Inside Look at How Alabama Shut Down Leonard Fournette

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Geno Matias-Smith, Marlon Humphrey and Dillon Lee.

It reads somewhere between an international law firm and a gang of Old West outlaws but perhaps best explains how the University of Alabama football team stonewalled Leonard Fournette on Saturday night.

Coming in, the LSU running back was thought to be a sure thing for the Heisman Trophy, averaging 193.1 rushing yards per game while the Tigers’ 309.1 team average topped the Southeastern Conference by almost 100 yards.

Of course, that was before playing Alabama, which dominated at Bryant-Denny Stadium, 30-16. Matias-Smith, a senior free safety, dropped Fournette on his initial carry after just two yards, Humphrey nailed him after a one-yard gain on his first attempt of the second quarter and Lee stopped him in the backfield to set the tone for the second half. 

“Oh, I’m very impressed, especially with Marlon because of how small and skinny he is,” senior linebacker Reggie Ragland said with a laugh about the redshirt freshman cornerback. “No, I knew Geno could hit like that because I’ve seen him do it. I’ve never really seen Marlon do it until then.

“I know Marlon’s got the capability of it, and if he misses tackles now we’re going to be on him.”

Although Alabama’s defensive front seven was swarming all night long, it wasn’t alone, as even the players who weren’t known for their run-stopping prowess flexed their muscles and made big stops as well.

With Fournette limited to 19 carries for 31 rushing yards, 14 different Crimson Tide players were in on a tackle of the running back, including 10 solo stops. Fournette didn’t break any tackles and was brought down five times for a loss, the biggest being five yards when junior safety Eddie Jackson chased him down.

Of the 19, 14 of his carries failed to net more than two yards, and of the remaining five, all but one resulted in three- or four-yard gains.

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

“The front seven did a really good job in the running game,” said head coach Nick Saban. “I always get a good feeling in a game when they run that first zone extra and they don’t get anything. That’s when the nose [guard] flatheads the center, and the 5-technique knocks the guy back and the linebacker fills. That’s their bread and butter. So to be able to control that with our front seven was really good, and those guys did a great job.” 

In addition to giving hardly any ground, senior defensive lineman Jarran Reed was credited with one solo tackle and four assisted tackles in the game, all of Fournette. Two of junior defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson’s three solo stops were of the running back.

But in addition to winning the one-on-one battles, Alabama soundly controlled the gaps and did not allow Fournette space. In other words, the few times he did find a hole, it was quickly filled.

Maybe the only time it wasn’t, Fournette’s 18-yard run in the fourth quarter, Saban said the secondary made the wrong read and didn’t provide run support.

Name	Pos.	Tackles of Fournette
Jarran Reed	DL	5
Geno Matias-Smith	FS	4
Dalvin Tomlinson	DL	3
A'Shawn Robinson	DL	2
Reggie Ragland	LB	2
Denzel Devall	LB	2
Eddie Jackson	SS	1
Marlon Humphrey	CB	1
Reuben Foster	LB	1
Shaun Dion Hamilton	LB	1
Ryan Anderson	LB	1
Dillon Lee	LB	1
Jonathan Allen	DL	1
D.J. Pettway	DL	1

“Those two guys when they needed to run support or fill gaps, they did a nice job of it,” he said specifically about the safeties, who are both converted cornerbacks. “We were concerned about the fact that we gave up a couple of big plays in the game, which we need to do a better job of.

“A couple of them we weren't lined up on; we didn't get the calls fast enough, which is partly our fault as coaches. And a couple of other times we just didn't execute the way we needed to.”

Because of the way college football offenses have changed, with roughly half of the Crimson Tide’s opponents running spread, uptempo schemes, Alabama has essentially had to come up with two defensive schemes.

The nickel package, which uses freshman Minkah Fitzpatrick as an extra player in the secondary and will be featured this week at Mississippi State, barely saw the field against LSU, as Alabama was able to use its true base unit for most of the night.

When that alone was enough to shut down Fournette, LSU was in trouble.

“I can tell you that Alabama's defense was certainly as it was billed,” LSU head coach Les Miles said during his Monday press conference in Baton Rouge.

LSU offensive coordinator Cam Cameron’s approach to facing Alabama has been to basically develop two game plans, and when Saban and defensive coordinator Kirby Smart adjust, he brings out the second plan.

But the Tigers never got to that point because they couldn’t move the ball with the first plan, thus no adjustments to counter. Two big plays and Fournette’s 18-yard carry were all that they managed. 

Quarter	Fournette	Henry
First	5-5	8-30
Second	4-4	7-60, 1 TD
Third	6-4	12-39, 2 TD
Fourth	4-18, 1 TD	11-81
Total	19-31, 1 TD	38-210, 3 TD

That gain was the only time Fournette ran for a first down. Overall, LSU converted just 3-of-11 third-down opportunities. The average distance it needed on those plays was 9.0 yards.

“I sensed that they were giving up a little bit because guys were just on him,” Ragland said. “We were suffocating him. He couldn’t go nowhere. Guys were just running. Like I said the week before leading up to the game, [if] we run to the ball and wrap him up we’ve got a good shot. That’s what guys did, ran to the ball and wrapped him up.”

Guys like Lee, a senior linebacker who’s had a bit of a tough time getting on the field this season. He had an interception (despite his thumb being wrapped) along with three tackles and a sack, but perhaps most importantly, he kept taking away the outside lane whenever Fournette tried to go to his left.

Coming in, Fournette had gained roughly 700 rushing yards behind the left side of LSU’s line. He ended up with just six carries to the left for a total of three yards.

“I just felt I played a complete game,” Lee said.

Quotes and statistics were obtained firsthand or through the writer’s own research unless otherwise noted.

Christopher Walsh is a lead SEC college football writer. Follow Christopher on Twitter @WritingWalsh.