Da'Ron Payne's pass rush prepares him to play

Western Kentucky would not have been a matchup for Da’Ron Payne to eagerly await as a freshman. The pass-happy Hilltoppers averaged over 40 passes a game in 2015, and over 42 each game in 2014. That’s not what Payne was suited for when he arrived as a 345-pound freshman last season.

But as a 313-pound sophomore, Payne feels more prepared for Saturday’s game.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “It’ll probably be more of a chance for me to pass rush and tighten up my skills.”

Payne made a major impact as a freshman, but most of his time on the field last year came against offenses known for physical running games. He started against Arkansas, LSU and Florida, but was a bit player in other matchups. Nose guards aren’t known for flashy statistics, but he didn’t register a single tackle against Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Auburn or Clemson.

He wasn’t built for those kind of games. Payne arrived as one of the University of Alabama’s strongest players, but hadn’t developed as a pass rusher. That was his focus this summer, as he dropped weight and learned from his teammates who helped set a school record with 52 sacks last year.

“Last year, I got to learn a lot from (Jarran) Reed, A'Shawn, Darren Lake, D.J. Pettway, and now this year, I get to still learn from Jon Allen and Dalvin Tomlinson,” he said. “Just a learning process."

His first career sack hasn’t come yet – he shared a sack with A’Shawn Robinson against Tennessee last year – but he’s close. He narrowly missed Southern Cal quarterback Max Browne last week, but a teammate finished the play.

He’s starting to put all his skills and techniques together. Payne now has the speed to go with the strength he always had, and he’s refining his technique with help from defensive line coach Karl Dunbar.

“(Payne is) kind of unstoppable to block,” sophomore guard Ross Pierschbacher said. “It’s like he’s got everything going for him. I’m glad we have him on our team.”

WKU is another chance for his first career sack. He started at nose guard against the Trojans, and should see a more consistent role the rest of the season. Payne has tried to imitate some of his teammates in hopes of adding their abilities to get after the quarterback.

“We've tried to improve him a little bit as a pass rusher so he could be a good inside player for us and I think he's done that,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said last week. “He gives us another inside player that we can play, which I think is critical based on the guys that we lost.”

Defensive end Dalvin Tomlinson said Payne’s footwork has seen the biggest improvement. He’s always been an explosive player, but wasn’t skilled enough to escape double teams. Little by little, the big defensive lineman is learning what it takes.

“Getting in the playbook and having a year under his belt really benefited him,” Pierschbacher said. “He’s probably arguably one of the strongest guys on the team. He ran like a 4.8 or something 40, and with a guy that size, you don’t see that very often. It makes it a really big challenge for us offensive linemen to go up against him.”

Reach Ben Jones at ben@tidesports.com or 205-722-0196.