If he can play against the rest of the Southeastern Conference in the same fashion that he’s dominated Texas A&M, Alabama’s Isaiah Buggs will be a first-round pick.
The senior defensive end from Louisiana emerged last season versus the Aggies, due to Da’Shawn Hand missing the game because of a knee injury. Buggs led the Crimson Tide’s defensive attack with 10 tackles in its 29-17 win at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas.
With several scouts from the National Football League in attendance, the former junior college transfer showed up at Bryant-Denny Stadium and dominated the Aggies’ offensive line from the start.
Buggs collected seven total tackles, including 3.5 for loss and a career-high three sacks. Two of his three take downs of Kellen Mond came on third down, which forced Texas A&M to punt.
He was also credited with two quarterback pressures, while helping the Tide limit running back Trayveon Williams to 31 yards.
Williams entered the matchup as the SEC’s leading rusher, averaging 133 yards per game. If not for Buggs, Mond would’ve become the first quarterback to rush for 100 yards against a Nick Saban-coached defense and the first player to do it since 2017 – Jordan Wilkins, Ole Miss (101).
In two meetings with Texas A&M, the 286-pounder has racked up 17 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, three sacks and two quarterback pressures. He mentioned to the media on things the Tide can do to improve; however, head coach Nick Saban was pleased with the pressure on Mond.
“I thought it was really important,” Saban said on the importance of Alabama’s defense affecting Mond’s play with pressure. “I think that was one of the things that contributed to third down. We just had a lot of long yardage situations that I felt like if we would have executed a little better in the secondary, they would not have made some of the plays that they made. We are going to have to do a much better job in the future, because we are going to play a lot of good teams.”
Like his coach, Buggs will look for ways to help this team improve as it intends to show college football why the Tide is supreme. Alabama will rest on Monday, but will return to practice Tuesday in preparation to face Louisiana and another former Saban assistant, Billy Napier.
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.
