By outreach@cw.ua.edu (Terrin Waack)

The Alabama defensive linemen are more than ready for Saturday’s game. They’ve had two weeks to prepare. Now, they’re just ready to get out under the Bryant-Denny Stadium lights and play what is expected to be a physical game of football.

“We’re tired of waiting,” defensive lineman Jonathan Allen said. “We love physical games like this. So we’re just excited and ready to get to the field.”

The talk surrounding the game seems to be 
everywhere lately.

Defensive lineman Jarran Reed said people keep asking if the team is ready for this or for that, and it’s come to a point where he just responds, “Okay.”

Reed said the weirdest place he’s been approached in the past two weeks leading up to the game was Publix.

“I wasn’t rude about it or anything, but I was just trying to get my groceries,” he said.

There’s been enough talking. Now they’re just ready to actually play the game. Maybe then, people will stop asking them about it – just maybe.

Another thing that’s for sure, Alabama defensive linemen are, to an extent, tired of hearing about LSU’s running back, Leonard Fournette.

Fournette leads LSU with 1,352 rushing yards on 176 carries for 15 touchdowns. With 228 yards against Auburn, 244 against Syracuse and 233 against Eastern Michigan, Fournette became the first player to rush for at least 200 yards in three back-to-back-to-back games in SEC history.

Allen said Fournette is an angry back, which is a running back who is aggressive and engages in contact instead of shying away from it, but that’s what Allen likes because it makes him angry and ready to get physical right back.

At this point, Alabama knows Fournette is a good player, but to a certain extent, it’s tired of hearing about him.

“We respect everybody and everybody’s game,” 
Reed said.

The defensive line is ready for what LSU’s offense has to offer and is eager to play. Fournette has run over other teams, but he hasn’t faced Alabama yet 
this season.

“We don’t get hit. We hit them,” Allen said. “I mean, that’s how it is. We don’t take hits. We give hits.”

Lately, Alabama’s secondary has gotten more attention. It’s tied for No. 1 with Ole Miss in the SEC with 12 interceptions, but that shift in focus doesn’t bother the defensive line.

Allen doesn’t need outside validation to know the defensive is talented. On Saturday, when two top four teams meet, the guys up front can prove prove just how good they are on a national stage.

“If you’re not excited for this game, you shouldn’t be here,” Allen said.

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Source:: The Crimson White Sports