Vanderbilt’s offense presents an interesting challenge to Alabama with a dual threat quarterback, but what does Clark Lea offer defensively to offset Jalen Milroe and the Crimson Tide’s offense?
The Commodores have athletes on defense that look forward to Saturday’s matchup at home versus Alabama.
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Vandy’s defensive front has nine sacks, including two from Khordae Sydnor. Bryan Longwell leads the group in tackles for loss (four), while the Commodores have four interceptions. Coach Lea’s focus will be on collapsing Alabama’s offensive line to pressure Milroe and limiting the Tide’s opportunities in the run game. He will also disguise Vandy’s coverages and bait Milroe into poor decisions. Vanderbilt does not have the four and five star players as Alabama does, but it has a team that plays hard, shows discipline, and the guys execute assignments. Chris Kapilovic, the Tide’s offensive line coach, highlighted the biggest challenge for Saturday against the ‘Dores on defense. Alabama knows it needs to have its A game even in this meeting.
“They are very disciplined in their scheme and are well coached,” Kapilovic said about Vandy’s defense.
“You can see and understand that everyone is fitting where they are suppose to go. Whether it is a base defense, a stunt, or a blitz, they run to the football. They play hard and that’s the thing in football. When you can get 11 guys to play hard every snap, you always have a chance.”
Vanderbilt nearly took down a top 10 team in Missouri on Sept. 21.
The Tigers escaped with a 30-27 win, but that opened a perspective to how good the Commodores are. Vandy took down Virginia Tech to open its season and nearly beat Georgia State on the road.
“They are a very good team,” Kapilovic said. “They are going to play hard. They will be prepared for us and we will probably see things we have not seen yet. We have to be ready to make great adjustments against them.”
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Stephen M. Smith is the senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
