Alabama Football Opponent Preview: Austin Peay Governors

Alabama football closes out its non-conference schedule by hosting FCS Austin Peay. The Austin Peay Governors are 7-3 and dropped their only game against FBS competition this season, losing to Western Kentucky 38-27.

The Governors field a balanced offensive attack spearheaded by quarterback Mike DiLiello. DiLiello has thrown for 2,300 yards and 21 touchdowns against nine interceptions this season. He has also run for 445 yards, an impressive figure considering it factors in sack yardage, and a team-high eight rushing touchdowns. DiLiello is experienced as a graduate student, and is the undisputed leader of the Austin Peay offense.

Austin Peay rotates a trio of solid running backs, led by diminutive junior CJ Evans Jr., who has 590 yards and six touchdowns for the year. Redshirt freshman Jevon Jackson is not far behind with 564 yards and four scores, and leads the team with a 6.3 yards-per-carry average. Grad student Josh Samuel gets his share of carries as well, and has totaled 350 yards and a touchdown.

Dray McCrae catches the bulk of DiLiello’s passes, leading Austin Peay in every major receiving category by a wide margin. The sophomore has 64 grabs for 929 yards and nine touchdowns. Redshirt sophomore receiver James Burns has 39 catches for 517 yards and five scores, and sophomore Trey Goodman has 31 receptions for 347 yards and four touchdowns.

Defensively, undersized linebacker Antoine Williams from Pinson Valley leads the Governors with 81 tackles. He has notched 11 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks. Defensive end Kwame Sutton leads the unit with 4.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.

Chukwuemeka Manning Jr. and Jau’Von Young have also been playmakers along the defensive line, combining for 14 tackles for loss. Manning Jr. leads the team with four quarterback hurries.

Three Austin Peay defensive backs are tied for the team lead with three interceptions: redshirt junior Shamari Simmons, graduate student Ethan Caselberry, and senior Demetries Ford. Simmons ranks fourth on the team with 51 tackles. Caselberry is a rangy safety at 6’4″, and has recorded 34 tackles. Ford has 31 tackles and team-high 15 pass breakups this season.

The Austin Peay defense has been pretty stingy this season, and could give the Alabama offense a good look should the Crimson Tide play a lot of reserves.

This will be a good tuneup game for Alabama Football heading into the Iron Bowl. The objective for the Crimson Tide should be to take care of business, get quality game reps well into its depth chart, and get out of Saturday healthy.