Alabama Football: McMillon out and camp starts over at ILB

Sunday evening it was reported Alabama football, inside linebacker, Josh McMillon will likely have knee surgery, all but ensuring he will miss the season.

As was feared Saturday, Alabama football linebacker, Josh McMillon is expected to miss most and possibly all of the 2019 season. There is still no official word but insiders say McMillon has a knee injury requiring surgical repair.

The fifth-year senior had been tabbed to start at Will linebacker, next to Dylan Moses. For the next month, and possibly beyond, the Alabama football staff will be auditioning Will linebackers.

One experiment that will likely be dropped is using anyone other than Dylan Moses to call signals for the Crimson Tide defensive front. Except of course, as a play-calling backup to Moses.

Alabama football fans will do well to remember there are no quick fixes to the loss of McMillon. The most experienced replacement is redshirt sophomore, Markail Benton. He has 14 tackles in his Crimson Tide career and four of them were as a special teams player. Take away Markail’s seven tackles against out-manned Louisville and Arkansas State and his linebacker resume is three tackles.

Even before McMillon’s injury, Dylan Moses had positive comments about Benton. Alabama football insiders have sometimes sung a different tune. Markail has been questioned for inconsistent effort in practice.

Bottom line, Benton will not be handed the job. he will have to fight for it. Sophomore Jaylen Moody could beat him out. So could a pair of freshmen. Shane Lee is the freshman most often mentioned, having gained notice for his A-Day play. Lee has the early enroll advantage over Christian Harris. Harris has his supporters and some of them believe he has the most potential of any Crimson Tide, inside linebacker not named Moses.

Even sophomore Ale Kaho cannot be ruled out. If Kaho is finally and truly committed to football, he could break into the two-deep.

What about position changes for other Crimson Tide players? An obligatory first answer is Ben Davis. The former 5-Star, redshirt junior has trained at both inside and outside linebacker.

What is most probable is multiple guys will work situationally. Shane Lee against run-heavier offenses, Benton more against spread teams. The Crimson Tide staff could focus on expanded use of a (2 OLB, 1 ILB) Dime formation, using Jared Mayden at the hybrid Money, in the box, sixth defensive back.

Some fans are wondering if McMillon could return for a sixth season, based on a medical redshirt. As lenient as the NCAA has grown, there is no guarantee he would receive approval.