College Football Playoff Q&A with Alabama Expert

Leading up to the College Football Playoff we are going to be talking with experts from each team. This week we spoke with Meredith Hornsby from FanSided’s Alabama site Bama Hammer here’s what transpired.

1. Alabama’s defense has continued it’s dominance under new defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt. What has Pruitt brought to this defense that it may have lacked in years past?

2. Washington is +21 in turnover margin. Freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts has yet to show his youth. Do you think Washington’s defense will be able to fluster Hurts?

Hornsby- Nope; not a bit. Alabama has played against what are widely considered to be more powerful defenses. Jalen doesn’t get flustered – ever. Alabama’s offensive line has gotten significantly stronger as the season has gone on. They’ve improved their ability to give Jalen more time in the pocket, and are good at opening up holes for Bama’s running backs to power through. Even with a few interceptions in the last few games, Jalen continued to show poise under fire. I don’t see the game against Washington being any different.

3. With Shaun Dion Hamilton done for the year with a torn ACL, how do you expect his replacement Rashaan Evans to perform?

Hornsby- Rashaan Evans is a former five-star player, so he has plenty of talent. He’s faster and better on the blitz than Hamilton, but his “Football IQ” might be a drawback. Not that Evans isn’t smart; he’s very intelligent. But SDH is always in the right place at the right time, because his football instincts are second to none. Evans is more like Rueben Foster was LAST season he had the talent but had yet to develop the sheer instincts he has now. Evans will do great in the CFP this year, but expect him to be even better next season.

4. Should the Tide win the national championship, where would this team stack up against Saban’s previous championship teams?

5. Of the other three teams in the College Football Playoff, who in your mind poses the biggest threat to Alabama?

clemson

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Hornsby- In my honest opinion, only Alabama poses a threat to Alabama. I don’t think any other team is as strong as the Tide, and I see this as Bama’s championship to lose. As long as the players can stay healthy and Kiffin will “run the damn ball”, this team could very easily be bringing home more hardware in January. If I HAVE to pick another team, I’d probably say Clemson because Watson is the most talented of the quarterbacks. OSU has the best collection of overall athletes top to bottom to compete with Alabama, but their offense isn’t strong enough to overwhelm the Tide’s defense. Clemson is very capable of playing big in that one game, so if I’m required to name another team, then I’d say the Tigers are the biggest threat.

You can follow Meredith on Twitter @DivineMrsMH and Bama Hammer @Bama_Hammer