Alabama Defensive Assistants Preview South Carolina's 'Tremendously Athletic' Offense

Crimson Tide defensive backs coach Maurice Linguist and defensive line coach Freddie Roach open up about the Gamecocks' "dynamic" quarterbacks and the athletes around them.

Sep 14, 2024; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers (16) runs for a touchdown against the LSU Tigers during the second quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Ruinard/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images / Ken Ruinard/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Simply put, a big reason for Alabama's historic upset loss to Vanderbilt this past Saturday was due to the dual-threat ability of Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia.

The season is still young and the Crimson Tide defense must improve against this up-and-coming play style as the College Football Playoff seeding narrows down. That said, Alabama will receive another exam on this unit this Saturday as it will face South Carolina Gamecocks versatile quarterback LaNorris Sellers.

Sellers has run for 200 yards and three touchdowns on 55 attempts this season. He has only 10 fewer attempts than Gamecocks running back Raheim Sanders and his yards mark ranks 25th among all SEC rushers and third among conference quarterbacks, trailing Pavia (seventh overall) and Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe (15th overall).

On Wednesday, Alabama defensive backs coach Maurice Linguist opened up about Sellers, indirectly admitting that he's had trouble with him in the film room due to the post-snap effects of going against a running quarterback.

"I think anytime you see a dynamic quarterback who can run and throw, it's always on our minds because you have the play and then the extended play, which dual-threat quarterbacks can create," Linguist said. "Plays that extend the 2.5 seconds of a normal play and the 2.5-3 seconds of the extended play. How we handle the contain of the dropback situations of the quarterback, then if and when he does get out, how we're handling the disciple coverage on the backend. Plastering or man if we're in zone, getting our eyes in the right place and making sure they don't create explosives off extended plays."

The Gamecocks occasionally utilize a two-QB system where Robby Ashford, who is also a dual-threat, complements Sellers. Ashford transferred to South Carolina this offseason after two years at Auburn. He was the Tigers' starting quarterback in 2022 and threw for 77 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns in a 49-27 loss to Alabama that season.

"Obviously, Robby, we played against him last year when he was at Auburn," Alabama defensive line coach Freddie Roach said on Wednesday. "He has the ability to throw and run the ball. So we’ve got our task set, but again, focus on what our individual jobs are so we can go out and have a chance to be successful."

In addition to the two Gamecock quarterbacks, Roach emphasized that South Carolina has "tremendous athletes who do a really good job." Linguist also stressed this, especially the receivers "on the outside" and detailed what Alabama has to do to shut this down.

"We want to make sure that we stop the run, plugging gaps, create negatives and set great edges to the defense," Linguist said. "The vertical passing game [also stands out]. Although the outside receivers maybe don't have all of the numbers and targets, they're athletic and the quarterback has the ability to push the ball downfield as he did against LSU and this past week. We respect the vertical throw game, we want to challenge the intermediate throw game."

"I think situational football is another big area," Linguist said. "We've been statistically a really solid group on third down, that was not the case last week and is a big area of emphasis for us this week. Respect the sticks and force kicks in the redzone."

The first glimpse of Alabama's rebounding defense against the Gamecocks dynamic and athletic offense will be on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 11 a.m. CT on ABC when the Crimson Tide hosts South Carolina at Saban Field Bryant-Denny Stadium.