Linebacker Keith Lewis dives after Alabama receiver Amari Cooper during the game last year. Photo by Austin McAfee
Everyone knows Alabama is an extremely talented team. Ranked as the number three team in the country with a 4-0 record, the Crimson Tide has an extremely deep team with stars at multiple positions. Here are the Alabama players you need to know for the game Saturday.
The best place to start is with senior quarterback Blake Sims. Sims is in his first year as a starter and is off to a great start so far. Sims differs from the recent string of Alabama quarterbacks in that he can scramble as well as beat you through the air. Through four games, Sims has completed 71 of his 97 passes for 1091 yards and eight touchdowns with only two interceptions. He’s also run for 141 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries.
Sims’s biggest target is star wide receiver Amari Cooper. Cooper, who’s a junior this year, has been playing about as good as anyone in the nation with a stat line of 43 catches for 655 yards and 5 touchdowns. Cooper is the complete package with solid height at six-foot-one, dynamic speed and great hands. Expect him to be a very difficult matchup for any Rebel cornerback.
The other aspect of Alabama’s offense is the run game, where they are as deep as possibly any team in the country with a formidable running back trio of T.J. Yeldon, Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake. Yeldon, a junior, is the starter. After rushing for over 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns last year, Yeldon is off to another good start with 284 yards and two touchdowns on 57 carries. Listed at six-foot-two and 221 pounds, Yeldon has the power to run between the tackles and the speed to bust off long runs.
However, Yeldon has some major competition with sophomore Derrick Henry. Despite getting four fewer carries than Yeldon, Henry has 36 more yards than him as well as the same number of touchdowns. Henry is an imposing figure at six-foot-two and 241 pounds and uses his size to punish defenders with his bruising running style. Henry is also very fast for his size, making him a true back.
Rounding out the running backs is junior Kenyan Drake. Drake is smaller than the other two backs at six-foot-one and 202 pounds but is an explosive player with a nose for the end zone. So far, Drake has 112 yards on 22 carries on the year along with four rushing touchdowns. Equally impressive is his 149 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.
One of the biggest contributors to Alabama is senior Christion Jones. Jones’ biggest asset is his game-breaking speed, which he uses at wide receiver and as the Tide’s primary returner. Jones has four return touchdowns in his career in addition to six receiving touchdowns and is a threat to score every time he touches the ball.
Defensively, one of the Tide’s best players is safety Landon Collins. A returning starter, Collins is now a junior and is playing better than ever. The speedy safety is leading Alabama in tackles with 32, in pass deflections with three and tied for the lead in interceptions with one. Alabama’s secondary looks a bit weaker than it has in years past, so having a star safety like Collins is crucial for their pass defense.
Definitely keep an eye on these players throughout the game as Ole Miss’s ability to keep them in check could very well decide the game.
