re: Predict our starting LB's for next game

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Keith Holcombe doesn't call himself a Mike or Will.

He's a linebacker. 

And on Monday, Alabama coach Nick Saban said the redshirt junior could even fill in as an edge rusher.

Holcombe's reaction?

"That's the coaches' decision," he said. "If they want me to do that, I'm more than happy to do whatever I have to do to help this team out."

Holcombe is confident he could buttress the corps of outside linebackers whose depth has been impinged after Terrell Lewis and Christian Miller went down with season-ending injuries and Anfernee Jennings suffered a high-ankle sprain that could keep him sidelined for multiple games.

That's because Alabama has a history of cross-training linebackers.

"It definitely helps," said Shaun Dion Hamilton, who started at the Mike spot last weekend in the Tide's victory over Florida State. "If something happens, the next man can step up and not lose a beat. It all goes back to Coach Saban getting us ready for a situation before it happens."

In many ways, Saban formulates these kinds of contingency plans before players even set foot on campus. Prior to his enrollment, freshman Van Darius Cowan anticipated playing inside at Alabama. He is now learning how to attack from the edge. In the nine months since he's been on campus, Dylan Moses has practiced with both linebacker position groups.

Rashaan Evans, meanwhile, has played with both.

"Being able to come from inside to outside and kind of help the pass rushers out as much as I can and get some pressure on the quarterback, I think that's the No. 1 thing," he said last month. "If you can do those things like that you can pretty much stop some pretty good offenses."

As Evans will attest, Saban and defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt have created more flexibility with their personnel by giving several linebackers multiple roles.

"Once you figure out that concept of the defense, you can train anywhere," Holcombe said. "That's what we have trained ourselves with Coach Pruitt. Coach Pruitt has not been signaling us for one position. He's been rotating us out so we know all the defense and know all the positions...The more you know of every position and understand the concepts, the more you're going to play or the more helpful you're going to be to help the team."

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