Nick Saban explains how Jaheim Oatis has improved, impacted win over Arkansas

Jaheim Oatis had a big showing for Alabama last week against Arkansas. It couldn’t have come at a better time, and Nick Saban acknowledged that this week.

Oatis had eight tackles and his first sack of the season as the Crimson Tide defeated the Razorbacks 49-26 last week. He also helped out on some other big plays on defense, which helped the other defenders play better, Saban said.

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“Jaheim is a guy that has a lot of power,” Saban said. “He’s got pretty good quickness for his size. He’s gotten in a lot better shape, so he’s moving better. He did a really good job in the last game pushing the pocket, being involved in a couple sacks. But it’s important that you have more than one guy doing it, so you don’t get imbalanced in the rush, especially if you’re playing against a really athletic quarterback like last week and probably this week.

“I think pass rush lanes are important. Guys can push the pocket, know when to turn speed to power so they don’t get pushed by the quarterback and stay in the lane. All those things are really important, and he’s learning to do that more and more effectively all the time.”

Nick Saban reassesses challenge to offensive line to be more physical

Earlier in the season, Alabama head coach Nick Saban challenged his offensive line to play with more physicality, and ahead of their week 6 matchup versus Texas A&M was asked about their progress so far in accepting that challenge.

“I think that in the last game they showed signs of that, they showed signs of it at times throughout the year,” Saban said.

The Crimson Tide o-line will definitely have to display some physicality this weekend, as they take on one of the biggest defensive lines in the nation in Texas A&M, which features starters Shemar Turner, McKinnley Jackson, and Tummise Adeleye, who all weigh in at 300, 325 and 290 pounds, respectively.