TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- A fresh layer of rain and corporate sponsorship logos covered the field at Camping World Stadium on Saturday night in Orlando, Fla. And so did Deionte Thompson.

In Alabama’s 51-14 win over Louisville, it seemed like the redshirt junior safety contributed to every tackle and every pass breakup as he displayed his range as center fielder of the Crimson Tide’s secondary in its season-opening victory in the 2018 Camping World Kickoff.

“Deionte did a good job of breaking on the ball on several occasions, and I think that’s really, really important when you’re playing in the deep part of the field,” head coach Nick Saban said. “Made a great interception, which was really kind of the turning point in the game when the score was 14-0 and they were on a drive, got pretty close to the red zone.

“That was a huge play in the game.”

Thompson picked off Cardinals quarterback Jawon Pass in the end zone, returning it 25 yards, in the first quarter. And that kept Louisville off the scoreboard until its third-quarter touchdown.

The Orange, Texas, native led all Alabama players in production points and finished with five tackles, 1.5 of which went for a loss. He added a game-high three pass breakups on Saturday and was Pro Football Focus’ highest-rated Tide defender, earning a grade of 94.0.

Alabama's highest-graded players on defense vs Louisville pic.twitter.com/AScrwN9pov — PFF College (@PFF_College) September 2, 2018

“It’s just dominating my box and giving our team a better chance to win,” said Thompson when assessing his Game 1 performance. “If guys dominate our box, we should win the game.”

As the most experienced member of a young Crimson Tide secondary, and one of its leaders, Thompson was the quarterback of Alabama’s secondary with Minkah Fitzpatrick and Ronnie Harrison moving on to the NFL. And he was confident in communicating the calls.

“Very confident,” Thompson said, “because it is something that we have to do to make sure we give ourselves the best chance to dominate our box.”

Thompson also pointed out the coverage busts when recalling Alabama’s first game of the year, and he placed the miscues by the defensive backs solely on his shoulders after the contest.

“That’s just a lack of me not communicating the calls with other guys,” Thompson said, “so, I have to do a better job with that and making sure we’re all on the same page.”

Overall, Thompson and the secondary kept Louisville in check for most of the night, although the Cardinals saw some success in the second half. After a 37-point win and being named one of seven Players of the Week by the Tide coaching staff, the redshirt junior safety enjoyed the 1-0 start to the season for 24 hours. But his focus quickly shifted to cleaning up mistakes.

“It’s recommended we take those 24 hours,” Thompson said. “But when those 24 hours are up, we’re on to the next opponent.”

Alabama will host Arkansas State in its home opener Saturday, Sept. 8, at 2:35 p.m. CT.

Contact Charlie Potter by 247Sports' personal messaging or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).

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