Alabama’s Tim Williams turns up the heat on Tide’s pass rush

Having a Top 10 defense at Alabama is old news. It happens just about every year. Last year, when the Crimson Tide slipped all the way down to No. 20, now that was the anomaly.

Suffice it to say, things have been righted in 2015. Alabama currently ranks fourth in the nation in total defense, easily setting the bar for the Southeastern Conference. And it may be largely due to a previously forgotten weapon,  the pass rush.

One of the secret – but not so secret anymore – weak spots for Alabama during Saban’s tenure has been rushing the passer. Because the SEC features so many spread offenses and mobile quarterbacks that put larger defensive players in unfavorable matchups, Alabama coach Nick Saban has typically preferred his defensive linemen occupy gaps, without help from extra blitzers.

The result is a defensive line that is strong against the run but can struggle a bit against the pass. Even the best secondaries can’t cover receivers forever, and against running QBs that put pressure on the edge, coverage tends to break down anyway.

The script has flipped in 2015 — Alabama currently ranks second in the nation for total sacks with 38. On Saturday, they sacked Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott nine times.

In the middle of that effort was junior Tim Williams, Alabama’s pass rush specialist.

One of the hallmarks of Saban’s defense at Alabama is his NFL-style player rotations on defense. Saban and defensive coordinator Kirby Smart tend to shuffle defenders often, almost like a hockey team. On passing downs, this means a player like Williams — a 6-foot-4, 230-pound junior officially listed as a Jack linebacker — is turned loose at the quarterback, along with teammates like Denzel Devall, Rashaan Evans and Ryan Anderson.

Going into the Mississippi State game, Williams had played only 100 of Alabama’s 575 defensive snaps, but an overwhelming 78 of those were pass rushes. On those 78 plays, Williams was responsible for four sacks, four QB hits and 19 additional pressures. He added 1.5 sacks in Starkville.

It’s a remarkable turnaround, both for Alabama and for Williams, who was mostly an afterthought in his first two seasons in Tuscaloosa (eight total tackles in two seasons).

A junior from Baton Rouge, Williams has allowed Saban and Smart to do what they love, and that’s stalwart coverage on the back end of the defense and let the upfront people do their thing.
It’s great news for Alabama, and a nightmare for the opponents remaining on the schedule.

Will Heath

Will Heath is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football.