Fall camp is underway in Tuscaloosa. Alabama hit the practice field again on Thursday for day two, and it was the first practice of fall camp that included a brief media viewing period during position drills.
One interesting tidbit on Thursday was where 5-star freshman LB Xavier Griffin lined up.
While long-term it has always been assumed that he would play a versatile Jihaad Campbell-like role for the Crimson Tide, most figured his freshman season would predominantly be spent on-ball at Wolf to take advantage of his considerable skill off the edge.
Instead, during the media portion of Thursday's practice, Griffin was working exclusively with the Tide's off-ball linebackers, with defensive coordinator Kane Wommack taking a keen interest in Griffin:
#Alabama DC Kane Wommack provides a little individual coaching to freshman LB Xavier Griffin during Thursday’s open media portion of practice pic.twitter.com/icNt3grbhc
— Wyatt Fulton (@FultonW_) August 6, 2026
Alabama is throwing a lot at freshman LB Xavier Griffin
The coaching staff being willing to throw so much at Griffin already should show you what they think of him. He's in the short- and long-term plans for the Alabama defense. They aren't going to shortchange his growth to just maximize his immediate impact; they know what they have in the 5-star, and they are immediately focused on developing him for what he's going to be in the Alabama defense.
Griffin still figures to make an impact as a situational pass rusher as a freshman. We saw his potential during the A-Day scrimmage. Wommack has invested a lot of time and effort this offseason into trying to identify additional pass-rushing options outside of star EDGE Yhonzae Pierre.
Alabama added Desmond Umeozulu in the Transfer Portal from South Carolina and recently landed JUCO transfer Bubba Odom to provide some depth. Rising sophomore Justin Hill looks ready for a second-year leap, too.
Griffin commented during the summer that Alabama has lived up to the recruiting promises they made him. He wanted to be used like a Swiss Army knife in Wommack's defense, and it's clear they plan to do that both now and in the future.
Griffin has some significant ground to make up if he's going to challenge for a starting role on the Tide's defense off-ball. Virginia Tech transfer Caleb Woodson is the green-dot in the middle, and it appears to be a two-way competition right now for the other starting spot inside between junior QB Reese and sophomore Luke Metz.
But Griffin might be the most talented player in that group. He's worked extremely hard this offseason to get his body to a point where he could play right away. He came to Alabama at around 200 pounds, and he's up to 228 according to the latest roster update.
Griffin will be difficult to keep off the field this fall, whether that's off-ball or off-the-edge as a situational rusher. It looks like it'll be a bit of both.
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