Dallas Turner: Alabama defense 'has no limits to it' in 2023
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Dallas Turner is back as one of Alabama’s top players on the defensive side of the football, and the Crimson Tide junior has high hopes for his unit this season.
“Defense has no limits to it this year,” Turner said Thursday. “From what I’ve seen every day at practice, the type of work we’re putting in, the unity as one, the togetherness we’re starting to have, the bond on and off the field. There’s no limit to how the defense can be good this year.”
Alabama welcomed back six starters from last year’s defense that finished among the top 20 in in several categories – including scoring defense (18.2 ppg, T-9th), passing defense (187.8 ypg, 17th), total defense (318.2 ypg, 13th) and opponent third-down conversions (30.3, 10th).
Veteran players like Turner, Kool-Aid McKinstry, Malachi Moore and Justin Eboigbe are back on that side of the ball, young guys like Deontae Lawson, Jaheim Oatis and Terrion Arnold gained valuable experience a year ago and are expected to be key contributors and Alabama has a lot of younger or newer players with promise that could make an impact this fall, too.
The Crimson Tide also brought back Kevin Steele as defensive coordinator, and the established assistant coach will look to field a more disciplined and physical defense in his third stint.
Alabama will kick off the 2023 season against Middle Tennessee in nine days, and Turner is not alone in liking what he’s seen from the defense. An offensive lineman echoed his thoughts.
“So far, the defense has shown a lot,” guard Darrian Dalcourt said. “It has shown a lot of intensity, a lot of flying around to the ball. We have a lot of playmakers on defense. It’s exciting to go out there and compete with them every day and see how good they could become.”
Head coach Nick Saban admitted after Saturday’s second and final preseason scrimmage that he is “never satisfied” with how Alabama’s defense performs. He has spoken highly of the depth at certain positions and how specific players are emerging, though, ahead of his 17th season at the helm of the Crimson Tide program, but he still sees some room for improvement.
“I think just about every time something bad happens – and when I say bad happens I’m talking about explosive play – it’s either about missed tackles or mental errors,” Saban said Wednesday. “And I think we’ve gotten better at eliminating some of those. But one of the things I didn’t think we did as well in the last scrimmage as the first scrimmage is tackling.
“That goes back to how you practice. We don’t really ever, and have never, practiced where you tackle people in practice, but you have to thump. So you get in position to tackle the guy, your near leg, near shoulder, you wrap the guy up so you’re always in position to tackle. If you do that consistently then when you have to tackle people, you’re gonna be in the right position. That’s something that we really emphasized with our players this week to try to improve the tackling.”
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