A Healthy Terrell Lewis Can Help Make Alabama's Defense Dangerous Again
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — He held the ball while doing the interview and called it his baby. Alabama linebacker Terrell Lewis wasn’t serving an in-house punishment for having a turnover, which has been known to happen inside the Mal Moore Complex, this was more of a karma thing.
Perhaps being used to having a football in his hands would lead to it happening more often during games.
"I was supposed to catch a pick this past Saturday so I'm trying to get a feel for the game again,” said Lewis, who would probably be a pretty good offensive player if called upon.
"Tight end or [possession] wide receiver. Might be a little bit of Derrick Henry in me."
Don’t expect Alabama to find out, especially after Lewis missed most of the two previous seasons with injuries (torn elbow ligament, ACL). The coaches were already being cautious with him and the redshirt junior still had a setback with a hyperextended knee at South Carolina.
Consequently, Lewis finally had a full week of practice leading up to the 47-28 victory at Texas A&M last Saturday, and fans got a glimpse of what Alabama’s defense could become this season. With redshirt junior Anfernee Jennings at the other outside linebacker spot the Crimson Tide notched five sacks and harassed quarterback Kellen Mond all game long.
“They pretty much make you work for everything,” said Mond, who broke three good-sized runs in the second half, but took a pounding in the game.
Those who simply looked at the points and 389 total yards Alabama gave up at College Station and concluded it was another sub-par performance for the Crimson Tide defense missed the bigger picture.
This is a defense that not only lost its leader, Dylan Moses, but the only other experienced interior linebacker as well, senior Joshua McMillion. Both suffered major knee injuries, leaving two true freshmen to start in their place, and they’re often playing behind two true freshmen on the three-man defensive line.
If for some reason you think that’s not a big deal, take a moment and contemplate how this defense might look had Moses not gotten hurt. Four true freshmen in the defensive front seven is considered a doomsday scenario in college football, yet defensive coordinator Pete Golding has been a big reason why the Crimson Tide still has national championship aspirations.
“He’s been put in a really, really difficult situation,” Saban said. “[Usually], the older players always help the younger players tremendously. I mean, the guys that have been playing and have knowledge and experience and all that, they set a good example, they help the guys, they teach them how to understand concepts of what we’re doing from a player standpoint. Dylan Moses was really, really good at that. And he was really good for the young players.
“We don’t have that guy that sort of can be a little bit of a mentor to the young guys to help them develop, and Pete has had to do that from scratch kind of on his own. And I think he’s done a really, really good job with those guys, has much more patience than maybe I do relative to how he teaches.”
Consider two other points as well.
With so many freshman on the field Alabama really had to dial back the pass rush until those players started getting more comfortable with their roles and responsibilities. That the defense was so often in the backfield against the Aggies signaled that they’re figuring it out.
Additionally, Alabama’s first two SEC games were against head coaches who know the inner workings of a Saban team as well as anyone. South Carolina’s Will Muschamp ran the defense himself (both at LSU and with the Miami Dolphins), and Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher has long been thought to be sort of an offensive version of Saban.
When the two were at LSU together the intensity during practices would often rise because Fisher would get sick of seeing the offense struggle running scripted plays that the defense knew was coming. So he’d mix things up in spite of Saban’s ire.
Saban allowed it, though, because it helped the offense gain confidence plus kept the defense on its toes.
Next up is Tennessee Jeremy Pruitt, Alabama’s former defensive coordinator who doesn’t just know the Crimson Tide defense, but a lot of the players personally.
There may not be three better people on the planet to challenge this group. They’ve found some things. They exploited some mismatches. With Alabama’s offense being so prolific the defense has been stuck on the field a lot more.
Nevertheless, Alabama’s opponents have had their most success only after the Crimson Tide took a big lead.
Opponent; Halftime score (yards); Final score (yards)
vs. Duke 14-3 (103); 42-3 (204)
New Mexico St. 38-0 (64); 62-10 (262)
at S. Carolina 24-10 (202); 47-23 (459)
Southern Miss 28-7 (124); 49-7 (226)
Ole Miss 38-10 (152); 59-31 (476)
At Texas A&M 24-13 (180); 47-28 (389)
Alabama’s offense has played at a remarkable clip this season, and is only getting tougher with the offensive line finally set and the running game beginning to make some serious strides. Pruitt called it “maybe one of the best offenses in the history of college football.”
Yet he’s been more impressed by what the defense has done.
“I think these guys, as a coaching staff, have done an outstanding job,” he said. “They’re one of — I guess they’re the number-one team in the SEC in turnover margin — sixth in the nation. Playing really good football. And, probably because they score so fast offensively, they probably play more snaps on defense.
“I think their defense gets overlooked.”
With Lewis being unleashed and teams unable to focus on Jennings as much, the defense is in prime position to be more of a force during the rest of the season.
The secondary remains more than solid with the likes of Trevon Diggs and Patrick Surtain II at the corners, and Xavier McKinney at safety. There’s another true freshman is in the mix in the dime package, Jordan Battle, but like with D.J. Dale at nose tackle the coaches felt he was simply too good not to play.
The better the coverage on the back end, the more opportunities for the pass rushers. Jennings and Lewis combined for four of the Crimson Tide’s seven tackles for a loss against the elusive Mond, while freshman interior linebackers Shane Lee and Christian Harris, redshirt freshman defensive lineman Christian Barmore and true freshman defensive end Justin Eboigbe were all in on at least one.
“It felt good,” Lewis said. “I still felt like I kinda left some plays on the table …”
One was the play he hit Mond while throwing, causing the ball to sail like a wounded duck, only to see Jennings unable to complete the interception. Lewis teased him about messing up their highlight play, but they can feel the momentum building.
This is beginning to feel like an Alabama defense again, and they plan on leading the way.
"He's back healthy," senior defensive lineman Raekwon Davis said. "That’s what we need."
