The concern all week in practice was a potential drop in production for Alabama’s defensive backfield with Trevon Diggs (broken foot) out for the season. Crimson Tide fans were growing in confidence for true freshman cornerback Patrick Surtain II; however, its fear came with Saivion Smith in terms of would the former junior college standout rise to the occasion.
After taking in the coaching from Karl Scott, Nick Saban and others on staff, Smith demonstrated throughout the week that he could maintain a focused level of technique.
In a matchup where Bama Nation wanted to see whether the Florida native could hold his own, Smith greatly exceeded expectations. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound cornerback was in perfect phase all game long against Missouri’s wide receivers, limiting one of its top targets – Jonathon Johnson — to one catch for nine yards.
Even though freshman Jalen Knox totaled 61 receiving yards to lead the Tigers, 20 yards came on one catch for a touchdown. Should that played been negated by the Tide’s defensive front, Knox would have had 41 yards receiving with no scores.
Smith secured four tackles, while helping Alabama render an experience quarterback in Drew Lock to a 50 percent completion rating (13 of 26 passing). As a former five-star prospect in high school and an elite JUCO talent, Smith thrives on creating turnovers. He recorded his first career multi-interception game, picking off Lock twice and owning the “Ball Out” turnover belt.
Saban was proud of the secondary as a unit, but he singled-out Smith in his presser.
“We did not give up many explosive plays, which is a good thing,” Saban said after the Tide earned a 39-10 win over Missouri. “Saivion Smith played well. I was pleased with the way he played. He had two interceptions. We kept people cut off for the most part. Their two best wide receivers did not play in the game. They did not play in the game against South Carolina and I don’t know exactly what’s wrong with them, but I thought we did a good job for the most part.”
Smith’s performance has him with a team-high three picks and it puts Alabama at 12 interceptions total, with four returned for scores. He needed this game to build confidence throughout the remainder of the year and in the weeks to come, Smith looks to keep soaring.
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.
