Alabama secondary facing 'heavy task' against LSU passing game
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama is coming off its second and final bye week, and the open date allowed the team's younger cornerbacks a chance to take a breath and get back to basics.
Co-defensive coordinator Maurice Linguist said his position group spent time last week focusing on fundamentals, scheme and technique before a pivotal matchup with LSU this Saturday.
"You can kind of go an inch wide and a mile deep into, hey, let's go back and look at how our technique has evolved from spring to summer to our first (five) games now in SEC play," Linguist said. And I think those things are helpful for younger players.
"Especially in these younger, formative years that they have in terms of how they're developing and how they're growing and the one-on-one time. Always establishing trust, building relationships, opening lines of communication, checking on the mental space of guys."
"All those things can kind of give you a breath of fresh air when you have that bye week. And guys getting away a little bit and giving themselves some space and then kind of regrouping a little bit and coming in energized and really ready to attack the last piece of this thing in SEC play."
Alabama's defense has been steadily trending up since its loss at Vanderbilt on Oct. 5. It went from a game in which it couldn't get off the field, allowing the Commodores to convert 12 of their 18 third-down attempts, to shutting out Missouri, 34-0, in its final game in October.
In the win over the Tigers, the Crimson Tide held the opposition to 72 passing yards, the fewest against an Alabama defense since 2017 (Tennessee, 44). The defense had a big game the last time out, but can it carry that momentum over to this week's road game with LSU?
"I think you're always as good as your last game, your last day, your last people," Linguist said. "We can certainly learn from things in the past and apply them for future reference. But we know that this is a one-week season, it's a one-week game. I think one moment is probably not enough volume of information to tell the story of any one team.
"This is a very capable and really, really good football team at LSU. We know they move the ball. They have the stats. They have the numbers. The film tells the story. They have playmakers on the outside. They've got a a really live and able quarterback. And they have an experienced coaching staff.
"So we understand what we're up against. We understand going on the road to Baton Rouge, what it's gonna take. And we're just preparing throughout the week and putting ourselves in the right mental space, the right physical space and taking ourselves on the road to see what it's gonna take to go win on the road."
LSU's offense is one of the in the country in terms of passing. The Tigers average 332.8 yards per game, which ranks sixth amongst all FBS teams. Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier fuels the aerial attack, but he has some talented weapons around him. Wide receivers Kyren Lacy Aaron Anderson have combined for over 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns.
LSU lost two first-round wide receivers to the NFL, but Lacy, Anderson and others have stepped up to keep the passing game rolling this fall. Ranked sixth in the SEC in passing defense (193.3 ypg), Alabama knows it is in for a challenge on the back end in Baton Rouge.
"They've thrown for over 330 yards a game," Linguist said. "You see what they're doing in conference play. They rely on their quarterback, Nussmeier. He's got a live arm, 20 touchdown passes, and he's really spreading the field. They can throw it horizontally. They can throw it vertically. They understand the spacing and the timing of the pass game. I think they're down to the details of how they want to move the ball with the quarterback's arm.
"And when the game's on the line, you look at South Carolina, you look at Ole Miss ... those games, the quarterback and the receivers had to make plays in the fourth quarter to win the game, and they did those things. So we understand we've got a heavy task in front of us.
"The volume of throw game that they have and the amount of yards that they're throwing for, we've gotta put a really good plan together to put ourselves in a position to go out there on the road at LSU. We all know what those night games are like and what it's gonna take to go come up with a W on the road."
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