Stan Norfleet and Chris Gordy of Next Up react to the Houston Texans trading for former Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Ben Skowronek. The Texans traded a 2026 sixth-round pick in exchange for Skowronek and a 2026 seventh-round pick. Skowronek is entering the last year of his contract and was expected to be released by the Rams, but instead, he will be joining Stefon Diggs, Nico Collins, Tank Dell, John Metchie III, Noah Brown and Xavier Hutchinson. With special teams value and blocking skills, will Skowronek have an impactful role on the Texans roster? The Texans have agreed to terms with six draft picks and many of them are reporting to rookie minicamp, taking the practice field Friday and Saturday.

On today's show, we discuss Hugh Freeze saying he "couldn't bring himself" to spend $1 million on a Transfer Portal QB, but is that the right approach? Are they better off spending on big time wide receivers to surround Payton Thorne, or should they have targeted a Cam Ward-type QB? We also tie this in LSU Coach Brian Kelly's comments earlier this week on "buying players", as well as Josh Heupel's comments on "bringing the right people inside the building." It's clear SEC coaches are being more selective when it comes to how much they're willing to spend on transfer portal players in this NIL-era. 

Also, we go Around The Conference as Texas adds a d-lineman in former Louisville DL Jermayne Lole, beating out Oklahoma for his services. Alabama adds Wake Forest DB DaShawn Jones to the mix in their secondary, along with their other transfers like Keon Sabb, Kam Howard and Domani Jackson. And Hugh Freeze says he is a big "believer" still in QB Payton Thorne. 

And who has the toughest Strength of Schedules in the SEC? Also, a few SEC hoops nuggets. 

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Stan Norfleet and Chris Gordy of Next Up discuss the Houston Astros losing four straight games after back-to-back defeats at the hands of the New York Yankees. Spencer Arrighetti started on the mound, pitching five innings in which he allowed five runs on eight hits and three walks. Kyle Tucker recorded another home run, but Alex Bregman has only two hits in his last 20 at-bats, and Yordan Alvarez went 0-5 at the plate last night in the 9-4 loss. Brian Bogusevic, former Astros outfielder and Space City Home Network analyst, joins to preview the Astros attempting to avoid a series sweep tonight with Ronel Blanco starting on the mound. Stan and Chris compare Joe Espada and Dusty Baker, react to J.J. Watt's latest comments about NFL and NBA players switching sports and more.

Brian Bogusevic, former Astros outfielder and Space City Home Network analyst, joins Next Up to recap the Houston Astros losing 9-4 on the road to the New York Yankees on Wednesday. The Astros lose back-to-back games at Yankee Stadium, extending their losing streak to four and drop to a 12-24 record. Spencer Arrighetti started on the mound, pitching five innings in which he allowed five runs on eights hits and three walks. Kyle Tucker recorded another home run, but Alex Bregman has only two hits in his last 20 at-bats and Yordan Alvarez went 0-5 at the plate last night. The biggest issue with the Astros is the "under-performance by players who should be doing better," Bogusevic said. As the Astros struggle early in the season, many have pointed blame towards first-year manager Joe Espada, but Bogusevic disagrees. "I don't see anything beyond a performance issue" from the players. "What would [another manager] come in and do?" J.P. France joined other starting pitchers on the injured list earlier in the week, but Cristian Javier is expected to return to the mound this weekend. If the Astros want to go on an extended-winning streak, "it probably starts with starting pitching."

Stan Norfleet and Chris Gordy of Next Up recap the Houston Astros losing 10-3 to the New York Yankees in the series opener Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. Ace Justin Verlander had one of the worst starts of his Astros career after previously holding a 2.08 ERA through his first three starts of the season. The Yankees earned seven runs and three home runs against Verlander. Kyle Tucker recorded a home run, but Alex Bregman continued to struggle, going 0-4 at the plate and dropping his average to .195. The Yankees extend their season series lead over the Astros following a four-game sweep to start the year in Houston. Stan and Chris react to J.P. France joining the starting pitchers on the injured list, evaluate general manager Dana Brown's grade of the Astros season so far, discuss the Texans after their division opponent Tennessee Titans got stronger by signing wide receiver Tyler Boyd and more.

Shane Beamer announced this week that LaNorris Sellers will be their QB1 heading into fall camp. Not a big surprise, but he did opt not to name a starter all throughout spring practice. What took so long to say that Sellers is ahead of Robby Ashford? We catch up with Jordan Kaye of The State newspaper in Columbia, as he was there when Beamer spoke on Monday. We also talk with Jordan about how the Gamecocks did in the transfer portal, and who could be the next big WR to step up for them.

We also go Around the Conference as Mississippi State adds Illinois d-lineman Anthony Johnson, Arkansas adds USF WR Khafre Brown, BYU d-lineman Danny Saili, AND former MLB outfielder Monte Harrison as a walk-on. Auburn adds o-line depth in Akron's Ronan Chambers, while they lose out on a football commit. And Kentucky adds a QB in Gavin Wimsatt from Rutgers.

Also, Joel Klatt released his Post-Top 25 Spring Rankings, and he doesn't have an SEC team at #1. We run through which SEC teams he does have ranked in his Top 25, including the soon-to-be newest additions in Texas and Oklahoma. 

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On today's Crawford Boxcast, Gordy and Ross discuss the Astros seemed to be turning the corner last week, but blew a late lead again on Sunday, costing them a series win over the Mariners. Why can't they just put it all together?

The guys run through some of the offensive stats that seem like an anomaly, and whether some of these performances will continue all season long. Can Bregman turn it around? Should Caratini be catching more to spell Yainer Diaz?

And the guys pose the question - how much is new Manager Joe Espada to blame for the 12-22 start to the season? And should GM Dana Brown consider being a seller at the trade deadline? 

Stan Norfleet and Chris Gordy of Next Up react to former Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt leaving the door open for a possible return to the NFL. At his annual charity softball game, Watt shared that he told head coach DeMeco Ryans that "if you ever do call, I'll be there" if the Texans "absolutely need it." Ryans responded at the Texans charity golf event, saying "I've got his number ready to go, just in case we need it." Are Watt and Ryans serious, or is it just a bit between former teammates? The Astros lost their three-game series against the Seattle Mariners 2-1 at Minute Maid Park. The back of the bullpen continued to struggle in a 5-4 loss on Sunday, leading to eight blown saves this season and a 12-22 record. The Astros are on the road for a three-game series against the Yankees starting Tuesday. Stan and Chris review the latest updates on Tank Dell's injury, sympathize with Stefon Diggs' trouble navigating Houston highways, celebrate Lance McCullers Jr. throwing bullpen and more.

On today's show, we catch up with Oklahoma Sooners WR Nic Anderson who is coming off of a breakout redshirt freshman season where he recorded 798 receiving yards and a freshman school record for touchdown catches with ten. We talk with Nic about how the Sooners spring practices went, and what he's seen from QB Jackson Arnold as he takes over as the next big QB in Norman.  

Anderson also talks about the addition of WR Deion Burks to the offense, as well as the new pieces to the offensive line. And we touch on the defense which looks to be loaded once again with guys like Danny Stutsman and Billy Bowman returning, along with some big pieces on the defensive line. And we get Nic's thoughts on his head coach Brent Venables.  

We also touch on the Sooners coming to the SEC, we ask Nic how excited folks in Norman are to join the best conference in the country, and getting to visit places they haven't visited in a while like Auburn, Ole Miss, Mizzou and LSU. And we ask Nic what he does in his spare time when he's not playing football. 

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