Champ Anthony is hankering for 6:30 p.m. to arrive on Saturday as the Tigers open the 2024 season against Alabama A&M. In fact, he's so ready for it to arrive that concentrating on anything else is almost impossible.

"It's like a volcano about to erupt," he said. "I can't hold my excitement. I'm in class thinking about football. I'm walking to the facility thinking about football. Thinking about running out there in Jordan-Hare. I'm real excited. It's hard to contain the energy."

Serving as a backup last season, the Fort Worth, Texas native is prepared to take on a starting role in DJ Durkin's defense. Since he joined the Tigers from the JUCO level last year, he's put on 22 pounds of muscle, up to 186 pounds now on his 5-foot-11 frame. That's made a significant difference in how he feels on the field, but the progress between the ears has helped him become a difference-maker.

"I feel real different body-wise and mentally," Anthony said. "I understand what's going on. I kind of understand how gameday is going to go, so I don't have to worry about how we're going to travel and stuff like that. I really understand how things are going, so I can just focus on football."

His secondary teammate Keionte Scott has seen the difference in Anthony compared to last year.

"You see someone that, you know, got a whole lot of mental reps," Scott said. "You could tell he did a lot of seeing things and a lot of listening. So you see it translated in all the things that he's learned over the year. And you see him performing well. And I'm very excited to see him play."

Anthony is part of a secondary group that is talented but inexperienced. Four of the five starters from last season are now gone, while Colton Hood decided to transfer, and Tyler Scott will miss the season due to injury. That puts pressure on the junior to become the player his teammates and coaches think he can be.

The playing time he earned last season will benefit him in doing just that.

"It was very valuable," Anthony said. "You can understand the game and the speed. You can understand, 'Yeah, it's the SEC, but they're just people too.' You understand how the game feels."

And don't expect to see him in just one position. One of the advantages of Durkin's defense is the flexibility he has with players interchanging spots. That fits Anthony's personality perfectly.

"I hate sticking to one position, so that helps me a lot," he said. "Being able to focus on multiple positions and play fast and not think about the calls and knowing what comes next, it helps with the pre-snap communication—just knowing the plays before they come. We know our adjustments. They are quick adjustments and easy adjustments. That makes us be able to play faster."

It will be a long wait for Anthony and his teammates on Saturday until the late kickoff, but he knows Jordan-Hare Stadium is at its best at night. He's looking forward to seeing the new guys, especially friend Kensley Louidor-Faustin, take the field and witness the hysteria for the first time.

But there is one more thing he's looking forward to the most.

"Hitting," he said. "I just miss it. I want to hit somebody else. Tired of hitting my own teammates, man. I just want to hit."