SEC Extra Points: Why Alabama's Defense Could Be Even Better in 2016
Alabama used its stout defense—which gave up just 276.3 yards per game and 4.3 yards per play—to roll all the way to the national title a year ago.
That defense was paced by its fast and physical front seven led by defensive end Jonathan Allen, pass-rush specialist Tim Williams and a front seven that was deeper and more versatile than any in the country.
"You need a lot of depth, you need a lot of athletic guys that can make plays in space, can rush the passer," head coach Nick Saban said at SEC media days. "And when you play some of the power teams in our conference, you need some bigger, more physical guys to stand in there. We kind of had all of those parts. I'm not sure we have all those parts this year, but certainly we're working to try to develop them."
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
It won't take long to develop them during fall camp. Once that's accomplished, this defense will be even better than last year's crew.
Up front, there are some key losses, including A'Shawn Robinson, Jarran Reed and D.J. Pettway. But have you seen this roster?
Allen is back to anchor one end, and Da'Shawn Hand is a former 5-star prospect who has had plenty of time to learn from the best over the last two seasons. Meanwhile, at 307 pounds, the ultra-athletic Dalvin Tomlinson can handle the responsibilities of being the nose guard in Saban's 3-4 scheme, but also slide outside to end when the defense needs a little more thunder up front.
It shouldn't take too long for Saban and first-year defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt to develop that much-needed depth. Da'Ron Payne only notched 13 tackles a year ago, but he is pressing for the starting nose guard spot this summer and already received the designation of a "freak" from Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports, thanks to a 4.93-second 40-yard dash, 600-pound squat and 500-pound bench.
Outside linebacker Tim Williams tied for 13th in the nation in sacks with 10.5, essentially as a third-down pass-rushing specialist. Now he'll be on the field for the other two downs, which is something that will keep opposing offensive coordinators and offensive line coaches up at night. He'll be back in more of a full-time role, as will other key contributors at linebacker like Rashaan Evans, Reuben Foster and Ryan Anderson—all of whom filled specific roles a year ago.
The front seven will be fine, and the secondary took tremendous strides last year thanks to the work of safety Eddie Jackson (six interceptions) and rising sophomores Marlon Humphrey and Minkah Fitzpatrick.
But it has a chance to get even better.
The Crimson Tide still struggled giving up big passing plays in 2016. They played more games than other schools in the conference, but finished 13th in the SEC in opponent passing plays of 20 or more yards with 50—10 more than 12th place Ole Miss, according to cfbstats.com.
The core of that secondary should be better with time and familiarity gained this offseason, and the injection of talent that it received from some younger players—including true freshmen early enrollees.
"A lot of the young guys have caught my eye, especially [freshman defensive back] Shyheim Carter," said Jackson. "We have him at 'Star' and also at corner. That's one guy who came in with the right mindset, ready to learn and he takes coaching very well."
The front seven is in full-on reload mode, while the secondary will actually be more consistent with Jackson leading, the experience that Humphrey and Fitzpatrick gained last year and youngsters pushing veterans for playing time.
Chubb Back?
While most of the eyes in Athens this August will be fixed on the quarterback battle that's raging between senior Greyson Lambert, junior Brice Ramsey and true freshman early enrollee Jacob Eason, those eyes might veer to the backfield from time to time just to see who's back there.
No. 27 might be back there sooner rather than later.
Junior Nick Chubb, who suffered a devastating knee injury on Georgia's first offensive play of the Tennessee game last October, appears to be close to a full-go prior to fall camp. Meanwhile, fellow tailback Sony Michel seems to be further away from returning from a wrist injury suffered during Independence Day weekend.
"Sony is rehabbing hard, trying to get back out there," head coach Kirby Smart said, according to Jake Rowe of 247Sports. "He’s limited probably more than Nick right now, where Nick is doing everything he can do.
"[Nick] is back to his normal self when it comes to running, cutting, exercising, but he hasn’t put the pads on," Smart continued. "He hasn’t taken a hit. He hasn’t taken that knee brace off yet. So there’s a lot of hurdles when it comes to that for Nick gaining confidence."
Chubb has a month to gain that confidence, which is something that Georgia will need in its season opener versus North Carolina in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game.
Georgia is a mystery on both sides of the ball. The questions at running back only add to questions surrounding the quarterback and wide receiving corps, and the defensive line is woefully thin with Trent Thompson and John Atkins being the only two players that Smart can truly trust up front.
The Tar Heels led the nation with 7.28 yards per play a year ago, and finished ninth in scoring offense at 40.7 points per game. Yeah, quarterback Mitch Trubisky is relatively unproven. But the core of last year's group is back, including wide receiver Ryan Switzer and running back Elijah Hood.
This team can force Georgia to play point-a-minute football, and having Chubb available to work the clock and keep the Tar Heel offense on the sideline is the best path to victory for Georgia.
Withheld Until Further Review
Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze got some bad news this week, and it had nothing to do with the NCAA investigation.
True freshman Charles Wiley, a former 4-star prospect in the 2016 class, was arrested on a domestic violence charge, according to Daniel Paulling of the Jackson Clarion-Ledger. Legend Fultz, a 21-year-old female, was also arrested for the same charge at the time of the incident, according to the report.
"We are aware of the situation and recognize the proper authorities are responsible for the matter," Freeze said, according to Paulling. "Charles is being withheld from all team activities while the process moves forward. We take incidents like this very seriously and will make decisions once the course of action is complete."
From a football perspective, it won't mean much to Ole Miss if Wiley is held out for some, or even all, of the 2016 season. A fast-twitch pass-rushing specialist, Wiley is blocked on the depth chart by junior Marquis Haynes, who has notched 17.5 sacks during his first two seasons in Oxford.
Off the field, Freeze avoided the firestorm Mississippi State created when it announced in June that true freshman defensive end Jeffery Simmons—whose case was resolved this week after a no-contest plea, according to Joel Coleman of the Starkville Daily News—would be allowed to enroll and participate in football activities prior to serving a one-game suspension.
Domestic violence is not something to take lightly, and it's clear that Ole Miss recognized that in this instance by withholding Wiley until further notice.
Strength vs. Weakness
When I ranked the SEC's offensive lines earlier in the offseason, one thing stood out to me more than anything else—this is the SEC's biggest weakness in 2016 as a conference.
LSU got penned in at the top spot, but has to slide some folks around to replace both tackles. Tennessee has four starters returning, but hasn't been as consistent as it needs to be. Auburn was pegged at No. 3, but is also moving pieces around to replace both tackles.
This is a major, major problem within the conference, because the unquestioned strength on the other side of the ball is the depth and versatility of the conference's defensive lines.
We already talked about Alabama's defensive front earlier in this article. Texas A&M boasts Myles Garrett, Daeshon Hall and Daylon Mack. Florida's as fierce as they come with studs like Caleb Brantley and Bryan Cox leading the way. Auburn will trot out Carl Lawson and Montravius Adams, along with the deepest rotation Gus Malzahn has had on the Plains. Tennessee will line up Derek Barnett, Kahlil McKenzie and Corey Vereen, and get a boost from the presence of new coordinator Bob Shoop. Arkansas has one of the best ends you've never heard of in Deatrich Wise, Jr.
Uh oh.
Because of this massive disparity between offensive and defensive lines, the SEC runs the risk of cannibalizing itself even more than it has in the past—when it has sent a one-loss team to either the College Football Playoff or BCS Championship Game every year for the last five years.
It will also put more pressure on offensive coordinators to recognize team deficiencies, game-plan around them and get creative not only prior to games, but during those 60 minutes between the white lines.
Quick Outs
- LSU defensive lineman Lewis Neal is already a successful football player and day trader. Now, according to Ross Dellenger of the Advocate, he's also the co-owner of Hair Factory. What's more, he's helping out a community. Hair Factory is giving free haircuts to first responders and military members. "I just wanted to do something positive for the community, just give back and show our appreciation," Neal said, according to Dellenger. "We want to have some positive things going around. There’s so much negativity going around. You need some positive things going viral."
- Florida released a hype video that is sure to get you going.
- Mississippi State's players pulled off a 17-person pool alley-oop at head coach Dan Mullen's pool party (yes, the last player made the dunk). That has nothing to do with the football season, but it's still awesome.
Quotes obtained firsthand, unless otherwise noted. Statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com, unless otherwise noted. Recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
