Jaheim Oatis discusses his move from nose guard to defensive end

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – When Alabama finally released its Week 1 depth chart Saturday, there weren’t a ton of surprises. All of the quarterbacks, as expected, were separated by an “or.” But one change that might have caught some off guard was the difference at nose guard.

Last season, Jaheim Oatis started 10 games in the middle of the Crimson Tide’s defensive line as a true freshman, but for Game 1 of his sophomore year, the 6-foot-5, 320-pound defensive lineman lined up at defensive end, while Tim Keenan got his first start at nose tackle.

On Tuesday, Oatis recapped his performance at a new position on the field.

“I think I played pretty good first time coming to the defensive end,” Oatis said. “Still learning the techniques and the plays, but other than that, I think it’s going pretty good.”

Oatis is well known for transforming his body after arriving at Alabama, losing 100 pounds over his first year in the program. That likely resulted in him moving to a new spot along the Crimson Tide front, but the second-year defender explained the decision behind the change.

“I’m just trying something new,” Oatis said. “Just trying a new position, trying to learn the whole D-line and trying to work on technique in different spots, technique from the outside to the inside.”

How has the transition from nose guard to defensive end gone for the sophomore?

“The difference in nose and end, the blocking scheme,” Oatis said. “So you got different blocking schemes from the nose to the defensive end. You’re striking the tackle. So it’s way different from striking the center because you’ve got different techniques and different moves.”

Oatis, in his new home on the defensive line, will look to keep the Texas offense in check for this weekend’s top-15 matchup with the Longhorns. Last year in Austin, he quickly entered the game and helped limit the Longhorns to 79 rushing yards during the 20-19 win on the road.

The still-behemoth lineman recalled the 2022 matchup while looking ahead to Saturday.

“One thing I remember is that heat,” Oatis said. “That heat up there is something different in Texas. For one, last year, I look at film and see how we played them last year, what we can fix and what we can mistake it as. But this year, we’re just coming this year to show them the Bama standard for the defense and show who we really are.”

Was it a penalty, Jaheim?

Alabama only committed two accepted penalties in its 56-7 win over Middle Tennessee, which was the fewest number of flags in a game since the Crimson Tide only had one in its win over Southern Miss on Sept. 21, 2019 – or a span of 50 games. A bright spot for the offense was no penalties in the season opener, while the defense was only responsible for one.

Oatis committed the Tide’s lone penalty – a roughing the passer flag early in the second quarter. He further relayed the emphasis on limiting those while sharing his thoughts on his penalty.

“Personally to me, I don’t think it was a flag,” Oatis said. “I guess just trying to get to him aggressively, trying to show him that our D-line can get back there pretty easily.”

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