Maurice Linguist Warns Alabama Secondary About Oklahoma's 'Misleading, Tricky' Stats

The Sooners don't have a receiver with over 300 yards this season, but the Crimson Tide defensive backs coach sees reasons to heavily focus on Oklahoma's pass-catchers when watching game film.

The University of Alabama football team prepares to run onto the field against Mercer at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, AL on Saturday, Nov 16, 2024. / Photo by Crimson Tide Photos / UA Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— This offseason, the Southeastern Conference welcomed Texas and Oklahoma to a group that "Just Means More," and while the Longhorns have thrived against this highly touted competition, the same can't exactly be said for the Sooners––No. 7 Alabama's next opponent.

Oklahoma was 4-0 prior to the conference slate of the schedule, but now the Sooners are 5-5, with its lone SEC win coming against Auburn 27-21. Nevertheless, Oklahoma's offense has battled through an onslaught of injuries all over the field, especially at the receiver position, as for a decent period, they consistently had five wideouts on the SEC injury report.

The games missed for Oklahoma's pass-catchers have certainly taken a dip in their stats as not one wide receiver has over 300 receiving yards this season. Some of them have healed and are ready to suit up at home against the Crimson Tide on Saturday and Alabama defensive backs coach Maurice Linguist believes the stats are a bit of an unintentional smoke screen.

"They've got an athletic group," Linguist said on Wednesday. "This a group of receivers that are a lot better than what those numbers are. Those numbers are tricky, they're mistelling. They're misleading numbers because if you look at them they're throwing for under 200 yards per game but there's guys that are open. You look at them, they have turnovers and they're trying to find their groove at the quarterback spot.

"So all of those things factor into those numbers but they have an athletic group. When you look at the sideline tape of those receivers, they can all run, they're dynamic, they've got size. Even the smaller guys have got twitch, they could get open. So we know this is a really good group of players that we've got to be ready to defend."

Besides the injuries, another reason for Oklahoma's struggles in the receiving room on paper is due to the Sooners' usage of two quarterbacks: Jackson Arnold and Michael Hawkins Jr., who each use their legs to run downfield fairly often. Linguist emphasized that this is "obviously something we have to be aware of."

"Going all the way back to the Texas game (Oct. 12), [Hawkins] is a very capable runner, both of them are very capable runners," Linguist said. "By nature, them being spread out with wide splits, they provide its own challenges in terms of how you're going to combat rush lanes, quarterback plus-1 runs and what's going to be our plan to make sure we're not giving up explosive plays."

Alabama's defense has forced at least three turnovers in five straight games and six of the last seven overall. This recent run could help the Tide against the Sooners, as it might be Oklahoma's biggest weakness this season. In the last three games alone, OU's -2.7 turnover margin is the worst in the country––this by no means is a misleading, mistelling or tricky stat.

"I think things always begin with the ball," Linguist said regarding Alabama's recent takeaways spark. "You think about how you attack the ball, leverage the ball, Day 1 fundamentals of how you hold the ball, chase the ball, we're going to praise those that get to the ball, how you punch a ball, how you locate a ball, all things with the ball. We put a big emphasis on the ball, we start every single day with turnover circuits, practice periods about all the intricate details. The game is about the ball, the ball is the program and we want to continue to see if we could put ourselves in the position to be on the plus side of that turnover margin."

Read More: Alabama Players Share 'Killer Instinct' Mindset for Final Games of Regular Season

How Alabama is Approaching Final Two Games with SEC, CFP Implications Looming

Alabama Football's Turnover Circuit Creates Consistent Habits Leading to Productivity

Kane Wommack's 'Keys to Victory' Setting Alabama Defense Up for Success