Alabama’s special teams were praised by head coach Kalen DeBoer for how the units have come on strong over the last few weeks.
In Saturday’s win over Vanderbilt, Alabama defensive back Dijon Lee Jr. had a big kickoff return that went all the way to the Vanderbilt 15-yard line. Alabama also had a big return in last week’s win over LSU as Ryan Coleman-Williams returned a punt deep into LSU territory to step up a score.
“It’s huge,” DeBoer said. “Our special teams has made a couple of big plays now, setting us up the last couple of weeks, and I think that’s where you’re seeing a little bit of experience with guys that are not just year one but year two and year three that are out there on these units continuing to gain more experience. We felt like there was an opportunity if we got one of those kicks, we were going to get some good field position. Went above and beyond. It’s great to see Dijon hit it the way he did. Seems like when he’s gotten those opportunities, he’s done a really good job. All the guys got to block hard, and staying away from penalties on those returns, even with Ryan’s, kind of jump to that. I think that’s what I really appreciate about our guys is they’re using the technique that they need to, giving great effort, and those playmakers like Dijon and Ryan are doing the rest when they get those chances.”
Both Lee Jr. and Coleman-Williams have had returns that have led to the offense scoring touchdowns.
Also, it is worth noting that Alabama has been punting the football very well over the last few games too. Alex Asparuhov has been a weapon for Alabama, flipping the field with his strong punts.
Alabama football will look to keep up the success on special teams throughout the rest of the season and perhaps create a touchdown on special teams.
