Dez Fitzpatrick has done one of two things with his latest statement at Louisville’s media day event: signed his own death warrant or given Nick Saban and defensive line coach Craig Kuligowski permission to drill quarterback Jawon Pass into the dirt to open the season.
Whichever one comes first; the sophomore did not bite his tongue on what he thinks of Alabama’s secondary in comparison to his teammates at wide receiver.
According to video taken by Dan Koob, Cardinals’ sports reporter for CBS, Fitzpatrick said every receiver in our group can honestly beat everyone one of their (Alabama’s) defensive backs one-on-one in coverage.
Notes from UofL Media Day (a thread): @dezfitz8 on @AlabamaFTBL‘s secondary: “Every receiver in our receiver core can honestly beat every one of their DB’s in 1on1 coverage”…#L1C4 #RollTide @WLKY pic.twitter.com/JAR5V4OmHz
— Dan Koob (@DanKoob_WLKY) August 11, 2018
“Just straight talent wise, we have the upper edge,” he said.
Nothing wrong with having confidence in your team, especially when it returns the top three targets from a season ago, but the Crimson Tide’s defensive backfield shut down almost every receiving unit it faced in 2017.
The combination of Levi Wallace and Anthony Averett at both cornerback spots and Minkah Fitzpatrick with Ronnie Harrison manning down both safety positions frustrated some of the better quarterback/receiver tandems in college football.
In Fitzpatrick’s defense, he carried the team lead in touchdowns (nine) and collected 699 yards on 45 receptions for Louisville as a freshman. He along with Jaylen Smith and Seth Dawkins are all 6-foot-2 and taller, which is the lone thing the Tide has struggled against in recent years.
“If the blocks are right, if the quarterback is dropping it right and if we ran an 8-yard route instead of a 10-yard route, that’s the stuff I feel like we kind of need to shut them up,” he said.
The coach that needs to get his hands on this audio is Karl Scott.
While Fitzpatrick’s first line was all confidence, his second line dove into arrogance in term of how he feels like Alabama doesn’t really dominate other teams.
More from @dezfitz8: “When we watch film and other players play Bama, it’s not like Bama’s beating them. It’s like they’re beating themselves” because of the mystique of playing the Crimson Tide. #L1C4 #RollTide @WLKY pic.twitter.com/SeXeijffBW
— Dan Koob (@DanKoob_WLKY) August 11, 2018
“When we watch film and other players play Bama, it’s not like Bama’s beating them. It’s like they’re beating themselves,” Fitzpatrick said in continuing to rip the Tide. “Dropped balls that people don’t drop, a hitch or something. They (Alabama) make you feel nervous. So, if you don’t play nervous… You play like this a regular team like Kentucky. You have to have that mindset of this is football, because at the end of the day it is football. They are human just like us.”
Saban takes pride in his process; however, he takes more joy out the phrase “Make His Ass Quit” — a statement he created during his early years in Tuscaloosa. This quote in particular will be pushed into overdrive throughout the rest of fall camp, as Tide looks to dismantle Louisville.
Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
