Kalen DeBoer confirms suspension of Alabama LB for Wisconsin game after targeting call
Kane Wommack considers him one of Alabama’s three starters at inside linebacker, but the Crimson Tide will not have him during the first half of Saturday’s game against Wisconsin.
Justin Jefferson, a former junior college transfer, was flagged for targeting in Alabama’s 42-16 victory last week over South Florida on Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Tide fans disagreed with the call as they perceived Jefferson led with his shoulder and not the crown of his helmet to hit Bulls’ quarterback, Byrum Brown. However, the officiating staff did not feel the same way. Jefferson was called for targeting and according to the NCAA rules, he will miss first half against the Badgers.
Justin Jefferson, a former junior college transfer, was flagged for targeting in Alabama’s 42-16 victory last week over South Florida on Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Tide fans disagreed with the call as they perceived Jefferson led with his shoulder and not the crown of his helmet to hit Bulls’ quarterback, Byrum Brown. However, the officiating staff did not feel the same way. Jefferson was called for targeting and according to the NCAA rules, he will miss first half against the Badgers.
We’re just 48-hours away from Alabama Football’s first road trip to Madison in 96-years to take on the Wisconsin Badgers. We’ve poked and prodded all angles of the matchup, previewing Wisconsin’s offense and defense, offering up keys to victory for the Tide on offense and defense, and now it’s time to get bold and make some predictions for the game.
In last week’s bold predictions, we went 1-for-3, which if we were playing baseball would firmly place us in the Hall-of-Fame. We correctly predicted that Ryan Williams would find the endzone for the second week in a row, which he did in the fourth quarter on a touchdown that gave Alabama its first two possession lead of the night and was the beginning of the dam breaking as the Tide blew the game open at the end.
We incorrectly predicted Jalen Milroe would put up 400-yards of offense for the first time in his career. He fell a meager 204-yards shy of that mark.
We also incorrectly predicted the Crimson Tide to score a non-offensive touchdown. Instead, Alabama failed to force a turnover defensively, though Kendrick Law’s opening kickoff return in the second half looked like it had the potential to break all the way for a touchdown, but instead of racing the rest of the way to the endzone, Law fumbled so as to save his legs for more imporant moments.
While 1-out-of-3 might be Hall-of-Fame worthy, we strive for better here at Bama Hammer. Onward and upward we go this week:
3. Kendrick Law breaks out
Alabama fans have been waiting for a Kendrick Law breakout performance for over a year now. Law has flashed potential, but hasn’t quite realized it fully just yet. He only has one catch so far this year, a 22-yard touchdown in the season opener against Western Kentucky.
He was shutout last week, but Law has frequently impacted the game outside of catching the football. He is a willing blocker on the edge and has set up his teammates for success time and time again. It’s time for Law to eat, though.
There’s a lot of creativity in the playbook that we haven’t seen the first two weeks, and I think a lot of that creativity revolves around Law due to his speed and strength. He might be the fastest player on the roster, and I expect the playbook to open up and DeBoer and offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan to find different ways to get the ball in Law’s hands. Screen-passes, jet sweeps, pop passes, and maybe a go-route or two off of a double-move.
I think this is the game Law finally realizes his potential and has the big game Tide fans have yearned for.
2. Alabama scores a non-offensive touchdownA
We’re going back to the well again on this one. I have high hopes for Kane Wommack’s defensive scheme and forcing takeaways. He was extremely disappointed in Alabama’s inability to force a single turnover last week against USF, so you can tell from listening to him that it’s a point of emphasis for his defense.
Similarly to the vanilla offensive play calling, I think Wommack has been holding back on defense, too. Statistically, Alabama ranks 6th in the country in yards-per-play defense, and they’ve done that without creating a ton of havoc in the backfield. They’ve been content rushing three or four guys and letting the young secondary get reps against inferior opponents to ensure they are as ready as they can be for the big tests coming soon.
I think we’ll see the playbook opening up more this week, and Alabama doing more to affect the quarterback. Tyler Van Dyke presents the biggest threat to the Tide’s secondary so far, and Wommack won’t rest on his laurels and leave his secondary out to dry. Expect some different blitz packages that we haven’t seen yet, and look for the Crimson Tide to get plenty of pressure on Van Dyke and force a mistake or two.
