Alabama was only aggressive in its pursuit of one transfer linebacker this offseason despite losing its top three contributors off-ball from 2025. They landed veteran Caleb Woodson from Virginia Tech, who has immediately stepped in as Alabama's signal-caller in the middle at Mike.
Kalen DeBoer and Kane Wommack were comfortable with the room after that. They've been high on the young crop of linebackers and fully expect multiple of them to be ready for legitimate snaps in 2026.
The competition to start at Stinger alongside Woodson appears to be between junior QB Reese and sophomore Luke Metz. Reese is the favorite thanks to his seniority and has been seen running with the ones in the media portions of practice so far, but there's likely a role for both guys regardless of who ends up listed as the starter.
Metz is a guy who is positioning himself for a significant role in his second season on campus. On Tuesday, Wommack dropped a hint after practice that provides insight into how Metz is viewed.
When discussing the prepartion for the season, Wommack said:
"As a coaching staff, our job is to physically get our players ready to play the game. A lot of it is the energy and juice and the passion that they play with as well."
Then, when discussing Metz, Wommack used almost the exact same verbiage when breaking down his game:
“Luke has always been a guy when you watch his tape, you see the energy he plays with, the passion he plays with, and the physicality."
Luke Metz is making noise in fall camp for Alabama
The sophomore will have a big opportunity in two days. Alabama's first scrimmage of fall camp is on Thursday, and it will be the first big chance for players to make a move up the depth chart.
Metz is taking the coaching from Wommack and LB coach Chuck Morrell and is positioning himself for a lot of snaps this season. He has a real chance of overtaking Reese and starting next to Woodson at some point. That's no fault of Reese, either; it just shows the high level at which Metz is playing.
"I thought at the beginning of spring ball he got a little bit where he was more concerned about the scheme and making a mistake, and he was playing a little bit hesitant, Wommack said. "So I talked to him, ‘hey man, go back to who you are and what you do.’ You’re a guy who can go run, and hit, and be decisive. He took that to heart; he took strides as we moved into spring ball, and you saw that through the summertime, and right now he’s playing at a very high level. Excited about him. Excited about a number of those linebackers right now that are really playing aggressive."
Wommack intends to field a more physical defense in 2026. Both Reese and Metz have no problem bringing physicality when they are on the field.
In each of Wommack's two seasons as defensive coordinator for the Crimson Tide, he has played three linebackers off-ball for a lot of snaps. In 2024, it was Jihaad Campbell, Deontae Lawson, and Justin Jefferson. Last season, it was Lawson, Jefferson, and Nikahi Hill-Green. There's no reason to expect anything different in 2026.
Both Metz and Reese will have roles. They've clearly earned them, and they are both pushing each other in camp and making one another better along the way.
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