Alabama’s defense faced an elite passing quarterback in Carson Beck last week, but now it has a different challenge.
Kane Wommack and the Crimson Tide’s defensive coaching staff now battles Diego Pavia of Vanderbilt. Alabama heads to Nashville (Tenn.) on Saturday to take on the Commodores in a Southeastern Conference road matchup.
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Vandy is 2-2 under Clark Lea, but it could 3-1 or 4-0 if a couple of situations went its way.
The Tide earned a thrilling win over the Bulldogs, but it cannot afford to take the ‘Dores lightly.
Pavia, a senior, is dual-threat quarterback for Vanderbilt with eight total touchdowns — including six scoring tosses. He is dynamic as a runner and passer, and this offense for Commodores forces opponents to play with discipline. Pavia is not one to slide as a former high school wrestler.
He loves the contact and physicality of running over defensive players. The 6-foot, 207-pounder is a unique playmaker.
Colin Hitschler, Alabama’s co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach, spoke to reporters on Wednesday about the most significant challenge in defending Pavia. He said Pavia will force Alabama to ‘not relax’ and ‘play through the whistle.’
“It is his ability to extend plays,” Hitschler said. “This kid is extremely competitive. He has an ability to make things happen even when it is not there. That has been the focus for us. It is not just his running ability we are worried about on the back end, but it is the extension of the plays he makes that is scary.”
Pavia has Vanderbilt with an excellent red zone offense.
The Commodores have scored on 18 of 19 red zone situations, propelling it to 95 percent conversation.
Alabama has to play clean and sound on Pavia and Vanderbilt’s offense. Players need to have gap integrity up front, the Tide’s edge rushers need to affect Pavia, and the secondary has to come up huge in run support and pass defense.
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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.
