Former LB breaks down Alabama defense ahead of 2023 season
With seven days until the 2023 season kicks off, there are still questions surrounding Alabama’s defense. The Crimson Tide lost seven starters from last year’s squad, including No. 3 pick Will Anderson and several key contributors and leaders on that side of the ball.
Former Alabama linebacker Christian Miller has been in these players’ shoes before, seeing his role within the defense increase from 2014-18. Miller is now a sideline reporter for the Crimson Tide Sports Network’s radio broadcasts and hosts The Millers’ Edge radio show alongside his father, Corey. The show airs on Tide 100.9 FM weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon.
BamaOnLine caught up with Miller this week to get his thoughts on Alabama’s defense, new-ish defensive coordinator Kevin Steele and how defenders view quarterback battles.
BamaOnLine: What do you think of the outside linebacker room and its capability?
Christian Miller: “I’m very high on that group. I think they have a lot of potential. I think they’re gonna be one of the marquee positions on, first and foremost on the defense but on the team, really. I think they’re gonna have a large impact, a very high impact on this team, and that’s because they’re led by Dallas Turner, who a lot of people are familiar with at this point. A guy who is another complete type of player at the outside linebacker position. We saw him last year in those dime, cheetah packages. I mean, he’s athletic enough where they feel comfortable putting him at like a stack linebacker position. It’s ‘middle linebacker,’ although it is in the dime scheme, so it’s a little bit different. But you still have to be very athletic and have an understanding of that position to play, and they felt confident putting him there, so obviously he can move around well. With that being said, his greatest asset is probably his pass-rush ability. So he’s leading the pack.
“But I’m really excited about Chris Braswell on the other side. I think that tandem has a chance to be arguably one of the best tandems of edge rushers in college football this upcoming season. Chris is a guy that’s developed nicely, a very instinctive guy. He’s also very athletic. Really nice build, long arms and he’s got the weight to him. But what I really like about Chris is he’s very active with his hands. I was a very technical rusher. That was what I was known for is my hand usage, and when I watch him, he likes to use an arsenal of moves. I arguably think he is the most talented pass rusher in the room in terms of his move set, his ability to bend. He’s been working some long-arm stuff, I’ve seen. Him and Dallas Turner leading that group, I’m really excited about them.
“And then a plethora of young guys behind them that are gonna be soaking up all that knowledge from those guys. Qua Russaw, Keon Keeley, those are obviously some young guys that are in that room that are gonna provide some solid depth. But then (Quandarrius) Robinson who’s been there – I think that’s arguably one of the best position groups on the football team. Probably behind the running room. I mean, everybody knows about those guys.”
BOL: Similar in depth is the inside linebacker room. What can that group accomplish?
Miller: “I think they’re gonna step up tremendously this year. Deontae Lawson is a guy that a lot of people have high expectations for, and rightfully so. He’s a very sound leader, which is very instrumental to the linebacker position, particularly inside. He’s a guy that can kind of do it all. He’s rangy enough to play sideline to sideline. He’s physical in the run game. He’s athletic enough to cover space. He’s not a liability in terms of dropping into coverage. So I’m expecting big things out of him.
“And then I think they’ve got a number of guys that will play alongside him very nicely. I look at Trezmen Marshall coming in from Georgia – a thicker guy, more of an old-school thumper-type linebacker, at least the way that he’s built. He likes to come downhill and put a hat on a hat. But then I really like Jihaad Campbell – a guy who’s also in that kind of athletic, rangy build for a linebacker. Like 6-3, 230, definitely can play sideline to sideline, has experience kind of coming off the edge. So I definitely see him being involved, especially with their third-down and sub packages where they need a little more speed on the field.
“So I think they have a well-rounded group, and I think they’re gonna pair nicely with a guy like Kevin Steele, who was the linebackers coach when I was there back in 2014. A guy who’s gonna emphasize playing downhill, playing physical, using your hands getting off blocks, striking and running through contact. Really just trying to re-establish that brand of Alabama football, which is playing relentless, fast, physical and dominant.
“I think that is another solid room on the defense, and I’m expecting them to do some really good things. I mean, just looking back at A-Day, mentioning (Justin) Jefferson who transferred in from JUCO. That guy is like a missile. He looks like your typical L5 or R5 on kickoff team. He just flies downfield, and he’s not afraid to hit you. For a guy that’s undersized, he doesn’t play like it. I really like the depth that they’ve got at that position. I know that’s an area where a lot of people last year wanted to kind of see them play a little more physical, a little more downhill like we’ve seen in recent years at Alabama. I think they’ve got the right guys to do it. Now, it’s just a matter of them taking on that attitude and that persona and going out there and doing it.”
BOL: How can Kevin Steele help this defense be more physical and aggressive?
Miller: “He understands Coach (Nick) Saban’s system. He’s very familiar with it. He understands the process. I think that’s important. You look at Alabama with the amount of turnover with coaching, it’s hard to keep that standard consistent because a lot of these coaches that haven’t been there, they themselves are trying to learn what the standard is. So now you’re bringing in a guy who’s been there. He understands it. He’s familiar with it. He understands Coach Saban’s process and what’s expected. I totally believe that he’s gonna come in there and help that unit kind of return to that standard, kind of re-establish that on defense.
“Because when I look back at Alabama the last couple of years, it’s not the talent that was lacking. They arguably have the best talent in the country. To me, it all appeared to be, what I would call, between the ears, meaning it seemed like the mentality had slipped somewhat. And he’s a guy that’s gonna promote that, he’s gonna encourage that. When I was there with him in 2014, he’s tough on you. He’s an old-school coach with a lot of grit. He’s gonna get in your ear if he has to, but I think that’s kind of what this defense needs in order to re-establish that order and that identity that want seen from Alabama defenses.”
BOL: Can the defensive line take a step forward in being dominant like past units?
Miller: “I think they have that potential. But the names you mentioned, I’ll be honest, those are tough shoes to fill, and I think people have to understand that. I mean, even if you look at the wide receiver position, I think we’re starting to finally realize we might have been spoiled and really had a luxury at those positions, which are key positions. But with that being said, I think they do have that potential. I really like Justin Eboigbe coming back, who dealt with a neck injury last year. His football career was in jeopardy, but from what I’ve seen from him, he’s been a very solid player up front. He’s got pass-rush ability. He’s heavy-handed, does a really nice job striking blockers and getting off blocks. He’s been very disruptive. And I think most importantly, he’s been a foundational piece as a leader on that defense. He’s an older veteran with a lot of experience, so I think he’s gonna play a huge role in terms of leadership, as well.
“I see him and Jaheim Oatis. I mean, if anything, he’s one of those guys – he’s a freak. He’s a very large guy, but he plays a lot smaller in terms of his athleticism. But again, it just goes back to it’s all between the ears, and it’s hard to coach that sometimes. You’ve just gotta have guys that have that in them. You named guys like Quinnen Williams, but even going back to the A’Shawn Robinsons, Jonathan Allens, Jarran Reeds, Daron Paynes, they’re big shoes to fill, but just playing with those guys, all those guys I named, they were dogs. They came to Alabama as dogs. But it obviously helped having the right coaches in place to really continue to get that out of them.
“So to answer your question, I think you can get that out of this group. Again, it’s always gonna be hard to replace the names that we’ve named, but I really like this group and I think there’s also a couple of younger guys, too, that could end up stepping up. I really think it’s just between the ears, and they need at least one or two of those guys to be that dog – and others typically will follow. I don’t know who that’s necessarily gonna be just yet. It could be Oatis, it could be Eboigbe, it could be Tim Smith. I don’t know who the dog is gonna be, but if now all of them, at least one of them needs to be that dog not only for the defensive line but for the defense as a whole because everything starts up front.
“You win football games in trenches on both the offensive side of the football and the defensive side of the football. I think if we can get our trench play to return to that standard, specifically on the defensive side of the ball, I think the rest will follow. The linebackers are gonna play a lot better because they’re gonna be a lot more clean. They’re not gonna have linemen climbing all up on them before they even have time to really react. Again, it just starts up front. When I was on those defenses, that’s what we always used to say, ‘Everything starts with us.’
“In terms of pass rush, when we’re getting after the quarterback, it makes the defensive backs’ jobs easier. When we’re striking guys up front and being run-disciplined, it makes the linebackers’ jobs easier. I think that’s a critical piece for this defense, and that’s why I started off with talking about the edge rusher. I truly believe that front is gonna set the tone. I like the depth and the versatility in the secondary. I like the depth at linebacker. But I truly believe that defensive line and that front seven is gonna ultimately determine the success of the defense this upcoming season.”
BOL: What have you seen from Alabama’s versatile defensive backfield so far?
Miller: “I see a lot of big-play ability, partly because of the athleticism but the versatility. I feel like they have a lot of guys in those units between the cornerbacks and the safeties, the whole secondary. Guys that can move all around the field, guys that are ballhawks. It’s led by Kool-Aid McKinstry, arguably the best cornerback in the country. You talk about a dog, he has that attitude, and that’s what you need when you’re a cornerback. That’s arguably one of the hardest positions to play. I mean, you’re on an island, so you have to have that mentality, and he personifies that dog mentality. He’s leading the pack.
“Then you’ve got guys like Malachi Moore, who also has a wealth of experience playing. The guy can move around. He can play the Star position. They moved him to safety. But I’ve seen some young guys really stepping in, and not only them but some of these transfers. Jaylen Key had a big day Saturday. And so I think they have a lot of versatility. I know I keep using that, but it’s true. They have guys that can move all around, play different positions, and that always helps you in the secondary because injuries are gonna come up, things might happen and you’re gonna have to shift. So the more a guy can do, the more positions he can play, that makes your secondary that much stronger. I think that’s what we’re looking at there.
“Terrion Arnold is coming on with some more experience, I think a guy who’s definitely made some great improvement. I said the defensive line and the front seven, they’re gonna kind of set the tone, but the secondary group, I’m really excited about. I know we lost a handful of guys that were talented. We saw their names called and they’re playing on Sundays now. But I think arguably we’re gonna see an improved secondary this season compared to last.”
BOL: As a defensive player, can you see when a quarterback starts to separate?
Miller: “Typically, when a guy is kind of winning the team over and separating himself, I mean basically what it is is he’s kind of taking the reins, and that’s kind of what Coach Saban is referring to when he says taking the bull by the horns. In practice, he’s just stepping up. The guy is vocal. You can just tell, they just have an aura about them that they’re the guy. That’s pretty much what you’ll see. It’s normally like that consistently where the guy that ends up being the guy, he’s taking command. There were situations where Tua (Tagovailoa) and Jalen (Hurts) were both competing for that job and they both kind of seemed to have that about them. It’s definitely situational, it’s definitely different in every scenario, but that’s typically what it looks like.
“They just have this confidence about them. When they go out, they look like they’re confident in what they’re doing, they’re confident in their reads and progressions, they’re coaching their receivers up and they just look the part. That’s the best way I can put it. As a defender, you go out there and try to make those guys the best that they can be in practice, knowing that they’re gonna ultimately be responsible for your offense coming up. You wanna give them the best look that you can. You wanna make things tough on them. You wanna harass them as much as you can in practice because ultimately that’s gonna determine how successful they are during the season.
“I’m excited about the group. I know a lot of people get eager to hear who’s it gonna be. I think at this point everybody kind of understands it’s pretty much Jalen Milroe’s job to lose, and that’s not from me having any intel. That’s just from he started things off in the spring game, he starts all the scrimmages, and I like that. I think he adds another dynamic to them that others can’t quite possibly add, at least as we’ve seen in terms of his athleticism. That’s just something that you don’t take lightly as a defender. We always had to game plan for that when we played quarterbacks that had running ability. It always added another layer to our game plan against those guys.”
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