ALABAMA FOOTBALL: Tide defense focused on keeping Tigers unbalanced

TUSCALOOSA — Brandon Deaderick won’t be surprised by anything Auburn quarterback Chris Todd does in Friday’s Iron Bowl.

Alabama’s senior defensive end saw Todd do some special things when they were high school teammates for three years at Elizabethtown (Ky.) High.

Deaderick said the two talk occasionally.

“The last time I think was when they played Tennessee,” Deaderick said Tuesday night after practice. “I was telling him how good the offense looked.

“They looked pretty good out there against Tennessee. They looked fast. I could tell they improved a lot from last season.”

Deaderick is hoping he’ll catch up with Todd on Friday — a lot. Friends are forever, but so is the Iron Bowl.

“I approach it like any other game. It’s just another quarterback,” he said. “We try to affect the quarterback every game. The fact that I played with him in high school really doesn’t change anything for me, personally.”

Todd directs an Auburn offense that is third in the SEC in scoring (34 ppg), third in rushing (219.5 ypg) and fourth in passing (221.9 ypg). He has thrown 19 touchdown passes and just five interceptions this season.

While much of the attention has been focused on Auburn’s ground game, Alabama coach Nick Saban noted the Tigers’ balance.

“When you load the box all the time, they eventually hit a play-action pass on you for a big play,” Saban said.

Auburn also has been able to throw the ball out of its Wildcat formation with former quarterback Kodi Burns running the show. The Wildcat and the play-action put pressure on Alabama’s secondary, which is active and likes to support against the run.

Saban said discipline and eye control will be a key for his defenders.

“Everybody’s got to key in on what they are supposed to do,” Saban said. “If you’ve got a guy man-to-man ... then you better watch him and look at him and cover him. They did hit Ole Miss for a touchdown pass out of that (Wildcat) because the guy wasn’t looking at his man.”

Middle linebacker Rolando McClain said Auburn’s play-action game is why Alabama needs to take away the running game.

“We’re going to try to make the game one-dimensional, try to take away the run so they have to pass it,” McClain said.

“The quarterback, he hasn’t done great, but he has the capability. We still have to do a good job pressuring him, try to force some turnovers because they can change the game and be big for us.”

Alabama’s defensive front shoulders a big challenge — not just shutting down that run, but getting pressure on Todd.

Senior nose tackle Terrence Cody — a finalist for the prestigious Chuck Bednarik and Bronko Nagurski awards, as well as the Maxwell Trophy — gets all the attention. But Deaderick and Lorenzo Washington are starting defensive ends.

And Alabama’s team is probably deepest along the defensive front. Sophomores Marcell Dareus and Josh Chapman and junior Luther Davis all play a lot.

“I think our defensive line has played really good,” Deaderick said. “The young guys really stepped up. We’ve got a good rotation, keeping everybody fresh, and everybody can come in and contribute.

“I think we play blocks really well, we get after the quarterback, pressures, keeping the linebackers free. As long as we’re playing like that, the sky’s the limit for us defensively.”

Alabama cornerback Javier Arenas said Auburn has a lot of different options out of multiple formations.

“Just a lot of different plays, a lot of diversity from the offense,” Arenas said he’s seen from the Tigers. “A lot of good athletes on the offensive side of the ball.”

The passing attack will test the secondary, he said.

“The challenge is (they have) great athletes at receivers, a good quarterback and just the plays that they run. You have to be very disciplined,” Arenas said.

The senior added that Todd is a veteran who has shown poise.

“He’s just patient,” he said. “He throws a good ball.”