Mississippi defensive back Mike Hilton (28) celebrates just after winning an NCAA college football game against Alabama in Oxford, Miss., Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014. Ole Miss won 23-17, which was the first victory against Alabama since 2003. (DM Photo | Cady Herring)
The Alabama Crimson Tide are, without a doubt, a big challenge for the Rebels on Saturday after Ole Miss scored over 70 points in both of its first victories. Senior safety and Chucky Mullins Courage Award recipient Mike Hilton is confident his team is up for the challenge.
“They’re coming at us with everything. We have to go down to Tuscaloosa, the environment is going to be live and they’re coming for us after us beating them last year,” Hilton said. “It’s going to be a fun atmosphere.”
Hilton said he saw potential in the Rebels defense thus far.
“Defensively, we’re still trying to find our identity, but we feel like where we are right now is a good start,” Hilton said.
One of the things the defense has struggled with this season is being in the right position before the snap. The defense still performed well despite this in the first two games, but Hilton felt it could be a much bigger problem against Alabama.
“If you have the wrong guy in the wrong gap, it could bust any second with those type guys in the backfield,” Hilton said. “We feel like this week, in practice, we’ve harped on lining up with the right alignment, right assignment, right gap and tackling, so all this is going to come in handy for Saturday.”
The focal point of the Alabama offense so far has been rushing the football, with junior Derrick Henry rushing for 243 yards and six touchdowns on 31 carries and Kenyan Drake running for 117 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries while also catching seven passes for 139 yards and another touchdown.
“Both of them are terrific backs. Henry is a big guy, but he can also run away from you and Drake is their speed guy. He’s the big play man,” Hilton said. “So offensively they have all types of weapons and we feel like if we play to the best of our ability, tackle well, we can really slow them down.”
Considering how talented the Alabama rushers are, Hilton talked about the importance of gang-tackling to hold them in check.
“We have to get a lot of players around the football, make sure we wrap up this time. That’s one thing we’re really harped on is getting better is at tackling,” Hilton said. “With guys like Henry and Drake, both are explosive athletes, so we just have to get a lot of bodies around them and make sure we can get them on the ground.”
Hilton also talked about what he saw from Alabama’s new quarterback Jacob Coker.
“He has a strong arm also. He’s a real straight pocket passer,” Hilton said. “He goes through his progressions pretty well and he’s a real good game manager for them.”
After the 23-17 upset Ole Miss pulled off last season, Hilton knows the Crimson Tide will be ready for a rematch.
“For sure they are going to be focused. They know we’re not the same Ole Miss,” Hilton said. “We’ve really shown that we can compete and play with anybody, and us defeating them last year, we probably stuck around a little bit in their heads, and they’re coming for us this year. It’s going to be a good one Saturday.”
