Alabama senior linebacker Nico Johnson said the Crimson Tide’s defense came into Bryant-Denny Stadium today and had “fun.”

Johnson, an Andalusia native, was the second-leading tackler for Alabama, with three less tackles than leader C.J. Mosley. He had eight total tackles — four solo, four assists — and added a forced fumble in his team’s 35-0 victory over Western Kentucky.

Johnson spoke to the media after the game and a transcript of what he said was released on www.al.com.

“We pride ourselves here to stop the run, and that’s what we did today,” Johnson said. “We knew coming into this game that it was going to be different, but we just wanted to come in and do our best and communicate and just keep working out there and get that identity that we’re trying to get after. We just came out of there and had fun today.”

The Crimson Tide will travel to face Arkansas next week in their SEC opener.

Game time is set for 2:30 p.m. and will be aired on CBS.