With the Tide finishing off LSU last weekend, the hype is starting to build in Tuscaloosa again. That said, Vanderbilt looms, and while the Commodores are a far cry from the threat they posed the last couple of years with Diego Pavia, there’s still plenty of bad taste left in the mouth of the Alabama program. Kicking off the week, we have our usual round up of press conferences from the coaches:
“I’ll give you guys the first line in the offensive staff meeting: I said no media line bullshit, but we
got to focus more on the run game, and it’s got to get fixed,” he said. “We had such a good groove happening, and I thought LSU took us out of a couple things that we had early in the football game. We popped a couple runs early and got behind the sticks. Too many third and longs, too many second and longs.
“I think for us, one of the huge focuses is how do we get the run game back and what do we got to do to get the ball in the right people’s hands.”
Alabama freshman Trae’shawn Brown started at running back, running 11 times for 35 yards. Daniel Hill added 15 yards on five carries, while Kevin Riley was the only other running back to receive a snap, playing one.
Sophomore AK Dear and freshman EJ Crowell were both listed as questionable on the availability report during the week before being upgraded and cleared to play Saturday. Both were in uniform for pregame warmups, with Crowell wearing a brace over his left knee, but neither played in the game.
“They got to get healthy,” Grubb said. “They got to get healthy. It sucks. I’d love to give EJ the ball 32 times a game, but we just got to get him healthy, man. My heart breaks for both those kids because they’re tough as nails. They’ve got to go through it. They work their asses off every week to get back on the field, and we’re hoping. We hope every week.
“I know, again, those guys are working so hard to get back out there. They’ve done a good job with staying on the preparation, doing their homework, doing the walk throughs, doing everything they’re supposed to do. EJ tried to give it a go before the game, and had the brace on, and just really wasn’t capable of doing that. We’re hopeful and obviously we’re lucky they’re not season-ending injuries or anything like that, and they’re just working to get healthy.”
Grubb gave us plenty of good quotables this week, but the part that got the most time in airwaves was his talking about the run game. For my part, I have no issues with the way Grubb called this game (and I’ve had plenty of issues with Grubb in the past). I liked how they approached the gameplan to keep things conservative early, then as Keelon Russell seemed to get more settled in, he leaned further into the pass to go and get that lead.
I’d like to see more success rushing, of course, but even though the yards weren’t great, they also avoided negative rushing plays. And 3rd and 4 is sooooo much better than 3rd and 11.
Next, Kane Wommack gave us a 15-minute presser this time around, if you’re so inclined.
Wommack talked some about this being a massive shift in schematic approach between the LSU and the Vanderbilt offense, so I’m interested to see how he approaches that. It sounds like that Vandy game in 2024 still bothers him more than about anything else from his tenure.
“That game obviously had a major impact on me,” Wommack said.
Alabama’s previous trip to Vanderbilt came one week after beating Georgia and climbing to No. 1 in the country. The unranked Commodores handed the Crimson Tide a shocking 40-35 loss, their first victory in the series since 1984.
Wommack says what went wrong started with an urgency Alabama failed to carry into the matchup.
“We came off of a big win. I think we went up there two years ago, and we didn’t have enough guys on the sideline that had the same sense of urgency that you have to have in every single SEC game,” Wommack said.
He said the block serves as a reminder of how relentless Alabama must remain in its preparation. The staff has drawn from that experience numerous times since the loss, using it to reinforce the standard required to win games in conference play.
Now Alabama has another significant road victory behind and another week to show it can reset.
Next up, Kalen DeBoer:
DeBoer on Zabien Brown, William Sanders’ statuses…
“Zabien has got the lower-extremity injury. Got some snaps, and I think any snaps that we could get out of him on the weekend was gonna be a positive. Obviously, he’s on the football field, first of all, and I think that’s impactful. His presence, and then I think also, just the number of snaps that took off some of the other guys. So, I think he’s coming along, day-to-day. He played last week, and really didn’t feel like there was a setback. It was just gonna be limited on what he could give us. He pushed it as far as we felt he could push himself. So, getting him back this week is something I would expect. Just keep progressing.“And then William Sanders, we feel good about his progress. It’s been a quick turnaround for him. Realistically, knew that it would be really hard to get him on the football field. Went through warmups, and then we knew he wouldn’t be a starter, but we were trying to figure out if in an emergency role, if that could happen. So, we’ll keep progressing, but we need some improvements this week to get to where he can go out there and be competitive to the level we need him.”
DeBoer on balancing Keelon Russell’s health vs. progress…
“We gotta keep moving and winning and playing our best football. So, you’re weighing how he feels, what the medical staff says as far as — we never want to hurt him, and we will never do that. But he’s gotta go out there and obviously be able to play at the level that can help us win. So, we got a lot of confidence if we had to move to Austin [Mack] at some point. But he’s day-to-day. I mean, he continued to finish off the game. And so, that’s a good sign right there. I mean, this kid’s a really tough kid.“And he’s had other things that have popped up in games where he’s played through it. You guys have seen probably that, too, when you’re really paying close attention. And he stays out on the football field, keeps doing his thing. So, for him to play at the level he played at, getting dinged up a little bit, is impressive in itself. I’d expect him to do everything he can to get on the football field. And we’re never gonna put him in an area of safety where that’s a concern.”
Continuing to play without Zabien Brown has been one of the least-talked about aspects of Alabama’s team this season. He’s one of the best corners in the country, and without him, the defensive scheme has shifted to pushing their corners further and further back the last few weeks.
Seriously, think about where Alabama was during the Tennessee game: They were missing Zabien Brown and Ryan Coleman-Williams – both team captains, both All-Americans, and both considered the Tide’s top two NFL draft picks. They were also missing Terrance Green and Racin Delgatty, the two players most central on the line of scrimmage on every play. It’s been a tough stretch for the Tide, and I think it hasn’t gotten enough media attention as they’ve had some midseason struggles.
We’ll be previewing Vandy more later this week, but it looks like Clark Lea is tinkering with their roster a bit ahead of the Bama game.
NASHVILLE-Vanderbilt has made a number of notable moves on its depth chart prior to its Tuesday matchup with Alabama.
Highly-regarded freshman offensive lineman Mitchell Smith is listed as Vanderbilt’s starter at strong guard and former Vanderbilt safety Dontae Carter is now listed at cornerback-as the second teamer behind another converted corner in Davin Chandler. Vanderbilt also moved Martel Hight-a cornerback by trade-to wide receiver full time. He’s listed as a second-team receiver behind Old Dominion transfer Ja’Cory Thomas.
Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea liked what he saw from Smith early on when Smith played tight end in Vanderbilt’s jumbo packages. His stock appeared to be rising before an injury prevented him from being on the field for a few weeks midseason. Vanderbilt likes Smith’s long-term outlook, though, and appears to be investing in him long term by throwing him to the fire. Lea declared Monday that Vanderbilt still believes in former starter Orion Irving and it appears as if it still plans to utilize him.
“Mitchell gives us a physical edge, obviously he’s a freshman, it’s a lot to take on to start in the SEC and the offensive line,” Lea said, “But, we love what he brings with his physicality and his demeanor and his attitude, and so he’s earned the right to be out there.”
I’m not sure if this makes me excited or nervous. Lea is definitely trying to make some shakeups to get some fresh juice.
If you (like me) still enjoy keeping up with what BCS rankings would have been, CBS Sports put together the list for you… And Alabama is 6th.
6. Alabama
BCS score: 0.7878
Alabama’s viewed more favorably by the selection committee than the computers suggest, and that’s only going to be enhanced Tuesday night following the Crimson Tide’s statement victory at LSU. This team is hitting its stride down the stretch after losing two games last month in SEC play and only has to deal with Vanderbilt, Chattanooga, and Auburn before an appearance in the SEC Championship — the last of its kind with the CFP moving to 24 teams in 2027.
Next up, here’s this week’s film study from Brooks Austin if you’re interested in some fresh Alabama hype.
Finally, here’s the SEC Shorts for this week. Enjoy!
