Junior defensive end Rahim Alem experienced the highs and lows of being an SEC defensive lineman this season — all in the span of a few seconds.During Auburn’s final drive in its loss to LSU, Alem was penalized 15 yards for roughing the passer, an infraction that brought Auburn into LSU territory with less than a minute remaining. But on the next play, Alem sacked Auburn quarterback Chris Todd, and Auburn failed to convert on fourth-and-25, sealing the win for LSU.”The team needed me in the game to rush the passer,” Alem said. “[Auburn] was passing the ball to try and come back, so I just had to do my job.”Alem has been doing his job on the Tigers’ defensive front all season. Despite not starting a game, the New Orleans native is the team leader with two sacks and three tackles for loss. He had two sacks and four tackles for loss in all last season when he played in each of LSU’s 12 games.Alem has played in all four of LSU’s games this season, and he said he feels privileged to be a part of such a renowned defensive front.”When your team is considered to be one of the best squads in the nation, and the defensive line is considered to be one of the best in the nation, to contribute to that makes me feel good,” he said.Senior defensive end Tyson Jackson said Alem is a very valuable part of the defensive unit.”In the last few years, Rahim Alem has stepped up his game tremendously,” Jackson said. “He has started producing a lot on the football field, and he’s constantly running around making plays. Once he’s on the field, he’s a threat.”Jackson said Alem’s play in the fourth quarter against Auburn reinforced his playmaking ability.”We needed a big play on defense at that particular point in the game, and Rahim came up and got us a 12-yard sack,” Jackson said. “And we were able to get a victory in the game.”While Alem’s numbers are up this season, the overall statistics for LSU’s defense have dropped from this time last year, accumulating only six sacks, three interceptions and one forced fumble. Through four games last season, the Tigers had recorded 16 sacks, nine interceptions and three forced fumbles.Those numbers through LSU’s four games this season may seem troubling to some, but Alem and his teammates are only concerned about one statistic — their 4-0 record.”The defense has been playing solid,” Alem said. “We’re helping our team and doing what our team needs us to do. In that case, numbers don’t really help give you a picture of what’s going on.”Sixth-year senior defensive end Kirston Pittman said he attributes the lower numbers in 2008 to the team facing more spread offenses.”A lot of the teams line up in the shotgun for the most part, and their quarterbacks are only taking three- or four-step drops when they’re already five yards deep in the backfield,” Pittman said. “So we don’t have much time to get to them. For the most part, we’ve been playing really good defense, but we haven’t been getting the turnovers we’d like to get.”Alem said he thinks his best contribution to the defensive line is his pass rushing, and he said having a consistent pass rush will be key to contain Florida junior quarterback Tim Tebow this weekend.”Pass rushing is what I bring to the team best,” Alem said. “[Florida] likes to throw the ball a lot and step back in the shotgun, and we like to rush the passer.”Jackson said regardless of statistics so far, the defensive line has its goals firmly in mind.”The sacks, the interceptions and the fumbles don’t really matter, as long as on third down we get off the field and put our offense in the position to score points for us,” Jackson said.- – – – Contact Rachel Whittaker at [email protected]
Alem making impact on defense
October 7, 2008
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