Snap Counts and Observations: Game 6 vs. Mississippi State

Before Alabama's back-to-back off weeks, it recorded a historic defensive performance, becoming just the second team ever to shut out Mike Leach's unique Air Raid offense in a 41-0 win over Mississippi State.

Seven players made their season debuts, four of whom stepped on the field for the Crimson Tide for the first time, not including special teams.

Below is a breakdown of snap counts for every player, first by offense and defense and then with additional observations by position:

Offense (73 snaps)
Alex Leatherwood 67
Deonte Brown 67
Emil Ekiyor Jr. 67
Evan Neal 67
Landon Dickerson 62
Mac Jones 62
DeVonta Smith 61
John Metchie III 60
Najee Harris 48
Slade Bolden 39
Miller Forristall 37
Jahleel Billingsley 32
Kendall Randolph 24
Trey Sanders 17
Bryce Young 11
Chris Owens 11
Javon Baker 11
Traeshon Holden 11
Brian Robinson Jr. 8
Carl Tucker 6
Javion Cohen 6
Kendall Randolph 6
Pierce Quick 6
Thaiu Jones-Bell 6
Tommy Brown 6
Major Tennison 5

The offense used three wide receivers, or Blue personnel, on 42 of 73 snaps (57.5%). The remaining 31 snaps (42.5%) were run out of Silver personnel, or two tight ends. For the first time this season, it didn't run any plays out of Tan personnel, or with four tight ends.

Defense (63 snaps)
Brian Branch 60
Malachi Moore 60
Josh Jobe 57
Jordan Battle 55
Patrick Surtain II 55
Dylan Moses 52
Christian Harris 48
Daniel Wright 41
Christian Barmore 38
Will Anderson 36
Justin Eboigbe 29
Phidarian Mathis 26
Byron Young 24
Demarcco Hellams 22
Chris Allen 11
Jaylen Moody 11
Tim Smith 11
Eddie Smith 8
Ronald Williams Jr. 8
Stephon Wynn Jr. 8
Brandon Turnage 6
Shane Lee 6
Jamil Burroughs 5
Joshua McMillon 5
Braylen Ingraham 3
D.J. Douglas 3
Jah-Marien Latham 3
D.J. Dale 2

The defensive personnel looked quite different than it had in the prior five games, because Mississippi State almost exclusively had four wide receivers on the field. Alabama was in its dime defense (six defensive backs) on 60 of its 63 snaps (95.2%). Of those 60 dime snaps, 56 had a three-man front with two inside linebackers, although an inside linebacker would often align on the edge similar to an outside linebacker. The three-man front was sometimes composed of three linemen, sometimes of two linemen and an outside linebacker, and sometimes of one lineman and two OLBs. There were four snaps with only one inside linebacker, and four snaps were run out of nickel personnel (five DBs).

QUARTERBACKS
Mac Jones 62
Bryce Young 11

Jones started the game a bit shakily, completing just 4 of his first 8 passes, but he completed his next 8 after that, including 2 touchdowns to DeVonta Smith. After the game, the Heisman contender attributed his slow start to the Bulldogs' defense showing him some looks he wasn't expecting. Young, the talented freshman, went 0 for 2 and fumbled near the goal line, but it should be noted he was behind the second-team offensive line.

RUNNING BACKS
Najee Harris 48
Trey Sanders 17
Brian Robinson Jr. 8

Harris' 12-game streak of games with at least one rushing touchdown came to an end against Mississippi State, but he still finished with 119 yards on 21 carries. Sanders had career highs in snaps (17), carries (12), yards (80) and longest run (25). He had a 25-yard run and a 20-yard run on back-to-back plays in the fourth quarter. Coach Nick Saban said after the game that Robinson was "banged up," which may explain Sanders' uptick in playing time. Sanders is expected to miss the rest of the season, though, due to injuries he sustained in a car accident over the bye week.

WIDE RECEIVERS
DeVonta Smith 61
John Metchie III 60
Slade Bolden 39
Javon Baker 11
Traeshon Holden 11
Thaiu Jones-Bell 6

Smith continued his dominance over teams from Mississippi, catching 11 passes for 203 yards and four touchdowns. Against Ole Miss and Mississippi State over the past two seasons, he has 41 catches for 733 yards and 10 touchdowns. Metchie continues to close the gap after beginning the season 10 to 20 snaps behind Smith per game. The three freshman wide receivers took the field together for the first time, with Baker and Holden outside and Jones-Bell in the slot. Jones-Bell was targeted once in his debut, but the pass fell incomplete.

TIGHT ENDS
Miller Forristall 37
Jahleel Billingsley 32
Kendall Randolph 24
Carl Tucker 6
Major Tennison 5

Billingsley played just 24 snaps in the first four games, but he's played 62 over the last two games (41.6%). Forristall also played a season-low 37 snaps. He's missed time in a few games this year due to slight injuries, but his percentage of snaps played has decreased in three straight games.

OFFENSIVE LINE
Alex Leatherwood 67
Javion Cohen 6
Deonte Brown 67
Tommy Brown 6
Landon Dickerson 62
Chris Owens 11
Emil Ekiyor Jr. 67
Pierce Quick 6
Evan Neal 67
Kendall Randolph 6

All five starters played the first 62 snaps of the game, at which point Owens entered for Dickerson. Then, on the next drive, the full second team came in. The twos looked similar to how they looked against Tennessee the previous week; Randolph and Tommy Brown swapped places, and Owens stayed in the game instead of Dalcourt at center.

DEFENSIVE LINE
Christian Barmore 38
Justin Eboigbe 29
Phidarian Mathis 26
Byron Young 24
Tim Smith 11
Stephon Wynn Jr. 8
Jamil Burroughs 5
Braylen Ingraham 3
Jah-Marien Latham 3
D.J. Dale 2

This the deepest the D-line rotation has gone this season. The team had 11 scholarship linemen healthy, and 10 of them played in the game, with Ishmael Sopsher the only exception. Mathis had one of the best games of his career, recording his first career sack and two pass breakups. He's third on the team with 4.5 tackles for loss. He left the game with an injury; up to that point, he had played 26 of 37 snaps. It's not a stretch to say he's been the team's most impactful defensive lineman this season. Barmore led the group for the first time in his career.

Latham made his Alabama debut and Ingraham made his season debut.

OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS
Will Anderson 36
Chris Allen 11

This is as lopsided as the OLB split has been all season between these two; perhaps the coaches wanted Anderson's quickness on the field to help against the spaced-out Mississippi State offense. He tied his career high with five total tackles, two of which were for loss. The OLB snaps are lower than usual because the defense ran 24 plays without an OLB on the field. That seemed to be specific to this game plan, though, so don't expect it to continue moving forward.

INSIDE LINEBACKERS
Dylan Moses 52
Christian Harris 48
Jaylen Moody 11
Shane Lee 6
Joshua McMillon 5

Alabama's open-field tackling against the Bulldogs was as good as it has been all season. The inside linebackers, especially Harris, had a lot to do with that. Harris played four fewer snaps than Moses because of the four plays that only had one ILB. When the second-team defense came into the game, Moody and McMillon were the two ILBs; then Lee replaced McMillon after his helmet came off.

DEFENSIVE BACKS
Left corner: Patrick Surtain II 55, Ronald Williams Jr. 8
Right corner: Josh Jobe 57, Brandon Turnage 6
Star: Malachi Moore 60, D.J. Douglas 3
Money Brian Branch 60
Safety: Jordan Battle 55, Eddie Smith 8
Safety: Daniel Wright 41, Demarcco Hellams 22

This isn't normally how the defensive back group is organized, but it's easier to understand in this case because so many of them played. Surtain had only missed one snap all season and Jobe hadn't missed any, but both stepped aside for Williams and Turnage to make their season debuts. It was the first career action at Alabama for Williams, the junior college transfer who has been recovering from a broken arm. Smith also played for the first time this season, relieving Battle. Douglas, a walk-on, came in for the final three plays when Moore was shaken up after making a tackle.

Branch played just 15 snaps before this game but played 60 of a possible 60 at the Money position. The other three snaps were in nickel personnel, which doesn't have the Money position. Hellams continued to factor into the safety pairing, entering for Wright for the final third of the game. It's still unclear whether Hellams is locked into a backup role or if he could still unseat Wright and earn a starting spot.

The six players who made their season debuts on defense were Braylen Ingraham, Jah-Marien Latham, D.J. Douglas, Ronald Williams Jr., Eddie Smith and Brandon Turnage. It was the first time ever playing on defense for the Crimson Tide for Latham, Douglas and Williams.