Alabama Football: Youth vs Experience in the Front Seven

Henry To’o To’o is probably locked in at middle linebacker. He should rise to the occasion as the captain of the defense as a senior in 2022. To’o To’o got off to a slow start last year, and if he continues to show hesitancy there is a ton of hungry talent behind him.

Jaylen Moody has done things the right way at weakside linebacker. Moody has been very patient, waiting his turn longer than most players are willing to in today’s transfer portal era. When he has gotten opportunities on special teams and reserve snaps on defense, he has been a high energy, hard-hitting linebacker. For Moody’s sake, I hope this small sample size of playing time can translate to even more success in a starting role in his senior year.

Like To’o To’o, if Moody slips up, there will be some very good young players nipping at his heels.

Deontae Lawson and Kendrick Blackshire both enter their second seasons in the program at inside linebacker. Lawson looks like he could potentially be a star in the future, and Blackshire is a physical specimen out of the state of Texas. These two could very well form the 2023 inside linebacker duo for Alabama football, if we don’t see them even sooner.

Ian Jackson is another talented player that joined Lawson and Blackshire in the class of 2021.

From Alabama’s most recent recruiting haul, Jihaad Campbell and Shawn Murphy will join the linebacker room as freshmen this season. Campbell, a 5-star with a lofty ceiling, was a late bloomer that skyrocketed in the rankings towards the end of the recruiting cycle. He has the versatility to play inside or on the edge, and is definitely a name to keep an eye on going forward.

Alabama football is loaded with senior leadership on the defensive side of the ball, and I fully expect the incumbents to fill out the starting lineup early in the season. As always, there is a lot of young talent on this team that is itching to see the field, and some of them may prove to be too good to keep out of the rotation.