terrion arnold

Previously: Alabama Offense 

While 'Bama's offense has had its ups-and-downs, the 'Bama defense has been a rock solid unit all season long. Boasting a hyper talented, NFL-ready secondary, the Crimson Tide have SP+'s #9 defense in the country. There are some weaknesses in the middle compared to past years, but the pass rush and secondary is legit and there's plenty to be frightened of here: 

The Film: We're sticking with the Georgia-Alabama tape for the defensive charting as well. Most recent game, a good performance for the defense, and it came against a high-level offense. Checks all the boxes. I will use some tape and reference observations while reviewing film from the other Alabama games this season, including Ole Miss, LSU, Tennessee, Texas, and Auburn as well. 

Personnel: Click for big. 

Alabama's defensive line is headlined by its superstar EDGE talent, although we should point out that their two blue chip rushers don't play together all that much. Alabama tends to go with two DTs and their beefy SDE on standard downs, with only one of the two star rushers on the field. Only on passing downs do you see the SDE kick inside and be replaced on the perimeter by the other rusher. The two rushers that trade places as the stand-up EDGE are Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell. Both are starred on the diagram, though Turner gets the shield because he is projected for the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, while Braswell is more thought of as 2nd round range. Both are expert pass rushers and PFF doesn't differentiate much between their rushing abilities (89.8 vs. 88.6), nor could I find a difference in my review. Both are terrors I would like to see suiting up for the Detroit Lions in the near future. 

The rest of the DL is much less flashy, and it's the DT spot where you see arguably the biggest departure from the typical Alabama team. The foursome of Tim Keenan III, Tim Smith, Jaheim Oatis, and Damon Payne Jr. are all solid players but Alabama doesn't quite have that level of terrifying DT talent that they normally do. None are cyan'd, but none are starred either. Merely decent. The SDE that is nearly DT-sized is 292 lb. Justin Eboigbe, who I don't think has much rushing juice but is a good run defender from the outside and is comfortable moving inside on passing downs. He came close to a star, but ultimately fell short. Reserves on the edges include Quandarrius Robinson, who is occasionally spelling Braswell/Turner, and Jah-Marien Latham, who backs up Eboigbe. 

The linebacker position is rather ho-hum, a primarily three-man rotation of Deontae Lawson, Jihaad Campbell, and Trezmen Marshall. Lawson and Marshall were the nominal starters most of the season but Campbell has moved to take on the title of starter over Marshall late in the year. Campbell is their best coverage LB, an area the other two struggle, while Lawson is their best blitzer. They have varied skillsets and each are capable of making plays, but also being exploited in the right matchups. This positional group, like DT, is a bit of a step down from the usual Nick Saban defense. 

What is not a departure from the Saban standard is the secondary, where Alabama boasts the best cornerback tandem in college football. Kool-Aid McKinstry was a true freshman starter at CB on Alabama's 2021 national championship team and was immediately placed on NFL Draft radars, where he has stayed ever since. As expected, Kool-Aid will be a first round pick in 2024 and he's joined on the outside by Terrion Arnold, who has played very well this season too. I think Kool-Aid is a bit better than Arnold, with Arnold being the one more often targeted by opposing defenses, but the 6'0" Arnold has worked his way into the back-end of 1st round projections due to his play this season. If either outside corner has to miss a play, Trey Amos comes on in relief. He played a bit against Georgia and I honestly felt there was no visible drop-off from the starters. 

At safety, Alabama is rolling out starters at the opposite ends of the experience spectrum with 6th year Jaylen Key, a UAB transfer, starting next to mega-5* Caleb Downs, who is a true freshman. Downs has played exceptionally well this season and earns a star from me, impressive for a Tr Fr safety. Key I was less impressed with but I don't have anything particularly negative to say about him either. The DB starters as a whole log the most snaps on the defense, so there is little room for reserves, but next man up at S is Kristian Story, who splits Downs and Key in the middle in experience as a RS Jr. The HSP/nickel, which 'Bama calls the "STAR", is Malachi Moore. A fourth year player, Moore is both a figurative and literal star, excellent as a run defender and in coverage. This secondary has no real weakness and boatloads of NFL talent. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: how they do damage]