Alabama’s ‘best striker’ might be the key to stopping Oklahoma

Alabama defensive back Red Morgan. Photo | Alabama Athletics

There isn’t an award or trophy associated with the title, but defensive coordinator Kane Wommack doled out one of Alabama’s biggest honors when addressing defensive back Red Morgan. 

While praising Morgan on Tuesday, Wommack referred to the 6-foot, 180-pound defender as perhaps the “best striker” on the Crimson Tide’s defense. By that, the defensive coordinator means the defender most capable of putting ball carriers on their butts. 

“There’s just a natural feeling of a guy that can get his feet in the ground at the right time and get the right placement to be able to step with your left foot and right shoulder and maximize your power to get somebody on the ground,” Wommack said. “To do that out in space is a compounding challenge.” 

Cornerback Zabien Brown describes Morgan’s physicality in more colorful terms. 

“I mean, yeah, Red’s a dog,” Brown said. “He knows how to hit and makes a lot of plays on the perimeter. Having someone like that makes my life, the safeties’ life, everybody’s life that much easier.”

Morgan made his first start against Oklahoma last month, filling in for injured DaShawn Jones at the Husky position. The sophomore recorded four tackles and a forced fumble in the 23-21 defeat, earning the highest defensive grade on the team, according to Pro Football Focus. Since then, Morgan started two of the last three games in the slot, putting in solid performances against Auburn and Georgia the past two weeks. 

“He does a great job of leveraging the blocks on the perimeter, but he can get off those blocks and make plays in space,” Wommack said. “Certainly, his production showed up. He’s continued to elevate his game and play to better and better out there.” 

As for his title of “best striker,” that’s hard to argue. According to PFF, Domani Jackson leads Alabama with a 90.3 tackling grade, followed by Brown at 86.9. Safety Bray Hubbard is another name in contention, after jarring out three fumbles this season. However, when it comes to the honor Wommack bestowed on Morgan, none of his teammates are arguing. 

“Shoot, Red’s a dog,” Brown said. “Certain things you just can’t teach. His toughness physicality it shows up on a game day.” 

Hubbard, 6-foot-2, 213 pounds, pointed out that he’s carrying a bit more weight than Morgan, which allows his teammate to build up a little bit more steam while pursuing ball carriers. That being said, Hubbard is fine with taking second place on Alabama’s striker standings. 

“He can come downhill, and he just lays his whole body on the line,” Hubbard said. “Me personally, I don’t really lay my body on the line like he does. He’s out there flopping around. It’s pretty funny. I’m just running across the field, and I see Red coming out of nowhere, just flying into somebody. 

“I guess he can give him [the best striker title]. At the end of the day, I’m going to come downhill and hit you in the head.”

Morgan will be key this week when going up against an Oklahoma offense that features dual-threat quarterback John Mateer. The Sooners will also look to expose Alabama’s defense in open space on short passes. During last month’s matchup, the Sooners didn’t even attempt a pass that traveled 20 or more yards in the air past the line of scrimmage. Meanwhile, 12 of their 15 completions occurred within 9 yards past the line of scrimmage or closer. 

For Alabama, that’s Red Morgan territory. And for the Tide’s opponents, it might as well be labeled the danger zone. 

“When you are playing a team that’s going to stretch you laterally, your field/nickel has to set a wall out there and essentially put on film that, ‘Hey, look, if you want to throw the ball out there, you’re going to have a hard day,” Wommack said. “Red’s doing that as good as we’ve seen for a while.” 

No. 9 Alabama will travel to No. 8 Oklahoma for a 7 p.m. CT kickoff on Friday in the first round of the College Football Playoff. The game will be televised on ABC and ESPN.