On Saturday, Alabama's defensive evolution will come full circle when it welcomes to Tuscaloosa No. 8 Texas A&M and its transfer quarterback, Knight. The team Knight helped beat while at Oklahoma is simply not the same team anymore. Sure, Alabama's defense is still plenty big and strong. But now it's athletic too.
Most of the defensive linemen actually shed weight during the offseason. Ask around, and they'll tell you they feel they're even faster than they were last season, when they led the country in sacks. The numbers back that up: With 27 sacks through seven games, Alabama is slightly ahead of last season's averages.
Go back to the 2013 season and the game against Knight's Sooners, and Alabama had 22 sacks all season. That feels like forever ago. Now, Siskey said, we're seeing the full effect of Saban's decision to shift priorities in recruiting.
"One of the most ingenious things Saban has done, and I think the college football world has seen it come to fruition this year, as these players are playing now, is how he's adapted his parameters," he said. "He's adapted as the game has changed."