Alabama Football: Crimson Tide’s report card vs. Vols

Alabama football’s report card vs. Tennessee Vols

Inside Linebackers: B+

The inside linebacker unit did better than they have in recent weeks, but it was mostly because of their usage. Dylan Moses and Christian Harris are best in the middle of the field and in run gaps. They got motioned out to cover on the outside against Georgia, and it’s a good thing that we didn’t see more of that.

Moses still hasn’t played as well as he did before his injury, but there has been a week-by-week improvement for him and this unit as a whole. Inside linebacker Joshua McMillon also played well as the team’s fullback in the red zone. I’m not going to give a grade for fullback play in 2020, so I’ll just tack that into the inside linebacker grade for Alabama football.

Outside Linebackers: B-

Alabama simply doesn’t have a great pass rush. The outside linebackers impacted the running game, but they aren’t hitting home in the backfield as they should. Chris Allen and Will Anderson are the starters, but the Tide love to rotate multiple people all across the defense.

The one place that this is abysmal is on third down. Tennessee was in obvious passing situations on multiple plays, but they got first downs on the scramble. With receivers running deep routes, that falls on the inside and outside linebackers. You have to wrap up drives when given the chance, and Alabama has simply failed to do so. We’ll see what happens against Mississippi State next Saturday.