Health, consistency in secondary key for Alabama slowing down up-tempo USF

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USF head coach Alex Golesh was a headache for Nick Saban and Alabama in 2022, leading Tennessee over the Crimson Tide in a now classic matchup as the primary play caller and offensive coordinator.

Nearly one year later, the Golesh is facing Alabama with a different program — but will utilize a similar offensive philosophy as Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel. He has labeled it the, ‘Go-Go-Go‘ offense.

Golesh’s Vols put up 52 points on the Crimson Tide, something returning defenders won’t forget anytime soon. The secondary in particular was exposed the entire matchup and gave up five passing touchdowns during the contest. Nick Saban hasn’t forgotten, either, as he knows what to expect from the Bulls this weekend — especially after revealing that his secondary is at full-strength heading into Saturday.

“This team is going to go as fast as anybody in the country goes,” Saban said on Wednesday of USF’s offense. “We probably won’t be able to get subs in on third down, so we’ll probably have to play with whoever’s in the game. When we tried to do that in the past against teams like this, we get caught with 12 men on the field, or we can’t get them off the field and they get a first down.

“We’ve been playing with those five guys and we’ve not had any issues this week. Hopefully, that will be beneficial in terms of putting reps together, communication and all that.”

Saban is referring to Caleb Downs, Kool-Aid McKinstry, Jaylen Key, Terrion Arnold and Malachi Moore as the five that he’s seen the most production out of this season. Aside from Downs and Key, the rest of the group was around for the matchup against Tennessee last year. None of the tree returners logged more than four tackles during the contest.

If USF’s offense gets going in a similar fashion as Tennessee’s — which isn’t expected as the Tide are four possession favorites over the Bulls — the secondary, and the entire defense for that matter, will have their cardiovascular abilities tested as Golesh and the USF offense won’t stop until you make them. Luckily, Saban’s secondary has been used to playing extended minutes due to the lack of depth in the Alabama DB room.

Kickoff between the Crimson Tide and Bulls is set for 3:30 p.m. ET live on ABC inside Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.