Season 2, Episode 4 feat. Sam Doughton, Kiera Booth, and Topper Talk

[00:00:09] Thanks for tuning in to another episode of the Blue Raider Podcast hosted by Jake Bolden

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[00:00:41] Welcome back to another episode of the Blue Raider Podcast.

[00:00:44] I'm your host, Jake Bolden and I've got an exciting episode planned for you today as

[00:00:49] I break down the Blue Raiders trip to Oxford with staff writer Sam Doughton and look forward

[00:00:53] to this weekend's much anticipated 100 miles of hate matchup with WKU with our conference

[00:00:59] USA Roundtable Partner as well as College Huddle Partner and the Topper Talk Steven

[00:01:04] Moffitt.

[00:01:04] And then stick around in between there we have an interview with one of my favorites so far

[00:01:09] player interviews I've done thus far as with Bill Innova transfer middle blocker Kiera Booth.

[00:01:14] A lot of fun talking with her gets into a little bit about her story as well as her

[00:01:17] upcoming season here in Murphys River, her final season that is.

[00:01:21] So great interview there I encourage you to stick around and listen to get to know

[00:01:24] a little bit more about Kiera.

[00:01:25] And then before we roll into our first interview with Sam Doughton I want to

[00:01:29] take a minute and talk about our sponsor of the podcast the Kinsiko Group.

[00:01:33] As some of you may have caught the beginning of last week's episode we are proudly

[00:01:36] sponsored by the commercial general contracting group based out of Nashville.

[00:01:40] The Kinsiko Group has been in operations for over 35 years serving the Middleton

[00:01:43] to Sea area and one thing that makes them different from other general

[00:01:47] contracting firms is their developer mindset in years of expertise.

[00:01:51] Just understand that when you choose the Kinsiko Group you're not only

[00:01:53] getting that competent attention to detail you want but you're getting a

[00:01:56] company that understands every dollar you put into your project matters as

[00:02:00] it does to them as well.

[00:02:01] So take the time to visit their website at kinsikogroup.com that's

[00:02:05] c-o-n-s-e-c-o group dot com to see some of their most recent work or call

[00:02:11] their office at 615-298-9907 to schedule an appointment with the lovely

[00:02:16] staff located there in Berry Hill in South Nashville.

[00:02:20] Now it's time to roll into our first interview and as I tease

[00:02:25] there at the very beginning joining me today is staff writer for

[00:02:28] goblueraders.com and MTSU Athletics Communication.

[00:02:32] The always lovely Sam Doudin he's made it back from Oxford I assume unscathed.

[00:02:39] Thanks for having me on excited to be on the new and improved

[00:02:43] new look Blue Rader Pod in season two here.

[00:02:47] First football season for you with this fully operational I believe

[00:02:50] but lots of exciting stuff happens.

[00:02:53] You know, Kiara's gone off to a great start with volleyball.

[00:02:55] I really enjoyed watching her play this weekend and sort of Blue

[00:02:58] Rader Bash that they played here in Murfreesboro.

[00:03:00] Very powerful middle hitter for the team.

[00:03:03] So exciting stuff there looking forward to hearing your interview later on

[00:03:06] when this is all uploaded.

[00:03:08] Absolutely and as we talked about there, Sam made the trip from Oxford

[00:03:12] and before we kind of roll into breakdown, you know, you were there.

[00:03:15] You were on the scene at Ole Miss.

[00:03:17] But before we get to that, your breakdown of I want to hear just a little bit

[00:03:20] of message from Coach Derek Mason and his post game opening statements for us.

[00:03:25] This football team went out and played a really good Ole Miss football team.

[00:03:30] And so first of all, I got to give credit to Ole Miss and they're good.

[00:03:34] They're physical and they're talented and across the board in all three phases.

[00:03:38] And for our football team, I thought we learned a lot about ourselves.

[00:03:43] This is a game that's got to be played and with that, man,

[00:03:47] there's opportunities to get better.

[00:03:49] I wanted to see us sort of withstand the first wave, man,

[00:03:53] because there's always that eight to ten minutes in a ball game

[00:03:55] where we see this wave, especially for a non-ranked team playing a rank team sometimes.

[00:04:03] And what you have to do is swim through it.

[00:04:05] And I just didn't think we handled that very well initially.

[00:04:08] Didn't play a great first half, but what I will tell you is that

[00:04:11] I believe that this football team got better.

[00:04:14] I think there's some things about itself that it learned here at Ole Miss

[00:04:18] that I think we can take into a schedule, man,

[00:04:21] that doesn't get easier per se, man.

[00:04:24] But it gives us a chance to be really competitive.

[00:04:26] So excited about where we go next and we'll see with injuries how we come out of this one.

[00:04:34] But for the most part, learned a lot about our football team tonight.

[00:04:40] All right, Sam.

[00:04:41] And you heard it there so much to unpack with Coach Mason.

[00:04:44] And one thing I do appreciate is he kind of lays it on the table.

[00:04:46] He's no bones about it.

[00:04:47] Team didn't play well.

[00:04:48] You were in a tough environment.

[00:04:50] Tell me your experience firsthand, you know, what it's kind of the scene like

[00:04:53] in Oxford for the Blue Raiders.

[00:04:56] I wasn't on site with this one.

[00:04:58] You know, our video team gets priority when our office travels

[00:05:01] because they physically can't do their jobs there

[00:05:03] and I can do my job remotely some of the time.

[00:05:07] So this was a trip I don't get to make.

[00:05:08] Suspect I'll be in Memphis later this month

[00:05:10] just because that's a little bit more drivable

[00:05:12] for those of us who maybe aren't on the team bus necessarily.

[00:05:15] But, you know, from afar and watching on the broadcast

[00:05:18] with you guys, you know, on the SEC Network,

[00:05:21] very clear just an opponent that is one of the best teams

[00:05:23] in the country this year.

[00:05:25] I'd say bar none at this point.

[00:05:27] And, you know, that showed up on the field.

[00:05:29] They got a lot of talented guys all over the place

[00:05:31] on both sides of the ball,

[00:05:32] shipping into defensive front on the edges on offense.

[00:05:35] And they really, you know,

[00:05:37] but let themselves be known early on in that game

[00:05:40] and sort of put little to see behind the eight ball early on

[00:05:43] and, you know, control the pace really the whole time.

[00:05:46] You know, there was a stretch in the second half

[00:05:48] where the offense was able to find some success

[00:05:50] moving the ball up and down the field,

[00:05:52] which was good to see for sure.

[00:05:54] But, you know, one comment I got from Nicos Vardillado

[00:05:57] sort of around, you know, the facility today

[00:06:00] is that, you know, this was an Ole Miss team

[00:06:02] that didn't want Middleton City to score a point

[00:06:03] and they wanted to prove a point.

[00:06:05] And, you know, Middleton City was able

[00:06:07] to get three points on the board,

[00:06:08] which, you know, is not ideal.

[00:06:10] You can't win a game with three points most of the time

[00:06:12] but even the circumstances, you know,

[00:06:14] it was a good three points to have.

[00:06:15] And I think avoiding the shutout was a big deal

[00:06:18] against an Ole Miss team that I think is more likely

[00:06:20] than not going to be in the college football playoff

[00:06:21] at the end of the season.

[00:06:23] So, and you're one for Derek Mason with 60 newcomers.

[00:06:26] Obviously, you'd like to be a little bit further ahead

[00:06:27] than where they are,

[00:06:28] but I don't think anyone's really smirking

[00:06:31] from the loss at this much at that point.

[00:06:32] They're sort of, you know, moving on

[00:06:34] and knowing that the rest of the schedule

[00:06:36] is significantly more manageable

[00:06:37] than what they faced this past weekend in Oxford.

[00:06:40] Yeah, I think most of the people

[00:06:42] that are going to be really upset with this performance

[00:06:43] are those that had money there in Vegas,

[00:06:45] but weren't able to cover the spread,

[00:06:47] which is I think a lot of people's frustration

[00:06:49] for whatever reason.

[00:06:50] Personally, when I look back at this game,

[00:06:52] I saw it as a positive.

[00:06:54] Really from the perspective that we were not anything

[00:06:58] like the Furman game.

[00:07:00] Like, and I say that Furman's a well-respected opponent.

[00:07:02] They're an FCS top 10 team,

[00:07:04] more than likely going to make the FCS playoff.

[00:07:06] Given the way that we finished the game

[00:07:07] with Tennessee Tech,

[00:07:08] I do think that there were some more promising features

[00:07:12] in this game, as you mentioned.

[00:07:13] You're going up against an SEC-level team.

[00:07:15] I thought the passing game kind of opened up.

[00:07:18] I think we found Holden Willis a lot more.

[00:07:20] I think those are very promising things to see.

[00:07:23] Miles Butler seems to be a fixture

[00:07:25] and even see Cameron Lacey,

[00:07:27] a guy who I had pitched earlier in the years

[00:07:29] as someone that could be very under the radar

[00:07:30] for this wide receiving core

[00:07:32] and he kind of showed why that is.

[00:07:34] He's very speedy.

[00:07:35] He's slippery as I always describe him.

[00:07:37] He has great hands, a very rich James S ball player.

[00:07:42] The run game got a little stagnant.

[00:07:44] Something that I was surprised at given week one.

[00:07:46] I thought that was an emphasis,

[00:07:48] but the front seven is formidable with the Rebels.

[00:07:51] They've got quite the transfer portal.

[00:07:53] Uman Mielin, Walter Nolan, guys like that.

[00:07:56] They're just tough to run against.

[00:07:58] And then my second kind of concern

[00:07:59] is the inability to contain the quarterback.

[00:08:03] Now, I know Jackson Dart is in a league of his own

[00:08:04] when we're going to start talking about

[00:08:06] at Heisman hopefuls this year,

[00:08:07] but you saw last week with Dylan Potts,

[00:08:10] a guy who's very mobile,

[00:08:11] who's able to kind of create extra plays with his feet.

[00:08:16] Dart is very capable of doing that.

[00:08:17] Obviously he had great efficiencies

[00:08:18] completing past this last week,

[00:08:20] but the reason that I draw concern to that

[00:08:22] is because this league has no shortage

[00:08:23] of mobile quarterbacks

[00:08:24] that are able to make plays on their feet.

[00:08:26] I pointed Keon Jenkins at FIU this last week

[00:08:29] who absolutely blew out Central Michigan

[00:08:31] in a game that they were underdogs.

[00:08:33] You've got Hunter Watson,

[00:08:34] who's now debuted at St. Houston,

[00:08:35] say to kind of had a lackluster week too.

[00:08:37] But again, a mobile guy that can make plays happen.

[00:08:40] Of course, we're talking about TJ Finley this upcoming week,

[00:08:42] not quite as mobile as the prior two that I listed,

[00:08:44] but still mobile enough

[00:08:46] and the guy threw for 300 yards

[00:08:48] this last week against Eastern Kentucky.

[00:08:50] So those are kind of my brief takeaways

[00:08:52] as things that I hope get addressed this week in practice,

[00:08:55] especially moving into this big matchup this weekend.

[00:09:00] Those things I think were circumstantial

[00:09:01] to that specific matchup.

[00:09:03] You know, you started off with the run game.

[00:09:04] I think that had a lot to do

[00:09:06] with Ole Miss's defensive front.

[00:09:08] As you noted, it's obviously a very talented group,

[00:09:10] probably the best group on that defensive core for them.

[00:09:14] It's going to be the defensive line.

[00:09:16] So I'm sure middle would like to run the ball better.

[00:09:19] But you can also see game plan wise,

[00:09:20] they knew they were going to have to get out in space,

[00:09:22] get out to the side a little bit.

[00:09:23] See on this play from Holman right here

[00:09:25] that we're watching right now.

[00:09:26] They did a lot of things like that

[00:09:28] to be able to move the ball,

[00:09:29] have some success, particularly in second half.

[00:09:31] So, you know, clearly they knew

[00:09:34] they were going to have a ton of success running the ball.

[00:09:36] And then, you know, defensively, I think, you know,

[00:09:38] the reason Jackson Darry had such a good day

[00:09:39] is middle really trying to emphasize

[00:09:41] not giving up huge explosive plays over the top.

[00:09:44] If you look back at the way the defense

[00:09:46] has sort of set up the mind up.

[00:09:48] Saw it right there.

[00:09:49] John House just went straight back on the sprint

[00:09:51] almost immediately.

[00:09:53] And that's sort of, you know,

[00:09:54] they're trying to contain the explosive plays.

[00:09:56] What ended up happening is Darry took what Middle gave him,

[00:09:58] which was usually a 10-15 yard game,

[00:10:00] either handing it off to the running back up the middle

[00:10:02] or on a pass over the middle.

[00:10:04] Where usually there was some space in the coverage,

[00:10:05] you know, scheme that Middle was running.

[00:10:08] I think Brian Stewart will scheme up differently

[00:10:11] for a team that has less explosive weapons

[00:10:13] and all messages going to be every other team

[00:10:14] that Middle plays the rest of the way.

[00:10:16] So some of that is circumstantial,

[00:10:18] but I do think there are some things

[00:10:20] that they were trying to do

[00:10:21] that they could do better the rest of the way.

[00:10:24] I think, you know, you need to spread the ball

[00:10:25] around a little more on offense.

[00:10:26] And sweetly, you know, some of the multiple targets

[00:10:29] was more due to just rotating late in the game.

[00:10:32] Otherwise we're retaining target

[00:10:33] the same guys over and over and over again.

[00:10:37] Designed a little bit.

[00:10:38] Obviously you want to get the ball

[00:10:39] in your best players' hands for the most part.

[00:10:41] But one of the team's reasons that often has had success

[00:10:44] in the three years in middle

[00:10:46] has been because they spread it around so much.

[00:10:49] And so I think, you know,

[00:10:50] you'll have an opportunity to do that this week

[00:10:51] against West Virginia,

[00:10:52] who are gonna do their best to take away your top options

[00:10:54] like in Amari Kelly, like a holding willow.

[00:10:57] So a guy like Cameron Lacey could continue to have success

[00:10:59] the way he did this past week as well.

[00:11:01] So optimistic about that,

[00:11:03] optimistic about the defense bouncing back

[00:11:05] when they're not having to contain

[00:11:06] as explosive an offense as Western,

[00:11:08] not to disrespect Western anyway,

[00:11:09] they obviously have some offensive success.

[00:11:11] But you know, what almost made my kicker

[00:11:13] to my Sunday sidebar was, you know,

[00:11:16] Milton S. lost by 49 to Ole Miss

[00:11:18] and Western Kentucky lost by 63 to Alabama.

[00:11:22] So, you know, on that metric

[00:11:24] against top 10 teams in their home stadium,

[00:11:27] the Blue Raiders came out better.

[00:11:30] And I think, you know, part of that was a credit

[00:11:32] to the game plan the staff came up with

[00:11:34] and, you know, the player's ability

[00:11:35] to execute it at times on Saturday for sure.

[00:11:39] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:11:40] I thought that was an interesting parallel

[00:11:42] when you talk about Alabama and Ole Miss

[00:11:44] and realistically,

[00:11:45] I thought we played the better offense personally.

[00:11:48] And back to the relation to the Furman game,

[00:11:51] you know, we made Jackson D'Arc come out

[00:11:52] for the third quarter.

[00:11:53] He had to keep his pads on.

[00:11:54] So I thought there's a few moral victories

[00:11:57] within the game itself.

[00:11:59] But I want to move in to this Western Kentucky game.

[00:12:02] I think one of the things that stood out to us,

[00:12:04] one really going into the Ole Miss game

[00:12:05] was a little bit of the injury bug on the offensive line.

[00:12:07] We see some changes there

[00:12:09] and even amidst the Ole Miss game,

[00:12:10] we see some changes there.

[00:12:12] And then in the tailback room,

[00:12:14] we've got P-Zent goes down,

[00:12:17] Kredle goes down.

[00:12:17] I know Kredle made his way back into the game later.

[00:12:20] I don't know anything.

[00:12:22] If you have anything on P-Zent,

[00:12:24] but I just want to know from an injury bug,

[00:12:26] you kind of have some insider info potentially for us

[00:12:29] about where this team stands as far as health

[00:12:32] going into the first conference game.

[00:12:34] Well, I'm just saying...

[00:12:36] I haven't heard anything new today.

[00:12:37] Obviously they're off on Monday when we're recording.

[00:12:39] So by the time that you upload this on Tuesday,

[00:12:42] I've all had their first public practice back

[00:12:45] because Sunday practice tends to be closed.

[00:12:47] So I will try to get some more updates where I can.

[00:12:51] Just knowing what I know,

[00:12:52] which is that he was part of the field

[00:12:53] and seen on the sidelines in crutches

[00:12:55] in an aircast on Saturday,

[00:12:58] those tend to be red flags that he will not play,

[00:13:01] particularly this week,

[00:13:03] but maybe for the foreseeable future.

[00:13:05] Obviously, something nobody wants to see,

[00:13:07] particularly after the start of the season,

[00:13:09] Frank had a big touch down against Missing Tech.

[00:13:11] Frank's been a core of this team

[00:13:13] ever since I've been here.

[00:13:15] One of the most blue-collar players,

[00:13:16] I'd say of anyone this team has.

[00:13:19] But the good news is that there's some depth behind him

[00:13:21] if he's unable to go, as I anticipate.

[00:13:24] And as you mentioned, Jaden Kredel came back,

[00:13:25] and as far as I know, it was going to be fine for this week.

[00:13:28] Jekyll Middlebrook was banged up a little bit,

[00:13:30] but is also trending in a good direction

[00:13:32] when I've been told.

[00:13:34] And then you have Terry Wilkins,

[00:13:35] who's obviously shown some ability

[00:13:36] in his time here as well.

[00:13:38] So I don't think there's going to be

[00:13:39] a huge drop-off that Frank's unable to go

[00:13:41] in the running back room,

[00:13:42] as far as what the running mechs can provide.

[00:13:45] Obviously, Frank does a lot of the little things well.

[00:13:48] I think it's a pretty good blitz pickup in pass protection.

[00:13:51] It can be a lead blocker at times,

[00:13:53] is actually how you end up getting hurt on the play.

[00:13:55] It was he was a lead blocker,

[00:13:55] and so guys likes to cut out under him

[00:13:58] from what I saw in the replay.

[00:14:00] But running back, I'm not concerned about offensive line.

[00:14:03] I anticipate Julius Pierce and Jason Badaford

[00:14:07] are not going to be back this week,

[00:14:08] and probably won't be back anytime soon,

[00:14:11] based on what I've heard about Serenity of the Injury.

[00:14:13] So, you know, they're rolling

[00:14:15] with sort of this revamped offensive line that they've got.

[00:14:18] I mean, I think he listed across,

[00:14:20] you know, you saw Marcus Miller on left tackle

[00:14:21] and Simon Wilson on left guard.

[00:14:23] But Mateo LaVarra moves over from right guard to center.

[00:14:27] You know, he was a guy that I know

[00:14:29] that Kendall Stend is talking about on the campus,

[00:14:30] somebody that they trust a lot.

[00:14:32] And it doesn't surprise me that he got the center nod

[00:14:35] there given the trust that he's built

[00:14:37] on that offensive line room.

[00:14:39] Then you have Ellis Adams,

[00:14:40] the Tennessee Tech transfer,

[00:14:41] given the nod in Mateo's place at right guard.

[00:14:44] And then at right tackle, Zach Clayton, true freshman.

[00:14:47] Somebody that's impressed very early for the staff,

[00:14:49] but is a true freshman.

[00:14:50] So he's going to have some true freshman moments

[00:14:52] at times I suspect on that line,

[00:14:55] but clearly a guy that's got a lot of talent

[00:14:56] and already has some, you know,

[00:14:58] FBS size to him early on in his career.

[00:15:01] So somebody that you could see make some big jumps

[00:15:03] as the year goes on,

[00:15:04] you know, presuming he stays healthy

[00:15:05] and continues to play,

[00:15:07] but definitely a group that continues to need

[00:15:10] to step up week to week.

[00:15:11] You know, I know it's a group that, you know,

[00:15:13] has been challenged after that first game,

[00:15:15] you know, they didn't run the ball that one he wants

[00:15:17] so he gets to the center tag

[00:15:18] where they anticipated they're going to

[00:15:20] against Tennessee Tech.

[00:15:21] And I think some of that stinned from, you know,

[00:15:23] maybe someplace selection.

[00:15:25] They were running into some loaded boxes at times,

[00:15:27] but also I think, you know,

[00:15:28] that the office line needs to get,

[00:15:29] generate a bigger push at times as well.

[00:15:32] And, you know, starting in West Kentucky

[00:15:34] would be a great step for that group

[00:15:36] collectively to do so.

[00:15:38] And, you know, with a little bit of a new look

[00:15:40] and some new guys rotating in on that front.

[00:15:43] Well, and to carry off of that,

[00:15:45] one thing about the Scouting Report

[00:15:46] when you look at Western Kentucky

[00:15:47] has been their rush defense.

[00:15:49] And I know that they've played against Alabama.

[00:15:52] So even if you take that game out against Eastern Kentucky,

[00:15:54] they're still allowing roughly five yards to carry.

[00:15:57] So when you're looking at paper,

[00:15:59] there was a game for you to kind of get your feet

[00:16:01] under you literally and figure to lability

[00:16:03] in regards to the running game.

[00:16:04] This might be the week to do that.

[00:16:07] Again, I think the passing game did open up.

[00:16:10] My biggest question rolling into this Western Kentucky game

[00:16:13] is where is Omarri Kelly?

[00:16:15] You know, talking all off season,

[00:16:17] he was a guy that we were expecting

[00:16:18] to be the prime target for Vatiotto.

[00:16:21] And again, maybe credit to the opposing defenses

[00:16:23] for scouting that out.

[00:16:24] He's only had, I believe it's three catches to this point.

[00:16:27] You know, one of them for a significant gain,

[00:16:31] you'd have one for negative yards against Ole Miss

[00:16:33] and one for that was a swing pass

[00:16:34] against Tennessee Tech early on in that competition.

[00:16:36] But I wish Omarri Kelly could make his presence known.

[00:16:39] Again, maybe it's more of a game planning thing.

[00:16:41] I don't know.

[00:16:42] You know, I'm pure speculation on my part.

[00:16:45] But I throw it back to you here

[00:16:48] when you look at Western Kentucky game

[00:16:49] and you see what the Hilltoppers have done

[00:16:51] in their two games.

[00:16:51] Again, a lot like MTSU.

[00:16:53] You've got an FCS opponent

[00:16:54] and you've got one of the top five teams in the country.

[00:16:58] I don't know really where Western Kentucky stands

[00:17:01] in all of it other than the fact that their FCS game,

[00:17:04] they probably performed better

[00:17:05] or I wouldn't say probably they performed better

[00:17:07] than MTSU did in their respective FCS game.

[00:17:10] And then as we already touched on,

[00:17:11] I think MTSU performed better

[00:17:12] in their road SEC game than Western did.

[00:17:15] So I still think both teams have a lot of question marks

[00:17:17] but where do you see MTSU potentially succeeding

[00:17:20] this Saturday in Murphysboro?

[00:17:24] Western, you know, that was one thing

[00:17:25] I asked Derek Mason at the presser today.

[00:17:27] It was like, what can you take from film,

[00:17:28] you know, from two opponents

[00:17:30] that maybe aren't going to show you

[00:17:31] what they look like in conference play necessarily.

[00:17:33] And you know, Western did, you know,

[00:17:36] put up a goose against Eastern Kentucky,

[00:17:37] had a lot of success defensively against them.

[00:17:40] But took a while to build up to that 31-0 league.

[00:17:43] It was sort of, you know, a lot of 10-0

[00:17:45] and then the first half it was maybe 17-0 at halftime

[00:17:47] and stayed that way most of the second half

[00:17:50] as I think Eastern Kentucky had an 11 minute drive

[00:17:52] at one point in the second half of that game.

[00:17:55] So they're a little bit tough to read.

[00:17:57] You know, knowing what defensive coordinator,

[00:17:59] Tyson Summers likes to run it,

[00:18:00] they tend to like to run it

[00:18:01] sort of a 3-3 front, which can open up some run lanes

[00:18:05] in some gap discipline at times.

[00:18:08] Now the counter to that is they're able

[00:18:09] to generate pressure for some unusual angles

[00:18:11] that teams don't usually get to see regularly

[00:18:14] when they're sort of running out of that base.

[00:18:16] So that is something that I'm sure

[00:18:17] Bodhi Reader and the rest of the offensive staff

[00:18:19] at middle is focusing in on

[00:18:21] as some of the unusual looks

[00:18:23] that Western can throw at them

[00:18:24] on that side of the ball, the pressure they have.

[00:18:27] And you know, one thing Mason says

[00:18:28] it starts with their secondary.

[00:18:29] So I think this is a matchup

[00:18:31] where middle's gonna have to run the ball well

[00:18:33] to win and have a chance this Saturday.

[00:18:37] On the Amari Kelly front,

[00:18:39] primary receiver is a tough job for anybody.

[00:18:43] I think the more I play EA Sports,

[00:18:45] I'll have a football this year now it's come out.

[00:18:48] The more I find myself realizing

[00:18:49] that I'm not really throwing to my primary receiver

[00:18:50] that often in the game

[00:18:52] because often they're guarded

[00:18:53] by the best cornerback on the other team.

[00:18:55] And it tends to be their routes

[00:18:56] or some of the more complicated ones to run.

[00:19:00] When he's gotten open at Fairmount Times,

[00:19:03] he had a couple of drops in that Ole Miss game

[00:19:05] that you'd like to see him haul in.

[00:19:06] But he did have an 80 plus yard touchdown called back

[00:19:09] due to a holding penalty that was nothing of his own accord.

[00:19:12] That was a great play by him to get open in that space.

[00:19:16] And they just need to find ways

[00:19:17] to target him a little bit more.

[00:19:19] I'd like to see maybe a chance to find him

[00:19:22] in some space on some screen games,

[00:19:23] some short passes earlier.

[00:19:26] Use the pass game as a run game to some extent

[00:19:30] might be an option,

[00:19:32] but this offense is still finding itself.

[00:19:34] I think it's going to be finding itself

[00:19:36] well through the month of September

[00:19:37] until we get into those midweek games

[00:19:39] when the Heart of Conference play really starts.

[00:19:42] And this is a good opportunity for maybe some more cards

[00:19:45] to be shown then we're showing the past two weeks

[00:19:47] due to the circumstances

[00:19:49] and open up the playbook a little bit

[00:19:51] because you've gotten more things installed.

[00:19:53] I anticipate on Marikelly being fine.

[00:19:55] Overall, as the year goes on,

[00:19:56] it's just being the number one guy

[00:19:58] has its own set of challenges that are different

[00:20:01] than when you're coming from some other places as well.

[00:20:04] Defensively for the Blue Raiders,

[00:20:05] you got to contain TJ family.

[00:20:07] It's going to be number one for him.

[00:20:09] Obviously TJ had a rough game against Alabama in particular

[00:20:13] and had a better bounce back game against Eastern Kentucky.

[00:20:15] But he's a guy that coach Mason as well.

[00:20:18] Obviously coached against, coached with him at Auburn

[00:20:21] when he was a player at Auburn.

[00:20:25] And they're well aware of his skill set

[00:20:27] and particularly the camera of the arm he has.

[00:20:29] So it's going to be on the secondary again

[00:20:32] to make sure that part of his game

[00:20:34] is contained a little better.

[00:20:36] And I think if you're making TJ family

[00:20:38] beat you with his legs,

[00:20:40] you're probably going to be setting up

[00:20:41] for more success for you long term.

[00:20:44] It's when you can hit those shots over the top

[00:20:45] that you tend to get in trouble as a defense.

[00:20:48] So if you make them run a little bit,

[00:20:50] not saying that that's ideal,

[00:20:52] but I think if you're forcing them into those situations

[00:20:55] that's not his best card necessarily.

[00:20:58] And that starts up front,

[00:20:59] that starts with getting pressure

[00:21:00] or forcing them off the spot.

[00:21:02] And that starts in coverage,

[00:21:03] making sure there's some coverage stacks as well.

[00:21:05] So very big challenge for them.

[00:21:07] Western's always going to have good skill guys

[00:21:09] and they had never not had good skill guys

[00:21:12] since I've been here.

[00:21:14] So I anticipate that remaining the same

[00:21:16] regardless of who the Rebecca is.

[00:21:18] But you got to start up front

[00:21:20] and this is defensive front

[00:21:21] that is still coming into its own body of faces.

[00:21:24] And I know that it's been challenged by the staff as well.

[00:21:27] Absolutely, the front seven is an area

[00:21:29] that I thought we're seeing improvement,

[00:21:32] but we're still kind of missing those two fixture linebackers

[00:21:34] that are Drew Francis and Parker Hughes.

[00:21:37] I know they're sideline by a little bit of injury.

[00:21:39] Anything on that front

[00:21:41] as far as maybe seeing them this week?

[00:21:44] I haven't seen them dress out recently.

[00:21:48] I know they've been practicing a little bit

[00:21:50] as far as I know.

[00:21:51] So good chance they start to ramp up here in the near future.

[00:21:55] Way back in August,

[00:21:56] I was told this would be around the time Parker might be ready.

[00:22:00] And then Drew got nicked up a little bit later

[00:22:02] and practice Parker was out from the starting camp

[00:22:04] until sort of the very end.

[00:22:06] So definitely two guys

[00:22:07] that would help this linebacker room a lot.

[00:22:09] We talked a little bit in the press conference

[00:22:11] about some of the young guys

[00:22:12] who had chances of marrying Bailey,

[00:22:14] Corey Smith, both true freshmen

[00:22:16] that they only got some run

[00:22:18] at those linebacker positions this past week.

[00:22:21] Guys are gonna have to lean on,

[00:22:23] because Devon Curtis is a guy that's had some success

[00:22:25] but obviously has his own injury history

[00:22:28] at that position as well.

[00:22:29] So only gonna make them deeper,

[00:22:31] but we'll see if they're ready to go this week.

[00:22:34] That's gonna be a game time decision for both of them,

[00:22:37] I'm sure.

[00:22:39] Great stuff from Sam Doughton as always.

[00:22:41] Real quick, Sam before I let you go,

[00:22:43] opening up at seven and a half point underdogs

[00:22:45] this week, back to the Vegas conversation,

[00:22:49] because that's the only thing anyone ever seems to care about.

[00:22:51] I thought I was surprised by that.

[00:22:53] Where are your thoughts about this upcoming weekend?

[00:22:56] Yeah, I think it says more about where conference USA

[00:22:59] is sort of at this point in the season here,

[00:23:01] you're gonna talk about on the round table, I'm sure.

[00:23:03] When you hop on with them,

[00:23:05] but you know, this is a league

[00:23:06] that feels kind of wide open.

[00:23:07] Liberty does not seem near as strong

[00:23:09] as they were a year ago.

[00:23:11] Western and Jack State were sort of considered

[00:23:13] in that second tier right behind them

[00:23:14] and have both looked very vulnerable

[00:23:16] through their first two games compared to where they,

[00:23:18] where we thought they would be at the start of the year.

[00:23:20] In contrast, you got teams like Sam Houston and FIU

[00:23:23] that are playing better than maybe most folks thought

[00:23:25] they would early on in the season.

[00:23:27] In middles, maybe is somewhere in between the two extremes

[00:23:30] or they've had some good moments,

[00:23:32] they've had some not so good moments through two games

[00:23:35] and maybe not have the best platform

[00:23:38] to see who they're gonna be.

[00:23:39] So because things are so wide open,

[00:23:42] sticking to a one score game on a team that's won

[00:23:46] the last five in a row on the road seems about right to me

[00:23:50] for what it is.

[00:23:51] I think one variable people

[00:23:52] you gotta keep in mind this week is unfortunately,

[00:23:54] you have Tropical Storm, France Seeds

[00:23:55] would be hurricane France Seen.

[00:23:57] So we coming up through the Gulf

[00:23:58] and likely to affect the weather

[00:24:01] in the middle Tennessee area this weekend.

[00:24:03] It was probably brain predictor for kickoff

[00:24:05] around 6 p.m. this week.

[00:24:07] How does that affect things?

[00:24:08] And I mean, it's gonna probably have to lean

[00:24:10] on running the ball a little bit more than you would

[00:24:12] otherwise do in any other rain game.

[00:24:14] Gonna be a little bit more of a grind fast

[00:24:16] in the trenches as well.

[00:24:17] If that comes to pass, hopefully the track

[00:24:20] pushes it more towards Arkansas

[00:24:21] with respect to our Arkansasians that are listening in.

[00:24:25] But I think everyone in Murfreesboro

[00:24:27] would prefer some good weather

[00:24:29] after the rain we dealt with in the season opener as well.

[00:24:32] So, but excited for the game

[00:24:34] and I think it will be competitive.

[00:24:36] I think you have two teams that are pretty close

[00:24:39] on paper given what we've seen

[00:24:42] through two games for each of them.

[00:24:43] And so the Vegas line feels about right to me

[00:24:46] and it really could swing either way depending

[00:24:48] on how some of the unanswered questions

[00:24:51] are answered from Saturday.

[00:24:54] A good game is what we all want.

[00:24:56] I thought that was what we might have this week,

[00:24:59] three match up.

[00:25:00] I'm very excited to see that come to fruition.

[00:25:02] Well, Sam, again, I appreciate you stopping by once again

[00:25:05] on the podcast.

[00:25:06] I know we're gonna have you again on shortly

[00:25:07] to talk a little bit more on the fall sports

[00:25:10] in the coming weeks,

[00:25:11] but your stuff over at goblirators.com

[00:25:13] I can't encourage people enough.

[00:25:15] His Sunday notebooks are always extremely helpful

[00:25:17] for myself on the Raider Wrap Up portion

[00:25:20] at the end of all these episodes.

[00:25:21] So Sam, thanks again for stopping by.

[00:25:24] Over on the break.

[00:25:25] You know, one Olympic sport note

[00:25:26] that just because I'm thinking about right now,

[00:25:28] Andy Spees who's our freshman setter

[00:25:30] for the volleyball team

[00:25:31] heard of the first triple double

[00:25:33] in the program's 25 point era.

[00:25:36] You know, this past week,

[00:25:38] you know, she had 11 kills,

[00:25:39] 30 assists and 11 digs

[00:25:41] in a five set win over Simo.

[00:25:43] Really big numbers for anybody

[00:25:44] who ever took it for a freshman.

[00:25:45] So excited to see her.

[00:25:47] You know, actually good starting her blue raider career

[00:25:48] and some fun things going on over the AMG,

[00:25:51] you know, with Chuck Crawford and those guys.

[00:25:54] Absolutely Sam, I appreciate it.

[00:25:57] Thank you.

[00:26:00] Did you know the Blue Raider podcast

[00:26:02] has an online store?

[00:26:04] You can now support your favorite podcast

[00:26:05] by checking out our selection at our website,

[00:26:07] Blue Raider podcast.com

[00:26:09] and stay tuned for new merchandise releases

[00:26:11] as we collaborate with athletes and NIL partnerships.

[00:26:15] We take a break in the football discussion

[00:26:17] to feature our player interview of the week

[00:26:19] with one of our newest volleyball

[00:26:21] additions this off season.

[00:26:22] She is a graduate middle blocker,

[00:26:24] transfer into Lady Raiders from Villanova,

[00:26:26] where she earned two all big East team selections

[00:26:28] from Berlin P.A.

[00:26:30] We are joined by Kiara Booth.

[00:26:32] Kiara, how's it going?

[00:26:33] Good, thanks.

[00:26:35] It's great to see you here.

[00:26:37] I know you got back all the way from Montana

[00:26:39] this last weekend.

[00:26:40] Tell me a little bit about your plane ride there.

[00:26:42] I know that it's a long one from Nashville to Montana.

[00:26:45] Yeah, so we actually went out early.

[00:26:48] We left on Wednesday, spent two days

[00:26:50] in Yellowstone National Park.

[00:26:53] So that was stunning.

[00:26:55] Couldn't ask for a better first trip,

[00:26:57] but yeah, the travel there was pretty brutal.

[00:26:59] It was all day, very tired.

[00:27:02] The altitude definitely got to a lot of us,

[00:27:04] but yeah, on the way home it was connecting flight.

[00:27:09] Short connecting flight.

[00:27:10] Thought we weren't gonna make it,

[00:27:11] but we went right from one plane to the next.

[00:27:13] So we made it home.

[00:27:15] What was your connection at?

[00:27:17] We connected in Minneapolis on the way back

[00:27:20] and on the way there, Dallas.

[00:27:24] Dallas, okay, Dallas isn't too awful.

[00:27:26] I've never been to Minneapolis,

[00:27:27] but I know that some airports compared to others

[00:27:29] can be absolutely...

[00:27:30] I thought maybe you went to Chicago.

[00:27:31] Chicago is kind of a big one.

[00:27:32] You can get lost in Chicago.

[00:27:34] Yeah, we took the Skybridge one too many times

[00:27:37] because we missed our stop.

[00:27:38] So that was unfortunate, I guess.

[00:27:40] Well, adds a little adventure to the trip, I'm sure.

[00:27:44] So you're from Pennsylvania.

[00:27:46] Have you ever been out that far west before?

[00:27:49] Yeah, I did a road trip last summer to California.

[00:27:53] Did like a couple of national parks,

[00:27:55] yeah, Zion, Grand Canyon, stuff like that,

[00:27:58] but never to Montana.

[00:28:00] Okay, absolutely.

[00:28:01] That's very good stuff.

[00:28:02] Always good to venture out to new places,

[00:28:04] going into your graduate season.

[00:28:05] But that leads me into my first question

[00:28:07] to get to know a little bit about you.

[00:28:09] As I mentioned, you're from Pennsylvania,

[00:28:11] I believe it's Berlin, as I said.

[00:28:14] You went to Villanova, which is in south of Philadelphia.

[00:28:17] I wanna know a little bit about

[00:28:18] you're going into your graduate season.

[00:28:21] You elect to leave Villanova and you come to MTSU.

[00:28:23] How did you get your way here?

[00:28:25] What was that recruiting process like to come to MTSU?

[00:28:28] Yeah, so I was offered to stay at Villanova for my fifth year,

[00:28:33] but my coach at Villanova kind of pushed me

[00:28:36] to enter the portal, just see what happens.

[00:28:39] I was like, oh yeah, I guess I'll stay, we'll see.

[00:28:41] I didn't really want to take my fifth year.

[00:28:43] I thought I was kind of done playing,

[00:28:45] but yeah, so he pushed me into the portal

[00:28:47] and next thing I know, like emails kept coming

[00:28:51] and I had a original conversation with Jenna

[00:28:54] and we had a connection through our club revolution.

[00:28:58] So that was kind of cool, just talking about how,

[00:29:01] like no, you know somebody that knows somebody,

[00:29:03] the conversation just flowed really well.

[00:29:06] Kind of felt like I was talking to somebody

[00:29:08] that I've known forever, very just like easy to talk to.

[00:29:13] Yeah, so had a lot of conversations with her

[00:29:16] and then Chuck and came on a visit like,

[00:29:19] Jenna, yeah, I'm here.

[00:29:21] That was my next question.

[00:29:22] Were you able to make a visit down and he did?

[00:29:25] So, I mean, you got to see the campus.

[00:29:27] What are kind of some things about the program?

[00:29:29] Maybe it was something about Coach Crawford or Coach Orner

[00:29:31] or maybe some teammates you might have met.

[00:29:33] What were things that really drew you in here?

[00:29:35] Yeah, so actually funny enough on my visit,

[00:29:38] we were under like a tornado watch, we had to take cover

[00:29:42] and Chuck, we were like hiding in the locker room

[00:29:45] and Chuck was like, yeah, this is my responsibility

[00:29:47] to like protect you guys.

[00:29:49] So I thought that was cool

[00:29:50] to see how he like handled that situation.

[00:29:53] But yeah, just like hearing the culture

[00:29:55] that Middle Tennessee volleyball is all about

[00:29:58] really like excited being just how they get after it,

[00:30:01] how gritty they play, the mentality they have

[00:30:04] like within their program from teammate to teammate,

[00:30:07] how like I could step in and just be like, okay,

[00:30:10] somebody give me feedback and I can take it like easily.

[00:30:13] It's not so much just very selfish.

[00:30:16] It's everyone's giving something to somebody

[00:30:18] and I thought that was really cool.

[00:30:19] Something I craved a lot was just like

[00:30:22] the getting after it culture and how close the girls were.

[00:30:25] So on my visit, we definitely,

[00:30:27] I went with Adri actually to Topgolf

[00:30:29] and super cool, it was fun.

[00:30:32] Went to Puckets for breakfast, the team was great.

[00:30:35] They were really welcoming,

[00:30:37] kind of asked for a better visit.

[00:30:38] So I think that was definitely the icing on top of the cake.

[00:30:41] Well, to learn a little bit about yourself

[00:30:43] and where you fit into this whole team here,

[00:30:46] you talked about Adri, we know other upper classmen

[00:30:49] like Lau who are going to be quite essential

[00:30:51] to the success of this team,

[00:30:52] but you kind of fall in that category now

[00:30:54] as being one of the older players as a graduate student.

[00:30:57] This team is filled with freshmen.

[00:30:59] You got five on the roster this year

[00:31:00] and when I spoke with Coach Orner,

[00:31:01] she said a lot of those can make contributions

[00:31:04] but I want to hear from your perspective

[00:31:05] as someone that has been in college a long time,

[00:31:08] where do you fit into this puzzle piece

[00:31:10] as A, a new person, but two, you're also

[00:31:14] someone that has a lot of experience

[00:31:16] and you're able to take a leadership role

[00:31:18] against these players.

[00:31:19] Yeah, so personally it's just interesting

[00:31:22] because like you said I am a fifth year

[00:31:24] but coming into this program new

[00:31:27] and learning how Coach Crawford just coaches

[00:31:30] and what he expects out of me

[00:31:32] is just so different than what I'm used to.

[00:31:34] So honestly, I'm learning just with the rest

[00:31:37] of the freshmen,

[00:31:38] I've just had four years of experience under my belt.

[00:31:41] I think it's interesting where I fall into things

[00:31:43] is just like being that level headed person on the court

[00:31:47] and being that person that they can look up to

[00:31:50] at any point in time,

[00:31:51] like the leadership role really steps in.

[00:31:54] I think I have to be more selfless

[00:31:57] than I've ever been in my career

[00:31:59] because there are so many young people,

[00:32:00] especially like Emma, my other fellow middle

[00:32:05] as a freshman and just kind of like teaching her the ropes

[00:32:07] not just like during the game

[00:32:09] but like also mentally,

[00:32:11] mental stuff can be just as important

[00:32:14] how to handle like big time swings,

[00:32:16] stuff like that is really important

[00:32:19] for me to step into that role

[00:32:20] and just be there for all the rest of my teammates

[00:32:23] because I've had four years of experience.

[00:32:25] Like I've been in certain situations

[00:32:27] and I think that's crucial.

[00:32:29] Yeah, the duality of being a student athlete

[00:32:31] is critical all the time

[00:32:33] and people will talk about how hard it is

[00:32:35] to be an athlete not with just the travel

[00:32:37] and the practices and all that yourself

[00:32:39] as you're integrating into this new team,

[00:32:41] you're having to learn I guess the new philosophy

[00:32:43] because volleyball is always volleyball

[00:32:45] but there are a lot of philosophies

[00:32:46] that I'm sure Coach Crawford has.

[00:32:47] It's different from your time at Villanova

[00:32:49] but as you're trying to learn that

[00:32:51] you're also trying to be as you say a leader

[00:32:53] for those younger girls and show them

[00:32:55] how do you present yourself as an athlete

[00:32:58] in the classroom as well

[00:32:59] because you have to perform there

[00:33:01] and that's something that at Villanova

[00:33:02] I know you had all big East academic honors as well

[00:33:04] so from that perspective

[00:33:06] how are you necessarily teaching the girls

[00:33:07] what is it like to be a college student athlete?

[00:33:10] Yeah, it's just interesting to hear

[00:33:13] like the because obviously freshman year

[00:33:15] I was the same way

[00:33:16] you don't know how to manage your time quite yet

[00:33:18] you're just like oh my gosh I'm so stressed

[00:33:20] like I have X, Y and Z do

[00:33:22] but yet we're leaving for Montana the first week

[00:33:24] like oh my gosh everything's just like spiraling.

[00:33:27] So I think just kind of taking little bits out of time

[00:33:32] and not like I'm just like girls

[00:33:34] do something little bit each day and you'll be fine

[00:33:37] I think that's where I come in to just kind of help

[00:33:40] everyone not get so tied up in academics

[00:33:44] so it doesn't carry up onto the court

[00:33:46] because I think sometimes they were like

[00:33:48] oh my gosh I have so much to do

[00:33:51] I was the same way over the weekend

[00:33:53] I was like I have so much homework to do

[00:33:55] but honestly like it'll get done

[00:33:57] it's not about when it just it'll get done type of thing

[00:34:00] so I think just like prioritizing

[00:34:04] just doing a little bit every day as what I do

[00:34:07] I stay on top of things I work ahead

[00:34:09] so I don't have to worry about it.

[00:34:11] Yeah the procrastination is something that is so hard

[00:34:14] to break when you go from high school into college

[00:34:16] just as someone that has a little college experience

[00:34:18] not nearly the five years that you've dealt with

[00:34:20] so obviously you've kind of I would say

[00:34:21] I don't want to say perfected

[00:34:22] but you've mastered how what it takes to do

[00:34:24] a little bit of both

[00:34:26] but I want to get over to your first weekend

[00:34:28] you made the long trip there to Montana

[00:34:31] it wasn't the outcome that the lady raiders were looking for

[00:34:34] but you had an exceptional week on the Blueator podcast

[00:34:36] you were our volleyball player of the week last week

[00:34:39] 21 kills over the weekend

[00:34:41] tell me a little bit about how do you evaluate

[00:34:43] your game this past weekend?

[00:34:45] Yeah so for me personally

[00:34:46] I had to like step into a role

[00:34:48] that I'm not necessarily used to

[00:34:50] I switched positions midway through Montana State

[00:34:53] so I think that was just like

[00:34:56] taking what coach needed from me

[00:34:58] and just performing

[00:34:59] I don't think I read too much into like how I play

[00:35:02] it's just like I go out there and give it my all

[00:35:05] like I don't really get in my head a lot

[00:35:09] so when he was like okay you're playing right side

[00:35:10] as a middle I was like all right cool put me out there

[00:35:12] I'm gonna get the job done type of thing

[00:35:16] so yeah I was definitely pleased with how I played

[00:35:18] but I'm excited to get back into the middle

[00:35:20] and just work on blocking

[00:35:23] blocking is definitely my biggest thing right now

[00:35:24] that I need to work on

[00:35:26] and just being faster in transition

[00:35:28] helping the younger setters be more comfortable

[00:35:32] as crucial as well

[00:35:34] having them fit into our system

[00:35:36] is key to our success

[00:35:38] so I think just like I said earlier

[00:35:40] just being that person on the court

[00:35:43] is definitely something that I was proud of this weekend

[00:35:46] just trying to keep everyone excited

[00:35:49] motivated even when things weren't going good

[00:35:51] like looking somebody in the eye

[00:35:52] and just being like okay like you got the next point

[00:35:54] type of thing is definitely where

[00:35:56] I think I did well this weekend so

[00:35:59] there's so many variables that go into traveling

[00:36:03] for your first road contest

[00:36:04] and playing a big school like Washington

[00:36:07] and then obviously you're playing

[00:36:08] the host school Montana State this weekend

[00:36:10] I know that this is coming out in past tense

[00:36:13] you've already performed at the Blue Raider Bash

[00:36:15] but this will be your first real game

[00:36:17] that matters here at the alumni gymnasium

[00:36:20] this upcoming weekend

[00:36:21] how do you level with those emotions

[00:36:23] of it one being your graduate season

[00:36:25] but two being your first real home matchup

[00:36:29] yeah just being my first real home game

[00:36:32] I have a lot of family coming

[00:36:34] some friends from Villanova

[00:36:36] so I'm excited to have them here

[00:36:38] and just supporting me

[00:36:40] I always love having my family in the stands

[00:36:42] but kind of my mentality going into each game

[00:36:45] this season is like this is it for me

[00:36:49] so regardless where I am who I'm playing

[00:36:51] like I just need to go into the match

[00:36:53] and be like okay I have got to give it my all

[00:36:55] because I don't really

[00:36:57] I have looked back on games

[00:36:58] and been like dang like I haven't performed well

[00:37:00] or I didn't give it my all or whatever

[00:37:03] it may be so this season I'm really trying

[00:37:05] to focus on literally just leaving it all out there

[00:37:09] and that's all if that's all I can do

[00:37:11] like that's all I can do us

[00:37:12] as long as I know that I've left it all out there

[00:37:15] at the end of the day that's pretty much it

[00:37:18] there's so much volleyball that's going to take place

[00:37:21] this last weekend again as a release

[00:37:22] so you've already missed it Blue Raider fans

[00:37:24] but one thing that I think is so special about it

[00:37:27] is the way the marketing team has tried to get students there

[00:37:29] I know that on the Friday matchup

[00:37:31] they're giving away to the first 50 students coffee

[00:37:34] and donuts just something to get people in the stands

[00:37:36] and rooting for you guys

[00:37:37] I want to know again I'm not too familiar

[00:37:40] with the landscape of volleyball

[00:37:41] but versus the Villanova crowds that you may experience

[00:37:44] versus what you've seen so far

[00:37:45] with the support system here at MTSU

[00:37:47] where I think one thing that gets

[00:37:50] MTSU gets a lot of credit for

[00:37:51] is the amount of energy and effort

[00:37:53] they put into their women's programs

[00:37:55] is that something that you find is true?

[00:37:58] Yeah I think that's a really special thing

[00:38:00] is to just like at Villanova

[00:38:03] we had a pretty good men's basketball team

[00:38:05] so like obviously that was what they were known for

[00:38:08] and what they like marketed

[00:38:09] but here it's really cool

[00:38:11] that they put that much effort and energy

[00:38:12] into each and every sport

[00:38:13] especially women's sports

[00:38:14] is something that I really value too

[00:38:17] because having all these promotions

[00:38:19] and getting students to the games is just

[00:38:21] I mean it's always better to play in front of people

[00:38:23] rather than an empty stand so

[00:38:26] Absolutely well before we let you go here

[00:38:29] just another little tidbit about you

[00:38:31] I learned as I was reading through your bio

[00:38:32] I you're a thousand point score in basketball

[00:38:35] now you're listed at six foot two

[00:38:37] I have to imagine that at some point

[00:38:39] in conversations was there ever an opportunity

[00:38:42] for you to play basketball at college?

[00:38:44] 100% actually I think it was

[00:38:48] going into my senior year

[00:38:50] I really had to make that decision of like

[00:38:53] okay what am I going to do

[00:38:54] because I can't keep going back and forth

[00:38:56] so junior year we

[00:38:58] I won states for basketball in high school

[00:39:02] and literally that same weekend

[00:39:03] I committed to Villanova

[00:39:04] so it was like riding out this

[00:39:06] high of a weekend

[00:39:08] so I would go from basketball practice

[00:39:10] travel an hour and 45 minutes

[00:39:12] to club volleyball practice

[00:39:13] like right after each other

[00:39:16] and it was just getting to be a lot

[00:39:17] and I was like okay I have to

[00:39:19] at that point I was playing

[00:39:20] travel basketball too

[00:39:22] for a club that was also far away

[00:39:24] and I was spreading myself too thin

[00:39:27] and I think my club really pulled out the joy

[00:39:31] and just a different side of volleyball

[00:39:32] that I hadn't seen

[00:39:33] so I was like okay wait

[00:39:34] I actually like this a lot more than I thought

[00:39:37] so I had to make the decision

[00:39:40] to not play basketball my senior year

[00:39:42] and really just focus on travel volleyball

[00:39:45] and school volleyball and whatnot

[00:39:46] which definitely was not easy

[00:39:48] and I miss basketball every day

[00:39:50] honestly I'm like I just wish

[00:39:52] but I'm happy with where my decision is

[00:39:54] so

[00:39:55] well now you're in Murfreesboro

[00:39:56] which has an excellent ladies basketball program

[00:39:59] as I'm sure you know

[00:40:00] do you think if Rick Insell knocked on your door

[00:40:02] that you would potentially put on the shoes

[00:40:04] for your last season

[00:40:05] I mean why not you know

[00:40:07] myself

[00:40:08] absolutely yeah

[00:40:09] I mean you'd be a part of it

[00:40:11] I mean you have a great opportunity

[00:40:12] to win a ring there as well

[00:40:13] but much like the same with the lady Raiders

[00:40:16] you're gonna

[00:40:17] you're part of that upward trajectory

[00:40:18] that the team is experiencing

[00:40:19] and so we look forward to

[00:40:20] the results from this blue raider bash

[00:40:23] as well

[00:40:23] it's what's coming up to this upcoming conference

[00:40:25] season for you guys

[00:40:26] of Kiara

[00:40:27] I appreciate you taking the time

[00:40:28] out of your busy week

[00:40:29] to join us here today

[00:40:30] and I wish you and the lady Raiders

[00:40:32] nothing but success for the rest of the way

[00:40:34] thank you I appreciate you having me

[00:40:38] the BRP is proudly partnered

[00:40:39] with rivals network affiliate go middle.com

[00:40:42] subscribe for premium content

[00:40:44] for all the inside scoop on MTSU athletics

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[00:40:47] or join our free forums

[00:40:48] to discuss today's episode

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[00:41:01] to catch up on all college football content

[00:41:03] with daily articles

[00:41:04] and episodes provided by the largest

[00:41:05] college podcast community on the internet

[00:41:09] and our final guess on the blue raider podcast

[00:41:11] we go behind enemy lines once again

[00:41:13] to cover our upcoming 100 miles of hate week

[00:41:16] against western Kentucky

[00:41:18] joining us today is a colleague partner

[00:41:21] at the college huddle

[00:41:22] as well as the conference USA round table

[00:41:24] I say friend of the show

[00:41:25] but I think this week we're supposed to be

[00:41:27] enemies of the show

[00:41:28] but joining me today is

[00:41:29] Steven Moffat of the Topper Talk podcast

[00:41:31] Mr. Moffat how's it going?

[00:41:33] Man I'm good man

[00:41:35] I appreciate you having me on

[00:41:36] I always enjoy you know

[00:41:37] getting to sit down and talk

[00:41:38] especially 100 miles of hate week so I'm ready

[00:41:42] absolutely yeah there's so much to kind of go over

[00:41:45] and I if those that haven't been tuning into

[00:41:48] our cusa round table

[00:41:49] we kind of preview this episode

[00:41:51] that's coming out Tuesday morning

[00:41:52] the next day

[00:41:53] I think both of us have a lot of similarities

[00:41:56] with our early schedule

[00:41:58] we both had fcs opponents

[00:41:59] we both had sec top 10 opponents

[00:42:02] we both kind of had outcomes that we

[00:42:04] I think we're semi happy with

[00:42:06] when in regards to the fcs game

[00:42:08] I know that you guys had a pretty good start

[00:42:11] and then the second half

[00:42:12] things kind of fizzled out offensively

[00:42:14] but you got your feet back underneath you there

[00:42:15] in the fourth quarter but

[00:42:16] and then we all know what happened at Alabama

[00:42:18] much like what happened for us at Ole Miss

[00:42:20] so tell us a little bit

[00:42:21] you know where where do you stand with

[00:42:23] with the program

[00:42:24] where does where does Tyson Hilton

[00:42:25] stand with the program

[00:42:26] where does where does bowling green stand

[00:42:29] you know I think you know

[00:42:30] Tyson Hilton has been a steady hand

[00:42:32] he's a great leader

[00:42:33] he's a great what I call program manager

[00:42:37] you know I'm not going to liken him to

[00:42:39] you know Rick Stocksdale of

[00:42:40] yes to year for you all

[00:42:41] but you know he he's consistently going to

[00:42:44] win seven eight nine games

[00:42:46] being the hunt for that conference championship

[00:42:48] he feels a competitive team

[00:42:50] we have a good offense

[00:42:52] he recruits good players

[00:42:53] we get good players out of the portal

[00:42:55] so it's exciting every year

[00:42:56] so we're in that hunt

[00:42:58] you know we could be in a much worse place

[00:43:00] year in and year out

[00:43:01] so I think you know bowling green

[00:43:03] is happy with where we are

[00:43:04] but we want that conference championship

[00:43:06] that's eluded us now since you know 2016

[00:43:10] as far as this year goes

[00:43:12] I mean obviously that game at Alabama

[00:43:14] you know we hope to go in there and be competitive

[00:43:17] you know at least for a half of football

[00:43:19] maybe keep it close

[00:43:20] and then you know once that second half

[00:43:22] kicks in and the depth of the talent

[00:43:25] really starts to show its head

[00:43:26] you know you expect they're going to pull away

[00:43:28] but you know we had a couple early turnovers

[00:43:30] some interceptions that stalled some

[00:43:32] some movement on offense for us

[00:43:34] we took some forked down gambles

[00:43:37] and quite frankly Alabama was just Alabama

[00:43:40] and as I was walking into the stadium

[00:43:42] I was talking to some fans

[00:43:44] and several of mass media

[00:43:45] are you all going to cover the spread

[00:43:47] you know it was opened at 31

[00:43:48] it was 35 it kickoff

[00:43:50] and my answer to him was

[00:43:52] I don't know you tell me

[00:43:53] you know how many points does

[00:43:54] Kailan DeBoer want to score

[00:43:55] because I think if he wants to score 40 50 60

[00:43:58] I think that's what he's going to do

[00:43:59] because I think as the first game of his era

[00:44:02] replacing you know a living legend

[00:44:05] you know he wanted to put on a show

[00:44:07] and say hey I'm here now

[00:44:08] this is what to expect

[00:44:09] and that's exactly what he did

[00:44:11] you know he kept the

[00:44:12] the foot on the gas for the entirety of the game

[00:44:15] can't blame him for running up the score

[00:44:17] we didn't stop them

[00:44:18] you know that's what it's all about

[00:44:19] you know we knew

[00:44:20] that they were a good team

[00:44:21] they're talented

[00:44:22] and they scored a lot of points

[00:44:23] we didn't score any

[00:44:24] so there were a lot of question marks

[00:44:26] coming out of that game

[00:44:27] and then the game with EKU

[00:44:29] this past Saturday

[00:44:30] you know obviously there was a lot of

[00:44:32] you know fanfare and drama

[00:44:34] surrounding the white out

[00:44:36] and white uniforms

[00:44:37] and you know it's a historic rival

[00:44:40] you know back to our OVC days

[00:44:43] obviously we've since moved up to

[00:44:45] FBS but

[00:44:45] you know I still like having that

[00:44:47] sort of a game

[00:44:48] you know in-state rival

[00:44:50] quote unquote on the schedule

[00:44:52] but we took care of business on the field

[00:44:54] a 31 to 0 victory

[00:44:56] you know

[00:44:57] there are still some people in the fans

[00:45:00] that are questioning

[00:45:01] the offense

[00:45:02] or the starting quarterback

[00:45:04] etc but

[00:45:05] I feel really good about how we played

[00:45:07] and how the game played out

[00:45:08] I think we showed

[00:45:10] just enough to be EKU

[00:45:12] you know I don't think we wanted to show our hand

[00:45:14] coming into a conference matchup

[00:45:16] you know the very next week

[00:45:17] so you know I really think we played a

[00:45:19] watered down simple version of that game

[00:45:21] just to get through it

[00:45:23] got through it relatively healthy

[00:45:25] you know both of those games

[00:45:26] you know I think a couple guys got some dings

[00:45:29] and we haven't heard updates on them but

[00:45:31] you know

[00:45:31] you know similar to what you said

[00:45:33] you know with SEC and the FCS matchups

[00:45:36] you know it

[00:45:36] turned out how you expected for both of them

[00:45:39] and obviously I think there's still room to grow for us

[00:45:43] and hopefully we continue to take that step forward

[00:45:45] coming into this game

[00:45:48] Yeah he touched on it there

[00:45:49] at the end talking about the the T.J. Finley of it all

[00:45:52] the new Texas State transfer quarterback

[00:45:54] he had a lot of bright spots this last week

[00:45:58] and then as you touched on with the Alabama game

[00:46:00] just wasn't what you expected it to be

[00:46:02] and now how much of a product is that

[00:46:04] is Alabama who knows who's to say

[00:46:05] but he had a great week last week against Eastern Kentucky

[00:46:09] and you also touched on maybe having a watered down

[00:46:11] offensive approach against Eastern Kentucky

[00:46:13] and MTSU for the likes of myself

[00:46:15] I like to speculate that MTSU also gave a watered down version

[00:46:18] against Tennessee Tech

[00:46:19] which is why we jumped out to a 21-0 lead

[00:46:22] and then we didn't have to score a touchdown

[00:46:23] until the last drive of the game

[00:46:25] so I'm hoping fingers crossed that's what happened to us

[00:46:27] as you're saying for yourself

[00:46:29] so tell me a little bit about T.J. Finley

[00:46:31] you know his game that you've seen in live action now

[00:46:34] in a hilltop or uniform

[00:46:35] as well as the offense in general

[00:46:36] you say you see a watered down version

[00:46:38] what's kind of the

[00:46:39] what do you see as the full growth

[00:46:41] that is the offense that we may see this Saturday

[00:46:44] You know I think the game versus Alabama

[00:46:46] you know he threw two bad throws

[00:46:49] that were turned into interceptions and turnovers

[00:46:52] but they really kept it moving

[00:46:54] they were hitting him

[00:46:55] they were keeping him off his spot

[00:46:56] making him make quick decisions

[00:46:57] that turned into bad decisions

[00:47:00] you know he didn't make it to halftime

[00:47:01] they pulled him put Caden Veltkamp in

[00:47:03] which I think is a smart decision

[00:47:05] with how that game flow was going

[00:47:07] I think at the time it was 35-0

[00:47:10] you know if Caden was going to lead us from behind

[00:47:12] like he did versus ODU

[00:47:13] that's the time to put him in I guess right

[00:47:14] so you know then this game versus EKU

[00:47:18] you know even during the game

[00:47:21] he had at one point he was

[00:47:22] you know over 250 yards

[00:47:25] one touchdown and like a 71 completion percentage

[00:47:29] and I still had people text me like

[00:47:31] man I don't know if this is the guy

[00:47:32] and I'm like he ends up with 350 yards passing

[00:47:36] I think right around 70% completions

[00:47:38] just one touchdown I think

[00:47:40] or maybe it was two ended up being two

[00:47:42] but you know I think we're just so spoiled to

[00:47:45] you know the Ulster Reads and Bailey Zappies

[00:47:48] and just the lineage we've had for the last 10 years

[00:47:50] you're used to seeing three, four, five, six touchdowns

[00:47:53] you're used to seeing 50-60 points on the regular

[00:47:57] you know especially against that caliber of an opponent

[00:48:00] I think TJ was solid you definitely could see him

[00:48:03] start to get more comfortable in the offense

[00:48:05] Kishan Johnson you know they had a really good connection

[00:48:09] he finished with over 100 yards receiving

[00:48:12] Moosa Berry is a solid target for him

[00:48:15] but TJ Finley is definitely settling into the offense

[00:48:18] he's getting comfortable

[00:48:19] he's big, he's athletic

[00:48:21] one of his best throws of the night

[00:48:23] didn't go for a completion

[00:48:24] but it was a back corner fade to the end zone

[00:48:28] to Easton Messer

[00:48:29] he was out of bounds when he caught it

[00:48:31] but I mean it was a beautiful throw

[00:48:32] dropping the bucket

[00:48:35] it was a professional caliber throw

[00:48:38] you know maybe it wasn't hauled in

[00:48:40] it wasn't called it didn't go on the stat sheet

[00:48:42] but when I saw it I was just like

[00:48:44] that's a professional throw

[00:48:45] and if that's what we have on our offense

[00:48:47] leading our offense for the rest of the year

[00:48:49] I'm happy for it

[00:48:50] I'm excited for it

[00:48:51] I know in the complete fan base

[00:48:54] the jury may still be out

[00:48:57] you know there's going to be people that aren't happy

[00:48:59] because it's not the local kid

[00:49:00] it's not Caden Beltkamp

[00:49:02] who I also think will be a good quarterback

[00:49:04] you know someday for us

[00:49:05] but it's just not today

[00:49:06] I think TJ Finley has shown

[00:49:09] his leadership

[00:49:10] his athleticism

[00:49:11] the throws he can make

[00:49:13] and I look forward to him continuing to get more comfortable

[00:49:16] in this offense

[00:49:18] and with the receivers that we have

[00:49:19] because we have a lot of receivers for him to choose from

[00:49:23] and talk about that a little bit

[00:49:25] you're having to replace one of your

[00:49:26] top wide receiving threats

[00:49:28] you've had in a while with Malachi Corley

[00:49:30] quite the athlete that he is

[00:49:32] and then your backfield

[00:49:33] you pick up a new transfer

[00:49:34] you know I had speculated

[00:49:36] you might have a running back by committee

[00:49:38] but you're pretty adamant that it's

[00:49:39] it's Elijah Young's year

[00:49:41] going into this year

[00:49:42] to talk about some of those skill guys

[00:49:43] that Finley has to give the ball to

[00:49:46] you know

[00:49:48] one of my favorite targets that he has

[00:49:50] is Elijah Young

[00:49:51] who's our starting running back transfer

[00:49:52] last year from Missouri

[00:49:54] was kind of

[00:49:55] you know part of a three four-headed monster

[00:49:58] but separated himself as the lead dog last year

[00:50:00] and he's really versatile

[00:50:02] in the running game and passing game

[00:50:05] and then with our receivers

[00:50:06] I mean Keyshawn Johnson transferred from Alabama State

[00:50:09] he saw Dalvin Smith

[00:50:10] you know he's been with us for three plus years now

[00:50:13] Easton Messer

[00:50:14] Katie Hutchison

[00:50:15] Moosa Berry

[00:50:17] River Helms

[00:50:18] I mean the list just goes on

[00:50:21] I think you know both games we've had so far

[00:50:22] we've spread out to nine or ten receivers

[00:50:25] there's just a lot of talent on that side of the ball

[00:50:29] last year

[00:50:30] you know we went through a lot of injury concerns

[00:50:33] but this year so far

[00:50:34] you'll knock on wood offensive wise we're healthy

[00:50:38] and I think that

[00:50:39] you know the way that

[00:50:40] Tyson likes to spread his the offense out

[00:50:43] spread the field out give guys

[00:50:45] room to make a catch

[00:50:46] and then make a play after the reception

[00:50:49] is really going to lend itself to T.J. Finley's strengths

[00:50:52] of being a really accurate passer

[00:50:54] you know over 70% last year at Texas State

[00:50:57] we saw you know right at 70%

[00:50:59] this last weekend versus EKU

[00:51:02] if you can keep him clean in the pocket

[00:51:03] you know he's gonna

[00:51:04] you know quite frankly he's gonna pick you apart

[00:51:07] and if you do shut things down down the field

[00:51:10] he's gonna take off running you know he's shown he can do that

[00:51:12] at times he doesn't do it a lot but if

[00:51:14] if you know the

[00:51:15] the secondary's coverage is solid

[00:51:19] he will take off so

[00:51:20] just a lot of weapons

[00:51:22] a lot of different options

[00:51:24] some mostly familiar names but

[00:51:25] Keshon Johnson is the one I definitely have to highlight that

[00:51:28] you know keeping an eye on him circle him

[00:51:30] he's he's the guy that's going to make a lot of plays for us

[00:51:34] and on the flip side I talk about the defense there

[00:51:37] the one area that I know that you've talked about

[00:51:41] hilltopers need to improve on is that rush defense

[00:51:43] they've looked

[00:51:44] they have a good size up front but you're not necessarily

[00:51:46] get seeing that run stopping

[00:51:48] formidable front that you'd like to see

[00:51:50] in conference USA it's not necessarily a necessity to have

[00:51:53] a strong front seven

[00:51:54] because it is quite the passing league

[00:51:56] especially at the top of the conference

[00:51:57] but that's been kind of the area of weakness

[00:51:59] for the hilltopers in these first two weeks

[00:52:01] is the run defense

[00:52:02] yeah and and even looking back further than that it was

[00:52:06] a weakness of ours last year

[00:52:08] you know it was probably the biggest weakness of our defense

[00:52:10] was just getting off the field

[00:52:13] you know on third downs when you knew teams were in third and short

[00:52:16] and you knew they're going to run the ball

[00:52:18] you know especially mobile quarterbacks

[00:52:20] you know

[00:52:21] secondary wise I feel like we can we can cover up a lot of passing

[00:52:25] plays and schemes but

[00:52:26] you know if you're a good rushing team

[00:52:28] and you can consistently hand the ball off and create good lanes

[00:52:32] and good gaps for your runners

[00:52:34] we be at the running back

[00:52:36] or your quarterback

[00:52:37] I mean I think it makes it a long day for us

[00:52:39] because we haven't proven

[00:52:41] that we can consistently stop it

[00:52:43] now we'll do it at times

[00:52:44] you know we bowed up a couple times down near the goal line

[00:52:46] against EKU

[00:52:48] and left them with no point

[00:52:50] so it definitely is a question mark

[00:52:52] it's something that you know I would like to see us take a step forward

[00:52:56] defensive coordinator Tyson Summers has been really solid over his years here

[00:53:01] so I trust him to get that side of the ball right

[00:53:03] but it is the biggest concern

[00:53:06] all the defense inside the ball is at run defense

[00:53:10] that's great great stuff from Stephen as always when he talks about his hilltoppers

[00:53:14] before I let you go

[00:53:16] the game line opens up at seven and a half

[00:53:18] the touchdown favorite for the hilltoppers on the road here in Murfreesboro

[00:53:21] I want to hear from you

[00:53:23] I think that from my perspective

[00:53:25] that's a respectable touchdown favorite

[00:53:28] I think that's a fair assessment of where these two teams sit right now

[00:53:32] I'd love to hear from your unbiased perspective

[00:53:35] how do you see this weekend folding

[00:53:38] yeah it's going to be hard to take off my red glasses

[00:53:41] you know I think I shared earlier how long it's been

[00:53:44] on the conference USA Roundtable

[00:53:46] how long it's been since middle has beaten us in football

[00:53:49] since November 2nd in 2018

[00:53:52] what 2100 days 2138 days

[00:53:55] so it's been a while

[00:53:55] but we've been a really consistent and solid team

[00:53:59] under the leadership of Tyson Hilton

[00:54:01] like I said earlier he's always fielded a competitive team

[00:54:04] a team that can win conference

[00:54:06] but we just have had a greater team in our way

[00:54:10] so I feel really good about this year's matchup

[00:54:12] you know and and that's not really any slight to

[00:54:16] middle Tennessee or Derek Mason or just a team there

[00:54:19] because I think the change of leadership there was needed

[00:54:23] you know that breath of energy

[00:54:24] that new life that has been brought into Murfreesboro

[00:54:26] and into the program and on campus and just

[00:54:30] you know from the outside

[00:54:31] you know not having been to Murfreesboro yet

[00:54:33] you know I can see it just on social media

[00:54:35] that there's definitely new life leading that program

[00:54:38] and I think that this rivalry being good

[00:54:41] and being better and competitive every single year

[00:54:44] is better for the conference as a whole

[00:54:46] now that being said

[00:54:48] you know I think we've dominated this

[00:54:50] the the rivalry for you know the last five years we've won

[00:54:53] we've won eight of the last 10

[00:54:55] you know I'm not ready to to give that title up

[00:54:58] you know I think that we should win this game

[00:55:02] I think that we can and will win this game

[00:55:04] but you did mention on the the COSA round table

[00:55:08] that whether it could be a factor

[00:55:09] you know it could be a little rainy

[00:55:11] could be wet if that slows down the passing game

[00:55:15] it makes this a you know just a muddy slugfest on the ground

[00:55:19] you know battle of rushing teams granted

[00:55:22] we can rush the ball but it's not what we like to lean on

[00:55:25] you know it's not our strength by any means

[00:55:26] we can do it and we have athletes and several running backs

[00:55:30] we can rotate in and out but my concern would be on the other side of the balls

[00:55:34] can we stop you all from running the ball consistently

[00:55:37] because if we're playing from behind

[00:55:39] and it's raining and we can't throw the ball we have to run the ball

[00:55:42] you know game flow is definitely going to come into play

[00:55:46] with both of our teams you know we want to jump out to an early lead

[00:55:49] and make you all have to pass the ball

[00:55:51] you know you have a dynamic quarterback that can run and throw the ball really well

[00:55:57] but we think that our strength is in our secondary so

[00:55:59] you know I think western wins this game

[00:56:03] I think it's going to be a battle I don't think it's going to be

[00:56:06] you know a two or three touchdown win

[00:56:09] you know I think it's going to be you know a seven to ten point victory

[00:56:13] you know maybe in that you know 32 to 24 type of a score finish

[00:56:20] you could come down to whoever has the ball last

[00:56:22] you know we've seen that several times over the last 10 years

[00:56:26] is that you know we've had a lot of close games

[00:56:28] a lot of one-score games a lot of overtime games

[00:56:31] the last few years haven't been that

[00:56:32] but you know the renewed leadership and the energy and just your program

[00:56:38] you know taking a step the right direction I think is going to make this game competitive

[00:56:42] it should be a fun one for everybody involved no matter who wins or loses

[00:56:47] that was a 15-minute conversation there that probably the most tame one you're going to

[00:56:51] see between a blue raider and a hilltopper this week on social media but I'm very thankful

[00:56:56] that Steven was able to stop by again we collaborate over at the college huddle so

[00:57:00] check out all of our stuff throughout the years we collaborate with other college huddle

[00:57:04] podcasters as well as the cusa round table our episode released last night if you want to catch

[00:57:09] the next one that'll be live streamed on the blue raider podcast actually in two weeks so look

[00:57:13] forward to that episode but um to what's at hand Steven I appreciate you again for coming on

[00:57:18] look forward to you hopefully making the trip down to mervis brown know that you've got a

[00:57:21] you might have some pre predispose issues or I say issues but more or less

[00:57:28] you'll be helping with the honey dudes this weekend so hopefully you make it down to murphy's

[00:57:32] burrow and of course make your stop over to toots like you always do yes sir appreciate

[00:57:36] your driving me jake hopefully hopefully I'll get the link up and see you down there

[00:57:41] absolutely see you Steven sir see you thanks for sticking around all the way to the

[00:57:49] raider wrap-up portion of the episode where we will review this last week in blue raider

[00:57:53] athletics as well as look ahead to what's to come this upcoming week as we spent a lot of time on

[00:57:59] today's episode talking about football the raiders dropped their 52 three road contest in oxford

[00:58:06] mississippi to the sixth ranked old miss rebels I give my player the game to holden willis

[00:58:12] with six catches for 93 yards I think if anyone listened on the sec network like I did um the

[00:58:18] broadcasting team raved about willis for good reasons I thought bode reader did a great job as

[00:58:23] far as implementing him into the game plan and I look forward to um next week's episode where we

[00:58:29] will actually sit down with holden willis and talk about his game at all miss prior to the west

[00:58:33] rick and tuck a game unfortunately can't time those things quite right given the difficulty

[00:58:38] with game weekends as well as um holden being a student athlete but still exciting conversation

[00:58:43] to come next week so keep your eyes peeled for that as well as the west rick and tuck a game

[00:58:48] that is happening this saturday kickoff is set for 6 p.m and it is my understanding that the party in

[00:58:53] the grove that was such a huge success in week one albeit with the lightning delay that we had

[00:58:58] it will also begin at 3 p.m on saturday so I am excited to see all those faces out there

[00:59:03] parting the grove for a big 100 miles of hate matchup this weekend women's soccer they go one

[00:59:10] one this week they have a big win uh in their midweek game against alabama and m down in huntsville

[00:59:15] by a score of five to zero yanna yordanova as well as menna labarji both get two goals in that

[00:59:21] matchup but I give my player the week to uh yanna with her two goals um against the bulldogs

[00:59:27] and then the lady raiders dropped their weekend contest in nashville to bend it by a score

[00:59:32] of three to zero and they will wrap up their non-conference season this thursday night back

[00:59:38] at home at the dean haze soccer stadium and track stadium against the jaguars that is to kick off at

[00:59:44] seven p.m this thursday night lady raiders volleyball finally made it back home after their trip to

[00:59:51] montana they go one they go two for two on the week dropping their contest to lehigh two to three

[00:59:57] on friday and then they got a come from behind victory against southeast missouri state winning

[01:00:01] the final three sets take that one from underneath the red hawks nose they sweep austin p three to

[01:00:08] nothing and then they drop their final contest on sunday against arkansas state zero two three

[01:00:13] as sam had teased earlier in the episode player of the week andy spies goes with 11 kills 38 assists

[01:00:19] 11 digs against simo um triple double the first one in program history absolutely um fantastic

[01:00:26] showing from her and again it was crucial in that simo game as as we were on the brink of

[01:00:31] going oh and four to start the year but with three straight um set victories gets us that

[01:00:35] first elusive win on the season so big congrats to andy and as young as she is as a freshman

[01:00:43] exciting to see what she's capable of doing um within the lady raiders program but it doesn't

[01:00:48] stop there upcoming um they will go to charleston i have that miss written there but they will

[01:00:53] go to charleston well they will uh college charleston is the host they will face utah tech

[01:00:58] and robert morris on friday with a 10 a.m and 4 p.m start time respectively and then they

[01:01:03] will face the host school college of charleston on saturday the 14th at 6 p.m at the time of this

[01:01:11] recording we've got golf currently in louisiana at the argent financial classic they are only two

[01:01:17] rounds down of three so this is as up to date as i can possibly get to you this tuesday morning

[01:01:21] the team is sitting at nine strokes over par which is good enough for tide for tenth and a very

[01:01:26] tight race of amongst 18 teams i believe they only have a few strokes if i'm not correct i'll

[01:01:32] look myself yeah they're only three strokes out of sixth place so a lot of a lot of movement that

[01:01:36] can happen within um this last third day that's going on today so keep your eyes peeled there

[01:01:41] especially on top man jj zimmer who's tied for fifth right now at four strokes under par

[01:01:46] also want to highlight tied for 44th the shelding mcnight and carter manneth both at four over

[01:01:51] marcus vargin is just one stroke off tied for 53rd at five over and owen queen are tied at

[01:01:57] 69th at seven strokes over again to keep you up to date for this upcoming weekend the men's golf

[01:02:03] team will be in syncing atty taking a part of the bearcat invitational that begins monday to tuesday

[01:02:09] so we'll also have to give you a little check in there as well as give you the final conclusion

[01:02:13] of this week's argent financial classic in louisiana similar situation down or excuse me up in

[01:02:21] lexington as the lady raiders golf team is taking part in coach wamsley's very first

[01:02:26] contest at the bedelieu evans invitational team had a very slow start in round one which has put them

[01:02:31] into ninth place out of 11 teams sitting at 37 strokes over par kindle maner is the lone bright

[01:02:38] spot as bright spot as she sits at tide for 20th at one stroke over par she had again a relatively

[01:02:44] slow round and round one but had a great excellent under par round in round two that's gotten her

[01:02:49] there in the top 20 lanie cambell at seven over par has her tied for 27th jillian bowman competing

[01:02:56] as an individual is it tied at 44th at 10 over young phenom elemanley had a much better second

[01:03:04] round compared to her first round puts her up and tied for 54th at 15 over par and then freshman

[01:03:09] caroline pardoo the pca product that tied for 57th at 16 over par is a part of her first collegiate

[01:03:14] rounds of golf and then tied for 57th along with pardoo is nicole johnson who is at 16 over par as

[01:03:21] well this upcoming weekend the lady raiders will be in louisville staying in kentucky with the cardinal

[01:03:27] cup that actually will begin on friday and conclude sunday so we will have a full recap of the bedelieu

[01:03:32] evans invitational as well as the cardinal cup in next week's edition of the raider wrap up

[01:03:38] men's and women's tennis both took part in their walley tidwell program to kick off their fall

[01:03:42] season um i have on the youtube version for those that are watching the visual presentation andrey

[01:03:47] whorek and berry owens are winners from the men's portion of it and then on the women's side we got

[01:03:52] caroline hawk karen adams cocaulance and gershawn steis so congratulations to those winners and a

[01:04:00] great send-off to both tennis programs as they start their season upcoming the men will

[01:04:05] actually be at home as they host the blue raider in fight and that will begin on friday

[01:04:10] and roll all the way to sunday and the women not going too far off they'll be in nashville as a part

[01:04:16] of the belmont lipscomb invitational also rolling from friday to sunday so i look forward to seeing

[01:04:21] those programs those teams with their new faces this upcoming fall as they kick that off this

[01:04:26] weekend and then finally the track and field team or i should say cross country team is back

[01:04:32] in action this weekend in huntsville alabama as a part of the southern showcase that is hosted

[01:04:36] by jackson bill state that will do it for the raider wrap-up portion of the episode i appreciate

[01:04:42] everyone for sticking around this long as i already teased keep your eyes peeled for next week as we

[01:04:47] will go over our reaction from the hundred miles of hate beginning with a newcomer to the show but

[01:04:53] not a newcomer to you blue raider fans will have chip walters on the show on a next tuesday to

[01:04:57] talk about western kentucky and the outcome of the hundred miles of hate as i already teased

[01:05:02] will have holden willis on to talk about his season his his final season here in murphy's burrow as he

[01:05:08] is a fixture on that offense as a as a receiving tight end and then lastly we will wrap things up

[01:05:13] and look ahead to another non-conference matchup with duke here in murphy's burrow we will have

[01:05:17] the bull city coordinators and another fellow partner with college huddle that is going to come

[01:05:22] on and talk about the blue devils game as well as talk to us a little bit about manny Diaz

[01:05:26] and what he brings to the table for the bulls there in Durham so exciting episode for you next week

[01:05:30] again thanks for tuning in don't forget to follow us on all of our showstools if you want to support

[01:05:35] the show the best way to do it is to check out our website as well as check out our merchandise

[01:05:38] website over at blue raider podcast dot com don't forget to like this video don't forget to subscribe

[01:05:43] wherever it is you're listening to on spotify apple or youtube and we will catch you again next

[01:05:49] week and until then go blue