The Alabama Crimson Tide will find themselves on the road in an extremely hostile environment on Saturday afternoon.
Alabama is set to face Mississippi State in Starkville, as both programs are widely regarded as two of the hottest teams in the nation entering Week 5. Sophomore quarterback Keelon Russell will need to shine on the road once again this weekend, and the star will look to replicate his promising performance in Lexington against the Wildcats in Week 2.
Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer recently took a moment to reveal how the Tide is preparing for the hostile environment on Saturday, as the offense has reportedly been practicing with simulated noise in hopes of making things easier on the unit in Starkville.
“There certainly is an aspect to operating when it’s loud.” DeBoer said. “When we’re calling plays in practice, we got to have the noise. We’re pumping that out of speakers and all that. Keelon’s got to hear plays, signalers got to hear plays and guys got to be able to communicate on the line. These are long weeks for the offensive side of the ball when we go on the road in the SEC, that speaker is usually right behind the offense which is right behind where the coaches also stand. Those comments happen at about the end of every week, it’s like okay, we got through that one, now we got to go and take the show on the road.”
Russell and the rest of the Crimson Tide’s offense were able to regroup and thrive in Lexington following a slow start against Kentucky. Alabama as a whole will need to emphasize their communication throughout the entire matchup, and Russell will need to block out the noise to the best of his ability once again in Week 5.
