Alabama positioned well to reload at the edge rusher position

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The standard was printed on the walls. After accepting the job as Alabama’s outside linebackers coach last month, Christian Robinson was instantly aware of the talent and expectations that awaited him in Tuscaloosa.

“Day 1 I walked in and all over the walls were some of the great players that have been here,” Robinson said last week. “There’s been some great players the past three years that I’ve recruited and I know well — Dallas [Turner], and I know Will [Anderson]. That was the standard.”

Anderson earned NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year last season, and Turner is projected to be one of the first defensive players selected in next month’s draft. Alabama is also losing another five-star edge rusher in Chris Braswell, who is expected to be an early second-round pick.

Still, Robinson will have a warchest of pass rushers to work with in his first season with the Tide.

“Obviously with Dallas going to the NFL, there’s going to be room for some guys to step up,” Robinson said. “That’s the No. 1 message is we plan to continue to carry that torch.”

Quandarrius Robinson is projected to lead Alabama’s outside linebackers this fall in what will be called the Wolf position in the Crimson Tide’s new setup.

However, the redshirt senior is far from Alabama’s only capable option for the role.

Alabama also returns a trio of former top-50 recruits in redshirt junior Keanu Koht as well as redshirt freshmen Yhonzae Pierre and Qua Russaw. Meanwhile, a pair of four-star true freshmen in Noah Carter and Jayshawn Ross also offer plenty of potential.

Koht is the most ready of that bunch. The 6-foot-4, 232-pound defender has battled injuries throughout his career at Alabama and saw the field for just 18 defensive snaps last season. However, he’s drawn positive reviews so far this spring.

“Athletically he’s a freak,” Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said of Koht last week. “He does some things, the way he can bend off the edge, his explosive ability. He plays with an extremely high motor right now, and he is grasping what we are doing from a schematic standpoint.”

Pierre might have the highest ceiling in the unit. The Eufaula, Alabama native is the cousin of former Crimson Tide edge rusher Courtney Upshaw. Listed at 6-foot-3, 223 pounds, Pierre offers a leaner frame than Upshaw (6-foot-2, 270), but he shares the same ability to get to the quarterback.

Pierre came to Alabama as the No. 31 overall player and No. 4 weakside defensive end in last year’s class. After joining the team last summer, he didn’t see the field during his first year. The way things are progressing in camp, that figures to change this fall

“He’s got a great get-off,” Robinson said. “He’s got great pass-rushing ability. What I’ve been talking to him about is, with great ability, how can we continue to expand what we know. He spent a year learning a different defense, so now he’s having to relearn some things and some different terms. … I’m proud of what he’s doing. He’s had a great motivation to get it right, and I believe he will.”

As for the newcomers, Carter, a former Washington signee, is set to join Alabama this summer after the Huskies released him from his National Letter of Intent, allowing him to sign with the Tide last month. Ross, the No. 223 player in this year’s class, is already with the team and off to a promising start.

“He’s young, he’s excited, he cares,” Robinson said of Ross. “He sits right next to me in my position meeting room, and he wants to be great. It’s why he came here. We want to see him take those that any young player takes to learn, one, how to function in the building and how to go about the day-to-day requirements, and then to be able to meet that on the field as well.”

Robinson, who has coached in schemes similar to what Alabama had under Nick Saban as well as what the Tide currently has under Wommack, has served as somewhat of a translator for younger players, helping them through new terminology and concepts. Meanwhile, Robinson and Koht have stepped in nicely as deputies, reincorcing his teaching to their younger teammates.

“Those guys have been vocal,” Robinson said. “No matter if it was offseason workouts, 4th Quarter Program to Day 1 in the meeting. Especially after practice, those guys, they definitely come together and communicate what the expectation is. They’re pushing the group, and I’m proud of them.”

In previous years, Alabama’s defenses have featured Sam and Jack linebackers, who generally shared the same build. Wommack’s new 4-2-5 scheme generally consolidates those body types into the Wolf role while adding a Bandit position that calls for a bigger edge rusher.

Robinson said there will be times, especially during obvious passing downs, when Alabama will deploy two leaner edge rushers on the field at the same time. Still, the Tide might need to get creative in how it distributes reps to its loaded outside linebacker unit.

That’s a task Robinson believes Alabama will manage just fine this fall.

“At the end of the day, you’re trying to get the cream of the crop,” Robinson said. “One, I think our guys love to compete. But there’s a connectivity here that a lot of other teams don’t have. I think there’s a brotherhood. Football is a fraternity here.”