The optimists among us pointed to getting healthy as the key for Alabama to turn things around down the stretch and look like the true contender we thought it was in early October. That proved to be pretty prophetic on Saturday afternoon in Baton Rouge.
Ryan Coleman-Williams made his return, scoring a touchdown on a nifty end-around, producing an explosive play as a punt returner to set up another touchdown, and his general gravity unlocked Alabama's other receivers, including Rico Scott for his critical 57-yard catch-and-run after LSU had just taken the lead.
Racin Delgatty made his return, and while the offensive line was far from perfect, it was better than it was three weeks ago against Tennessee against a similarly dominant defensive front.
And then there was Terrance Green, the Oregon transfer defensive tackle who was having an excellent season in the middle of the Tide's defense before he got banged up in the Georgia game. Alabama's run defense, and its pass rush, suffered with Green out of the lineup in the second half against Georgia and the following two weeks against Tennessee and Texas A&M.
Against LSU, Green's impact was obvious. Not only did the Crimson Tide shut down the Tigers' run game and force the game to be fully on Sam Leavitt's shoulders, but the pass rush was unleashed once again with Green taking up space and attention in the middle.
Alabama held LSU to 77 yards on 33 rushing attempts. And the Crimson Tide sacked Leavitt four times, wearing down the Tigers' offensive line and consistently winning in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
Green managed a sack, Yhonzae Pierre got another, and Devan Thompkins picked up two in Alabama's 31-13 win in Death Valley.
Devan Thompkins credited his two sack performance vs. LSU to Terrance Green's return
Thompkins and Pierre had their best games in weeks. They were both disruptive all game, and they tallied three sacks combined between the two. When asked about his performance after the game, Thompkins was quick to give credit to Green's return in the middle:
"I'd like to credit my teammate [Terrance Green] coming back," Thompkins said, via 247's Mike Rodak. "He's a big part of what we do defensively, and him being in the middle, he occupies a lot of space, so guys like to focus on him as well, too."
Green's return proved critical for Alabama's defense. His absence was felt the last few weeks, and he's the type of player who makes a monster impact even when he's not showing up in the box score. But he frequently shows up in the box score, too.
With Green back, Pierre and Thompkins were able to move around and get after it. The bye week came at a perfect time for all those guys. Pierre had been fighting through a nagging injury, but he looked healthier than he had most of the season in Baton Rouge.
Green's return was the most impactful on Thompkins, who has had to stay put with all the injuries that have piled up for Alabama on the defensive line instead of being able to move around and be the versatile chess piece Kane Wommack was using him as in the early part of the season.
Alabama still isn't completely healthy. Nobody is this time of the year. But they took a gigantic leap forward over the bye week thanks to Jeff Allen and the rest of the training staff.
Now they'll look to continue getting healthier over the final three games of the regular season.
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