Alabama wrapped up its spring camp last weekend with its annual A-Day scrimmage. Now that the Crimson Tide has 15 workouts under its belt, it should have a better feel of what it has moving forward into the fall as it looks to repeat as national champions.
Here’s a projection of how Alabama could line up on defense this season.
Freshmen who are set to arrive in the summer are marked with an asterisk.
DE
LaBryan Ray
Byron Young
Stephon Wynn Jr.
Braylen Ingraham
Damon Payne*
DT
D.J. Dale
Tim Smith
Jamil Burroughs
Tim Keenan
DE
Justin Eboigbe/Phidarian Mathis
Monkell Goodwine
Jah-Marien Latham
Anquin Barnes*
Outlook: This is Alabama’s deepest position group on defense and could see several players get first-team action this fall. Assuming LaBryan Ray can finally fend off the injury bug, the redshirt senior should lead the unit this year. D.J. Dale figures to be the man in the middle as he enters his third season as the starter at nose guard. Alabama’s other starting defensive end role will likely rotate between Justin Eboigbe and Phidarian Mathis while Byron Young figures to get significant minutes as well.
Alabama loses its sacks leader from last season in defensive tackle Christian Barmore. While Dale has been a sturdy run-stuffer during his first two seasons, he doesn’t provide the same pass rush up the middle that Barmore did. The role could now fall to Tim Smith, who showed plenty of promise during his freshman season last year.
True freshman Monkell Goodwine had a solid spring camp and is a player Alabama coaches are excited about moving forward. The Tide also brings in three promising summer enrollees in Damon Payne, Tim Keenan and Anquin Barnes.
