Jordan Battle addresses where defense is at in again becoming 'hateful competitors'

Alabama‘s sustained dominance can be attributed to a lot of different factors, one of them being the mentality of their players year in and year out. Head coach Nick Saban has described teams of the past as hateful competitors, comprised of talented players that can beat you not just physically but mentally, the kind of players you hate lining up against. Alabama safety Jordan Battle was asked if their current Crimson Tide squad has attained that title yet three weeks into the season.

“I feel like were not at that level right now, but as that term goes, hateful competitors, coach likes to see the away team try to be dominant when we’re away instead of just being dominant when we’re home,” Battle said. “He mentioned that back then it was the opposite, we were dominant away and kind of so so home, so just trying to get back to that standard.”

Alabama’s play at home versus away seems to be a big criterion in them being hateful competitors, as Battle went on to tell a story from last season about Saban’s fondness for being dominant on the road.

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“He likes to see the away stadium empty, so I can still remember that feeling last year after we lost to Texas A&M and then we went to play Mississippi State after that and then we put that beating on them and then I saw him smiling towards the end of the game,” Battle explained. “Because Mississippi State’s crowd started leaving, so I can just see that made him very happy, so just getting back to that defense and trying to see coach happy like that, that’s what we need to get back to for real.”

The Crimson Tide defeated Mississippi State 49-9 last season after their upset loss to the Aggies, and so far this season Alabama has been very on brand with that performance in their first three weeks, averaging 46 points per game and allowing 8.6 points per game this year.

It will be challenging for the Crimson Tide to maintain their production, especially as they enter their conference schedule, which kicks off with a home matchup versus Vanderbilt this weekend. But Battle spoke on what their defense can still improve on moving forward, despite their dominant performances as of late.

“I feel like we’re in a good position, but it’s always room to improve. Whether it’s in our rushing lanes like you said Texas game, whether it’s in coverage, whether it’s in angles to the ball, lower our missed tackles, we’d been kind of missing tackles in the Texas game that lead to big plays. So taking the right angle to departure and being able to secure tackles and make plays down the field and create turnovers like we said. We’ve been losing the turnover ratio in the last few games, so we’re trying to get some turnovers on defense, try to get the offense going,” Battle said.