Josh Ford brought an old school Alabama mentality and made Dylan Stewart quit

If you asked me to give you four words that best described the Nick Saban era at Alabama, just four, then I would probably go with:

Make their asses quit.

That was the mantra of the Saban era. To physically dominate your matchup over and over again for 60 minutes and make the guy lined up against you quit.

Saban would have loved to coach Josh Ford.

The Oklahoma State transfer embodies that mentality. He's a big part of the reason this Alabama offense has brought a more physical edge than we saw in the first two seasons under Kalen DeBoer.

And on Saturday night against South Carolina, Ford made Gamecocks star Dylan Stewart's ass quit. Over and over again. To the point that Stewart couldn't take it anymore, and he hauled off and punched Ford in the fourth quarter:

Stewart was flagged for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, but was somehow not ejected. He may ultimately be suspended by the SEC. According to Ford after the game, that wasn't the first punch Stewart threw during Alabama's dominant win:

"He's a great player; we had a lot of fun tonight," Ford said after the game with a wry smile on his face. "I think he punched me three times, but it was awesome. It was a good battle."

Ford certainly antagonized Stewart a little bit. When he puts his man in the dirt, he likes to talk a little trash. You could tell by his answer to what he said to elicit Stewart's response:

"I was just like, 'Man, you're good.' Great guy," Ford said. "He didn't like to hear that."

Josh Ford has been a huge difference-maker for Alabama through four weeks

One thing you cannot question about Kalen DeBoer and GM Courtney Morgan is their ability to evaluate talent. Alabama's Transfer Portal class might have been the most underrated group in the country. Ford was among them, a critical piece that flew under the radar.

In the first three weeks, Ford showed his ability as a blocker, helping to open up holes for an improved Crimson Tide ground game. Against South Carolina, when he wasn't pancaking Stewart and letting him hear about it, he flashed his ability as a receiver with one of the best catches of the season:

Ford skied to grab an overthrown ball by Russell, snagging it with one hand to push Alabama's lead to 28-3 in the second quarter:

Alabama's TE room has been massive in the Tide's all-around offensive improvement. Alongside Kaleb Edwards, Marshall Pritchett, and Danny Lewis Jr., Ford has been a critical piece of the puzzle for DeBoer and company.

It's not just the physical ability, but it's the change in mentality that has made an even bigger difference. Alabama needed to get meaner and nastier in the trenches. That's the only brand of football Ford knows how to play.

Stewart is one of college football's premier players. He's a sure-fire high draft pick in April with all the physical tools to be a dominant presence on Sundays. He was completely taken out of the game by a sophomore TE who got under his skin.

With all the talk about Alabama needing Jackson Lloyd and Jayvin James to hold up against Stewart, it was Ford who was the biggest difference-maker in that matchup.

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