TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — After teasing the idea of having five-star trio Will Anderson, Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell all on the field at the same time, fans have finally had their chance to see what the outside linebacker unit can do when they’re all out there together.
Against Texas A&M the group combined for 12 of Alabama’s season-high 21 quarterback hurries on Saturday, which has led to a slew of nicknames and comparisons.
On Monday, reporters and fans found out that the team already has a label suited for that group — the “cheetah package.”
Similar to their animal comparison, the trio stalked Texas A&M quarterback Haynes King all over the field, forcing him the scramble away as No. 31, No. 15 and No. 41 were barreling down on him hungry for a sack.
“It’s fun for me,” Henry To’oTo’o said when asked about what it’s like to be out on the field with all three outside linebackers. “We have our cheetah package and that’s our cheetah package when they are in there. I just let them play and let them go get a sack and they help us on the backend too. If we’re covering, we know that we’re not going to be covering for long because they’re going to get back there. It’s definitely a huge part of our defense.”
The college football landscape found out how difficult it was to block just one of these rushers throughout the game, let alone having to deal with all three. Last season, Alabama tallied more than 50 sacks, ranking it in the top five in the country. Anderson was the ring leader tallying 17.5 sacks and 34.5 tackles for loss, which led paced the nation en route to being awarded the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the top defensive player.
This year, Anderson is on a torrid pace averaging less than a sack per game which ranks him tied for 13th in the nation. A key factor in the junior’s success this season is lining Anderson up next to an elite rusher, forcing opposing offenses the focus their efforts on one outside linebacker.
Against the Aggies, Nick Saban said the game plan was to do just that so Anderson could not get chipped blocked and gave him favorable one-on-one matchups with either tackle. The results spoke for themselves as Anderson got loose in the backfield consistently, totaling eight quarterback hurries.
The bevy of creative ways to get one of those outside linebackers free was no surprise for Tyler Steen who noted he faces the trio every day in practice.
“Yeah it’s definitely a tough task,” Steen said. “That’s three really good edge-rushers all in the game at the same time to kind of put like one-on-ones across the field and put guys in the best positions to get to the quarterback and stuff like that. So it puts a lot of stress on the O-line and I really think that makes us better because we gotta go against that in practice. It’s not much in the game that’s going to be harder than that to go against, so I think it’s tough to go against for sure.”
Steen said because the offensive line has seen everything the “cheetah package” has to offer, it has helped each lineman further understand what their individual assignments are while handling immense pressure.
Tennessee’s offensive line will be the next unit to face the unyielding pursuit of the trio, but the Volunteers have proved to be up for the challenge so far this season. Through five games this season, Tennessee’s offensive line has allowed eight sacks, ranking at No. 5 in the conference.
While the battle in the trenches may not be the most entertaining aspect of a football game to watch, it seems Alabama has only scratched the surface of ways it can get its pass rushers a free pass to the backfield.
“Those plays set each other up,” To’oTo’o said. “If I come free, then it’s my turn to get a sack. If Will comes free, then that leaves Will. So it’s kind of working as a string to get together to get everybody free.”