Don Brown Breaks Down Alabama's Offense
Michigan has a huge test coming up against Alabama and Don Brown knows it. He talked about the Crimson Tide on In the Trenches with Jon Jansen and seems very concerned about several areas of Bama's offense.
The Crimson Tide offensive line is one of the best in the country comprised of several future NFL picks. Left tackle Alex Leatherwood and right tackle Jedrick Wills headline a group of former four- and five-star athletes that would make it tough for any defensive line. Brown likes his guys too, though.
"We’re pretty talented up front as well," Brown said. "Aidan Hutchinson’s really had a tremendous year, really all the way through. He and Kwity Paye and Mike Danna will divide both tackles’ attention. We feel like we match up there really well.
"Obviously, the one thing when you think about us, we can’t be stagnant. We can’t stand still in front of them. We’ve got to move and groove and do the things have gotten us to be fifth or sixth in the country in total defense."
Brown has also looked at backup quarterback Mac Jones very closely. Jones isn't Tua Tagovailoa, but he was a highly touted four-star quarterback in his own right.
"He doesn’t run very much but neither did Tua," Brown said. "He is a very capable pocket thrower. He has a great understanding of their offense and is a very solid competitor. I haven’t seen much differently.
"Obviously, you look at the Auburn game, and it’s a 48-45 shoot out, and he was going step for step with Auburn as well. He’s a good quarterback. He can make all the throws and is certainly going to present us some challenges."
Jones is solid and the offensive line group is loaded, but Bama's wide receivers might literally be the best quartet of talent ever assembled on a college roster. Jerry Jeudy, Devonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle and Henry Ruggs III make up the most dynamic receiving corps in the country. Brown is certainly aware of them and it was almost like he didn't want to think about them too much.
"These guys are very talented," he said. "They’ve got two really good receivers, for sure — it’s all over the field. Obviously they’re going to present some challenges for us."
Michigan, like anyone, is going to have its hands full against the Tide. They've got top prospects in every position group and it's going to be evident next Wednesday. Brown is up to the task but he has struggled against elite teams during his time at Michigan. It's going to be very interesting to see how ready he is for such a talented team after having several weeks to prepare for them.
