Alabama may not have known exactly when this test would arrive, but the prep work has been happening all along.
The Crimson Tide’s revamped tight end room has been giving Alabama’s defense a daily look at the kind of size, movement and versatility Georgia brings into Saturday’s matchup. That matters because the Bulldogs don’t just use tight ends as extra bodies. They use them to shape the entire picture.
Through five games, Georgia has gotten touchdown production from five different tight ends, with the group accounting for six total scores. Four of those tight ends have played at least 95 offensive snaps, and together they’ve piled up 22 catches for 285 yards on 33 targets.
The workload is spread out, but so are the jobs. That’s what makes the room such a problem.
Georgia might have 4 NFL tight ends on this year’s roster. https://t.co/MZcmcqX6YF
- Brandon Zimmerman (@BZSEC) September 6, 2026
Elyiss Williams, Lawson Luckie, Jaden Redelle and Ethan Barbour give Kirby Smart and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo plenty of ways to stress a defense. At 6-foot-7, 255 pounds, Williams brings a different frame than Luckie, Redelle and Barbour, who all check in at 6-foot-4 or 6-foot-3 and around 240 to 245 pounds. That mix of bodies lets Georgia attack in the run game and the passing game, and it makes the position much more than a side note in the offense.
The real trick is that Georgia can keep the same personnel on the field and still change the look with 11 personnel, 12 personnel or 13 personnel. The defense has to sort out the alignment, then react to what it means. That’s where Alabama senior safety and team captain Bray Hubbard comes in.
"They got four of them; they rotate," Hubbard told reporters after practice on Tuesday. "So, they’re all different-different body types-but I mean, they kind of all do it all.
"So, we've got to be prepared for that. They do a good job in the blocking game, pass game-obviously they like to throw it to them too.
So just got to prepare for it."
That challenge looks a lot like the one Alabama has been building on offense.
Kaleb Edwards, Josh Ford, Marshall Pritchett, Danny Lewis Jr., and Jay Lindsey have turned the Crimson Tide’s tight end group into a deeper, more physical unit. That has given Alabama the ability to use multiple big-bodied packages and move those players around the formation. Through five games, the group has produced 18 catches for 286 yards and two touchdowns, while also helping set the tone for a stronger run game.
So while the names on Saturday will be different, the problems are familiar. Where is the "Y" aligned?
Is he blocking or releasing? Who has him in coverage?
And what does that alignment signal?
Those are the questions Alabama’s defense will have to answer against Georgia, and Hubbard knows the key is figuring it out before the snap starts the whole chain reaction.
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