Ole Miss defensive lineman Isaac Ukwu expects a battle in Tuscaloosa: ‘Bama is Bama’
OXFORD, Miss. — No matter the questions swirling around Tuscaloosa this week, folks around the Ole Miss football facility have not forgotten one fact — Saturday, they are still playing Alabama.
The Crimson Tide is 2-1 after losing two weeks ago to Texas and surviving a bit of a scare last Saturday with a 17-3 win at South Florida.
But again, they are still Bama.
Senior defensive lineman Isaac Ukwu, a transfer from James Madison, believes Alabama cannot be taken lightly due to the culture coach Nick Saban has instilled into his program.
“At the end of the day, Bama is Bama,” Ukwu said.
“Like no matter what’s going on and I know I have been a fan of college football for awhile and I have seen seasons, like at the beginning of seasons there’s always this ‘Oh, is Bama the same Bama?’ They still find a way to be who they are and have been the past couple decades and that’s really just because of the culture. I think culture really carries at a place like that and I really experienced it, even though it was the FCS at (James Madison). It’s really a culture…the culture just carries and I feel that’s what you see at Bama...”
DL Isaac Ukwu on playing Alabama
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin thinks his players already know they have a daunting task when the Rebels head east this weekend.
“I think (our) guys understand the magnitude of this game, understand we made a lot of mistakes last week. (Bryant-Denny Stadium) is an extremely hard place to play against an ultra talented football team, so we have a lot of work ahead of us.“
Lane Kiffin on playing Alabama
Alabama has faced questions so far this season, but one was answered Monday. Saban announced Jalen Milroe will start at quarterback for the Tide. Milroe did not play last week against USF, but he will get the nod against the Rebels.
Nick Saban indicates Jalen Milroe will be Alabama’s starting QB moving forward pic.twitter.com/ONLUqfRJl6
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) September 18, 2023
Milroe’s running ability poses a challenge to the Ole Miss defense.
“I mean when you have a running quarterback…now they have ten blockers instead, usually it’ll be like nine because the quarterback usually isn’t a part of it,” Ukwu said. “So that’s another person you have to account for, someone else blocking downfield. When you can get a quarterback who can read defenses and throw the ball and also run the ball it’s another aspect.”
Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. and the game can be seen on CBS.
(Feature image credit: Hannah Morgan White/Ole Miss Athletics)
Steve Barnes
Steve Barnes joins The Rebel Walk staff as a senior writer and brings a trifecta of journalistic experience. As a writer, he has covered college sports for Rivals.com, Football.com and SaturdayDownSouth.com as well as served as a beat writer for various traditional newspapers.
He has been a broadcaster for arena football and several national tournament events for the National Junior College Athletic Association as well as hosting various shows on radio.
A former sports information director at Albany (Ga.) State University and an assistant at Troy and West Florida, he has helped host many NCAA conference, regional and national events, including serving five years on the media committee of the NCAA Division II World Series.
Barnes, a native of Pensacola, Fla., attended Ole Miss in 1983-84, where his first journalism teacher was David Kellum. The duo has come a long way since that time.
He will bring a proven journalistic track record, along with a knack for finding the out-of-the-ordinary story angles to The Rebel Walk.
Barnes continues to reside in Pensacola a mere ten minutes from the beach because he does have taste and a brain.
