Alabama Football: Dynamic Starting Inside Linebacker Duo
By Ronald Moody
Alabama football’s two starting inside linebackers, junior Mack Wilson and sophomore Dylan Moses will be the strength of the 2018 defense.
Mack Wilson and Dylan Moses will be the force of the 2018 Alabama defense. Given Alabama football’s lineage of great inside linebackers such as Rolando McClain, CJ Mosley, Reuben Foster, this should not come as a surprise. Alabama football coach Nick Saban keeps the cupboard well stocked in Tuscaloosa with smart, rangy and athletic linebackers.
Entering into spring practice fully healthy, Mack Wilson and Dylan Moses are a dangerous pair of inside linebackers. Both players present the ability to stop the run, play in coverage and rush the passer. Both linebackers sustained significant injuries throughout last season which limited the country seeing their full potential.
STEADFAST DEFENSIVE LEADER
Mack Wilson came to the Capstone highly rated as a five-star outside linebacker coming out of Montgomery, Alabama by Rivals and 24/7, and he has since exceeded expectations. In his freshman season, he primarily played on special teams. One of his most remarkable plays was laying the wood on Texas A&M wide receiver Speedy Noil on a kickoff return.
Injuries plagued his sophomore campaign. Nevertheless, Mack Wilson returned against Auburn after being out for two weeks after a foot injury against LSU. He made two starts with both coming in the College Football Playoff. During the championship game against Georgia, the six-foot-two, 238-pound linebacker had a team-high 12 tackles. He finished the season with 40 tackles. Surprisingly, Mack Wilson led the team with four interceptions which demonstrates his nose for the football.
FROSH PHENOM TO TOP SEC LINEBACKER
Dylan Moses finished the season with 30 tackles, 1.5 sacks and one interception in limited playing time which includes two starts. Starting against Mercer due to the injury to senior linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton, Dylan Moses did not disappoint by recording 11 tackles and a team-high four tackles for loss. Next, he followed up with a game-high ten tackles in the Iron Bowl. His immense play had fans buzzing about his potential. Unfortunately, he broke his foot during the bowl preparation practice for Clemson. However, the spotlight has never been too big for Moses.
The All-SEC Freshman arrived in Tuscaloosa with much fanfare. Alabama football coach Nick Saban offered Moses a scholarship offer when he was an eighth-grader. Afterward, Moses was named the 2016 Butkus Award winner as the top outside linebacker in high school. ESPN ranked Moses as the number five player in the country in the ESPN 300.
Wilson and Moses will wreak havoc on opposing quarterbacks and running backs this fall. Alabama’s 2017 defense finished number one overall in the country. As critical losses such as Daron Payne, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Rashaan Evans, Anthony Averett, Ronnie Harrison and Tony Brown leave for the National Football League, the depleted defense face a tall task to stay at the top. The anchors to make sure Alabama’s defense remains the best in the country are already in place: Wilson and Moses.
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The team will need their playmaking ability for another run at the College Football Playoff Championship. Wilson and Moses will finish their Alabama careers mentioned in the same breath as the historical Alabama linebacking legends cited above.