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Matt Zenitz | mzenitz@al.com
Why Alabama is optimistic about its defensive line
"We had our couple scrimmages over the spring and it was crazy because I was looking at it and our D-line was playing like 'Wow.' They were stopping the run every time. It was like something like I've seen all the past years of us with our D-line, so I feel like we're going to do great this season."
Before the game, an observer of Alabama's second scrimmage made a prediction.
You're going to see how much of a monster No. 99 is, he said.
He was right.
Bama's D-line should be more than fine even after losing Da'Ron Payne and Da'Shawn Hand. That's because of 99 -- Raekwon Davis -- and others like Isaiah Buggs and Quinnen Williams.
That group created consistent issues for Alabama's offensive line throughout the Tide's first two spring scrimmages and then again during Bama's A-Day spring game on Saturday.
"We had our couple scrimmages over the spring and it was crazy because I was looking at it and our D-line was playing like 'Wow,'" linebacker Dylan Moses said. "They were stopping the run every time. It was like something like I've seen all the past years of us with our D-line, so I feel like we're going to do great this season."
Davis, the Tide's 6-foot-7, 310-pound star junior defensive end, appears to be on track for a potentially big season.
By all accounts, the 2017 first-team All-SEC selection looked unblockable at times during those first two scrimmages. That was the case again on Saturday.
It wasn't just him, though.
Alabama's three first-team defensive lineman -- Davis, Buggs and Williams -- combined for 21 tackles and five sacks.
Davis had seven tackles and two sacks. Williams, a redshirt sophomore who started the game at nose tackle, posted six tackles, two sacks and three additional quarterback hurries.
Also, the coaches had to be encouraged by the play of some of the backups, particularly former five-star recruit LaBryan Ray.
Working against Alabama's second-team offensive line, the sophomore recorded four tackles for a loss, two sacks, two additional quarterback hurries and a pass breakup.
In total, Tide quarterbacks were sacked 13 times on Saturday.
As you'll see once the season starts, it's not that Alabama's offensive line is anything close to bad. It's just that the Tide have several guys who showed during the spring that they're very capable of getting consistent pressure on the quarterback, including that monster -- No. 99.
"Raekwon is a good player because he's hard to block," Alabama coach Nick Saban said. "Isaiah Buggs is a good player because he's hard to block. Quinnen Williams made a lot of improvement this spring. ... We're athletic and faster. We just need more depth. We don't have quality depth at a lot of positions on defense, and I think that's going to be a real key for us to be able to develop that and improving some of the players who we have who made a lot of progress in the spring. I think LaBryan Ray made progress. But we've just got work to do when it comes to depth on defense."
Matt Zenitz | mzenitz@al.com
Why Alabama is optimistic about its defensive line
"We had our couple scrimmages over the spring and it was crazy because I was looking at it and our D-line was playing like 'Wow.' They were stopping the run every time. It was like something like I've seen all the past years of us with our D-line, so I feel like we're going to do great this season."
Before the game, an observer of Alabama's second scrimmage made a prediction.
You're going to see how much of a monster No. 99 is, he said.
He was right.
Bama's D-line should be more than fine even after losing Da'Ron Payne and Da'Shawn Hand. That's because of 99 -- Raekwon Davis -- and others like Isaiah Buggs and Quinnen Williams.
That group created consistent issues for Alabama's offensive line throughout the Tide's first two spring scrimmages and then again during Bama's A-Day spring game on Saturday.
"We had our couple scrimmages over the spring and it was crazy because I was looking at it and our D-line was playing like 'Wow,'" linebacker Dylan Moses said. "They were stopping the run every time. It was like something like I've seen all the past years of us with our D-line, so I feel like we're going to do great this season."
Davis, the Tide's 6-foot-7, 310-pound star junior defensive end, appears to be on track for a potentially big season.
By all accounts, the 2017 first-team All-SEC selection looked unblockable at times during those first two scrimmages. That was the case again on Saturday.
It wasn't just him, though.
Alabama's three first-team defensive lineman -- Davis, Buggs and Williams -- combined for 21 tackles and five sacks.
Davis had seven tackles and two sacks. Williams, a redshirt sophomore who started the game at nose tackle, posted six tackles, two sacks and three additional quarterback hurries.
Also, the coaches had to be encouraged by the play of some of the backups, particularly former five-star recruit LaBryan Ray.
Working against Alabama's second-team offensive line, the sophomore recorded four tackles for a loss, two sacks, two additional quarterback hurries and a pass breakup.
In total, Tide quarterbacks were sacked 13 times on Saturday.
As you'll see once the season starts, it's not that Alabama's offensive line is anything close to bad. It's just that the Tide have several guys who showed during the spring that they're very capable of getting consistent pressure on the quarterback, including that monster -- No. 99.
"Raekwon is a good player because he's hard to block," Alabama coach Nick Saban said. "Isaiah Buggs is a good player because he's hard to block. Quinnen Williams made a lot of improvement this spring. ... We're athletic and faster. We just need more depth. We don't have quality depth at a lot of positions on defense, and I think that's going to be a real key for us to be able to develop that and improving some of the players who we have who made a lot of progress in the spring. I think LaBryan Ray made progress. But we've just got work to do when it comes to depth on defense."
Matt Zenitz | mzenitz@al.com
Why Alabama is optimistic about its defensive line
