Alabama’s Inside Linebackers Improving as Season Develops

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama has seen strong play from the defensive side of the ball this season, and got it when it needed it on Saturday, while the Tide's offense struggled, with Kane Wommack's crew holding LSU to less than 250 yards and no touchdowns on the night.

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Alabama has gotten good play out of its three veteran linebackers, Deontae Lawson, Justin Jefferson, and Nikhai Hill-Green. Jefferson and Lawson lead the Crimson Tide in tackles this season (Jefferson has 54, Lawson has 47), while Nikhai Hill-Green has 33 on the season. All three have forced a fumble on the season as well. Kane Wommack's 4-2-5 defensive scheme funnels plays to the linebackers in the middle of the defense, allowing all three to rack up big plays in both the pass and run game. Hill-Green continues to be a positive transfer for Alabama, being graded as the best linebacker in week 11, according to PFF, with a 92.4 overall grade.

On Monday, Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack was asked about the play of his inside linebackers.

"I think those guys are doing a good job. I mean, you look at Deontae, he's just coming back from where he was a year ago, and he's just gotten better and better coming off of that injury from last season," Wommack said on Monday. "I think he's playing some of his best football right now, which is really encouraging. He's playing fast, he's playing aggressive. And then just the leadership that he brings to the table and the peace of mind, I think that the rest of the team has when he's out there on the field, from a communication standpoint, getting everybody on the same page — a large part of good defense right now is not losing games by errors and mistakes and [missed assignments].

"And you see that really across the country right now, when you look at defensive play. And I think right now, one of the things that we're doing at a fairly high level is just executing to consistency, and he's a big piece to that as well. But I thought Nikhai Hill-Green probably played his best game of the season so far. Those guys are trending in the right direction, and certainly that's what you want. Good teams get better, good defenses get better. And we've just challenged our guys to take, you know, little steps in terms of improving their game as we're going along. I think that group is doing that."

Wommack was asked about Nikhai-Hill-Green, and said the Colorado transfer is playing some of his best football of the season.

"Yeah, I think he’s, again, he’s playing some of his best football right now. Nikhai is, the players joke, they call him ‘Unc.’ I think he’s the oldest guy in our defense, 24 years old," Wommack said. "He’s just so solid and so steady, and he knows where his eye progression is supposed to be, where he’s supposed to be from a landmark standpoint. Alignments pre-snap. He does all the things right before he has to make the play, so he gives himself the best opportunity to make the play. He’ll tell you, he’s not the fastest guy out there, he’s not the most athletic guy out there, but he’s athletic enough, and his elite trait is his ability to diagnose before he has to go make the play, and he’s doing that at an elite level right now."

Alabama's three veterans will be necessary for success for the rest of the season, as Alabama will face one of the top offenses in the conference this Saturday against Oklahoma.

Alabama will face Oklahoma this Saturday, November 15, at 2:30 p.m.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.