Which Defensive Position Group Interests You the Most Next Year?

Going to be a lot of fun position battles to watch this upcoming year.

In the Secondary, it will be interesting to see who takes over the CB spot vacated by PS2.

I liked the way Hellams was playing at the end of the year. We already know Malachi Moore and Jobe are very good players. I think Brian Branch will be an absolute stud next year. Interested to see if D. Wright keeps his starting spot or not next year. We’ve got a lot of talented guys at both S and Corner on this team.

At LBer, we are going to be elite on the edge. ILBer will be very interesting to see how it shakes out.

Christian Harris has one spot locked up, and I look for him to be a beast/All-SEC type player in the middle next year. As for the other spot, there are so many options that I can’t even begin to guess how this one plays out. Gun to my head - I’d have to guess Moody gets the nod at the other ILB spot, but Kaho has potential with his athleticism, hard-nosed attitude and another year of experience in the program. Demouy Kennedy had incredible high school tape and looks like he has skill set and athleticism to develop into a Bama-Great/NFL ‘backer. I’m interested to see if they play D. Sanders in the middle at all. I think Bratton is a solid player who will take a couple years before he sees meaningful PT. The freshman I’m most excited about is Deontae Lawson; I think he will end up being an amazing player. This freshman class looks to be a really solid group with lots of potential.

**the caveat to this group is Golding’s ability to coach them up and have them understanding the defense to perfection. For some reason, I’m confident lol. Overall I was pleased with what the defense did in 2020; but there were more than a few instances last year, especially with the ILBs and wheel routes/crossing routes/misdirection/etc., that had many of us pulling our hair out. The jury is DEFINITELY out on this subject, but that’s for another thread.

On the DL, losing Barmore sucks but was obviously expected after his performance this year and especially the later part of the year.

This will be interesting to see who steps up this year, but I fully expect this group to be very good. While Barmore had the most talent of the group last year, IMO the unsung hero of the entire Defense last year was Phi Mathis. I’m very glad he is returning. After OM game, everyone was questioning our defenses passion and intensity. Well, Mathis stepped up and got this defense playing with some fire starting out with the UGA game and onward. I expect Mathis to have a key role again this year, and potentially play himself into a 3rd to 5th round pick. His leadership can’t be understated.

I think Byron Young and Eboigbe don’t really get the credit they deserve. Young showed flashes and made some very good plays last year that convinced me (an expert armchair coach) that he’s got some NFL potential. Eboigbe is consistent in what he’s asked to do and quietly made some pretty damn good plays last year as well. If either of these two guys elevate their game at all, our defensive front will cause A LOT of problems for other teams.

I think we see A LOT of Tim Smith next year in the middle. He is going to be an absolute force from here on out - will be yet another Bama stud on the DL. As for Dale, he came in as a freshman and was thrust into a tough situation. Unfortunately for the guy, I think he will see less and less PT as we move forward. I’d just be happy if he can develop into a solid run stopper in the middle, but there are some incredibly talented guys behind him that will be tough for Dale to fend off.

Burroughs played a good amount for a freshman last year too, so I think we see him come in a little more frequently this year.

I’m interested to see how much PT incoming freshman, Damon Payne, gets. I also think Tim Keenan will be a very good player after a year or two in the S&C program.


Overall; I’m most interested to see how the second ILB spot shakes out and how good that group is this year. I think the defense as a whole will be elite - probably top 5 in the country.