Kalen DeBoer Says Alabama Needs to 'Disrupt' Nico Iamaleava

Alabama is set to face one of its historic rivals, the Tennessee Volunteers, on Saturday in Knoxville.

The last time these teams faced off in Knoxville was in 2022, and the Volunteers kicked a last-second field goal to win their first game against Alabama since 2006, which conveniently was also hosted in Knoxville.

Tennessee is led by a future star in Nico Iamaleava, who has a lengthy build, and a cannon for an arm. He will be one of the most talented quarterbacks the Tide will face this season. Head coach Kalen DeBoer discussed what he sees in the Vols quarterback.

“I think he’s got a live arm, extremely talented,” said DeBoer. “You can tell that they’ve got the skill on the outside to where they can hit the home run and make big plays anytime. I think a lot of it is just trying to disrupt him to where the continuity and the flow is just not consistent, and that’s gonna be any quarterback. Every week, that’s the goal is try to just really cause some chaos and change things up on them.

“They get into their tempo off of positive plays, and that’s the key is try to make sure that they don’t get into that rhythm, just like any offense, that’s what you’re trying to do. He’s talented. You can see it’s there. He’s still, I think, growing and developing, and we’ve just gotta make sure we disrupt him enough and make sure we’re showing pictures and also getting bodies on bodies on the outside to where we make life hard like we would want to any other opponent.”

Alabama's defense has been very flawed since the second half of the Georgia game just a few weeks ago, and many fans have expressed major concerns as the Tide prepares for this matchup. However, if Alabama can get to Iamaleava, they may find themselves back on track with a possible huge win.

If Alabama can apply pressure toward Iamaleava and force mistakes on the Tennessee offense, then they can do what they have struggled to do the last few weeks: get their defense off the field.

Alabama currently has 14 sacks as a defense, which is seventh-best in the nation. Tennessee, however, has allowed 13 sacks on offense, which is ranked tenth in the nation.

If Alabama can fluster Iamaleava in the pocket and force bad throws and even turnovers, Alabama's defense will be in great shape to contain a fast-paced and highly-powered Volunteer offense.

Related: 5 Greatest Alabama vs. Tennessee College Football Games of All Time