4. Donovan Wilson
The Aggies have struggled on pass defense so far this season. Specifically, they’ve given up a ton of big plays. Their nine pass plays of 30+ yards allowed rank dead last in the SEC. They give up 50/50 balls, miss tackles and have struggled to create turnovers so far.
Over the last couple of years, this wouldn’t have been much of an issue against Alabama. They became a run-first offense with Jalen Hurts. He ran it successfully, too, bringing the Tide to two National Championship games and played a part in them winning one last year.
However, Tua Tagovailoa is the story now. He came into the second half of the National Championship and brought the Tide back from a 13-0 halftime deficit. He’s cruising through 2018 so far as well, putting up ridiculous numbers like his 12.9 yards per attempt and 233.3 quarterback rating.
He is currently the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.
Donovan Wilson is one of the starting safeties and he has to step up in the back end of the defense and set the tone early. Alabama is going to move the ball. It’s just going to happen. But Elko and his crew led by Wilson have to limit the big plays.