Alabama hit an unexpected snag in the middle of its win over Kentucky, but the Crimson Tide handled it without letting the game slip away.
Kalen DeBoer said Alabama lost helmet communication in the third quarter between quarterback Keelon Russell and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb during Saturday’s 45-17 victory at Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky.
“Stuff you don’t expect to come up,” DeBoer said.
Russell, making his first road start for the Crimson Tide, was the player wearing the helmet with the “green dot,” which lets him hear Grubb, who was calling plays from the press box. The connection went in and out for a stretch, and Russell said it forced him to check the sideline on “a couple plays” for the call.
Even with the glitch, Alabama steadied itself after a rocky start. Russell had three turnovers in the first half, then settled in after halftime and threw a touchdown to Rico Scott without giving the ball away again. The Crimson Tide scored 32 unanswered points in the second half to pull away.
Russell said the team had prepared for exactly that kind of issue.
“In practice, we walk through it,” Russell said. “We just did a phenomenal job with the commands on the sideline.
Going through that whole situation. We did a good job to navigate it and keep going.”
He added, “I just want to thank the staff,” Russell said. “We fought through it and was able to just keep going.”
Alabama improved to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in SEC play.
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