35] coming out of high school, Miss Tennessee basketball.

[00:25:37] So a lot of talent there.

[00:25:39] Savannah Davis, also another Miss Tennessee basketball her senior year out of high school.

[00:25:44] You've got a redshirt freshman, Stacey or Stanislava Kaepernick, who is a forward.

[00:25:49] They think she's going to get a lot of minutes this year, you know, backing up Alina.

[00:25:54] Because Alina's going to be, my understanding,

[00:25:56] is going to be on a little bit of a pitch count.

[00:25:59] She's going to have limited minutes this year.

[00:26:01] She can't necessarily go 30-35.

[00:26:02] But if she can give us a solid 20-25 a night, that's going to be excellent news,

[00:26:06] especially if Stacey is developing like both Insel coaches have led me on to believe.

[00:26:11] Jada Granham, another name that excelled really well at the end of last year.

[00:26:15] I expect her to get a lot of minutes behind Boldorevo in these situations that she's in foul trouble.

[00:26:20] Jada's not a scorer, but Jada's very physical.

[00:26:22] And hopefully she uses that physicality to her advantage to get the rebounds that we need from her.

[00:26:27] And then a few on the back end that I have is sophomore Emily Monson.

[00:26:30] She's the Purdue transfer that's from local Blackman High School.

[00:26:34] She was one that could definitely space the floor.

[00:26:37] I consider her a 3-4.

[00:26:39] I would say more of a small forward if you want to go back to that old way of labeling things.

[00:26:43] But she has the handles of a point guard because that's what she did in high school.

[00:26:47] She was a point shooting guard, combo guard, I guess the word you'd use.

[00:26:50] But she has the handles of a 5-7 point guard while still being over 6 foot tall.

[00:26:55] So her game, especially only being a sophomore, she's another player that when you look at where this team could be next year,

[00:27:02] she's going to be a vital part of the success of this team next year.

[00:27:04] And then redshirt junior Gracie Dodgen, another lethal weapon from deep in her high school days,

[00:27:10] dealing with a little bit of injury when she got here.

[00:27:12] So she's back to full health.

[00:27:14] Hopefully she'll get a few minutes in there in rotation at the guard position.

[00:27:17] But to be honest, Jalen Gregory and Tamia Scott, they're tough.

[00:27:20] They're tough to take off the floor.

[00:27:21] They're going to give you 35 minutes a night, assuming there's no foul trouble.

[00:27:25] They're a tough duo to pull off the floor.

[00:27:28] So yeah, that wraps up as far as what I can.

[00:27:32] And everyone loves to ask me on the boards.

[00:27:34] They say, how many players is Rick Enselt going to play?

[00:27:36] Is he going to play more than eight like he always does?

[00:27:37] Well, I gave you 11.

[00:27:40] 11 that I feel comfortable would get some sort of contributing minutes.

[00:27:43] So I can't promise that he's going to play all those players.

[00:27:45] But he's got the depth.

[00:27:47] This team is very talented, top to bottom.

[00:27:49] So we'll see.

[00:27:50] We'll see what comes of it.

[00:27:52] And this Friday, the first exhibition matchup against UT Southern, I'm excited to see what

[00:27:59] they do.

[00:27:59] Not from the perspective that like, obviously, they're going to win this game.

[00:28:02] But what does the rotation look like?

[00:28:04] We should see more players in different combinations that we may be not accustomed to seeing because

[00:28:10] it is an exhibition game against a lesser opponent.

[00:28:12] But I'm excited nonetheless.

[00:28:14] And Connor, I know that was a long-winded break there for you.

[00:28:18] But I want to hear from you as someone that's getting to really cover the team the first

[00:28:21] time this year.

[00:28:22] You know, what are you hoping to see in these first couple exhibitions?

[00:28:27] Like you said, I want to see a lot of rotation pieces.

[00:28:29] I want to see how this game, how this team is going to look in a normal regular season game.

[00:28:34] I really want to see the offensive schemes coming out.

[00:28:37] Rick Encel really knows how to spread the floor, I feel.

[00:28:40] And he has a lot of shooters to prove that this year.

[00:28:42] So I want to see some shots getting put up.

[00:28:45] I want to see maybe 10 to 12 threes per game.

[00:28:48] I'm not going to lie.

[00:28:49] I'm a shooter's man.

[00:28:51] But I love to see it.

[00:28:54] I would love to see lots of guard play.

[00:28:57] But yeah, I think you hit on it best.

[00:29:00] Rotation is key for me.

[00:29:02] I want to see how different players work with different offensive schemes and different plays.

[00:29:10] It's just that's how I'm going to get the best feel for this team, how it's going to look

[00:29:15] during a regular season game.

[00:29:16] And even further beyond that, how will they look heading into the conference tournament

[00:29:21] or even March Madness?

[00:29:23] We don't know yet.

[00:29:24] But I think exhibition games will give us a little bit of a taste of what is to come this season.

[00:29:30] Yeah, another combo too, and we kind of glazed over it, was Boldoreva and Arike down low,

[00:29:36] the 4-5 combination between those two.

[00:29:38] How do they play off of one another?

[00:29:40] Also, what does the defense look like?

[00:29:41] I mean, I could imagine, unfortunately for the two exhibition matches,

[00:29:45] I don't think, I haven't looked at the rosters of UT Southern and Lindsay Wilson,

[00:29:48] but I would assume that they don't have anyone that's 6'7".

[00:29:50] And I would even venture a guess that they have very few that are over 6'3", that is Alina Arike.

[00:29:55] So I'm sure every team is going to be shooting a lot of threes in these first exhibition matches

[00:30:00] because of the lack of scoring production down low because of those two.

[00:30:04] So anyways, let's look a little bit into the non-conference schedule.

[00:30:09] You know, I have a few games highlighted on the schedule that I think are really interesting.

[00:30:15] But before I get into, you know, some of my picks, Connor,

[00:30:18] what are some games that you look forward to in this non-conference slate?

[00:30:21] Of course, Tennessee.

[00:30:23] I'm not going to say in-state rival, but it is two teams in the state of Tennessee.

[00:30:29] MTSU obviously came away with the win last year.

[00:30:32] I look forward to see how this team plays against another Tennessee team.

[00:30:38] I believe they are tied in the AP poll at number 36.

[00:30:42] Iowa State is another one I look forward to at the Fort Myers tip-off down in Florida.

[00:30:48] That will be just after Thanksgiving.

[00:30:50] But always interested to see MTSU play a Power 5 basketball program.

[00:30:56] And then, of course, sticking with Power 5 basketball program,

[00:30:59] Kansas State out in St. Joseph's.

[00:31:02] They are number 13 in the preseason poll.

[00:31:05] And I believe they're the Big 12 preseason favorites to win that conference.

[00:31:09] So pretty interesting slate.

[00:31:11] Can't wait to see those games in the non-conference.

[00:31:15] Yeah, and to bounce off the Kansas State game,

[00:31:17] I believe the article was written by Charlie Cream,

[00:31:19] but whoever it was that works at ESPN that covers women's college basketball

[00:31:22] listed specifically the MTSU game as the preseason

[00:31:26] or the non-conference game for Kansas State to watch.

[00:31:29] So obviously, if it's enough for ESPN to acknowledge that the Kansas State MTSU game

[00:31:34] is a big game for Kansas State,

[00:31:36] then that's something that, again, we should all be excited to look at.

[00:31:39] Iowa State, as you touched on, yeah, that's another game that could really boost the resume.

[00:31:44] And you have the benefit of them being on neutral sites.

[00:31:47] So that's good.

[00:31:49] The other games outside of those, I'm a women's basketball guy.

[00:31:53] Everyone knows that about this podcast.

[00:31:54] We love Lady Raiders basketball for good reason.

[00:31:57] But these other non-conference games that are mid-major level that I think people may be taking for granted,

[00:32:03] the first real home game for us, Grand Canyon on the 8th of November.

[00:32:07] That's a team that beat us out west last year.

[00:32:09] You're looking to get a little revenge from them.

[00:32:11] They're WAC preseason favorites, so that's a tournament team potentially.

[00:32:14] You've got Florida A&M.

[00:32:15] You're going all the way down to Tallahassee on the 26th.

[00:32:19] A team that has three first-place votes in the SWAC.

[00:32:23] I don't think that this team is on the same level, nor is the SWAC to the Conference USA,

[00:32:27] but you're still playing a team that, again, potentially could be in the NCAA tournament.

[00:32:30] You go to Belmont on December 7th.

[00:32:33] You lost to them last year, minus maybe the LSU game.

[00:32:37] I think a lot of people put an asterisk on that loss.

[00:32:39] But if you take out the LSU game, Belmont was by far the most embarrassing loss

[00:32:42] that this team experienced last year, losing by 14 on the road.

[00:32:45] Belmont had their number last year, beat them tape to tape there in Nashville.

[00:32:50] So you're going back there, hoping to get, again, steal a game from them.

[00:32:53] Coming out of the Missouri Valley Conference,

[00:32:55] they also have three first-place votes in their preseason poll.

[00:32:58] I think Drake is the team to beat in the Missouri Valley Conference,

[00:33:01] but Belmont very, very well could be a team that sneaks in the Missouri Valley

[00:33:04] and gets that spot, that automatic bid to the tournament.

[00:33:07] Then the final WAC and CUSA competition game between Cal Babson,

[00:33:13] they had four first-place votes, the preseason second team out of the WAC.

[00:33:16] So you're playing the two best teams in the WAC.

[00:33:18] Cal Baptist, you have to go all the way across country for that game.

[00:33:21] And then the much-anticipated return game against Princeton,

[00:33:25] all the way up in New Jersey, to round it up right before New Year's

[00:33:28] on the 29th of December.

[00:33:30] Once again, they are the favorites to win the Ivy League,

[00:33:33] nearly unanimous decision.

[00:33:35] I think Columbia got the other first-place vote.

[00:33:37] But this Princeton team, they lost a lot of production,

[00:33:41] but the big thing is they returned Madison St. Rose,

[00:33:44] one of the best guards in the country, especially at the G5 level.

[00:33:46] If you can contain her, I like your chances there in New Jersey.

[00:33:49] So again, I got you all the insight there on the non-conference,

[00:33:55] mid-major games that you should be excited about.

[00:33:57] There's very few breaks in this schedule that you think,

[00:34:00] this is an easy week, this is a for-sure win.

[00:34:02] So nothing should be taken for granted.

[00:34:04] And I think, again, back to the resume-building side of things,

[00:34:06] these are all teams that have potential to get to the NCAA tournament

[00:34:10] in their own conferences.

[00:34:11] Because as Rick said in my interview two weeks ago,

[00:34:13] when you're playing Conference USA,

[00:34:15] even beating teams by 20 points doesn't really help you out.

[00:34:18] So you've got to win these games in particular to boost your resume,

[00:34:22] because these teams will have higher net rankings, higher RPI numbers.

[00:34:26] So these are very important games.

[00:34:27] So not that the Lady Raider faithful needs me to tell them,

[00:34:30] but get there, especially these road games.

[00:34:33] Belmont, Tennessee, they're within a drives away.

[00:34:36] Get there, support the Lady Raiders.

[00:34:38] Of course, be there for the home games as always.

[00:34:40] But Connor, final kind of turn it over to you,

[00:34:44] wrap up the Lady Raiders talk.

[00:34:46] You touched on it too about the conference play.

[00:34:49] I don't think the expectation would be anything less

[00:34:52] than a Conference USA tournament championship.

[00:34:54] Would you agree?

[00:34:55] I would 100% agree with that.

[00:34:57] Yeah.

[00:34:57] I believe this team is deep enough to make it there too.

[00:35:01] I'm not going to say more so than last year,

[00:35:03] because last year was just an incredible year.

[00:35:05] But the standards have been raised.

[00:35:08] And I believe you've done that by having the year you had last year.

[00:35:12] So going on a dominant run in conference play,

[00:35:15] you can get right back there.

[00:35:17] Get right back where you left off.

[00:35:19] Make it to March Madness.

[00:35:20] And hell, compete for a national title.

[00:35:22] We could see.

[00:35:24] Absolutely.

[00:35:24] And I think the little side piece goal, objective, I think, for this team,

[00:35:30] and a lot of people have really been mumbling about it the last couple years,

[00:35:33] is host the NCAA tournament.

[00:35:35] You know, you've got to get in that top four seed in your region.

[00:35:37] So you've got to be one of the top 16 teams in the country.

[00:35:39] Two years ago, they were in that discussion.

[00:35:41] Had a few falters in the conference season.

[00:35:43] But can you get back to that discussion?

[00:35:46] And again, it starts with this non-conference.

[00:35:47] If you get one of these big wins, Iowa State, Kansas State,

[00:35:50] you throw in a Tennessee win, like you're back in that conversation.

[00:35:53] And then if you run the table like you did in Conference USA,

[00:35:56] you're definitely in that conversation.

[00:35:57] So I agree.

[00:35:59] Yeah, I think it's hard to believe that 20 years of Rick Ensel

[00:36:02] and the standard is continuing to be raised.

[00:36:03] But that's where he's at.

[00:36:04] That's where he has his program.

[00:36:05] So exciting stuff for Lady Raiders.

[00:36:08] Exciting to have Connor with us today.

[00:36:10] Again, he's an analyst for us at GoMiddle.com.

[00:36:12] He'll be covering both basketball programs for us over there.

[00:36:15] So I look forward to a lot of your stuff.

[00:36:16] But Connor, before I sign you off,

[00:36:18] tell the fans a little bit where they can find you on social media.

[00:36:21] Yeah, you can follow me on Twitter.

[00:36:23] I'm at C underscore Newt15.

[00:36:26] You can also hear me on our airwaves here at 1025, 1063, the game.

[00:36:31] And yeah, go ahead.

[00:36:33] Give me a follow-up.

[00:36:34] I'll be writing for GoMiddle all season for both programs.

[00:36:37] I'll be doing some coverage.

[00:36:39] I also work with football as well a little bit.

[00:36:41] But yeah, I'd love to have a follow.

[00:36:44] And I look forward to working with the teams this season.

[00:36:49] Absolutely, Connor.

[00:36:49] Well, thanks for stopping by.

[00:36:51] And we'll catch you on the next Basketball Talk.

[00:36:52] All right.

[00:36:53] Thanks for having me, Jake.

[00:36:54] I appreciate you.

[00:36:57] Did you know the Blue Raider Podcast has an online store?

[00:37:00] You can now support your favorite podcast by checking out our selection at our website,

[00:37:05] blueraderpodcast.com.

[00:37:06] And stay tuned for new merchandise releases as we collaborate with athletes and NIL partnerships.

[00:37:13] Joining us now on the Blue Raider Podcast is friend of the show and fellow analyst over at GoMiddle.com.

[00:37:19] It is Oliver Baltz.

[00:37:21] Oliver, how's it going, man?

[00:37:23] Going great, Jake.

[00:37:24] Feels like basketball outside.

[00:37:26] Getting closer.

[00:37:27] Love that we have this preseason, spontaneous preseason of college basketball these days.

[00:37:34] Just getting excited over meaningless scrimmages.

[00:37:37] Hopefully, it bleeds over to the mid-major ranks eventually.

[00:37:40] We can see those in the coming years.

[00:37:42] But yeah, it feels great.

[00:37:43] Really excited for this time of year.

[00:37:46] How are you doing, Jake?

[00:37:47] I can't complain myself.

[00:37:49] I know a lot of eyes these last couple weeks have really turned to the basketball scene, if you will, given the results of football.

[00:37:56] So a lot of us are pretty stoked to be talking about this and no better time this week to talk about basketball.

[00:38:01] Lady Raiders have their exhibition match this Friday on the day of the week of the release of this episode.

[00:38:07] And then the men, unfortunately, don't really have an exhibition or public scrimmage, if you will, until they play the Oglethorpe on the 4th.

[00:38:16] But again, I thought there's no better time.

[00:38:19] We both had the opportunity to go to practice so far.

[00:38:22] I know you're looking to go back again sometime soon.

[00:38:25] But you listened in to Nick McDevitt whenever he was on here.

[00:38:29] I just want to hear a little take from you.

[00:38:32] What are some expectations you've got prematurely for this team so far?

[00:38:39] Yeah, I think expectations are high.

[00:38:41] They always should be.

[00:38:45] It's CUSA.

[00:38:47] It's still competitive, but it's not what it once was.

[00:38:50] And Middle was one of the teams that just stayed in the league that had consistent success.

[00:38:58] I mean, you look at the history of CUSA and the men's basketball level.

[00:39:02] And MTSU is one of the most successful programs throughout its history, or at least its recent history since they joined in the early 10s.

[00:39:12] Yeah, I think they did really well in the portal.

[00:39:15] I think you could definitely feel some urgency after a season that kind of disappointed last year.

[00:39:21] They weren't too aggressive in the 2023 portal.

[00:39:25] And I think that reflected their strategy in the 2024.

[00:39:30] I think they were definitely motivated to get talent and get good players at different positions and return to the program to how they see fit.

[00:39:43] Yeah, the portal season has been the discussion for the last couple months.

[00:39:48] And really, I think where Nick has this team now is in prime position to be on the attack, if you will.

[00:39:55] We got a vote in the preseason poll for the first place, which only means so much to so many people.

[00:40:01] But the reality of it is, when you look at the tiers, if you will, based on the voting totals, MTSU is in that second tier.

[00:40:11] They're not there with Sam Houston, Louisiana Tech, and I'm blanking.

[00:40:15] And was it Liberty that was in the top three?

[00:40:17] It was Western Kentucky.

[00:40:19] Western Kentucky, of course, yeah.

[00:40:21] So if you look at the points in regards to the voting, they're just outside that tier.

[00:40:26] There's quite a sizable gap from third place to fourth place where we sit on that preseason poll.

[00:40:31] So I think a lot of that has to do with a few question marks with this program.

[00:40:36] I think you put that first place vote in the thought of what this team could be, because what we saw three years ago.

[00:40:42] But it's a whole brand new team.

[00:40:45] And just a few of the guys that I wanted to highlight, and I know I've spoken about this ad nauseum,

[00:40:50] but Issa Mostafa, the transfer from TCU, is going to play center for us.

[00:40:55] He's really most notably known for his time at Coastal Carolina.

[00:40:58] Guy was a walking double-double on campus there in South Carolina.

[00:41:02] Alec Oglesby from Stetson.

[00:41:04] He's kind of on the injury bug right now.

[00:41:06] My understanding is he's got an injury to the shoulder on a shooting arm.

[00:41:10] However, he's done the necessary – I believe it was surgery.

[00:41:14] I don't want to speculate, but I believe it was surgery.

[00:41:16] But he should make a return hopefully before conference season begins, which is promising.

[00:41:20] You've got Kamari Lanz, the Arizona State-Louisville transfer.

[00:41:24] And then Jalen Counter from IUPUI.

[00:41:26] I think those first three I named were expected, or I think you would expect to go ahead and make an immediate impact.

[00:41:33] They're kind of already the starting lineup pieces that you were looking for.

[00:41:36] You needed to replace JCJ down at the center position.

[00:41:40] You needed some guard play.

[00:41:41] Oglesby is going to be the shooter that this team desperately needed to partner up with Porter.

[00:41:45] And then Lance has kind of been – he hasn't met the expectations that a lot of people thought he would when he got into the college ranks.

[00:41:53] It was a heck of a score in high school.

[00:41:55] Came from a prestigious top 25 high school and put up a lot of points for that program.

[00:42:00] But we haven't seen that translate to the college game.

[00:42:02] And maybe, as Nick McDevitt has told me, he's sometimes taking that step back to the mid-major level gives those guys an opportunity to excel given the competition level.

[00:42:11] And so certainly hope so there.

[00:42:12] And then Jalen Counter, super impressed with what I saw from him at practice myself.

[00:42:18] He's a lot faster than maybe I'd given him credit for.

[00:42:20] And I think a lot of that has to do with the team and the program and the conference that he came from.

[00:42:26] But he's really the backup point guard you needed last year, as you already alluded to.

[00:42:31] You didn't have these depth pieces last year because you kind of sat on your hands when the portal season came around.

[00:42:37] Where now those moves have put you in a good spot.

[00:42:41] But I don't want to take too much talk on this.

[00:42:43] But I want to turn it over to you about those portal pickups.

[00:42:45] How do those guys, and there's eight in total, but I named those four in specific.

[00:42:51] But how do these guys fit into the landscape of the starting lineup to start the season?

[00:42:58] Yeah, so I think, you know, Lance is probably the most interesting one.

[00:43:04] I don't want to say he has a wide variety of outcomes.

[00:43:07] But, you know, because he didn't do much in Louisville and Arizona State, he's an unproven product, obviously.

[00:43:16] But he did play a lot of minutes for both teams, despite not really being a scoring factor.

[00:43:23] The staff clearly really likes him.

[00:43:25] I mean, I got that impression when I met or I watched the practice.

[00:43:28] And they've obviously been raving about them on your podcast and just other releases that they've done over this offseason.

[00:43:36] I think he should have a pretty good year.

[00:43:41] I think his skill set kind of fits what they like.

[00:43:43] I think they expect him to be a pretty reliable, I don't want to say stretch forward, because he's kind of a 3-4 combo, I guess.

[00:43:51] But definitely a versatile forward that has a scoring arsenal that can pick them up.

[00:43:57] Something they probably haven't had lately, where they have these really athletic, less skilled forwards that are kind of more defensive specialists.

[00:44:10] With moving on to, I guess, Oglesby.

[00:44:14] I think with Oglesby, you really like him coming from Stetson, who made the tournament.

[00:44:23] It seems like he was a really integral piece there.

[00:44:25] I mean, he brings up probably the most premium attribute in basketball with the way the game is going, and that shooting.

[00:44:32] He's been a very consistent, reliable shooter from a percentage standpoint and from a volume standpoint for a few years now.

[00:44:40] So, we'd like to have that.

[00:44:41] It seems like a great kid.

[00:44:44] Coach Long was telling me about his background and his dad.

[00:44:47] It's a really good story.

[00:44:50] With Counter, I think Counter's ideal role would be what Cam Weston was in 21-22.

[00:45:02] Just that third guard off the bench.

[00:45:04] If you remember 21-22, it was Donovan Sims and Josh Jefferson who started.

[00:45:09] But then Cam Weston came off the bench, and there was no drop-off.

[00:45:12] I mean, he had nights where he was just as productive as those two, sometimes more so.

[00:45:18] He definitely added a different element than those two had as well.

[00:45:21] So, I think Counter can be that.

[00:45:24] I've been impressed with him as well.

[00:45:27] I was a little – you see a guy coming from a school like IUPUI who's just known as having just a very miserable season.

[00:45:37] But it does seem like he was a catalyst for any success that they had.

[00:45:47] Ending with Mustafa, I think, is the most interesting transfer.

[00:45:54] He's had a very, very productive college career.

[00:45:57] What's really interesting about him is he registered his first year at Coastal Carolina.

[00:46:03] So, if you have three years at Coastal, one at TCU, and technically that fourth year at Coastal where he redshirted.

[00:46:09] I mean, he's six years removed from high school basketball.

[00:46:15] So, he is a man amongst boys.

[00:46:17] He definitely has that sort of size.

[00:46:19] I mean, his rebounding, how consistent it's been throughout his career is pretty incredible.

[00:46:25] I am interested to see if he kind of leveled up at TCU just playing in the Big 12.

[00:46:31] I know he played backup center minutes.

[00:46:33] But, you know, just being – playing better competition in practice and in games,

[00:46:39] I think he probably improved than what we saw at his final year in Coastal.

[00:46:44] I think the most interesting thing that – about Mustafa,

[00:46:48] and you and I have kind of gone back and forth about it as well,

[00:46:52] is he doesn't really resemble what Nick has always done with his centers.

[00:46:58] You know, with DeAndre Dishman and Coleman Jones being the most prominent,

[00:47:02] they have this face-up at the elbow or maybe even the top of the key of the three.

[00:47:08] Almost like a maestro, just a playmaker, like a Bam Adebayo almost,

[00:47:12] where, you know, you face up, you make reads of cuts at the rim or dribble handoffs above you.

[00:47:19] He doesn't have – I mean, based on what I've seen,

[00:47:23] he doesn't really have a ton of experience doing that.

[00:47:26] My impression is they are going to try to implement that

[00:47:29] while also really honing in on his strengths,

[00:47:33] which is probably going to be more so suited going to the rim,

[00:47:37] being that low-post physical threat and just gobbling up everything off the glass.

[00:47:42] But I think he, Mustafa, is probably the most intriguing transfer of that group.

[00:47:48] Of that first group you mentioned.

[00:47:51] Yeah, the thing I like about Esom, and to your point, too,

[00:47:55] about utilizing him a little bit differently than he has his entire college career,

[00:47:58] in my time in practice, you know, I don't know what they ran when you were there,

[00:48:01] but I saw that.

[00:48:03] You know, they put him at the top of the key.

[00:48:05] He does handle the ball a little bit.

[00:48:07] He doesn't dribble, which I think is kind of – I think that's more the pace

[00:48:11] that maybe Nick likes to run when he has a center up that high with the ball.

[00:48:15] He just wants him to have it, find a read, get rid of the ball, get back down,

[00:48:19] set a pin down, do whatever that is, or do whatever motion that they're running.

[00:48:23] The thing about Esom, too, is he is a more, like you said,

[00:48:27] low block, back-to-the-basket type scorer.

[00:48:29] But he's not necessarily a huge guy, you know, like to be a dominant force like that.

[00:48:35] I think the one thing that I admire about his game is his physicality

[00:48:39] and his ability to rebound the ball because that's a game-changer for us.

[00:48:43] That was something that we lacked at times last year was the rebounding numbers,

[00:48:47] and I know we'll get to that eventually about addressing some of those issues.

[00:48:52] But I want to get back to a little about the lineup here.

[00:48:54] My game one, starting lineup, assuming everything is healthy,

[00:48:58] I know Weston, you know, he's not 100% yet,

[00:49:02] so I don't know where he'll be against Oglethorpe,

[00:49:05] but that's even a game that Nick wants to push him into.

[00:49:09] But we'll see. I'm sure he'll get some minutes.

[00:49:11] But my game one projection is it would be Weston.

[00:49:14] Porter would be the two.

[00:49:16] And then you got Buford at the three as we're still awaiting Oglesby to get back

[00:49:20] and then lands four and then Mostafa five.

[00:49:22] That's just my bare read.

[00:49:24] And really, I look at that lineup and I think to myself,

[00:49:27] on both sides of the floor, I feel pretty comfortable,

[00:49:30] especially from a scoring perspective with Porter at two and lands at four

[00:49:33] and lands being the scorer that I'm told that he is and that I see in practice.

[00:49:38] Buford is kind of an interesting piece because he's a guy that started for Nick

[00:49:41] for three straight years, and now with Oglesby plugged back in,

[00:49:44] maybe he takes a step back.

[00:49:48] One thing about Buford is about last season in particular,

[00:49:52] you go back two years, the year that we won 19 games, he was a 40% three-point shooter.

[00:49:57] You go to last year, he was a 21% three-point shooter and shot a significantly higher volume.

[00:50:02] And I've spoken to coaches and I've said,

[00:50:05] last year could have been a lot different if Buford was who he was his sophomore season.

[00:50:12] And that's not really a slight at him.

[00:50:14] I think his role changed a lot because of the injury to Cam Weston.

[00:50:17] But albeit, you cut your shooting percentage in half, that's detrimental.

[00:50:22] And we spent all last year talking about this team needs to score points.

[00:50:27] If you can get two or three more three-pointers out of your shooting guard,

[00:50:31] or I guess he's a combo guard, I don't know really what they call Buford.

[00:50:35] But that changes a lot of games.

[00:50:38] You lost a lot of games by single digits.

[00:50:40] But anyways, I put it over to you as far as the starting lineup goes.

[00:50:44] What are your thoughts?

[00:50:45] Where do you see this team?

[00:50:46] What kind of combination would be very successful for the Blue Raiders?

[00:50:49] Yeah, so I think we're 100% aligned on who I expect to start.

[00:50:53] It's definitely Weston, Porter, Buford, Johnson, or Buford, sorry, Lance, and then Mustafa.

[00:51:03] I think the main guys I see off the bench, I think you have really good balance.

[00:51:10] So you have those five.

[00:51:12] And then I'll start with Oglesby.

[00:51:14] So Oglesby almost feels like a safe bet.

[00:51:18] You know, he's been a mid-major kid his whole career.

[00:51:21] But you can see just based on the numbers year by year, it's like an upwards trajectory.

[00:51:26] He seems like a pretty safe bet to be consistent, dependable.

[00:51:34] Like I said, he shoots the three very consistently, very well, very good volume.

[00:51:40] So, you know, say Lance has a bad stretch or a bad game, maybe doesn't get off to a good start.

[00:51:46] I think you have really good balance to slide Oglesby into his place whenever Oglesby is healthy.

[00:51:53] And, you know, if not, if Lance, you know, comes out shooting the ball, scoring well, everything just coming naturally at this level of basketball, I think, you know, that's great.

[00:52:09] Now you have two very good shooting wings right off of the bat.

[00:52:15] Then you have, you know, Counter.

[00:52:17] I mentioned him being the Cam Weston of this year, or the freshman, I guess, sophomore Cam Weston.

[00:52:25] First year at Middle Tennessee, Cam Weston of 2024.

[00:52:30] That's, I think you're picking up what I'm putting down.

[00:52:33] But, yeah, I think, again, he gives you a different variety that the other guards don't have.

[00:52:39] And then you have Chris Loof, who is a very different player than Mustafa.

[00:52:44] But he seems like maybe you're out of the guys who were on the team last year, the guy who's made the biggest leap.

[00:52:54] And, you know, the sophomore jump, as everybody talks about, that wouldn't be surprising.

[00:52:58] I think, yeah, I think we'll see a lot of him.

[00:53:03] So, yeah, I think that, again, those five guys, Weston, Porter, Buford, Lance, and Mustafa, I think they're a pretty safe bet.

[00:53:14] But, you know, it's all on paper.

[00:53:17] I mean, all they're doing is practicing against each other.

[00:53:19] I wouldn't be surprised if one of those three guys, maybe they're a better fit with, you know, within the starting lineup.

[00:53:27] Or maybe one of the starters are a better fit with the bench unit.

[00:53:31] So that's kind of the way I see it.

[00:53:33] But it's a good thing because nobody only goes five deep.

[00:53:37] And I think those three players definitely present the beginning of a strong bench unit, for sure.

[00:53:46] And another name I just really want to add, because I've been told so much about inside the basketball camp,

[00:53:53] is Tori Alston, the redshirt freshman, who took a redshirt last year, didn't play at all.

[00:53:58] But, again, in practice, very active.

[00:54:00] Something about his game in particular.

[00:54:02] So he's only listed, I say only.

[00:54:04] He's 6'8", so he is more of a forward, less a center.

[00:54:08] But he's a scorer.

[00:54:10] You know, that's one thing I felt really comfortable when I was watching him,

[00:54:13] is he's very comfortable inside the 10-foot range.

[00:54:16] From what I'm told, he can stretch the floor a little bit with his jump shot.

[00:54:19] So that's something that I would like to keep an eye on.

[00:54:22] I agree with you about Loof.

[00:54:24] Something that I only think helps Loof is being in practice with a guy like Esom.

[00:54:28] I can only, when I'm there at practice, I can just tell, again, the physicality that Esom forces anyone that's guarding him to play with.

[00:54:35] It's only going to improve that side of Loof's game that we all saw last year was he's a skinny, tall guy.

[00:54:42] So he's got to kind of create that sort of physicality that you need from someone who's 6'11".

[00:54:47] So I'm excited to see how an off-season training with someone like Esom,

[00:54:53] who brings that big 12 physicality that you may be looking for for Loof to really go up against.

[00:54:58] Not that JCJ wasn't that guy, but Esom, again, is more of the back-to-basket score

[00:55:01] that Loof needs to be guarding in this league on a nightly basis.

[00:55:05] Yeah.

[00:55:06] And I was really impressed with how Loof defended him.

[00:55:10] I mean, at first I thought Mustafa just wasn't finishing bunnies I thought he should be.

[00:55:17] But just on second glance, I mean, the practice I went to, it's just one day.

[00:55:22] But he did really well on the big fella.

[00:55:24] I was impressed.

[00:55:25] And, you know, having a guy who can both stretch the floor and protect the rim,

[00:55:30] that unlocks so much in college basketball.

[00:55:34] So, yeah, I mean, I guess once we got in Mustafa and I marinated on it for a month or two,

[00:55:39] I really thought he was just going to be this 30-minute garbage man for MTSU.

[00:55:46] But I don't know.

[00:55:47] I don't know how they can – they're going to have trouble keeping Loof off the floor

[00:55:53] based on what I saw.

[00:55:55] I did want to go back to – I forgot to mention on your last question,

[00:55:59] you went on a little bit about Justin Buford.

[00:56:01] And I completely agree.

[00:56:03] I think the kind of more validation that last year wasn't completely on him was

[00:56:12] Elias King had the same sort of dip in numbers as well.

[00:56:16] He – you could just tell without a guy like Cam Weston, you know, driving and then

[00:56:25] dishing out, hitting them in the chest with a very just natural catch-and-shoot motion.

[00:56:30] They really suffered as far as just getting comfortable shots, especially from three.

[00:56:36] So, I think with Weston, I think with, you know, having a reliable backup in Jalen,

[00:56:43] I think Justin Porter is a year better.

[00:56:46] He'll be more capable doing that sort of stuff as well.

[00:56:49] I do – I love Buford.

[00:56:51] I've been a big fan ever since he's been in Murfreesboro.

[00:56:53] He almost feels like – he's been here for four years,

[00:56:56] but it still feels like he's an unsug hero.

[00:56:58] He's an incredible defender.

[00:57:00] So, yeah, I am high on Buford.

[00:57:02] I think he'll have a good year as well.

[00:57:04] I think at some point, like last year especially, you thought he's got to regress to the mean.

[00:57:09] And it just never – it just never did.

[00:57:11] It never came for him.

[00:57:12] So, I think that's something that is definitely going to be – is addressed with him.

[00:57:16] I said the same thing about Trey Green.

[00:57:18] I think Trey Green may take a step back this year with all the top-end talent that we have this year.

[00:57:22] But he's another guy that couldn't really find the range that we were expecting him to.

[00:57:26] And then he got – he did heat up a little bit near the end of the season.

[00:57:30] So, another kid that like off the bench, you'd like to see that.

[00:57:34] To move on, we've talked a lot about the offense

[00:57:36] and what this transfer portal team brings offensively.

[00:57:40] But there's – you've got to play both sides of the ball.

[00:57:43] And in Conference USA especially, we've talked about how in this last season,

[00:57:48] defense was kind of our only way to really win games because of our lack of scoring ability.

[00:57:52] This year, I think it's going to be still offensive-minded,

[00:57:56] but you've still got to have a solid defense.

[00:57:58] And, you know, as far as some notes that I took when I was recapping the end of last season,

[00:58:04] the defensive effective field goal percentage, which is what they're allowing,

[00:58:07] I thought was fine.

[00:58:09] When you look at it in Conference USA, it wasn't terrible.

[00:58:11] They were doing fine defending the shot.

[00:58:13] But the thing that put them out of a lot of games – again, just looking back at numbers –

[00:58:17] is their opponent's offensive rebounding percentage.

[00:58:19] So I bring that point back up.

[00:58:23] When you can't score the ball – this is just common sense on basketball.

[00:58:28] If you can't score the ball, the last thing you need to do is give your opponents

[00:58:31] those second opportunities.

[00:58:32] And I think, again, when you talk about the size and length of this team,

[00:58:36] that's going to be – that's just a physical trait that would make them

[00:58:39] essentially better at that.

[00:58:40] But you've got to find guys that are headhunters when it comes to rebounding.

[00:58:43] And, again, I draw that allusion to Mustafa, to Loof, creating that sense of urgency

[00:58:49] to get rebounds.

[00:58:50] Those guys are hungry to get those double-digit rebounds.

[00:58:53] That's going to help defensively at eliminating those second opportunities.

[00:58:56] And then you talk about the conference as a whole.

[00:58:59] Some of the top-end talent of this conference all has a big man that is a scoring threat.

[00:59:04] You look at Louisiana Tech.

[00:59:05] They bring back Daniel Bacho.

[00:59:07] You talk about Liberty.

[00:59:08] They bring Zach Cleveland.

[00:59:11] WKU's got Tyrone Marshall.

[00:59:13] So these top-end teams have scoring threats down low.

[00:59:18] You've got to have the length to defend those guys.

[00:59:19] Now, I'm not saying we need to hold them to three or four points.

[00:59:24] But if you eliminate the Bacho aspect on Louisiana Tech's side,

[00:59:28] I don't know who they have personally from a scoring threat.

[00:59:31] And that's a topic in and of itself, what Louisiana Tech brings now that Isaiah Crawford's gone.

[00:59:36] But back to the point of MTSU and their defense,

[00:59:38] this is the longest team, at least from my recollection, that Nick McDevitt's ever had.

[00:59:44] You've got 6'11", Chris Loof.

[00:59:47] 6'10", Christian Fussell, who will probably get some backup minutes.

[00:59:50] But Esam is 6'9".

[00:59:51] Lance is 6'8", who's going to be a very lengthy four.

[00:59:55] Austin also is 6'8", a very lengthy four.

[00:59:57] Jared Hall, another guy we might see off the bench, the transfer from Tulsa.

[01:00:00] So, from my recollection, this is the lengthiest team we've ever seen.

[01:00:05] And my last piece to really add to what the defense needs to improve,

[01:00:09] and I talk about that length and the bench depth,

[01:00:13] we can bring back the full-court press.

[01:00:15] That was something that was a staple with Nick McDevitt's teams in the successful 26-19 win season,

[01:00:21] was the ability to speed up teams with the full-court press.

[01:00:24] The issue with last year is you don't have the depth.

[01:00:28] If you're running the full-court press, you were running a full-court press.

[01:00:31] You're going to have some tired legs.

[01:00:33] And when you don't have a deep bench, like we experienced last year with the injuries,

[01:00:37] you don't have the ability to run a full-court press.

[01:00:39] You're going to have to play a slower-paced game.

[01:00:41] And I don't know that pace was not necessarily the recipe for success for us.

[01:00:45] It was increasing the turnover percentages, increasing the steal percentages,

[01:00:49] like we saw in the 26-19 win season.

[01:00:51] And what did we do in those seasons to create those turnovers and steals?

[01:00:55] I have to pinpoint the ability to have a deeper bench and run a full-court press.

[01:01:00] No, yeah, definitely.

[01:01:01] I think as far as rebounding, I think that's a big reason why they like Torrey Alston so much.

[01:01:08] He's a really talented rebounder.

[01:01:09] I mean, he's your classic Nick McDevitt, just power forward, small forward,

[01:01:15] but more power forward type where he's just so much energy, athleticism, length.

[01:01:21] He's got a really good nose for the rim.

[01:01:24] I think that's why they like him so much.

[01:01:28] I definitely think they will find a way to get him minutes.

[01:01:32] It's interesting.

[01:01:33] When I watch Lance, I know he is 6'8".

[01:01:37] I do feel like he plays a little smaller than that, which is interesting because,

[01:01:44] again, that's not necessarily a Nick McDevitt philosophy, if you will.

[01:01:51] That's probably something they're probably going to try to develop him into, if I had to guess.

[01:01:59] But, yeah, I do think they definitely have more resources in rebounding.

[01:02:03] Like you said, I think they can go three deep in center.

[01:02:06] I mean, I think Mustafa is a very quality starter.

[01:02:10] I think Loof is a very quality backup.

[01:02:12] And I think Fussell is a very quality third guy.

[01:02:15] I mean, we saw him three years ago, and I know he hasn't done much since then.

[01:02:19] But I thought he was pretty decent in the backup role in their big 26-1 year.

[01:02:25] So, yeah, I think they're going to be really good at center.

[01:02:29] I think they'll have a lot of insurance for guys, maybe if they get hurt or if they're in foul trouble.

[01:02:34] I think that'll come into play and be very valuable, as opposed to last year where you had JCJ

[01:02:41] and then freshman Loof.

[01:02:43] Loof definitely had his games, but he had a lot of games where he looked like a freshman, too.

[01:02:47] And I think you see a lot of that escaping him this year.

[01:02:52] Defense in total, yeah, I mean, last year they were, if you look at the conference-only stats,

[01:02:57] they were ninth in steal percentage, which is, you know, the exact opposite of what Nick McDevitt,

[01:03:03] you know, it feels like his staple is creating turnovers,

[01:03:07] trying to create fast-break offense off of that.

[01:03:11] I do think that, I think Cam is going to be a lot of that.

[01:03:15] Cam is a very talented, just got quick hands.

[01:03:19] I remember when I first, his first season here, I was just amazed at how easy it was for him

[01:03:25] just to swipe the basketball from the opposing point guard.

[01:03:28] I think he's going to help a lot in that direction.

[01:03:32] Yeah, I think, again, I think the blocks will be better with Loof.

[01:03:37] And then Fussell, too. Fussell's a decent shot blocker.

[01:03:40] I think you still have Buford.

[01:03:43] I mean, he's a defensive wizard.

[01:03:46] So I do expect the defense to look more like MTSU this year

[01:03:50] as opposed to last year, to your point.

[01:03:54] Absolutely.

[01:03:54] Absolutely.

[01:03:55] And our last little topic here is the non-conference slate, as I touched on.

[01:04:00] As a day of this release, we still have a little bit of time until we get to see them in.

[01:04:04] They got Oglethorpe at home on the 4th of November,

[01:04:06] and then they got their first Division I competition later that week on the 9th.

[01:04:11] They will be at Abilene Christian.

[01:04:14] When I look at this non-conference schedule, I know when it was released,

[01:04:17] I know people didn't see any big names on there or anything that was really impressive.

[01:04:23] But I want to make the point that I think a lot of these teams here are on the level

[01:04:28] playing field that is Conference USA.

[01:04:31] If net rankings and Ken Palm rankings mean anything to anybody,

[01:04:35] a lot of these teams are in the midst of where Conference USA is.

[01:04:39] So from that perspective, I like it because you're going to play light competition.

[01:04:45] And for me, when I had listed all this out and just took a glance at some of these games,

[01:04:50] I'd highlighted a few games that I think would be measuring stick games for you

[01:04:56] to find out how far this team really has approved.

[01:04:58] I like their chances against Abilene Christian and Evansville at home.

[01:05:02] But Murray State, third in the Missouri Valley preseason poll,

[01:05:08] that's a really good basketball team.

[01:05:09] They go to Myrtle Beach.

[01:05:11] They're going to play probably the favorite to win if it's not Ohio or Bradley

[01:05:14] in the Myrtle Beach Invitational.

[01:05:16] But they start with Ohio, who's a MAAC favorite according to some publications.

[01:05:21] And depending on how that goes, I know that it's predicted that would play like Portland

[01:05:25] and Texas State there as well.

[01:05:27] And then you come back and you go to Birmingham

[01:05:30] and you play the American Athletic Conference favorites in UAB,

[01:05:35] someone that was outvoted significantly by Memphis, who typically runs the AAC.

[01:05:40] So UAB, Adam Kennedy is going to have a strong team down there in Birmingham.

[01:05:45] Then you come near the middle of December before Christmas.

[01:05:50] You've got Lipscomb at home, the Atlantic Sun favorite,

[01:05:54] probably going to be an NCAA tournament team out of the Sun.

[01:05:57] And then, of course, right directly before Christmas Eve on the 23rd,

[01:06:01] you go to Knoxville to face Tennessee.

[01:06:03] So those are big games relative to if you want to talk about resume building

[01:06:08] and all those kind of things.

[01:06:10] But those are big games.

[01:06:11] Those are measuring stick games.

[01:06:12] Those are teams that are going to be tops of their conference

[01:06:14] that I would love to see you swing a couple of those.

[01:06:18] I'm not expecting you to win all of those, but if you could swing a couple of those.

[01:06:21] And to the point of how one thing about Nick McDevitt is

[01:06:24] he always plays really well at home.

[01:06:27] And you've got Murray State and you've got Lipscomb at home.

[01:06:29] Those are big, big games you'd like to show out for those.

[01:06:32] So you're very fortunate to have those at home, in my opinion.

[01:06:35] And then another one just kind of on the,

[01:06:38] I would put right on the next tier is the game at Belmont in Nashville.

[01:06:42] Belmont's going to be good.

[01:06:43] I don't know that they're going to be as good as we've seen in recent years.

[01:06:46] I put them under Murray State for whatever that's worth

[01:06:49] because Murray State's still a good team.

[01:06:50] That doesn't say too much.

[01:06:51] But I look forward to that matchup as well.

[01:06:54] And I've talked to Nick about this ad nauseum about getting better at road games.

[01:07:00] And he feels good about the leadership that this team has

[01:07:02] because there's extracurriculars that go along with being good

[01:07:07] in road environments, especially in today's college basketball games.

[01:07:11] So I know I hogged a lot of the non-conference schedule talk,

[01:07:15] but Oliver, within these games on the schedule,

[01:07:18] is there anything that really intrigues you or what's kind of some predictions

[01:07:22] you have before conference?

[01:07:23] Yeah, definitely.

[01:07:24] So I originally tweeted, I don't know if I used the word underwhelmed.

[01:07:30] I don't know if that's the right word.

[01:07:32] Either way, I have kind of regressed from that take a little bit

[01:07:35] as I've done more research in their opponents.

[01:07:39] I'm surprised that Murray State's third in NBC and Belmont is sixth.

[01:07:43] I mean, I haven't tracked what they did in the portal, which is so essential

[01:07:48] to roster building.

[01:07:49] So, I mean, it could be dead on.

[01:07:51] But it's just interesting to me because since both moved into the NBC

[01:07:55] at the same time, Belmont's had okay success.

[01:08:00] And Murray State's really struggling in their second state with Brom.

[01:08:04] So, I don't know.

[01:08:06] We'll see.

[01:08:07] I mean, I think, you know, you said it best.

[01:08:11] This team's just really struggled to win on the road.

[01:08:14] And, you know, they have two road games against UAB and Tennessee.

[01:08:19] Those are going to be really, really, really tough.

[01:08:22] Those aren't games I have high expectations.

[01:08:26] Obviously, I want the team to compete.

[01:08:27] But they're going to be uphill battles, no doubt.

[01:08:32] I think that the other road games you have, I mean,

[01:08:38] you start the year against Abilene Christian, basically.

[01:08:41] I mean, you start the year technically against Oglethorpe.

[01:08:44] But a few days later, you start your D1 season against Abilene.

[01:08:47] And it being at Abilene Christian in Texas, again,

[01:08:52] I think it will be a good barometer.

[01:08:53] Sure.

[01:08:54] Just, again, because MTSU has struggled against the road

[01:08:58] in this Nick McDevitt era, you know, we'll see if –

[01:09:02] and Abilene Christian, it's a good school.

[01:09:04] They've had some good years.

[01:09:05] I think they're going to be respectable once again to their standard.

[01:09:10] But, you know, we'll see, you know, second game of the year

[01:09:14] if there really is a new emphasis on how to approach road games

[01:09:21] if something has changed because it definitely does need to change

[01:09:23] for this program to, you know, meet its potential.

[01:09:28] I think outside of that, you know, Ohio, the –

[01:09:31] I think they're the MAAC favorite if I'm not mistaken.

[01:09:35] Starting the – their MTV – or MTV – MTE out against Ohio,

[01:09:42] that's going to be really tough.

[01:09:46] It's interesting how Nick seems to either do great or terrible in his MTEs.

[01:09:52] He's either – I know last year I think he went one and two,

[01:09:55] but every other year he either went winless or undefeated.

[01:09:58] So we'll see.

[01:09:59] I mean, if they – Ohio's a team I can be okay with losing to,

[01:10:04] but they definitely have to look like they can compete.

[01:10:08] Yeah, and then the only other road game I believe is at Belmont.

[01:10:13] You know, that's a place they're – they should be very comfortable playing.

[01:10:17] They're not going to stay in a hotel to play there, obviously.

[01:10:20] So, yeah, we'll see.

[01:10:22] I like the schedule the more I look at it.

[01:10:24] I think the most intriguing part of it will be the Myrtle Beach Invitational

[01:10:28] and how they fare there.

[01:10:30] They'll probably be the most indicative sign or results to what we can expect

[01:10:39] from this team in the conference season.

[01:10:41] Yeah, I like your point of your first Division I game being on the road

[01:10:46] with Abilene who, you know, looking at this, depending –

[01:10:50] you know, there's some outcomes there in Myrtle Beach.

[01:10:51] You might play a team worse.

[01:10:52] But Abilene, I think on paper, may be the least of our worries in this schedule,

[01:11:00] maybe Cal Baptist.

[01:11:02] But you go on the road to address that, right?

[01:11:06] You're going to have immediate response.

[01:11:10] 11 games against Division I opponents,

[01:11:13] given if you count the three games there in Myrtle Beach.

[01:11:17] Record-wise, I mean, I know we talk about this every year,

[01:11:20] what is considered a successful non-conference schedule.

[01:11:24] Personally, I think if you can come out of it 6-5,

[01:11:26] which I know that sounds really underwhelming when you look at it,

[01:11:29] but when I look at Tennessee, at UAB,

[01:11:33] I don't feel confident about the Myrtle Beach Invitational

[01:11:37] just because of their level of talent there.

[01:11:38] I really like Murray State.

[01:11:41] That's four, maybe five losses right there,

[01:11:43] so you're sitting at 6-5.

[01:11:44] But I would feel this team has improved if they were able to get to 6-5.

[01:11:49] I would feel great at 7-4.

[01:11:53] But again, that's just my take on it.

[01:11:55] I think, again, you have the benefit of having the Lipscomb

[01:11:57] and the Murray State games at home.

[01:11:59] And to go back on the Belmont topic,

[01:12:01] one thing that is, I don't have it noted here,

[01:12:03] but it should be, that's a doubleheader day.

[01:12:06] It's a Saturday in Nashville at Belmont,

[01:12:08] and the ladies are playing.

[01:12:10] So if it's anything like it was when the ladies went there last year,

[01:12:14] it's going to be 70% MTSU fans versus 30% Belmont fans.

[01:12:19] So I would feel comfortable that that's going to be a very neutral

[01:12:22] feeling environment for both of those basketball games.

[01:12:26] So you could even make the argument that that's more of a home game

[01:12:30] than we may have thought it would be.

[01:12:31] So anyways, I throw the question back to you.

[01:12:34] I think 7-4 is good.

[01:12:36] Or I say 7-4, in my opinion, would be great

[01:12:39] if they can get to seven wins this non-conference schedule.

[01:12:42] Yeah, I guess context always matters.

[01:12:44] You know what I mean?

[01:12:44] Like, it's kind of a non-answer.

[01:12:46] I'm a little, I guess, more harsh than you.

[01:12:49] I think 7-4 should be the goal.

[01:12:51] I won't be heartbroken at 6-5, but I will be a little disappointed.

[01:12:56] Yeah, I think you have penciled in losses against –

[01:12:59] at Tennessee and at UAB.

[01:13:02] And if they lose, that only gives them –

[01:13:05] that means they have to probably win at least two in Myrtle Beach,

[01:13:10] assuming they've said they lost to Ohio and won the next two.

[01:13:14] That'd be your third loss.

[01:13:15] So what among – at Albeline, home versus Evansville,

[01:13:20] home versus Murray State, or at Belmont,

[01:13:24] and then home versus Cal Baptist and Lipscomb,

[01:13:28] you only have – you only need one loss with those?

[01:13:31] Yeah, I mean, again, like if one of them is a three-point game

[01:13:36] because you missed some free throws or, you know,

[01:13:39] one of the guys on the other team had the game of their lives or, you know,

[01:13:45] context matters.

[01:13:46] I am hoping for 7-4, I guess is the way I would say it.

[01:13:50] Won't be heartbroken.

[01:13:51] I won't be lost if they go 6-5, but I am hoping for 7-4.

[01:13:56] Yeah, and again, you talk about the context mattering.

[01:14:00] I feel so good about this team, and I personally think 7-4 –

[01:14:04] 6-5 would be very reserved, but 7-4 I think is still shying away

[01:14:09] because I think if you talk to anyone close to the program,

[01:14:12] they feel really highly about where this team is at.

[01:14:15] So, you know, maybe some of these games that I have question marks around,

[01:14:19] like the Murray State game, like the Belmont game,

[01:14:23] maybe you can even throw in the Lipscomb game as a question mark

[01:14:25] because I think if this team is as good as they were two or three years ago,

[01:14:31] I'm chalking up Murray State and Lipscomb as wins.

[01:14:33] I mean, that team three years ago didn't lose at home, you know.

[01:14:37] So it's all about what is this team.

[01:14:40] I haven't seen them against real competition.

[01:14:42] I feel really good from what I have seen in practice,

[01:14:45] but there's only so much you can do in practice,

[01:14:47] and when the lights come on, everything can change.

[01:14:49] So a lot of talk here.

[01:14:51] I know we've spent – it's always good talking with you, Oliver,

[01:14:55] about this.

[01:14:57] But I want to – last thing before we finish this,

[01:14:59] talk about Conference USA a little bit, the dynamic of this conference,

[01:15:05] what it takes to win in this conference.

[01:15:06] And I know we always talk about getting to the semifinals,

[01:15:10] and we never quite get even a shot at the championship.

[01:15:13] What is it going to take this year, in short,

[01:15:15] for this team to get there, be successful,

[01:15:18] and give themselves a berth in the NCAA tournament?

[01:15:22] I think the offense is going to have to take the next step, man.

[01:15:25] I think that – you know, I was really pleased to hear Nick say it on your podcast

[01:15:31] and just talk about just the evolution of the game

[01:15:34] and how much offense matters today, maybe more than it did, you know,

[01:15:37] 10 or 15 years ago.

[01:15:39] And, you know, again, I think it's something that they had in mind

[01:15:46] when they went and had a pretty successful portal season.

[01:15:50] I mean, you got a stud big man who's done it at the middle major level

[01:15:55] and had experience at the high major level.

[01:15:57] You got shooting one from a high major, one from a mid major.

[01:16:03] You got a stud guard out of, you know, a team that didn't have that much success.

[01:16:10] But, I mean, his production speaks for itself.

[01:16:15] So, it does feel like that they have just kind of put a little bit more attention

[01:16:20] onto offense.

[01:16:20] And I'm really happy with that.

[01:16:23] But, you know, I've been excited with their teams on paper before.

[01:16:28] And, you know, maybe they get some bad luck with injuries,

[01:16:31] but it still just doesn't end up manifesting exactly the way we want to see it as fans.

[01:16:37] So, I think the offense needs to take the next step.

[01:16:40] But I think a very encouraging sign is the fact that I think the coaching staff

[01:16:45] understands that as well.

[01:16:48] Absolutely.

[01:16:48] Well, I do want to say this before we sign off, Oliver.

[01:16:52] Last time you were on this show,

[01:16:54] you had predicted that there was a chance that they would beat Louisiana Tech.

[01:16:57] So, if there's anyone here that's the most optimistic, it would be you.

[01:17:01] So, I'm excited to see this team this year before we sign off.

[01:17:07] On a preseason piece, hopefully coming out sometime in the near future,

[01:17:11] about a little rundown on the team.

[01:17:14] Yeah.

[01:17:14] No, I'm going to try to go to one more practice before then

[01:17:18] and make sure I can not just buy too much into one sample of one day.

[01:17:25] You know what I'm saying?

[01:17:25] So, hope to do that soon.

[01:17:28] Then I'll hope the words can start flowing through my fingers after that.

[01:17:32] And hope to do it maybe at the end of the week right before the season starts.

[01:17:37] And, yeah, just looking forward to this time of year, man.

[01:17:40] It's great.

[01:17:41] I'm blessed to have a voice for this team

[01:17:45] and just really looking forward to another one.

[01:17:48] Absolutely.

[01:17:49] Well, as he said there, this comes out the two Tuesdays before the first game.

[01:17:55] So, that'll be looking for it next week.

[01:17:57] As always, you can find his stuff over on Twitter and X at GoMiddleOliver.

[01:18:02] Doing his best to live tweet, but, of course,

[01:18:04] will always keep us updated over on the boards as well with all of his stuff.

[01:18:07] Oliver, I appreciate you stopping by.

[01:18:09] Thank you, Everett.

[01:18:10] Thank you for having me, Jake.

[01:18:23] Thanks for tuning in to another episode of the Blue Raider podcast hosted by Jake Bolden.

[01:18:28] Don't miss another Tuesday episode by subscribing to the podcast on all streaming platforms

[01:18:32] or catch our visual presentation uploaded every week on YouTube.

[01:18:36] The BRP is proudly partnered with Rivals Network affiliate GoMiddle.com.

[01:18:41] Subscribe for premium content for all the inside scoop on MTSU athletics,

[01:18:45] recruiting, or join our free forums to discuss today's episode in all things Blue Raiders.

[01:18:50] The BRP is also partnered with The College Huddle,

[01:18:52] a nationwide collaborative effort with over 80 Division I programs represented.

[01:18:56] Check out the website at TheCollegeHuddle.com

[01:18:59] to catch up on all college football content with daily articles and episodes

[01:19:03] provided by the largest college podcast community on the Internet.

[01:19:07] Don't miss our upcoming ticket giveaways by subscribing and following

[01:19:10] on all Blue Raider podcast social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook,

[01:19:14] and TikTok at BlueRaiderPod.

[01:19:17] Lastly, if you want to support the show,

[01:19:19] click the link in the description to check out our online store

[01:19:21] and purchase official BRP merchandise.

[01:19:32] As always, joining us on the tail end of the Blue Raider podcast,

[01:19:36] we like to go behind enemy lines and preview our next upcoming matchup,

[01:19:40] which is shortly around the corner thanks to the Conference USA midweek schedule.

[01:19:44] Joining us now is co-host of the 700 Pelham Road podcast,

[01:19:47] a representative for Jacksonville State on the Conference USA roundtable,

[01:19:51] for those that see those.

[01:19:53] Joining us now is Caleb Williams.

[01:19:55] Caleb, how's it going?

[01:19:57] How are you?

[01:19:58] I'm good, man.

[01:19:58] How are you?

[01:20:00] I'm okay.

[01:20:01] We're coming off of a win,

[01:20:03] but I can assuredly say that we are not feeling as great about our football team

[01:20:07] as, say, you are and those in Jacksonville, Alabama.

[01:20:10] You had a slow start to the year.

[01:20:12] You lost your first three games,

[01:20:14] and now you've won three straight in convincing fashion.

[01:20:17] The offense is doing what we all thought it would be doing.

[01:20:20] What is the energy like in Jacksonville?

[01:20:24] Progress.

[01:20:26] You know, those first three weeks were rough,

[01:20:28] and I think coming off of last year, you know, really disappointing.

[01:20:32] We felt like we should have beat Eastern Michigan.

[01:20:35] We feel like we've got the talent to beat Coastal Carolina,

[01:20:38] and, you know, going to Louisville, they're a good football team.

[01:20:41] But at the same time, you know, we were all disappointed.

[01:20:43] So, it was good to see kind of the last three weeks to really look like kind of the old Jack State that we got accustomed to the last two years,

[01:20:52] where we were scoring a lot of points and mostly playing good defense.

[01:20:56] So, I'd say it's a pretty solid feeling right now, kind of at the halfway point.

[01:21:03] You know, schedule's wide open, so we're not too worried right now.

[01:21:09] What's been the catalyst for you guys?

[01:21:12] Like, I know, you know, you go into the season, Logan Smothers was the starting quarterback.

[01:21:15] He split time with Tyler Huff, and then you go into the week two matchup with Louisville,

[01:21:19] and Tyler Huff has kind of taken the reins ever since.

[01:21:21] I'm sure that would be the obvious pinpoint of, like, where the changes have.

[01:21:24] But, you know, can you try to, like, in some fashion describe what has happened?

[01:21:30] Why has this turnaround been so drastic?

[01:21:33] Yeah, I know.

[01:21:34] I think kind of the big thing, you know, you mentioned Tyler Huff.

[01:21:38] You know, I'll bring up Trey Sanders.

[01:21:39] I'll bring up Andrew Paul.

[01:21:42] It's been the running game, and I think that's, you know,

[01:21:46] you're kind of beating a dead horse when you talk about the running game and Rich Rodriguez.

[01:21:50] Because every year his team has a borderline elite running game.

[01:21:56] But this year is still a little bit different.

[01:21:58] And I think, you know, talking about Logan, you know,

[01:22:01] one of the issues with Logan last year was injuries.

[01:22:03] Took a lot of hits.

[01:22:04] He got hurt a few times throughout the season, including in the bowl game.

[01:22:08] A lot of people forget that the reason that Zion Webb was in at the end of the bowl game

[01:22:13] was because Logan Smothers separated his shoulder on a touchdown run.

[01:22:18] And it was his throwing shoulder.

[01:22:20] He couldn't move his arm.

[01:22:22] And so Zion Webb had to come in.

[01:22:24] And so this year, you know, a lot of people thought he would be the starter.

[01:22:27] And he got the first reps against Coastal.

[01:22:31] Didn't go great.

[01:22:32] I think everyone kind of saw that.

[01:22:34] Tyler Huff is named the starter for the Louisville game.

[01:22:38] And he hasn't let go since.

[01:22:40] And, you know, he's probably the best mix of run and pass that we've had at QB.

[01:22:45] He definitely in my time being, you know, whether at school or even now as a graduate,

[01:22:50] you know, since 2016, he's probably the closest to a true dual threat that we've ever had.

[01:22:57] Yeah, I want to keep talking about Tyler.

[01:22:59] Like you talk about a dual threat.

[01:23:01] And just to give you the numbers, I mean, he's top four in Conference USA and passing yards.

[01:23:05] And he's second in rushing yards, first amongst quarterbacks.

[01:23:08] And going back, or sorry, but what about Tyler makes him so special?

[01:23:15] What about the offense?

[01:23:16] I know, like, you're very familiar with the Rich Rodriguez offense.

[01:23:18] I remember his days at Michigan.

[01:23:21] What about the offensive scheme seems to fit Tyler so well?

[01:23:25] And what makes this offense move like it does?

[01:23:31] Oh, man.

[01:23:32] It's actually a loaded question.

[01:23:33] When you start to dive into it, you know, everyone, you know, you look at Rich Rod,

[01:23:37] and the first thing you think about is zone read, right?

[01:23:39] He invented the zone read play.

[01:23:42] And, you know, they do more than zone read.

[01:23:44] They do a lot of run pass options, whether it's, you know, a glance route, just a little,

[01:23:48] you know, hitch, you know, out to the boundary if they're giving it to him.

[01:23:52] And they – I think what makes Tyler so comfortable is every play he's got multiple places to put

[01:23:58] the ball.

[01:23:59] It's not give or keep every play.

[01:24:01] It's, okay, well, I've also got a slot receiver running a bubble screen.

[01:24:04] I've got my outside guy is one-on-one.

[01:24:08] And if I like the matchup, I can throw it to him.

[01:24:10] And then if they want to play man, yeah, I can run zone read.

[01:24:13] And, you know, you look at Tyler, he's only 6'1", about 205, but he runs a lot bigger than that.

[01:24:20] Several times against Kennesaw State, you know, we saw this – you know, against Southern Miss even.

[01:24:26] We saw it against New Mexico State even.

[01:24:30] You know, one of the big things is he runs hard.

[01:24:34] He's not afraid to run through you.

[01:24:36] And I think that opens up, you know, some of the, you know, more interior runs.

[01:24:42] Because, you know, Rich Rod, he doesn't just want to run zone read every play.

[01:24:46] He'll run QB draw.

[01:24:48] He'll run QB power.

[01:24:51] And give Tyler Huff the option to throw it if he doesn't like the numbers.

[01:24:54] And he's run type of offense like this before.

[01:24:57] When he was at Furman, they ran RPOs.

[01:24:59] They ran zone read.

[01:25:01] Maybe not to this intensity where it's every snap in the run game has that many options.

[01:25:07] But, I mean, it's just obvious that he kind of has been a natural fit to the scheme.

[01:25:14] And, you know, I'll give credit to him because I think this is what's been missing really since Zarek Cooper, you know, several years ago.

[01:25:21] It was just the decision making on every snap.

[01:25:24] It looks right.

[01:25:25] You know, even if it's only three or four yards, you say, hey, it's the right decision.

[01:25:31] And so, you know, I give credit to him.

[01:25:33] He just makes a lot of right decisions.

[01:25:36] He's really fast.

[01:25:38] I mean, I think he runs like a 4.6.

[01:25:40] He's got enough arm strength to push it vertically.

[01:25:43] And, you know, I think that's why it's been so open this year is because teams don't have to stack.

[01:25:48] They can't stack the box like they could last year because there is a threat of a passing game now.

[01:25:53] And the other side of that two-headed monster that you have there in the backfield is Trey Edwards.

[01:25:58] He has 11 total touchdowns this year, 10 rushing.

[01:26:01] But he leads Conference USA by a very wide margin.

[01:26:04] And he's even top 10 in the country in scoring touchdowns.

[01:26:07] Another guy that, again, talk about the threat of the passing game.

[01:26:12] But even if Huff doesn't keep the ball, you've got another threat of Edwards who is a downhill runner, very quick, obviously.

[01:26:18] And then he's behind a good offensive line that makes him so deadly.

[01:26:22] Yeah.

[01:26:23] And Trey, you know, I think they mentioned it on the broadcast against New Mexico State.

[01:26:29] You know, he's not listed super big.

[01:26:30] He's 5'11", about 195.

[01:26:32] But, again, a lot like Tyler Huff.

[01:26:35] He runs big.

[01:26:36] He has low shoulders, strong drive in his legs.

[01:26:41] So he's really hard to bring down in open space.

[01:26:44] And like you mentioned, a great offensive line.

[01:26:46] He gets in space a lot.

[01:26:50] And, you know, you mentioned the one.

[01:26:52] He has a receiving touchdown.

[01:26:53] He caught a wheel route against Mexico State.

[01:26:55] And it's just another way.

[01:26:56] Again, in space, he's borderline unguardable because he can run routes.

[01:27:02] He can break tackles.

[01:27:03] He can run between the tackles and that inside zone scheme.

[01:27:08] And, you know, it kind of goes back to Tyler Huff.

[01:27:10] Because of his threat to keep the ball and hit a home run every play, that's actually made it where there's more room inside.

[01:27:17] You know, defensive ends have to respect Tyler Huff on the outside.

[01:27:21] And that's opening up.

[01:27:22] I mean, that's basically giving Trey Edwards an even box to run against.

[01:27:26] And when he gets that with our offensive line, that's almost unfair, really.

[01:27:34] Defensively, the Gamecocks could be better on paper.

[01:27:36] They allow just over 30 points per game.

[01:27:40] But on paper, too, they don't necessarily have a glaring weakness.

[01:27:43] You know, they have a pretty average passing defense, a pretty average rushing defense.

[01:27:48] To put yourself back into that conversation at the top of the conference, like we all believe that you would be in our preseason poll, what needs to happen defensively to make you guys more of a threat on that side of the ball?

[01:28:02] You know, I think the biggest thing, you know, you look at those first three weeks.

[01:28:08] Red zone defense was mediocre, really.

[01:28:14] You know, you're trying to live by that bend.

[01:28:16] Don't break mold.

[01:28:18] And more often than not, we weren't we were breaking.

[01:28:22] And, you know, you look at the last three weeks.

[01:28:26] Call it, you know, lower competition, you know, whatever.

[01:28:31] You know, they've started to play better in the red zone.

[01:28:33] I think that's the biggest thing, because you mentioned, you know, they're not there's not a glaring weakness.

[01:28:38] I mean, those of us who watch it will say, yeah, it's the secondary.

[01:28:41] We give up too many big plays in the passing game.

[01:28:43] But, you know, first three weeks, we got in the red zone.

[01:28:49] It was almost a guaranteed seven points.

[01:28:51] Last three weeks, get into the red zone.

[01:28:54] We're either holding to three or we're finding a way to create a turnover.

[01:28:58] And that's that's been the difference.

[01:28:59] You know, we're still giving up more yards than we like, but we're we're shoring up.

[01:29:06] When we need to.

[01:29:08] And again, you can you know, you can look at it and say, all right, competition was a lot different first three weeks.

[01:29:13] Louisville is a lot better than Southern Miss or Kennesaw State or New Mexico State.

[01:29:18] I mean, two of those teams have a combined, I think, two wins all season.

[01:29:23] And Southern Miss, I think, only has two wins.

[01:29:25] I mean, they're just for better for us.

[01:29:27] They're not good football teams.

[01:29:28] And Louisville is one of the contenders for the ACC title.

[01:29:33] Coastal Carolina, solid football team.

[01:29:37] Even Eastern Michigan, solid program in the Mac.

[01:29:42] You know, they did a lot of good things.

[01:29:44] But again, last three weeks, you know, secondaries played better.

[01:29:50] We're still stopping the run really well.

[01:29:52] I think we finally have kind of figured out how to work with a new defensive coordinator.

[01:30:00] You know, you lose that rally to Oklahoma, who is now their defensive coordinator.

[01:30:04] It's a huge loss.

[01:30:06] He's he was, in my opinion, was the best defensive coordinator in college football last year.

[01:30:11] But anyways, that's what I think.

[01:30:13] I think it's been red zone.

[01:30:14] I think it's been a little bit better secondary play.

[01:30:19] So, going into this Wednesday night's kickoff, you're going in, as the time of this recording

[01:30:24] anyway, is just over a three touchdown favorite.

[01:30:26] So, I would revert to you guys being the obvious favorite in this next question.

[01:30:31] So, if you could, do the best you possibly can to tell me in the event that MTSU were

[01:30:35] to come down to Jacksonville and win the game on Wednesday night, what would have to happen

[01:30:40] for MTSU to really have a chance at winning Wednesday night?

[01:30:47] Let me just say, I think that's actually, I'm not discrediting Middle Tennessee coming

[01:30:53] in and winning.

[01:30:56] If for no other reason than, you know, these Wednesday games, just about anything can happen.

[01:31:02] I think we all saw every Jacksonville October game last year, and they all had a lot of

[01:31:08] crazy things happen.

[01:31:11] But, you know, if MTSU comes down to it, and they come ready to play, which I think they

[01:31:18] will.

[01:31:18] I mean, again, I go back to what I just mentioned about the defense.

[01:31:22] Jacksonville State has to play well in the red zone.

[01:31:25] You can't give up seven every drive.

[01:31:29] You've got to be able to limit it to three.

[01:31:34] Front seven hasn't been the problem.

[01:31:35] So, I think if it's going to come down to anything, you know, last possession, it's going

[01:31:40] to come down to the secondary to make it a play.

[01:31:44] Absolutely.

[01:31:44] Well, that is Caleb Williams, a co-host of the 700 Pelham Road podcast, a Jacksonville

[01:31:49] State representative for the Conference USA Roundtable that he is proudly a part of.

[01:31:53] Caleb, I appreciate you stopping by and previewing our game tomorrow night.

[01:31:59] Absolutely.

[01:32:00] Thank you for having me.

[01:32:02] Thanks for sticking around.

[01:32:04] For the Raider wrap-up portion of the episode, where we will review the last week in Blue Raider

[01:32:08] Athletics, as well as a look ahead to the schedule of this upcoming week, and we will return back

[01:32:12] to our check-in from the Elon Phoenix Invitational from the men's golf team last week, where they

[01:32:17] finished in fifth place out of 18 teams at one stroke over par.

[01:32:20] J.J. Zimmer finishes in 14th place at one under.

[01:32:24] Marcus Vargin and Thad Whitfield both go even par, which is tied for 15th place.

[01:32:29] Carter Manneth is four over par, tied for 32nd.

[01:32:32] And Sheldon McKnight goes tied for 49th at seven strokes over.

[01:32:35] And then lastly, the individual competitor, Charlie Bell, finishes tied for 76th.

[01:32:42] And next weekend, the Raiders, or excuse me, this coming weekend, the Raiders will be in

[01:32:46] Sugarland, Texas at the Houston Baptist Husky Intercollegiate.

[01:32:50] And that will tee off on Monday of next week.

[01:32:54] It's been a minute since the football team was in action last week on Tuesday night against

[01:32:58] the Kennesaw State Owls, where they won 14-5.

[01:33:00] Our player of the week goes to Omari Kelly with his punt return touchdown, which was good

[01:33:04] enough to earn Conference USA Special Teams Player of the Week honors.

[01:33:07] He also had six catches for 77 yards to continue to add to his Conference USA leading receiving

[01:33:14] yardage.

[01:33:15] The Raiders are back in action this Wednesday night tomorrow at 6.30 p.m.

[01:33:19] Kickoff against Jacksonville State Gamecocks in Jacksonville, Alabama.

[01:33:23] That game is viewable on ESPN+.

[01:33:26] The Lady Raiders volleyball program had a split decision in Lynchburg, Virginia this last weekend

[01:33:32] where they took down Liberty 3-0 in their first matchup and then dropped the second match

[01:33:36] 1-3.

[01:33:37] Our Player of the Week honors go to Andy Spies.

[01:33:40] The freshman continues her hot year with two double-doubles over the weekend with 29 assists

[01:33:46] and 11 digs in the Friday contest and then 43 assists and 10 digs on her Saturday contest.

[01:33:53] They are back in action this weekend, Thursday at 6 p.m. in Ruston, Louisiana against the Lady

[01:33:59] Texters.

[01:34:00] And then the second match of the trip, it will be on Friday at 12 noon.

[01:34:07] Cross Country got their final race in before the Conference USA Championships at the Arturo

[01:34:12] Barreos Invitational in College Station, Texas.

[01:34:15] The men's team finished in 7th place out of 38.

[01:34:19] Congratulations to Alan Kip Lagat who got 4th place.

[01:34:22] Brian Kiptu at 13th.

[01:34:24] Carmelo Canizzaro at 57th.

[01:34:26] And Jacinto Gaspar at 59th.

[01:34:29] And then for the women who ran the 6K, they finished 12th out of 41 competing teams.

[01:34:33] Odelia Jepchumba finishes in 8th.

[01:34:36] Sandra Mayout 24th.

[01:34:37] Eleanor Tau runs a personal record in the 6K and finishes in 37th place.

[01:34:43] And then Privilege Chikara at 83rd place.

[01:34:46] And as I already prefaced, they will be at the Conference USA Championships.

[01:34:50] That is in two weeks.

[01:34:53] And they are going to be competing once again to defend their title in both men's and women's.

[01:34:59] Men's tennis hosted the Buck Bolden Classic here in Murfreesboro where they competed against

[01:35:04] Virginia Tech, ETSU, and the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles.

[01:35:08] Baranje and Christian Thomas, the doubles duo, got two wins this week over Virginia Tech and ETSU.

[01:35:17] Shu Matsuoka got a win in all three matches in his singles.

[01:35:21] Ross's house of Helfinger got a singles win against Virginia Tech and Tennessee Tech.

[01:35:25] And then Andre Orak and Christian Thomas each picked up a win against ETSU.

[01:35:30] They'll have a slight little break before their sectional, ITA sectional.

[01:35:34] But they will have an invite at Lipscomb University up in Nashville in early November.

[01:35:40] That is November 1st through the 3rd.

[01:35:43] Lady Raiders Soccer dropped a tough one on Sunday to the Sam Houston Lady Cats by a score

[01:35:48] of 1-2, giving up that second goal in the 87th minute of competition.

[01:35:53] Just narrowly losing there on the road at a very good Sam Houston program.

[01:35:58] Tasia Frazier got her second goal of the season there in Huntsville, Texas.

[01:36:03] Good enough for our Player of the Week honors.

[01:36:06] They are back in action in Lynchburg, Virginia this coming Sunday at 12 noon, the 27th there

[01:36:12] against Liberty and hopes to continue to stay atop the conference as they work towards making

[01:36:17] the six-team playoff at the end of the year.

[01:36:21] Women's Golf currently competing at the Mercedes-Benz Intercollegiate in Knoxville, Tennessee.

[01:36:26] The team sits in tied for 7th place out of 13 teams at 27 strokes over.

[01:36:32] Kendall Maynard continues her good fall, tied for 14th at 4 strokes over.

[01:36:36] Nicole Johnson is tied for 22nd at 6th over.

[01:36:39] Laney Campbell at 8 over, tied for 33rd.

[01:36:42] Ella Manley at 11 over is tied for 50th.

[01:36:45] Jillian Bowman is tied for 55th as the individual at 12 over.

[01:36:49] And then Abby Lee tied for 58th at 14 over.

[01:36:53] Paro.

[01:36:54] Keep up to date with them on social media later today as they will wrap up the Mercedes-Benz

[01:37:00] Intercollegiate.

[01:37:01] Or of course, check in at next week's episode where we will have the complete wrap-up of

[01:37:05] the Mercedes-Benz Intercollegiate.

[01:37:08] Women's Tennis is back in action this weekend as they host the MTSU Invitational.

[01:37:13] That'll actually be at the Outdoor Complex this weekend.

[01:37:16] So if you want to see some free tennis as well as your Lady Raiders in action, they will be

[01:37:20] there hosting three teams this upcoming weekend.

[01:37:24] And as we preface at the very beginning of the episode, basketball season is finally here

[01:37:28] and Friday is the first exhibition for the Lady Raiders.

[01:37:31] It will host UT Southern, formerly known as Martin Methodist, here at the Glass House.

[01:37:36] That game will tip off on Friday at 6.30 p.m.

[01:37:39] And that is all for the Raider wrap-up portion of the episode.

[01:37:43] I appreciate everyone tuning in today to continue to talk on basketball.

[01:37:46] I appreciate again our guests at Connor Newt and Oliver Balz to be here getting everything

[01:37:51] wrapped up and ready for basketball season.

[01:37:54] Of course, stay tuned in for all of our stuff over at GoMiddle.com as we have articles throughout

[01:37:58] the year as well as our open free forums for you guys to participate in.

[01:38:01] Let us know your thoughts on this episode as well as what you think about the upcoming

[01:38:04] season for basketball.

[01:38:06] I look forward to next week's episodes.

[01:38:09] We will have a special guest with the Lady Raiders play-by-play, Joe Young.

[01:38:13] And then of course, we will have our player interview with freshman setter, all-star that

[01:38:19] is, Andy Spies.

[01:38:20] She will come on the episode as well as we will go behind enemy lines.

[01:38:23] Looking forward to that UTEP matchup with Adrian Broaddus of the UTEP Minors, minor talk

[01:38:29] at ESPN El Paso.

[01:38:30] So I appreciate everyone tuning in.

[01:38:33] And again, if you miss the giveaway at the beginning of the episode, make sure you're

[01:38:36] following us on all of our socials so you don't miss another one of those.

[01:38:39] We will be doing another ticket giveaway later in the winter, early spring for baseball and

[01:38:45] softball season.

[01:38:46] So make sure you're following.

[01:38:47] Make sure you follow all the directions on there to make sure you can get into the actual

[01:38:51] drawing for those tickets.

[01:38:53] So again, thanks for everyone tuning in.

[01:38:55] Thanks for liking this video.

[01:38:56] Thanks for subscribing to the podcast.

[01:39:00] And until next time, Go Blue!