Alabama’s defense entered the season with a lot of heat behind it. The Tide were coming off one of the nation’s best passing defenses in 2025, and they brought back the entire secondary. That kind of setup tends to raise the bar fast.
On paper, the results have been solid enough. Alabama has held opponents to 21 points per game, grabbed 19 takeaways, and scored 35 total points on defense.
But the overall feeling around the unit has still been one of letdown. This is less about the numbers and more about the gap between what was expected and what has actually shown up.
The defensive line has been the most mixed of the bunch. There was reason for optimism after James Smith moved on, and Devan Thompkins and Terrance Green have been clear upgrades over what Alabama had a year ago. Green’s injury changed the look of the group, but even so, the line has generally held up better than expected against the run.
The pass rush, though, has barely been there. Yhonzae Pierre hasn’t delivered the kind of impact Alabama wanted, and nobody else off the edge has really seized the job.
Losing Justin Hill and Desmond Umeozulu early in the year clearly hurt. Fatutoa Henry finally flashed last week, which gives the group something to build on.
Overall, the line has probably landed close to expectations, but not by a wide margin.
At linebacker, the story has been much better. Caleb Woodson looked like a questionable fit when Alabama signed him as a converted safety, but he has been excellent all season and has shown real physicality.
Then there’s Luke Metz, who has gone from under the radar to one of the most energetic and disruptive players on the roster. He’s still making mistakes, but the talent is obvious.
Together, they’ve blown past what most people expected.
The cornerback room has been a different kind of story. Zabien Brown has been exactly what Alabama hoped for and then some, playing at the level of arguably the best player on the roster.
But the rest of the group has struggled badly. Dijon Lee was strong in 2025, yet this season has brought a sharp drop-off, with repeated deep completions and penalties piling up.
Carmelo O’Neal was beat early, and with Zabien Brown hurt, Alabama has had to play the secondary so deep to avoid getting exposed over the top that it has thrown the whole defensive structure off.
Depth at corner has been a problem too. The younger options have barely been used, although Chuck McDonald finally got some run last week. It’s hard to make sense of how thin this unit has become, but the bottom line is simple: outside of Brown, the group has underperformed, and the whole room has hovered close to disaster.
The safeties have also fallen short of the preseason outlook. Bray Hubbard was supposed to be an All-American level player in his third season starting, but he has been relatively quiet and has had several rough moments, especially when he overcommits to gaps already being handled by the linebackers.
There’s a sense he may have been playing injured since week 3, though that has never been confirmed. Either way, the production hasn’t matched the hype.
Keon Sabb has been hard to notice for much of the year, and he has also lost edge contain in some important situations. Red Morgan has been the exception.
Working at the husky/slot spot, he has been excellent, blowing up plays in the backfield and shutting down teams that want to lean on RPOs. Even with his strong play, though, Hubbard and Sabb have pulled the group below expectations.
That’s the larger theme for Alabama’s defense as a whole. There have been individual bright spots all over the place - linebackers, Red Morgan, Terrance Green, Devan Thompkins - but the unit hasn’t quite lived up to the level many expected before the season.
The issues at corner have mattered a lot, and the pass rush and safeties haven’t supplied enough help either. There’s still time left in the season, and Alabama will be hoping the defense can turn things around in the final third.
In Other News...
Alabama Still Has One Noah Rogers Decision Hanging Over The Offense
Noah Rogers has been back in the mix since Week 4, but Alabama still has not fully unlocked what it wants from the NC State transfer. A knee injury in spring practice slowed his rollout, and while the staff has clearly been interested in finding more room for him on offense, the challenge has been fitting him into an already crowded rotation without pulling someone else off the field.
Kalen DeBoer has said the Tide would like to involve Rogers more, which leaves this as more than a simple health update. It is a usage question now, and one that will keep lingering as Alabama sorts out how to balance its personnel. Elsewhere around the program, sophomore guard Amari Allen is entering the year with some real buzz after being named preseason All-SEC first team by league coaches following a strong freshman season and a solid preseason showing. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Heads To LSU With DeBoer Taking A Very Different Approach
The Alabama-LSU matchup on Nov. 7 already carried plenty of weight, but Lane Kiffin helped sharpen the edge by calling out the SECs decision to put the game in an afternoon window and suggesting the schedule favors LSU. His comments added another layer to a rivalry that rarely needs much help getting attention, especially with both programs entering a stretch where every move feels magnified.
Kalen DeBoer, meanwhile, has taken a noticeably different tack in the buildup, keeping the focus on Alabama rather than joining the public back-and-forth. With LSU dealing with injuries and the stakes obvious for the Crimson Tide, the game sets up as one of those November tests that can reshape the conversation around Alabama almost immediately, depending on how it plays out. [Read more 🡒]
Kalen DeBoer Just Landed In An Alabama Scenario Fans Will Hate
Kalen DeBoer is already getting pulled into the kind of rumor mill Alabama fans never want to see around a coach who is still settling in. After signing a long-term deal with the Crimson Tide, DeBoer has nevertheless surfaced as a name to watch if USC ever decides to make a change with Lincoln Riley, whose tenure in Los Angeles has yet to produce a national championship or a College Football Playoff berth.
For Alabama, the concern is obvious: whenever a coach starts showing up on another blue-bloods wish list, the speculation follows. DeBoers contract was built to give the Tide stability, but the USC angle keeps his name in circulation for a job that would be hard for any coach to ignore, and it leaves Alabama fans waiting to see whether the noise fades or grows louder. [Read more 🡒]