3 Alabama football players who must step up in 2021

Alabama football players who must step up

2. LaBryan Ray, IDL

LaBryan Ray is one of the few remaining players from the infamous 2017 recruiting class, and he was supposed to be the best player on the team. After an impressive sophomore season, he has yet to improve.

To be fair, Ray has had more injuries than most players face. Still, this is his last chance to live up to the five-star hype he received out of high school. He’ll need to replace the sack production of Christian Barmore on the interior, and his leadership will boost a talented defense to the next level.

We haven’t seen a healthy LaBryan Ray in a long time. We’ll see if that finally emerges this season.

1. Josh Jobe, CB

Out of all the players on this list, Jobe easily had the best season last year. He could’ve been drafted if he declared, but he chose to come back for another year. This was likely the right choice as he still needs to work on his game.

Jobe is physically gifted, but he had some mental lapses before the snap in 2020. He was also playing across from Patrick Surtain, meaning he drew the easier assignments. In 2021, he’ll have to lock down the best receivers in the SEC. That’s going to be a tall order, but it’s what Alabama football needs Jobe to do.

There is no doubt that Jobe will be one of the better players in the secondary, but Alabama needs him to be the best.