The Alabama defense has been fantastic for four games. However, the next set of offenses the Crimson Tide will have to defend has one specific threat that the Tide has yet to face: a mobile quarterback.
Starting with KJ Jefferson and No. 20 Arkansas this Saturday — and finally Tennessee’s Herndon Hooker in two weeks and LSU’s Jayden Daniels and Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart in November, all of whom average 5.0-plus yards — No. 2 Alabama’s lead unit will have to demonstrate that it can contain a double threat quarterback.
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“Basically just being smart in our rush lanes, rushing together as a unit. We’re not trying to give him any jobs or creases from which he can escape in the bag,” said defensive lineman DJ Dale.
Linebacker Henry To’oTo’o repeated a similar point on Monday. He’s excited for the rematch against Jefferson. Last year, Jefferson recorded nearly 300 yards violation at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
In 2022, Jefferson enters Week 5 as the leading rusher among Southeastern Conference quarterbacks and Raheim Sanders (top in the SEC with 508 rushing yards) in the backfield alongside him. Razorbacks offensive coordinator Kendal Briles has called designed goalkeepers for Jefferson, but has also relied on the redshirt junior’s decision making to determine when to rush passes.
“He throws the ball so well,” To’oTo’o said, “he creates so many (sic) problems for the opponent’s defense that you have to prepare for going in and out for all four quarters. … We are ready for the challenge.”
The offensive strength of Arkansas matches the defense of Alabama. The Razorbacks averaged 243.8 yards per game on the ground, while the Tide limited offenses to 1.8 yards per attempt.
Alabama has a few options to avoid a Jefferson big game. The Tide could use To’oTo’o as a spy, but that opens up space for game action in which, as Saban noted, Arkansas thrives. It could deploy a man-to-man defense and force Jefferson to be one-dimensional with an extra rusher, but that would pressure the Alabama cornerbacks to constantly follow the Razorbacks’ receivers should Jefferson break the sack.
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The only hurried threat from an Alabama quarterback who had to stop in the game was Texas backup Hudson Card, albeit only to a limited extent. Card replaced the heavily armed Quinn Ewers and started limping midway through the 20-19 thriller. So their strategy required the Longhorns to “adjust on the fly to protect (Card).” He finished with eight yards on six attempts.
However, when Card ran, he was successful. He converted a few first-downs using his legs on plays meant to pass the ball. On a 2nd and 19, Card stepped into the pocket and bounced out 20 yards. That win ended near where Nick Saban was on the Alabama sidelines and after the head coach shuffled away, his face twisted in a grimace as he pleaded with his defenders.
Coming opponents, starting with Jefferson, will see if Alabama can stop the scramblers, but also defend against a strong arm. He has 941 yards and completed 69.1% of his passes with eight touchdowns to one interception.
“A big, strong guy, hard to tackle, hard to fire, hard to get on the ground, can push the pile and run people over when he’s doing quarterback runs,” Saban said of Jefferson. “…But you can’t minimize the effectiveness of this guy as a passer. He’s really really good. He’s got a strong arm. Throws the deep ball well and they make a lot of explosive moves.”
Vanderbilt could have used a quarterback in Mike Wright, but started freshman AJ Swann instead. Before The Tide hosted the Commodores, the Tide used its backup, Jalen Milroe, to see what it might face.
Milroe will probably get some more work with the scout team through this part of the schedule.
“Everyone has to do their job and fit well,” said Saban. “We’ve done quite well so far. The challenges in this week’s game will be much bigger than anything we’ve dealt with so far because they have a really good plan, a lot of quarterback runs are involved. ”
Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email it to NAlvarez@al.com
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