“Alabama has the best offensive lines in the country.” Well, this statement by Joel Klatt was true about the Tides. Ever since Kalen DeBoer took over Alabama, the entire scene has changed. DeBoer is an offensive mastermind and we all know the magic he did at Sioux Falls with 3 national championship wins and also making Michael Penix a Heisman winner. Now, this will make you question what happened to the defensive side of the team.

Well, you cannot win with only the offensive, right? So we got Kane Wommack, defensive coordinator for the Tides, explaining who’s the player filling out the gaps in defense. “Keon is a very special talent um obviously he had some tremendous uh uh production, and we were very fortunate to be able to have that production,” Wommack mentioned. Keon Sabb was the Wolverine’s trump card. Led the team to a solid championship win. While the Tides did lose Caleb Downs after Nick Saban’s departure, Keon would bring a different edge to the team. Dalton Wasserman from Pro Football Network showed his enthusiasm when he heard that Keon would be joining Alabama. “This is a guy they can build their secondary around,” he mentioned. Quite true, with Malachi Moore at the safety who was the sole returning player after Nick Saban’s departure.

Even Wommack agreed on this. “Him, Malachi Moore, those guys are doing a tremendous job of communication on the back end,” he mentioned during the press conference. Malachi Moore was also one of the permanent team captains back in 2023. Travaris Robinson, former cornerback coach for Alabama, also sang a lot of praise about Moore back during the Rose Bowl. “He’s the smartest guy on the team. He’s a very, very loyal guy,” Robinson had mentioned. 2023 was a solid season for Moore, with 51 tackles and 4 pass breakups. The Sabb X Moore pairing would be more than enough to carry the Tides’ defense. However, on the other end of the line, another team is growing up to be a big roadblock for the Tides.

The Tigers

Brain Kelly has proved this year that their recruiting chops are something fierce. Securing 5-star CB DJ Pickett, along with Top 100 EDGE Damien Shanklin and 5-star Derek Meadows, the Tigers are all set to rock the field. It also somehow managed to grab LB Jaiden Braker. Braker was a commit for Carolina. Back in the 2023 season, the Tides managed to secure a massive win against the Tigers, with 42-28 on the scoreboard. This year Kelly is all set to prove the doubters wrong. Let’s see how things pan out for DeBoer’s revamped team this year.