Portal investments are rarely measured by what a player does the moment he arrives.
The real return comes later — when the games get bigger, the matchups get tougher and the reason Alabama made the investment in the first place becomes visible on Saturdays.
For Terrance Green, that moment may have come sooner than expected.
Kalen DeBoer and third-year Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kane Wommack specifically hand-picked Green back in January to help bolster its defensive line. So far, the 6-foot-6, 313-pound Oregon transfer hasn't disappointed, collecting a sack and a solo tackle, including a 3-yard tackle for loss across 16 snaps in Alabama’s 38-point season-opening victory over East Carolina in Week 1.
Now, Green could have an even bigger opportunity this weekend to show why Alabama made the investment because the coach waiting for him on the other sideline will be a familiar offensive mind: Will Stein.
Green spent his first three seasons in Eugene with Stein as Oregon’s offensive coordinator, practicing against his offense daily and gaining knowledge of the concepts and tendencies the first-year Kentucky head coach now brings to Lexington.
That experience could prove particularly valuable this weekend, with Alabama preparing to face a Wildcats offense that Green expects to lean heavily on the run.
Terrance Green knows Alabama must stop Will Stein and Kentucky from establishing the run
“They love to run the ball, as I said; it's gonna be a big week to stop the run this week,” Green told reporters Tuesday. “We've just gotta play with good pad level, play with our hands, get off blocks, and make plays in the backfield.”
But Green’s familiarity with Stein goes beyond knowing what the Wildcats want to do. It comes from years of experiencing it firsthand while trying to disrupt the linemen responsible for executing it — experience he believes can help him on Saturday.
“I feel like it helped me a lot, you know, I kind of know what he wants to do,” Green said. “I know he's probably going to change it up, but as I said, I was with Coach Stein for like two, three years there. So, just going against that every day, going against great O-linemen, that'll help a lot. But also going against our guys here, and then Coach (Freddie) Roach just staying on me about my pad level, you know, getting off blocks. That's gonna be big this week.”
That confidence comes at an important time for Alabama’s defensive front.
Green and the Crimson Tide defense opened the season by vice-gripping East Carolina to just two rushing yards on 22 attempts — Alabama’s fewest rushing yards allowed against an FBS opponent since Mississippi State finished with minus-1 rushing yards in 2021.
But Kentucky presents a much different challenge.
The Wildcats showed in Stein’s inaugural game as head coach just how much they intend to establish the run, with running backs Jason Patterson and C.J Baxter combining for 126 of Kentucky’s 191 rushing yards for two scores in their 45-13 victory over Youngstown State.
For Green, Saturday is more than a matchup against a familiar coach. It's an opportunity to turn those three years of learning Stein’s system into a tangible advantage for Alabama. If he can translate that familiarity into consistent pressure and plays behind the line of scrimmage, he could become exactly what DeBoer and Wommack brought him to Tuscaloosa to be: a difference-maker where the Tide need one most.
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