CW / Hannah Saad THURSDAY,THURSDAY, SSEPTEMBEREPTEMBER 220,0, 22018018 SAFETIES 3 Thursday, September 20, 2018 CW / Hannah Saad EDITORIAL STAFF editor-in-chief Jake Stevens IRV SMITH JR. 5 [email protected] managing editor Arielle Lipan digital editor Jared Earl production editor Rebecca Griesbach visuals editor Shana Oshinskie chief copy editor Chandler Gory opinions editor Cassie Kuhn [email protected] news editor Camille Studebaker [email protected] culture editor Irene Richardson [email protected] sports editor Cody Estremera [email protected] CW / Hannah Saad photo editor Emma Junck multimedia editor David Jones lead page designer Savannah Bullard PLAYERS TO WATCH 7 social media editor Michaela Hancock ADVERTISING STAFF ad representatives Emma Pyne Rayven Lane Abigail Wolfe Gabbie Waller Tricia Ownby Camille Hoffman creative services Alexis Craft Grace Bryant Nataleigh Dang CW / Hannah Saad GAMEDAY 2018 PAGE 3 Thompson and McKinney lock down safety on defense. He makes sure he and McK- what everybody else is saying on who BY CODY ESTREMERA inney are working well together in the is leading, if the offense is leading or SPORTS EDITOR back line. the defense is leading. We don’t care “Me and DT, we always communi- about that.” oming into the season, Alabama’s cate,” McKinney said. “We always talk to The secondary also has three in- Cdefense was extremely inexperi- X is a guy that is each other about being on the same page terceptions returned for a touchdown enced. The spots with the least starting very imporant to and making [sure] everybody else is on this year, which is tied for the most in experience were the two safety spots. the same page. I feel like it’s getting bet- the country. Deionte Thompson and Xavier McKin- secondary. He’s ter each and every week. We’re trying “It’s really exciting when anybody gets ney had just two starts between them, to make that a big emphasis on commu- a pick-six. I feel like it helps the team as both of which were from Thompson in a leader. nicating more and better so the defense far as when we’re trying to get momen- playoff games last year. can be as a unit and we can make sure tum in the game, and it helps us build as Now with three games under their everybody is on the same page.” a team and get better as a team.” belt, Thompson and McKinney have DEIONTE THOMPSON Alabama’s secondary is usually played big roles in the defense, not just thought of as the defense’s weak link, in the secondary. mores playing a key role for the Crimson but none more than this year. Three Opposing team “I think both those guys have played Tide. He has 12 tackles, which is tied for games into the season, the secondary well this year for us,” coach Nick Saban third on the team, a tackle for loss and has been stout just like in years past. passing effi ciency said. “I think they’re both playing with a an interception, which he returned 30 Teams are completing just 43.8 per- Stat: 91.83 lot of confi dence. I think they have better yards for a touchdown against Ole Miss. cent of their passes and have thrown fi ve knowledge and understanding. They’ve “He has matured a lot,” Thompson interceptions against the Crimson Tide. Ranking: 7th in the country now gained a little bit of experience in said. “X is a guyyyp that is very important Defensive backs have also broken up 23 three games. I’m pleased with the prog- to our secondary.ry. He’s a leader. HHee passes this season. Defensive touchdowns ress that they’ve made, and they’ve got gets the calls across the board “We like winning. We’re just to continue to build on that.” to everybody. Me and him do focused on winning and get- Stat: 3 Thompson leads the team in tackles a good job communicating,mmunicating, ting better as a team. They Ranking: Tied for (16) and interceptions (two). and I’m proud of the prog- make us better. We make “He has great range in the back end,” ress that he’s making.” them better, so that’s kind fi rst in the country Saban said after the win over Ole Miss. Communicationtion is ex- of what we do in prac- “He’s very instinctive. Football is really tremely importantrtant in all tice, and we don’t too Interceptions important to him. He does a great job parts of football,ll, but most much worry about of preparing every week. Really proud crucial in the secondary. Stat: 5 of the progress he’s made as a player Now in his redshirtdshirt junior Ranking: Tied for 12th in throughout his career here.” season, Thompsonpson is one the country McKinney has been one of the sopho- of the key communicatorsommunicators PLAYMAKER – Deionte Thompson leads the Alabama defense in tackles and interceptions. CW / Hannah Saad PAGE 4 GAMEDAY 2018 Texas A&M’s and Alabama’s 2018 cumulative stats TEXAS A&M OFFENSE ALABAMA DEFENSENSE 44.33 9.33 POINTS PER GAME 97 47 FIRST DOWNS 855 304 RUSHING YARDS 6.2 3.2 YARDS PER RUSH ATTEMPT 9.16 5.38 YARDS PER PASS ATTEMPT 311.33 201 PASSING YARDS PER GAME SLUGFEST– Texas A&M comes into 74Tuscaloosa with one of the best off enses in the country. CW / Hannah Saad PASSING TOUCHDOWNS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2018 SERVING THE UNIVERSITY OF VOLUME 125 | ISSUE 8 ALABAMA SINCE 1894 ALUMNI 3 OUR VIEW 4 SOCCER 8 Two UA graduates created The CW Editorial Board argues Riley Mattingly steps up to fi ll the University’s fi rst group for mutual respect between an unfamiliar role after her recognizing LGBTQ+ alumni students and professors teammate’s injury STAR STRUCK UA students experience 'NASA at a discount' during Public Nights SEE PAGE 6 CW / Austin Bigoney CWCW //S ShanaShanhahaannaaO OshinskieOshishhihinsknsnskskieie thursday 2 September 20, 2018 SCENE ON INSTA @lexi_1332 @iam_mw3o: “'A&M week..dd #Dirty3oTM" cw.ua.edu @maurgan P.O. 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