Some words to munch on for Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, his receivers and the Crimson Tide’s defense were said on Monday to start SEC Media Days.
Aside from the Tide, Louisiana State University is one of the more confident programs within the conference. Among the players that accompanied Ed Orgeron was safety, Grant Delpit.
The junior from Houston, Texas returns as the leader of a defensive backfield that lost cornerback Greedy Williams to the National Football League. Delpit had a strong year in 2018, recording 74 tackles, five sacks, nine pass breakups and five interceptions. The 6-foot-3, 203-pounder was named a unanimous All-American and first-team All-SEC for his performance.
Despite the accolades, there was one quarterback and one group of receivers that gave him troubles: Tua Tagovailoa and Alabama’s unit of weapons. In a 29-0 loss at Tiger Stadium, Tagovailoa torched Delpit and company for 295 yards and two touchdowns.
He would even account for a 44-yard rushing score on a bad knee.
Jerry Jeudy had a game-high eight receptions for 103 yards, while Henry Ruggs III caught a touchdown pass and brought in a ridiculous one-handed catch. Even with Tiger fans being silenced at Baton Rouge, La., Delpit said LSU has the “best defensive backs in the nation.”
“They are great athletes,” Delpit said on Tagovailoa and Alabama’s weapons.
“They definitely know what they are doing. They’ve got that offense down pat, but I’ll take my secondary, our group of DBs any day. We also have great receivers too that we go up against every day in practice.”
Aside from Justin Jefferson and Stephen Sullivan, one would be hard-pressed to find an elite receiver for the Tigers. As for Alabama, it returns a veteran secondary – headlined with names such as Xavier McKinney, Shyheim Carter, Patrick Surtain II, Trevon Diggs and Jared Mayden.
LSU has lost its last eight matchups against the Tide, dating back to the 2012 BCS National Championship Game off the 2011 season. Will Delpit and the Tigers back up their talk?
With members of national media marking LSU as the game Alabama may lose, this November should be fun.
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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.
