Hello and Roll Tide!

Alabama defeated the Vanderbilt Commodores 30-14 on Saturday. The Tide got revenge from a season ago and improved to 2-0 in conference play. The defense was improved defending the run and the offense continues to be lethal. Below are injury updates, depth notes, a week 6 recap, and week 6 storylines revisited. Let’s go!

Injury Update:

  • Qua Russaw and Jah-Marien Latham did not play against Vanderbilt
  • Jalen Hale was available in this game, but did not record any snaps

Depth Notes:

  • Jaeden Roberts did not record any snaps along the offensive line
  • Danny Lewis was second among Tight Ends with 21 snaps
  • Jordan Renaud was the exclusive backup to LT Overton at BANDIT
  • Yhonzae Pierre and Justin Hill were the only two WOLFs who received snaps
  • Nikhai Hill-Green lined up at WOLF when Vanderbilt had larger sets
  • Dijon Lee played 31 snaps at corner
  • Lotzier Brooks is the primary Kick Returner

Week 6 Recap: Vanderbilt Commodores

Offense: Alabama opened the game with an interception and missed field goal before scoring on 6 of their last 7 drives. Ty threw his first interception of the season on a 4th and 1 play just outside of the Vandy red zone. Grubb got aggressive and called a shot play and Ty’s ball was not accurate. After that blemish, Ty finished the game strong completing 23 passes for 340 yards and 2 touchdowns. His supporting cast was great: Ryan Williams caught 6 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown; Germie Bernard caught 5 passes for 82 yards and a touchdown; Isaiah Horton caught 4 passes for 66 yards; Josh Cuevas caught 3 passes for 35 yards. Ty was distributing the ball evenly to whomever was open. The sideline was open as Vanderbilt primarily ran a Cover-2 defense. Alabama’s rushing attack was strong, led by Jam Miller. Jam rushed 22 times for 136 yards and a touchdown. He had several explosive runs that resulted in a first down. Both the run blocking and pass blocking was very effective. Grubb often pulled guards in the run game opening lanes for Jam. This Alabama offense was confident and effective. They converted 7 of 15 third down conversions and 2 of 3 fourth downs.

Defense: The defense started slow, showing remnants from last season’s loss. Alabama game up a 65-yard touchdown in the 1st quarter as Bray Hubbard and Domani Jackson incorrectly played run-gaps. Then later in the 1st, Zabien Brown missed his responsibility leading to a 36-yard rush by Pavia. It was looking disastrous until Justin Jefferson forced a fumble in the red zone, preventing Vanderbilt from increasing their lead to 2 scores. Alabama did not allow Vanderbilt to score in the second half, highlighted by Keon Sabb’s red zone interception in the 4th quarter. Last season Alabama lost the turnover battle but on Saturday, the Tide won the margin 2 to 1. Alabama figured out how to stop the run, led by Justin Jefferson. Justin recorded 14 tackles with 1 sack and a tackle for a loss. Kane Wommack went with a bigger package as the three middle linebackers played a lot of snaps together. Hill-Green and Deontae Lawson took snaps at WOLF to set the edge. Dijon Lee was effective, rotating at cornerback. He had a pass deflection and was very physical in catch contests. Kane Wommack had these guys playing with high effort and made great adjustments to squash Vanderbilt’s offense in the second half.

Special Teams: Alabama’s Special Teams left room for improvement on Saturday night. Conor Talty missed a 47-yard field goal early in the contest. He did make 3 others; however, all were within 40-yards. Blake Doud had one punt attempt that traveled only 30 yards. Alabama’s kicking situation seems to be limited, likely leading to more 4th down attempts moving forward.

Week 6 Storylines Revisited

Can Bama stop the run?: Alabama allowed 113 rushing yards in the first quarter but only 23 rushing yards after that. The D-Line plugged gaps up the middle while the linebackers and secondary shut down the edge. Vanderbilt continued to find themselves in passing downs as they were unable to generate any 1st or 2nd down runs. Tim Keenan’s return to the defensive line has sparked the team. Young linemen Edrick Hill and London Simmons were effective alongside Keenan and James Smith. Justin Jefferson did a great job in the run game as all three middle linebackers were heavily involved.

Will the O-line carousel keep turning?: Ryan Grubb did continue to rotate the offensive line with one surprising snub; Jaedon Roberts did not play. As expected, Kadyn Proctor and Parker Brailsford took every snap. Wilkin Formby and Michael Carroll split reps at right tackle; Geno VanDeMark, Kam Dewberry, William Sanders, and Wilkin Formby all took snaps at guard. Notably, William Sanders out-snapped Kam Dewberry at guard. The run game was very effective and Ty was relatively comfortable in the pocket. Formby did get beat and allowed a sack while lining up at Right Guard. Otherwise, this unit continues to be effective regardless of who’s out there.

Can Ty stay Red-Hot?: Ty had another great performance leading the Alabama offense. Ty did throw his first interception of the season, although it came on 4th down so he had to force it. It seemed like a shot play with only one option. Otherwise, Ty continues to impress with his accuracy. Vanderbilt primarily ran a Cover-2 and Ty was able to dice them up along the sideline. Ty had a huge play to Horton for 35-yards on a ball that perfectly split the corner and safety. Similarly, his TD pass to Germie Bernard before the half was placed on a dime. He hit Germie in stride, allowing him to reach the endzone. Ty’s mobility is another asset of his. On his first touchdown pass to Ryan Williams, Ty rolled out, made a defender miss, then stepped up delivering a dart to Ryan in the endzone. Ty has been great since the FSU start and is gathering a lot of national attention.

As always, if you know anyone interested in joining the newsletter, send their info my way. Roll Tide! -Jake