BamaInsider Top 40 for 2020: Special teams stars highlighted in 30-26

Over the next few weeks, BamaInsider will unveil its annual top-40 list for the Alabama football team. Players were rated based on their projected impact for the Crimson Tide this season. Today we continue the series by examining players 30-26.

Alabama top 40: 40-36 | 35-31

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2019 highlights: Took on the punter role as a walk-on freshman, appearing in six games. Averaged a team-high 44.69 yards on 13 punts, earning Freshman All-SEC honors from league coaches.

Why he’s here: Perine burst onto the scene after Will Reichard re-injured his hip against Tennessee. From there, the walk-on took over at punter, solving Alabama’s woes at the position.

Perine was replaced by redshirt senior Mike Bernier during the Citrus Bowl. Earlier this offseason, Bernier stated that he beat out Perine during bowl prep but that he believes his former teammate is more than capable of taking on the role moving forward.

Alabama has other options at punter including Reichard and Skyler DeLong. However, Reichard will also be busy with kickoff and placekicking duties while DeLong has struggled with consistency over his college career. Perine will likely take on the punter role to start the season but will be on a short leash as evidenced by the Citrus Bowl.

2019 highlights: Saw time in all 13 games during his freshman season, serving primarily on special teams. Recorded four tackles and half a sack.

Why he’s here: Hellams carved out a special teams role during his freshman season and should be in line for more playing time during his second year in the program. Alabama loses both of its starting safeties in Xavier McKinney and Jared Mayden, leaving the door open for a possible first-team spot for the sophomore.

Hellams, 6-foot-1, 213 pounds, is capable of playing both deep safety and in the box. Fellow sophomore Jordan Battle will likely take on one of the starting roles at deep safety, leaving Hellams to compete with Daniel Wright, Eddie Smith and Brian Branch for the other. Hellams and Wright are the two frontrunners in that competition. Even if Hellams doesn’t secure the other deep safety spot, he’ll likely serve a role in the dime package out of the Money (box safety) role.

2019 highlights: Played in all 13 games recording eight tackles while serving as a backup at the safety position.

Why he’s here: This appears to be a make-or-break year for Wright. The redshirt junior started his college career with a promising freshman season in 2017 before a suspension and a season-ending injury slowed his momentum the following year.

Wright gets a slight nod over DeMarcco Hellams here due to his experience. With Alabama losing four of its five starters from last year’s nickel secondary, head coach Nick Saban might prefer a veteran option to play alongside sophomore Jordan Battle out of the majority of his defensive packages. Wright is in the same position as Hellams as he will also compete with redshirt sophomore Eddie Smith and freshman Brian Branch. Like Hellams, Wright is also in contention for the Money role out of the dime package.

2019 highlights: Blocked three punts, including one which he recovered for a touchdown. Recorded
20 tackles, including one for a loss while playing at the middle linebacker position on defense. Also served as the team’s H-back out of the goal-line package.

Why he’s here: If this were the NFL and Alabama had to trim its roster to 53 men, Kaho would still safely make the cut. While the versatile linebacker might not have a starting role, he serves as one of the most valuable players on the team.

Kaho has developed into one of the nation’s premier special teams players and even took on the H-back role out of the goal-line formation last season where he served as a lead blocker on short-yardage plays. This year, he could step into more of a role on defense as well.

While Dylan Moses and Christian Harris are likely to occupy the two starting spots at inside linebacker Kaho should add quality depth to the position. The 6-foot-1, 228-pounder could also be used as an outside linebacker in some situations, similar to how the Crimson Tide deployed former standout Rashaan Evans.

2019 highlights: Played in eight games last season, working at both the right and left guard positions. Earned a 78.11 run-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus.

Why he’s here: Depending on how Alabama reshuffles its offensive line, Ekiyor could earn a starting spot this season. With the departure of Jedrick Wills Jr., Evan Neal is expected to slide over from left guard to right tackle to fill the void. If that’s the case, Ekiyor would be the favorite to replace Neal inside.

Listed at 6-foot-3, 327 pounds, Ekiyor would provide a nice push in the running game, especially considering he’d be paired up alongside fellow maulers such as Landon Dickerson and Deonte Brown in what would be one of the nation’s most physical interior lines. On the other hand, Alabama could opt to insert Darrian Dalcourt at center while moving Dickerson to guard. That scenario would keep Ekiyor as a reserve.