Austin Mack emulating LSU's Garrett Nussmeier on Alabama scout team

Alabama will face one of the top quarterbacks in the SEC this weekend when it travels to LSU, as Garrett Nussmeier will lead a Tigers offense against the Crimson Tide in a pivotal game.

As Alabama (6-2, 3-2 SEC) continues to prepare for its road trip to Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Saturday, Nov. 9, UA head coach Kalen DeBoer revealed which backup quarterback has been emulating Nussmeier in practice this week ahead of the must-win rivalry game.

“Austin Mack has done a great job,” DeBoer said on his weekly radio show. “I mean, just in general, giving a lot of different looks. He’s tall, and so you’re not going to block your defensive line as well with your guys that are giving a look, and so for him to be able to see and make those throws.

“He doesn’t maybe have the same stature as Nussmeier with his mobility and things like that, but just being able to deliver those throws, Austin’s done a great job.”

Mack was one of four offensive players who followed DeBoer from Washington to Alabama this offseason after he accepted the head coaching position. A redshirt freshman, Mack has yet to see playing time at the collegiate level, but the 6-foot-6, 236-pound quarterback has routinely been praised by the Crimson Tide coaches for his progress since last year.

This week, he’s helping Alabama’s defense get ready to face a talented signal-caller.

In eight starts this year, Nussmeier has thrown for 2,627 yards, 20 touchdowns and nine picks while completing 62.5 percent of his passes. The Tigers have the SEC’s second-best passing offense (332.8 ypg), and Nussmeier is the engine that fuels it. He is fourth nationally in passing yards and touchdowns and is fifth in passing yards per game (328.4 ypg).

“He can make all the throws,” DeBoer said. “He can make them on the run. He’s got a lot of confidence, and he has a very good offensive line. They’re just solid across the board offensively. They got the different type of skill sets you’re looking for. You got your speedy slot receivers. You got your big, tall, athletic tight ends that can do a lot of things for you. And some outside perimeter guys that just, with space, are hard to tackle. 

“And the guy that runs the show in Nussmeier, he can deliver it. He is good at understanding the offense and how it applies and where his throws are that are easy completions to let his athletes go and do things with the ball in their hands.”

DeBoer continued, “For us, you got to change things up. You got to still do the things that I think matter, and that’s trying to make a team one-dimensional. If you focus on the pass and all of a sudden, you’re giving up the run game, and now they got everything at the tip of their fingers. That’s what you really want to try to avoid. 

“And so for us, stopping the run, you know, putting them behind the chains. Their third-down conversion percentage is extremely high, and a lot of that is because they can not just convert the 3rd and 4s but they can convert the 3rd and 9, 10, 11s just because he delivers on time. He anticipates. He’s confident.

“You gotta put some pressure, put him in uncomfortable spots. That’s easier said than done, but that’s why we’re practicing and that’s why we put a game plan together.”

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