Alabama football: Isaiah Buggs brings ‘fire’ and ‘energy’ to Tide’s defense
By Marq Burnett
Published:
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Isaiah Buggs credits his teammates for all of his success, but the menacing defensive lineman deserves some individual credit as well.
Buggs had a breakout game against Texas A&M, posting a career-high 3.5 sacks and 4 tackles for loss this past Saturday. He finished the day with 7 total tackles and added 2 quarterback pressures as a part of Alabama’s season-high 12 hurries.
Buggs’ play earned him SEC Defensive Linemen of the Week honors.
“It was a great honor to be honored by them,” Buggs said. “Dreams come true and it’s a blessing, but I wouldn’t be able to do that without my team. It’s great, and I have all these great players around me that I get to play with and practice with each and every day.”
Alabama coach Nick Saban expects this level of play from Buggs every week.
“He really played well in this last game, and I think this last game sort of showed what he’s capable of,” Saban said. “We’d like to see him do that on a consistent basis. This was by far his best game. I think he’s healthy and hopefully we’ll be able to build on that and he’ll continue to have that kind of performance and production in the future.”
Buggs returned for his senior year to help bolster the Crimson Tide’s defensive line. He saw most of his time as an interior lineman last season, but has moved outside with the emergence of redshirt sophomore Quinnen Williams.
Buggs, Williams and junior Raekwon Davis are one of the more formidable defensive lines in the SEC and country.
Teams can’t focus their protection on one individual because all three have the talent to be exceptional pass rushers.
“We hang around each other just about every day and we feed off of each other,” Buggs said of the trio. “We always challenge each other to do each other’s best each and every day. That’s what we do and we’ll continue to do that.”
Buggs is easy to spot on the field if he makes a play, and not just because it’s hard to miss at 6-5, 286. He’s bouncing around to hype up the home fans or jumping around to shush away crowds. It’s his way of motivating teammates.
“That just comes from taking the younger guys along with me,” Buggs said. “Each day I try to affect at least one young guy to show them that anything is possible and just to give it your all. That’s what I try to do.”
Teammates have noticed. Alabama tight end Hale Hentges blocks Buggs every day in practice. He said Buggs brings a “lot of fire.”
“He’s an energy-starter for us. He obviously played very well Saturday and did a great job,” Hentges said. “He’s just a big, physical presence. Anytime you go against him in practice you know you have to buckle your chinstrap. He brings a lot of energy, a lot of juice. He’s hard to move off the ball.”
Veteran Alabama beat reporter Marq Burnett covers the Crimson Tide for Saturday Down South.
