Alabama scores first defensive touchdown of the season against Mercer

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Alabama defense has made immense strides over the course of the last month of the season, but there’s one stat the Crimson Tide had yet to record until today.

The elusive non-offensive touchdown was once a staple of Alabama defenses. There were some defenses in the previous regime, 2016 for example, that averaged nearly one non-offensive touchdown every game. This season, the defense has made great strides and been dominant in nearly every area as of late, but hadn’t found a way to get in the end zone.

That was until today’s game against Mercer. Early in the second quarter, Mercer completed a pass over the middle for move into Alabama territory, but the ball was jarred free off a hit from defensive back DaShawn Jones. Then freshman cornerback Zabien Brown scooped the fumble on the run, and returned it 66 yards for the score.

It was the first non-offensive touchdown of the season for the Crimson Tide defense, a unit that despite its success, was one of very few units in the country to still be without a defensive score.

“Coach Wommack, he’s been wanting it for a minute,” linebacker Qua Russaw said. “We know we’re good enough to score and get takeaways, so just finish. When we get those turnovers, finish it and get in the box. I thought I was gonna be the first one to get one, but my boy ZB scooped him up one.”

Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said the defense has been clamoring for a score for a while, and has been notified after games when they had an opportunity to score one but wasn’t able to.

“Those are exciting. The guys talk about it, and when they come up short and think they had a chance to score the guys hear, ‘you should have kept it on this sideline, or cut back,'” DeBoer said. “For us to get him in the end zone with that long return, it was something that’s exciting for the whole team. They’ve gotten the takeaways, we just hadn’t ended up with one in the end zone like that. I love the mindset, again, go back to what the defense is doing. They’re attacking, 3-and-out is what they’re shooting for, but right now the position they’re putting our offense in, getting points on the board now too, it’s really good.”

The defensive score from Brown wasn’t the only takeaway from the defense on the afternoon. There were two others, one being a tipped interception that Russaw came down with, and the other being a separate fumble recovery from Damon Payne after it was forced by Domani Jackson.

That makes five straight games that the Alabama defense has forced three or more takeaways, the longest streak in the FBS. That streak dates all the way back to the South Carolina game on Oct. 12, with Alabama forcing 16 turnovers in that 5-game stretch.

When linebacker Jihaad Campbell heard that stat after the game, he was surprised. But he also said this is the expectation for this defense.

“The whole goal is really just, no matter what the score is, no matter what nothing is, we just go out there and we play Alabama football on defense as best as we can,” Campbell said. “That’s just the outcome. Whether it’s a 3-and-out, whether that’s a turnover or a defensive touchdown, that’s great for us.”

DeBoer raved about the defense’s ability to create takeaways as of late, and praised the mindset the unit has approached each game with.

“I like that we got three more takeaways,” DeBoer said. “I think there’s a mindset about our defense, and three of the first four possessions on defense to do that, I really just like where we’re at. We’re hunting the ball.”

It’s been an impressive streak from the Crimson Tide, and one of the reasons Alabama is playing its best football of the season at the most important time. If the defense can continue to match even a portion of that production from a takeaways standpoint, this team has a chance to keep playing much longer than many thought a month ago.