When it comes to playing good defense, or at least a defense that lives up to the Alabama standard, it is all predicated on stopping the run. And not only stopping the run between the 20s but also getting short yardage and goal-to-go stops that can get your defense off of the field.
Alabama has struggled in such situations over the past couple of seasons and a lot of that has to do with the play of defensive line. Crimson Tide head coach [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag] has made it clear that Alabama wants to be a more physical football team and that doesn’t just mean on the offensive side of the ball. If this team wants to achieve the ultimate goal, the defense, most notably the defensive line, must be more physical.
Following Alabama’s first scrimmage of fall camp, Saban mentioned that he wanted to build more consistent depth along the defensive line.
“I think we have five or six guys that are playing pretty well. Again, same old thing, we need more people to be able to go out there and play consistently, the way you need to play to play winning football, because that’s probably not enough. But Jaheim (Oatis) has had a really really good camp. Justin (Eboigbe) has had a really good camp so far. We’re trying to bring some of the other guys along to be able to play. Tim (Smith) is a little up and down, he needs to be more consistent. So everybody’s got something that they can work on and that’s really what we’re focused on right now.”
With the reports following the Tide’s second scrimmage from this past Saturday, it appears one guy has really made some moves this fall in the defensive line room, redshirt sophomore [autotag]Tim Keenan[/autotag].
At 6-foot-2 and 315 pounds, Keenan is a prototypical nose tackle for Alabama’s three-down defensive line and his emergence couldn’t have come at a better time.
What Keenan’s arrival to the starting lineup allows is for [autotag]Jaheim Oatis[/autotag] to move outside and give the Tide’s defensive front move beef in its base package. Keenan is a space-eater who does a good job of shedding blocks and stuffing the run and we are all aware of the type of talent that Oatis has on the defensive front.
Keenan may not fill up the stat sheet in 2023, but his presence in short-yardage situations will be felt and may just be what the doctor ordered for a more physical defensive front for the Tide.
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