Hello and Roll Tide!

On Saturday Alabama defeated Mississippi State 56-23. The early kickoff did not slow Alabama down as they rained points on the Bulldogs all afternoon. Keelon Russell was the shining star in the highly anticipated quarterback duel. Alabama’s defense made Kamario Taylor look elementary, forcing several errors. Alabama has now scored 45+ points in all 5 contests to start the season. 5-0 is the best start of Kalen DeBoer’s tenure as this team appears to be the most talented yet. Below are injury updates, depth notes, a week 5 recap, and week 5 storylines revisited. Let’s go!

Injury Updates:

  • Jayvin James was OUT so Tyrell Miller started at Right Tackle. James remains QUESTIONABLE
  • Justin Hill and Dez Zulu missed the Miss State game and will likely be out a few more weeks
  • Red Morgan exited after the first series and was replaced by Chuck McDonald. He later returned to action

Depth Notes:

  • Trae’shawn Brown led all running backs with 28 snaps (46%)
  • Derek Meadows recorded a season high 26 snaps at wide receiver
  • Devan Thompkins started at BANDIT once again and was primarily backed up by Fatutoa Henry
  • Xavier Griffin played 42 snaps at inside linebacker alongside Caleb Woodson (46) and Luke Metz (46)

Week 5 Recap: Mississippi State

Offense: Alabama exploded on offense yet again, scoring 56 points against Miss State. Keelon Russell captured national attention, out-dueling Kamario Taylor. Russell completed 16 passes for 285 yards with 3 touchdowns. He also added 16 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown. Keelon spread the ball out; six receivers had 2 or more catches. Lotzeir Brooks led the group with 96 yards, including one monster gain of 50-yards. Once again, the deep ball was working for Keelon. His most impressive throw came on 3rd & 19 late in the 1st quarter. Miss State only rushed 3, giving him time to step up in the pocket and deliver a dart 39-yards downfield to Lotzeir Brooks’ back shoulder. Keelon also found Rico Scott 4 times for 56 yards and two touchdowns. Scott’s second touchdown was another perfectly placed, back-shoulder pass in the endzone for a 13-yard score. Keelon also found the tight ends for big plays: Kaleb Edwards slipped by defenders early in the 3rd on a deep over route for 32-yards; Marshall Pritchett ran a fade toward the sideline where Keelon found him, then Marshall hurdled a defender on his way to a 32-yard gain. The running game complimented the offense as running backs carried the ball 26 times for 159 yards (6.1 avg). Trae’shawn Brown handled over half of the carries, rushing 14 times for 66 yards with 2 touchdowns. He really stood out as the lead back on Saturday. Trae’shawn’s has the patience and vision to find open lanes, and the breakout speed to fly through them. Fellow freshman EJ Crowell is explosive when he gets opportunities, rushing 3 times for 49 yards. In the 4th quarter, Crowell took a jet sweep left and broke 5 tackles on his way to a 37-yard gain. None of this could have happened without the fantastic effort of the offensive line. The line and tight end group are hungry for hits, delivering pancakes all over the field. Tight ends have been laying out defenders larger than them and offensive linemen hit smaller men on the second level. These units are completely bought into Adrian Klemm and Richar Owens’ visions for these positions.

Defense: Bama’s defense delivered some big punches on Saturday, recording 5 sacks and forcing 4 turnovers. Kamario Taylor dropped the ball on the first possession and #99 London Simmons jumped on it. The very next possession, #1 Devan Thompkins pressured Taylor, who rolled left and threw a laser to the sideline that Dijon Lee jumped in front of and returned for a 30-yard pick-6. Kamario did not have much time to operate as the Tide continually pressured him all game long. The combination of Thompkins, Greene, Bingley-Jones, and Simmons on the defensive line are a handful for opposing linemen. The group combined for 2.5 sacks and 4 tackles for a loss. A breakout star for the game was freshman Xavier Griffin. Griffin played a career high 42 snaps at inside linebacker. Griffin’s main task on Saturday was to spy Kamario Taylor and he took advantage of the opportunities. Griffin led the Tide with 9 tackles and recorded his first career sack. His blitz instinct may earn him more snaps at WOLF in the future. Luke Metz recorded 7 tackles, fitting the running lanes well and spying Kamario effectively. The secondary was busy as Miss State attempted 40 passes vs 22 rushing attempts. In the 2nd quarter, Zabien Brown forced a fumble and recovered it. Red Morgan recorded a skillful sack, delaying a corner blitz and sprinting inside, beating his defender. Early in the 2nd quarter, Dijon Lee let a defender slip past him on a quick screen for a touchdown. Later in the 2nd, Lee used the mistake, and delivered a huge hit on an MSU receiver waiting for a screen pass. The Tide have struggled with WR1’s. Anthony Evans had 12 catches for 166 yards and 2 touchdowns against them. Alabama continues to allow a few too many big plays, but the defense has been more than effective to help a red-hot offense.

Special Teams: Dijon Lee was up and down on special teams, both muffing a punt and returning a kickoff 47-yards. Conor Talty did make a 42-yard kick, but it did not count after Alabama accepted a running into the kicker penalty. Alex Aparuhov punted twice averaging 39 yards per punt. Both pinned Miss State inside the 20-yard line.

Week 5 Storylines Revisited:

Shoot First – Alabama shot first and second! The Tide offense took advantage of a turnover immediately with a score, then returned an interception for a touchdown, taking a quick 14-point lead. Alabama continued to score 14 points every quarter, and Miss State was unable to recover. Miss State’s offense is explosive enough that Alabama could not take their foot off the breaks, and they did not. This was another very convincing offensive showcase by Alabama.

Suffocate the run to close off the pass – Mississippi State was unable to run the ball against the Tide. Alabama limited Miss State to 18 yards on 30 carries. Miss State’s inability to run the ball forced them into obvious passing situations which Alabama took advantage of. Kane Wommack had the perfect game plan for the Bulldogs, taking away their strengths.

Weather the Storm - Weather did not become a factor in this game.

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Roll Tide -Jake