Kentucky vs Alabama preview: Examining the Tide defense

Kentucky football hosts the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday for an exciting week two conference clash in Kroger Field. We previewed the Crimson Tide offense, and now we will switch to the defensive side of the football. Alabama is definitely an offense led football team under head coach Kalen Deboer, but this season the defensive side of the football is the group that will win this team games especially early on in the year. Alabama comes in with one of the best secondaries in the country and a dangerous edge defender.

This secondary is probably a group that Nick Saban would love to coach. Alabama has a dynamic duo at safety with Bray Hubbard and Keon Sabb. They also have one of the strongest corner tandems in the country in Dijon Lee and Zabien Brown. They also have guys in the rotation like slot corner Red Morgan and their outside CB3 Carmelo O’Neal who has ideal length for the position.

This position group can really slow down Kentucky‘s passing game if they come to play. Both corners, Lee and Brown, are sticky in coverage and play a physical brand of football on the outside. Keon Sabb is their free safety that excels in coverage and is expected to have a big bounce back season. Bray Hubbard is a sure tackler at strong safety that can make plays at every level of the field.

Alabama has a veteran off ball linebacker in Caleb Woodson. You will also see two sophomores, Luke Metz and QB Reese, both of which are plus athletes that can run sideline to sideline. However, their inexperience can cause them to play with dirty eyes in play action and RPO situations. They will be tested on Saturday against the creative offensive scheme that Will Stein has created at Kentucky.

Alabama is not trotting out a Saban-esque defensive line with game wreckers across the board. This defensive line needs different players to emerge throughout the season. However, they do have a game wrecking edge defender in Yhonzae Pierre that put on a show in week one on just 21 snaps. On those 21 snaps, Pierre had a tackle for loss, a pick six and a powerful pass rush win that led to a sack.

Pierre and this secondary have to play at that dominant level to slow down Kentucky’s offense on Saturday. Watching Pierre one-on-one with Kentucky left tackle Lance Heard will be a treat for people who follow the NFL Draft closely. Expect Kentucky to throw the kitchen sink at this Alabama defense to try to consistently move the football down the field. This game could be a bit of a shootout, but this Alabama defense has potential to make game changing plays with their veteran secondary and dynamic edge rusher.

This article originally appeared on UK Wildcats Wire: Kentucky vs Alabama preview: Examining the Tide defense