Last year’s Alabama football team lacked in the physicality department, but this season, Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer is saying that physicality is Alabama football’s identity.
Alabama defeated Mississippi State 56-23 inside Davis-Wade Stadium, and the Crimson Tide were able to get movement up front and run the football drastically better than they did at times in 2025.
The Crimson Tide rushed for 179 yards against the Bulldogs, and on defense, Alabama only allowed 18 rushing yards. On top of allowing under 20 yards of rushing, the Crimson Tide came away with five sacks.
DeBoer and his staff brought in a bunch of new faces to play in critical positions up front, and almost every starter on the defensive line and offensive line is a new face to the program or a first-year starter.
At this point in the season, DeBoer is confident that physicality is the team’s identity.
“I think we are very strong team physically,” DeBoer said. “When we execute, that’s a lot of it, I think that’s the difference right now is guys executing, playing confident, trusting each other, then they can cut loose the ability that they have physically to go out there, and whether it’s taking a guy down to the ground or breaking tackles, obviously blocking at the point of attack and just the physicality up front; our guys are taking pride on both sides of the ball with what that looks like. And so, I know it’s become an identity for us. We talk about it every single day, and those guys are believing. Today, I thought we went out there and cut it loose.”
The numbers speak for themselves to make a point about how the Crimson Tide have improved up front, but there are other positions to take a look at outside of the offensive and defensive linemen.
In the tight end room, there is a plethora of players capable of driving someone off of the ball, and in the Mississippi State game, players like Danny Lewis Jr. and Jay Lindsey were highlighted online for their efforts today in the ground game.
Clips like those are shared each week, and the clips show how big of an impact Alabama’s tight end room is having.
The physicality of Alabama’s running backs was on display today too. Freshmen Trae’shawn Brown and EJ Crowell had tough carries in this game versus Mississippi State.
Next week, the Crimson Tide’s physicality will be put to the ultimate test.
Alabama will face Georgia next Saturday at home at 6 p.m. CT. The game will be on ABC.
