Chris Kapilovic Details Challenges of Missouri's 'Talented' Defensive Front

The Alabama offensive line coach goes in-depth on the mindset that his front five needs to have against the Tigers.

The Crimson Tide players and coaches continue working toward the season opener in practice Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. Alabama offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic directs his linemen. / Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA TODAY NETWORK

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Coming into this football season, an argument could be made that Alabama's biggest position group question was the offensive line, as the unit's 49 sacks allowed last season was in the bottom five of FBS.

While Alabama's front five hasn't been in the elite category in the first seven games of this season, offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic, who was hired during the Crimson Tide's tumultuous offseason, has his unit in the better half of the SEC in the sacks allowed department with 15.

On Wednesday, Kapilovic detailed what he's emphasized every day to his position group during practice and in games as well.

"Constantly harping on the techniques and the details," Kapilovic said. "There's some good things that are happening but then 'Am I blocking my man? Am I finishing?' At the end of the day, once we make our calls and everybody gets their hats on the right people, then you got to win your box. If my man never makes a play, I'm gonna have a good game. If five guys can keep their men from not making a play, 80-90 percent of the game, you have a chance to be successful. I want to see more strain and I want to see more finish."

In the Tide's upcoming matchup against Missouri on Saturday, Alabama will face a Tigers defense led by defensive coordinator Corey Batoon, who held the same position at South Alabama from 2021-23 under then-Jaguars head coach and current Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack. Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan, Wommack and tight end CJ Dippre each recently said that Batoon's 4-2-5 is very similar to Alabama's current Swarm D, but there's obviously some wrinkles.

On Wednesday, Kapilovic more or less said the same thing, but he's really taken a long look at the Tigers' defensive front and has noticed a few characteristics.

"This team here is talented, they rotate a lot of guys, they have good length on the edges, big long guys inside," Kapilovic said. "It's not going to change every week, we're gonna have our challenges but we've got good guys too. We just have to do our job and do it correctly."

"You see them go through the whistle where some teams you see guys get stopped and go down," Kapilovic said. "Their effort level is very high, they've got some good length on the interior too, so I think it's just a bunch of guys who've been coached well and play hard."

Kapilovic stressed that the Tigers' play-through-the-whistle mindset has been and still needs to continue to be instilled in his unit if the Crimson Tide front five wants to succeed on Saturday.

"I think in this league you're going to face great fronts all the time," Kapilovic said. "We saw some great pass rushers a couple of weeks ago, saw some this week, you're going to see it every week. But it's about when you're doing your job and winning those battles, you should build confidence from that."

"If you have a poor play or lose it, then it's not about going to the tank, it's about 'How did I lose it and what could I do to fix it?' That should always be your mindset...If you're a good and knowledgeable football player, you already know why it happened. All you got to do is fix it and that's what your thought process should be."

We'll see the mindset Crimson Tide front five as they battle the well-coached Tigers when No. 15 Alabama (5-2, 2-2 SEC) hosts No. 21 Missouri (6-1, 2-1 SEC) on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 2:30 p.m. CT at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium on ABC.