Alabama Football: Defensive report card against Vanderbilt

The Alabama football defense had another dominant performance in week four, limiting Vanderbilt to 129 yards of total offense and just three points. Here are the grades for each defensive position group.

Alabama Football defensive line: A

The Alabama defensive line doesn’t feature any superstars just yet, but the unit remains steady and deep. The front played a big role in holding Vanderbilt to 14 yards rushing for the game.

Justin Eboigbe was the most active of the group, finishing with three tackles, a tackle for loss, and a quarterback hurry. DJ Dale recorded his first sack of the season, while Tim Smith and Jaheim Oatis notched two tackles apiece.

Alabama Football linebackers: A

The Alabama linebacking corps showed the ability that caused many to tout it as the best unit in the nation heading into the season.

Henry To’o To’o had one of his best games in an Alabama uniform, tying for the team lead with six tackles, including a big TFL. To’o To’o played with aggression and physicality from the first possession of the game, effectively setting the tone for the rest of the defense. The senior linebacker has been plagued by hesitant play at times, but reluctance was plainly absent from his game this week.

Will Anderson Jr. played like the All-American he is, finishing with five tackles and 2.5 sacks. He got to the quarterback in a variety of ways, whether it be speed-rushing off the edge, looping inside on a well-designed stunt, or converting speed to power on a bull rush. Three seasons into his Alabama career, Anderson Jr.’s short-area speed and burst are still incredible to watch. The Terminator now has a team high 4.5 sacks through four games.

Deontae Lawson continues to force his way into the rotation at inside linebacker and recorded six tackles in his own right. Jaylen Moody, Alabama’s leading tackler this season, made three stops.

On the edge, Chris Braswell made two tackles and a half-sack, his first time getting to the quarterback this season. Dallas Turner made one stop, and still has yet to record a sack in 2022. Quandarrius Robinson and Demouy Kennedy each made a tackle in reserve duty.

Alabama Football secondary: B

The Alabama secondary held Vanderbilt to 115 yards through the air for the game. The Commodores had an obvious strategy to attack the Alabama corners one-on-one with fade routes and back-shoulder throws all night. This type of throw is among the most difficult to defend in football without interfering, and Vanderbilt had some relative success going after each of the Tide’s three corners.

Quarterback AJ Swann was able to get the ball to his athletic leading receiver Will Sheppard three times for 52 yards. Vanderbilt was also able to draw some pass interference penalties on Alabama defensive backs.

Cornerback Terrion Arnold and senior safety Jordan Battle each made five tackles in the game to lead the secondary.

Kool-Aid McKinstry, DeMarcco Hellams, Brian Branch, and Malachi Moore recorded three tackles apiece, with McKinstry notching three pass breakups. Redshirt sophomore cornerback Jahquez Robinson saw some snaps and recorded his first career sack.

Alabama Football special teams: B

Alabama’s special teams continue to be a strength of the team. Will Reichard hit both of his field goal attempts, and James Burnip averaged 43.5 yards on his two punts.

Kool-Aid McKinstry once again displayed explosive ability as a punt returner, nearly breaking free several times for the second consecutive week. McKinstry averaged nearly 23 yards per return with a long of 40 yards. Unfortunately, he lost a fumble at the end of that return. It was the first of back-to-back blunders for the punt return unit, as Brian Branch muffed the next Vanderbilt punt.

These errors did not cost Alabama in this game, but the Tide has to clean up the sloppy play on special teams.

The Alabama defense now ranks 2nd nationally in total defense (201.3 YPG) and 3rd in scoring defense (7.3 PPG) while ranking in the top-10 against both the run and the pass. The unit will face its toughest test yet against a physical Arkansas team next week.