Alabama defensive coordinator Pete Golding couldn’t get through his opening statement on Aug. 20 without mentioning four names.
“I think we’ve got some older players showing a lot of leadership,” Golding said. “I think Dylan Moses, having him back out there and hearing him and seeing him flying around, he’s done an exceptional job with these young kids. LaBryan Ray up front, it’s nice to have him back. Christian Barmore’s playing really well. And I think Patrick Surtain, he’s in a really good spot.”
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Some of those names are obvious. Surtain is closing in on 2,000 snaps on defense while Moses has almost 1,000.
Ray has only 476 but, like Moses, he has been with the team since 2017. In fact, Ray would have likely doubled his snap count last season alone if not for a season-ending injury suffered in week three.
Barmore is easily the youngest member of the group. He’s played fewer than 300 snaps in his career, and the redshirt sophomore has only been around for two years.
The defensive tackle’s high school coach, Albie Crosby, isn’t surprised at his rapid ascent in Tuscaloosa. Crosby recalls his defensive coordinator Dwayne Thomas predicting this would happen before Barmore ever left Philadelphia.
“‘If you play as hard and as violent as you play, you’ll play one or two years, and you’ll be in the league,’” Crosby said, remembering Thomas’ remarks. “So, I think everything that you’re seeing now is something that we’ve seen.”
What started as advice to a young player about to depart for Tuscaloosa, looks an awful lot like a prophecy now. On Tuesday, the Athletic’s Dane Brugler ranked the defensive tackle 15th overall on his early NFL draft board.
The folks at Pro Football Focus also seem to think a lot of the defensive lineman. Only Trevon Diggs received a higher overall defensive grade than Barmore (87.8) last season.
“I think he’s extremely comfortable," Crosby said of Barmore's mindset ahead of what should be a much more demanding year. "He’s always very comfortable and confident in himself. … His dreams and his aspirations are right here in front of him so I think he’s going to try to take full advantage of them.”
Barmore's rising stock has a lot to do with his strong finish.
He averaged only 13.7 snaps on defense through the LSU game, but his knack for making plays (and some injuries elsewhere on Alabama's defensive line) increased his workload dramatically down the stretch allowing him to play at least 34 snaps in each of the last four games for an average of 43.3 snaps per outing over that stretch.
The increased snap count didn't seem to phase him. In fact, the Crimson Tide coaches named him a player of the week twice (Western Carolina and Auburn), and Pro Football Focus graded him higher than any of his fellow defenders after Barmore recorded four quarterback hurries and two tackles in the Iron Bowl.
That ability to affect opposing quarterbacks is easily his most significant contribution to the Crimson Tide.
He finished the 2019 season with 26 total pressures, including three sacks, according to PFF. Only Terrell Lewis and Anferee Jennings recorded more pressures for Alabama.
The Crimson Tide needs even more production from Barmore this season if Alabama is going to avoid a repeat of last year when the team recorded its lowest total (32) since 2014.
"I'm going to give you a Christian Barmore saying," Crosby said when asked about Barmore's aggressive style of play. "When he goes up against anybody and he beats them you know the first thing he says, he says 'coach they a baby, he's a baby.' No matter who he beats, he's looking to his teammates and screaming 'he's a baby.'"
