Alabama football will face arguably the best wide receiver group in the nation against Ole Miss. In the Tide secondary, Patrick Surtain Jr. will come of age in Oxford.
Big-time players make their reputations on the biggest stages. For Alabama football, Oxford, MS is not the biggest stage. But the Crimson Tide will battle the top group of wide receivers in the nation on Saturday. At least three, maybe as many as four, future NFL receivers suit up for Ole Miss.
The Ole Miss receiving corps has size, speed and talent. The group is so well known, they even have their own nickname. The NWO, ‘Nasty Wide Outs’ was the moniker given them by Ole Miss coach, Jacob Peeler.
The main three members of N.W.O. are senior DaMarkus Lodge, junior A.J. Brown and redshirt sophomore, D. K. Metcalf.
Lodge recently spoke about what makes the group special.
"Coach Peeler makes sure we have that intensity. He makes sure we compete for every ball. No matter if it’s too short or too high, we make some type of effort to get it, and I think that plays a big role. When the ball is in the air, we train ourselves to know we’re going to catch it and nobody else."
On Saturday night in Oxford, at least half-a-dozen Alabama football players will be the “nobody else” fighting for footballs. Fighting is the correct term from the physical battles between a receiver and a defensive back.
Ole Miss has too many accomplished wideouts to focus on just one. Still, Ole Miss OC, Phil Longo will look to exploit the Tide’s weakest link. On paper, that weakest link will be true freshman cornerback, Patrick Surtain Jr.
Surtain was tabbed for greatest before ever donning a Crimson jersey. His NFL father trained him to be a cornerback. Last year, he was the No. 1 rated cornerback in the 2018 signing class. Football experts nationwide have long touted his exceptional talent.
Even so, two games of mostly mop-up play do not mean a freshman has ‘arrived.’ Surtain has seen some action with the Tide first unit in games. He has been targeted by other teams. Though the sample is limited, he has held up well.
Alabama freshman Patrick Surtain II has been targeted in coverage more than any other DB in the SEC and has responded by allowing just 3 catches for 34 yards pic.twitter.com/OYMP4PZPJX
— CFB Film Room (@CFBFilmRoom) September 13, 2018
Based on the early week, Ole Miss prep, it looks like Surtain may start at cornerback Saturday night. If so, Trevon Diggs will slide to star in the Tide’s nickel defense. Shyheim Carter, who has had the starter role at star, would become one of the safeties in the dime defense. Also in the dime, Xavier McKinney would move from safety to the ‘money’ spot.
Moving a freshman to a starter role at cornerback is bold. It is especially bold in game three. Nick Saban will not do it unless he is confident the change will improve the Alabama football defense. Speaking earlier this week about freshman playing early, Saban said,
"There are more and more guys expecting to play as freshmen. Because they expect to play as freshmen, I think, they’re more prepared to play when they come in, and they’re more willing to do the things they have to do to be able to play."
The members of N.W.O. may expect to dominate Surtain on Saturday. At six-feet-two and 204 pounds, DaMarkus Lodge can push around many SEC defensive backs. He may get the best of Patrick but not by just pushing him around. Surtain will be giving up about 10 pounds but he is a physical corner.
With the possible adjustment of the secondary, Nick Saban was quick to point out how well Shyheim Carter has played. Perhaps it is more about matchups against Ole Miss. At star, junior, Trevon Diggs will most often be battling A.J. Brown. Diggs has a little more length to apply against Brown than Carter.
However the Crimson Tide secondary plays Saturday night, they will need some help. Ole Miss, QB, Jordan Ta’amu is too accurate to be given time to work through progressions. The Tide will not and cannot afford to sit back if a four-man rush is not getting to Ta’amu. Tosh Lupoi will have to bring some heat.
Blitzes will leave Tide corners on an island. On an island, against some of the best wideouts in college football. It is easy to believe young Patrick Surtain Jr. would not want it any other way. That is why high school phenoms come to Alabama – to be the best, against the best.
Ole Miss wants to be known as WRU this season. We suggest a better label would be ‘Nickname U’ for the Rebels/BlackBears/Landsharks. Admittedly, naming a team after a SNL skit is novel, but do Ole Miss students know there is no such thing as a Landshark?