DeBoer tells what Alabama has to put emphasis on to prepare for Indiana’s run defense

Dec 19, 2025; Norman, OK, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide running back Daniel Hill (4) celebrates scoring a touchdown in the second half against the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family OK Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Alabama football is preparing to face a third-straight opponent that has a top-5 run defense.

In the SEC Championship, the Crimson Tide finished with negative rushing yards, and Oklahoma held Alabama to less than 30 total rushing yards last Friday.

A date with Indiana in the Rose Bowl is fast approaching, and the Crimson Tide has some work to do in practice before facing the Hoosiers, a team that ranks third in defense per ESPN’s FPI.

Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer explained what his squad is making note of before facing the No. 1 team in the nation.

“I think a lot of it is the tackle for losses is what you really have to try and guard against, and I think this is a team that is right around or ahead or behind Oklahoma in that category,” DeBoer said. “Attacking style, guys that shed blocks that play physical, use their hands. They’re violent. These games hopefully prepare you, and again, you find ways to improve, whether it’s individually, your assignment, and your job or just schematically. They present it in different ways, so it might not be the same schemes you run, but it’s about you understanding you got to do your job and everyone working together. That’s where we got to make sure we continue to improve to stay up from tackles for losses because you get behind teams like Oklahoma and Georgia and obviously Indiana, they’ll find a way to make you pay for it.”

Against Oklahoma, Alabama’s longest rush of the game happened in the third quarter as the Crimson Tide dialed up a toss play into the boundary for running back Daniel Hill. The 244-pounder put his cleat in the ground, broke through the line and found a lot of green grass for an explosive 30-yard run.

DeBoer was asked about what worked on that play and why plays similar to that one were less successful.

“The key is getting that thing started, trying to get the edge on that particular play,” DeBoer said. “We had some success at times. There were times that we just missed blocks on plays similar to it, maybe not the exact same one. That was the case on a number of runs as we were just one block away. … Daniel, I thought, did a nice job of running through a tackle there, and I really love that knowing and understanding what Oklahoma’s really good at and guys converging, kind of realizing that it might be tough to spring it for a touchdown, making sure he protected the football. He’s done a great job of that, and he needs to continue doing a good job moving forward for us to be successful.”

If you take away the quarterback rushing numbers, Alabama’s running backs have had some decent games at times later in the year against SEC teams. Hill and Jam Miller combined for 54 rushing yards against Oklahoma with Hill having 43 of those yards.

When comparing the first game the Crimson Tide played against the Sooners to the latest one, DeBoer said the team blocked better in the first meeting and explained why some defenses have been getting the best of Alabama’s rushing attack at times.

“I thought we did a better job overall blocking the first time we played Oklahoma from just clean pictures, but it’s nothing that we can’t sure up moving forward,” DeBoer said. “And some of it might have been just not sustaining it. Just a guy getting over the top of us on some down blocks or some crack blocks and things like that, so we just need to be better in that moment.”

When specifically talking about Hill, his 30-yard rush and his rushing touchdown were the best plays that Alabama had on the ground, and the touchdown run really stood out to DeBoer.

“I thought the one he did a really good job on was the touchdown run,” DeBoer said. “Running through some guys, staying on his feet, the balance. We got the look we were thinking we probably had a chance of getting and gave him the ball. He did a nice job finding a way to get in the end zone on his own.”

Alabama will have about two weeks to get ready for the Rose Bowl, and an improvement in the run game may be needed in order to put away a team like Indiana.