Defensive End Isaac Ukwu Details How Ole Miss Can Edge Alabama

Senior defensive end Isaac Ukwu was made available to the media on Monday afternoon, breaking down what needs to be done to edge college football's powerhouse in Alabama.

OXFORD, Miss. -- The Alabama Crimson Tide are off to a rocky start, but we can never forget “Bama is Bama.” This year’s team has not looked nearly as dominant compared to past years, but the Ole Miss Rebels will not be overlooking Nick Saban and his Tide.

First-year Rebel Isaac Ukwu was not part of last year’s team, but he clearly understands the significance of the task at hand, putting the blinders on and treating this game like any other game. 

"At the end of the day, Bama is Bama," Ukwu said. "They still find a way to be who they are...their culture just carries. That's going to be a great team we've got to go in there and play against. We're going to go in there like any other week and give them the utmost respect."

The senior defensive end leads the Rebels with two sacks (fourth in the SEC) and tallied 10 total tackles in his last two contests. With recent struggles for Pete Golding and his defense, this week's preparations need to be faultless. 

When asked what the Rebels need to do defensively to maintain mobile Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, who was just announced as this week's starter, Ukwu is taking the threat seriously.

“I mean when you have a running quarterback, now they have 10 blockers instead of 9 because the quarterback is not a part of it ,so it's another person you have to account for,” Ukwu said. “When you get a quarterback who can read defenses, throw the ball but then also run the ball, it’s just a different aspect, you gotta play more sound on your pass rush lanes” 

Last week, the defensive line failed to pressure Georgia Tech’s quarterback Haynes King, leading to the Yellow Jackets controlling possession for almost 20 minutes more than the Rebels. What can the Ole Miss defensive line do differently to impose a threat to Milroe?

“We dominate the line of scrimmage, and we are the more physical team, whether that is block destruction, making tackles, playing the ball in the sky, the more aggressive team will win," Ukwu said. "If we can impose our will on the offensive line and then have the linebackers come in filling gaps with bad intentions, I think we can pull out the win.”

Lane Kiffin has led his No. 15 Ole Miss Rebels to a perfect 3-0 start to the season, despite the last two wins coming from second half rallies. With SEC play opening up against Saban and his No. 13 Alabama Crimson Tide, waiting for the second half simply will not get the job done. 

Ole Miss and Alabama are scheduled to kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday. The game will be televised on SEC Network.