Alabama defense: Nick Saban praises 'explosive' Jamil Burroughs

Alabama’s defense has been a strength of the program since Nick Saban took the helm as head coach in 2007, so the 69-year-old Crimson Tide coach has an eye for young emerging defensive talent.

Last weekend’s early lead vs. Southern Miss gave a few defensive reserves significant play time and one sophomore defensive linemen stood out in a major way.

Second-year defensive lineman Jamil Burroughs recorded one of Alabama’s two sacks in the 63-14 victory over Southern Miss, while also adding a tackle for loss. The four-star recruit earned minutes off the bench late against Miami and Mercer but had yet to make a statistical impact until Saturday.

“He’s working and doing a good job he’s got really good quickness and explosive power,” Saban said when asked directly about Burroughs.

Could Burroughs see more snaps on the Alabama defense?

Although he saw live-game action in six games a season ago, Burroughs finished 2020 with just five tackles overall. He opened the 2021 season slated third on the depth chart at his position heading into the season behind Justin Eboigbe and Phil Mathis.

Saban gave keen insight into how Burroughs and other less-experienced players can work themselves into becoming key pieces on the Alabama defense.

“The thing with most of our young guys, they have to be able to execute and do what they’re supposed to do,” Saban said. “If they’re supposed to slant, if they’re supposed to take a different gap. I think that’s the biggest challenge and when you make errors with anybody in the front seven people don’t really see that because somebody else usually makes the tackle.”

While Saban continues to preach discipline when it comes to the younger players executing on the Alabama defensive front, he reiterated Burroughs’ noticeable improvement.

“It is critical that our young players can really be disciplined in understanding what their job is so they can go out there and execute the team defense part of it and he’s certainly improving in that regard,” Saban continued.

As a 4-star recruit, Burroughs shined at McEachern High in Georgia. The 6-foot-3, 312-pound lineman collected 120 tackles, including 13 for loss and 11 sacks, in his tenure. He also forced two fumbles and blocked a field goal.

Though the sophomore’s big day came against a non-conference opponent, Saban knows Burroughs will be important as Alabama gets into the heart of its SEC slate, beginning with Saturday’s showdown with No. 12 Ole Miss.