One player for Alabama football on defense absolutely hated what happened two years ago at Tiger Stadium.
Jihaad Campbell watched his team go down in overtime to Jayden Daniels, the 2022 Heisman Memorial Trophy winner, and the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge, La. He enrolled at the University of Alabama as a five-star freshman outside linebacker from New Jersey, but Campbell never wants to feel the pain of losing in “Death Valley” again. Now, he is a leader on this defense as the Crimson Tide’s middle “Mike” linebacker. The 6-foot-3, 244-pounder has a killer’s mentality to destroy everything on the field.
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Campbell, a junior, shares the team lead for total tackles (66). He carries a team-high 38 solo tackles and has 6.5 stops for loss, 2.5 sacks, a pass breakup, a forced fumble, and an interception. Alabama has pitched two shutouts on defense with Campbell, including one versus a Southeastern Conference opponent. It notched a 34-0 victory over Missouri two weeks, clinching its first shutout of an SEC school since 2020 against Mississippi State. Holly Rowe, a sideline reporter for ESPN’s family of networks, received an opportunity to be around Alabama’s facility this week. Campbell shared one significant quote with her for Saturday.
“We are going into Baton Rouge with violent intentions,” Campbell said.
Rowe said the primary vibe she got from Alabama’s defense was ‘urgency.’
“I spoke with about five players this week,” she said to Roger Hoover of Crimson Tide Sports Network. “I feel like there is this urgency. All of these players I have spoken to this week, and it is like urgency, urgency, business trip, season depends on it.”
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Alabama’s sense of urgency is on another level right now.
They have to come out swinging and knock LSU out of the ring.
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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.
