Kalen DeBoer has been grateful for the return of fourth-year Alabama safety DeVonta Smith to the Crimson Tide this summer; for the purposes of not only his two-deep, but also because of Smith’s impact on the underclassmen.
“He’s been great here especially this fall where he’s been healthy,” DeBoer said on the August 28 edition of “Hey Coach & The Kalen DeBoer Show.” “This spring, he was kind of coming back and in the summer as well. He brings great speed. And he’s got a high motor. Got a lot of want to, we call it. High desire to be great. He loves this program. And has done a great job of really being serious and showing the younger guys that have been around what it takes and what it’s all about.”
DeBoer relayed Smith’s ability to fit into the Crimson Tide’s “Husky” position under defensive coordinator Kane Woomack, and co-defensive coordinator/DB coaches Colin Hitschler and Maurice Linguist while praising his resiliency.
“His story, I think, is very well known around the team, you know, with some of those injuries that he’s had,” DeBoer prefaced before saying, “And it’s just fun being around guys who have continued to stay the course like he has. But you know, he’s really in that safety room, in that Husky position, which is our Nickel kind of, position. He’s done a great job there. He can line up and play man-to-man and also come up off the edge and stop the run. So, really important position in our defense.”
Alabama’s secondary to be tested against Western Kentucky’s TJ Finley
Western Kentucky might be a more-than-30-point underdog in most sportsbooks against Alabama in Week 1, but Hilltoppers QB TJ Finley is a familiar face to Crimson Tide fans who the secondary must be prepared to contain on deep balls.
The former Auburn Tiger Finley was under center when Alabama was down 10-0 in the fourth quarter of the 2021 Iron Bowl. While that was two teams ago, Finley has something few teams have over the Tide: a mental advantage. Not only that, but Finley has largely gotten over the yips that held him back at LSU and Auburn; going for 3,439 passing yards, and 29 all-purpose touchdowns with Texas State.
Finley is a bigger threat to Alabama’s defense than any other Group of 5 QB in the country. The Crimson Tide cannot sleep on their Week 1 opponent.
