The 15th and final practice of spring for the Crimson Tide will commence at noon on Saturday in a new version of A-Day. There will be no scrimmage, but the University has promised some sort of display of the football team’s talents.
Earlier this week, we recapped Alabama Offensive Players To Watch on A-Day. Today, we talk about the other side of the ball.
DEFENSIVE LINE – The most recent Tide teams have not exactly shined on the defensive front. There is hope that that will change in 2025. Veteran Tim Keenan is back to anchor the line. LT Overton had some some nice moments of penetrating the opponents’ offensive line last season, but had trouble finishing with tackles. One among the newer candidates with the potential to “break out” this fall is Jeremiah Beaman who has beefed up from 259 as a recruit in 2024 to 312 as a redshirt freshman. He may be heir apparent at the nose. Alabama native Kelby Collins surprisingly signed with Florida in 2023 and had an impressive freshman year. But then the Gators changed their defensive schemes and he was a square peg in a round hole. Perhaps the one lineman with the potential to bust out is junior James Smith (#23 above). The most intriguing young defensive lineman is Canadian/Cameroonian Steve Bolo Mboumoua fresh off a juco season. Is former 5-star Keon Keeley finally ready?
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LINEBACKER – The number one LB of intrigue here has got to be Colorado transfer Nikhai Hill-Green who is in his final season of eligibility. When interviewed on Thursday morning, Tim Keenan said that redshirt freshman QB Reese “has been making extreme noise this spring.” That is an interesting development from a former 3-star who had only one Power team offer. He is up from 205 lbs to a more appropriate 225. Those two will be pushing incumbent Justin Jefferson in the middle. Qua Russaw looks ready at the Wolf position.
SECONDARY – With safety Keon Sabb still recovering from a significant injury against Tennessee last October, other guys have had a chance to step up. Zavier Mincey played well as a freshman and should see significant playing time. Freshman Ivan Taylor could push at safety as well. DaShawn Jones appears ready to take over at Husky after transferring from Wake Forest as season ago. But Red Morgan will push him. The border cornerbacks are pretty locked in with Domani Jackson and Zabien Brown. Even so, 5-star Dijon Lee (#5 above) is going to be tough to keep off the field. Utah transfer Cameron Calhoun is a guy to keep an eye on.
PUNTER – Not as glamorous as some of the other position battles, but certainly an important one is the punter. With Ray Guy Award semifinalist James Burnip off to the NFL, Alabama signed the nation’s No. 2 punter in Alex Asparuhov. However, the Tide also brought in another diamond-in-the-rough in Blake Doud from by-god Colorado School of Mines.
Who on defense are you looking forward to seeing in crimson and white?
