Why Alabama was disappointed in its run defense against East Carolina at times?

Alabama football finished its matchup against East Carolina, giving up two rushing yards and 0.1 yards per carry, but the Tide was still disappointed in the way they defended the run at times.

Kalen DeBoer shared this with reporters after the game.

“We have a high level of expectation for those guys, and a couple times where, I don’t know if it was the linebackers not fitting where they needed to be, just in general, three, four yards on a couple run plays, and we were disappointed in that,” DeBoer said. “I like seeing them being disappointed coming off the field and talking about it. I wanna keep that standard high. They’re keeping that standard high. It isn’t anything I’m really concerned about as far as me having to push it on them. They want it. I think there’s times where they’re going to see just building trust and working together, knowing that if you do your job, the other guy’s going to do his, and you’re going to find a way to make those plays. I thought there were a lot of positives with the way they played.”

The Alabama run defense looks as if it will face a tougher test this week on the ground against the Kentucky Wildcats. The Wildcats rushed for 205 yards as a team against Youngstown State to open the season. Three different Wildcat ball carriers had more than 35 rushing yards. Jason Patterson led Kentucky on the ground with 11 carries for 78 yards, but CJ Baxter led Kentucky in rushing scores with two.

The Wildcats and Alabama will get after it on Saturday in Lexington. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast live on ABC.