Alabama will travel to Knoxville this weekend to take on the Tennessee Volunteers. It will be the first time that the Crimson Tide have returned to Rocky Top since being upset by the Volunteers in 2022.
Things will be a little different this time. Alabama is led by head coach Kalen DeBoer. One thing that remains the same is the fact that Tennessee’s head coach is still Josh Heupel and he still runs an up-tempo, high-powered offense.
On Wednesday afternoon, Alabama defensive line coach Freddie Roach elaborated on the importance of establishing depth and having his group prepared to play in a game of this magnitude.
“That’s what we’ve been trying to do all year was get guys ready and develop them, so they have an opportunity to come in. Regardless if it is up-tempo or if they are just old school huddle, like back in the day,” Roach said, “Just being able to have a group of guys that can rotate and do the things that we have to do to be successful. I think it helps. When you face a tempo team, you have guys that are comfortable and have played significant snaps to help you win ball games.”
Over the course of the season, Alabama has utilized a rotation of defensive linemen. The group includes Tim Keenan III, Tim Smith Jr., LT Overton, Damon Payne, Jah-Marien Latham, James Smith, and most recently Jordan Renaud. Each are expected to play meaningful snaps against the Volunteers this weekend. Their play will be crucial to stopping the run game and helping slow down the pace of Tennessee’s offense.
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