Star LB Deontae Lawson missed the entirety of spring practice as he recovered from a torn ACL he suffered last November in a loss to Oklahoma. As Alabama opened fall camp on Wednesday, Lawson was back on the practice field for the first time in over eight months.
Lawson led Alabama's LB through drills during the media viewing period, but he was wearing a bulky brace on his right knee:
Alabama LB Deontae Lawson is working with a brace on his knee to start fall camp.
— Blake Byler (@blakebyler45) July 30, 2025
He tore his ACL against Oklahoma in November. pic.twitter.com/01nIKceju3
Kalen DeBoer spoke about Lawson in his post-practice media availability. He stated that while Lawson was trending up, he cautioned that they are going to take it slow with the star LB.
"His trajectory is going up," DeBoer said. Deontae, his leadership is the thing, I think, that's really come out, so that's exciting. He is gonna be limited, and just the number of reps, the volume, I guess the best way to put it, and what he can take, as expected. And that was gonna be the plan, just with his timeline from the beginning."
Alabama has the luxury of bringing Lawson along slow with two other veterans
Alabama needs Deontae Lawson this season, and the veteran LB should be ready to go. He mentioned at SEC Media Days that he plans to be ready to play by the Tide's season opener against Florida State on August 30th.
Fortunately for the Crimson Tide, they have the luxury of bringing him along slowly thanks to the presence of two additional fifth-year seniors in the LB room.
Alabama unexpectedly got Justin Jefferson back for a fifth season of eligibility thanks to the NCAA's JUCO ruling. Before they knew that was going to happen, the Crimson Tide landed Colorado transfer Nikhai Hill-Green in the Transfer Portal. Hill-Green was a 2nd Team All-Big 12 LB a year ago.
When the room is fully healthy, Jefferson and Lawson are the likely starters with Jefferson at the "Mike" and Lawson at the "Sting." If Lawson isn't ready for Week 1, then expect Jefferson to move to "Sting" and Hill-Green to take over as "Mike."
Jefferson would also take over as the green-dot signal-caller for the defense, a role he filled down the stretch last season after the injury to Lawson. Hill-Green will find a role in either case; he's a bigger, run-thumping LB that will be beneficial for Alabama in obvious run situations.
Jefferson might be listed as the starter, but it's likely to be a timeshare between those two when Lawson is 100% ready to play.