The opening of Alabama football’s 2023 season is finally almost here. The Crimson Tide starts the campaign Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium against Middle Tennessee State.

The players who spoke to media in the days leading up to the game universally expressed excitement for the first contest.

“We’ve been banging heads with each other for a month now in fall camp,” outside linebacker Chris Braswell said. “We’re all ready to go out there and bang against another opponent. It just feels great to walk out in Bryant-Denny, walk in there, 100,000 people cheering. You just get that rush, like ‘ah.’ I’m actually ready to practice today, like I can’t wait to do practice. We ready.”

Braswell and his defensive teammates will face a Blue Raider offense that loves to throw the ball. MTSU’s rushing attack struggled in 2022, but the passing game kept it in games on the way to an 8-5 record and a win in the Hawaii Bowl.

MTSU’s quarterback from last season, Chase Cunningham, is gone, with Nick Vattiato taking over the spot. On Tuesday, Braswell said he and his fellow Crimson Tide pass rushers were looking forward to making Vattiato’s life difficult.

“It’s going to be exciting to get to the quarterback,” Braswell said. “We try to strive for that every game, not just this team. They’re a great team. They have a lot of great players, great plays, great weapons. We’re going to get to the quarterback. We’ll see.”

For the Alabama’s defensive backs, facing a passing attack like MTSU’s creates playmaking opportunities. Last season, Cunningham threw for 3,156 yards, completing 309 of 463 passing attempts.

That pace continuing would mean plenty of chances for Alabama players like cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry.

“Being a DB, going against a team that throws the ball, it’s something you look forward to, knowing the team is going to throw the ball,” McKinstry said. “Just try to stop them from doing what they do best and make them do something different.”

Alabama and MTSU are scheduled to kick off at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. The game will be aired on the SEC Network.