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There won’t be a battle for the starting quarterback position this year, but there are still plenty of other spots up for grabs as Alabama resumes its spring camp Monday. The Crimson Tide took part in its opening practice on March 8, providing an initial look at how things will take place over the next month. This week should reveal even more as we get a better grasp at trends and player groupings during practice.
Here are five position battles we are watching at the beginning of camp.
Will linebacker
Leading competitors
— Joshua McMillon, redshirt senior
— Ale Kaho, sophomore
Other candidates
— Markail Benton, redshirt sophomore
— Jaylen Moody, sophomore
— Shane Lee, freshman
Outlook: Alabama should be in good hands at Mike linebacker this season as Dylan Moses makes the shift to take over signal-calling duties from departing Mack Wilson. Things get a little more complicated for the Crimson Tide in terms of finding the right player to line up alongside Moses at the Will linebacker position.
Heading into camp, we projected Ale Kaho as the favorite to land the job. However, the sophomore missed Alabama’s opening practice while dealing with personal issues. A source close to the situation told BamaInsider that Kaho is expected to return to the team Monday. Kaho then posted a photo to his Instagram story last week claiming he’d “be back real soon.”
If that is indeed the case, the 6-foot-1, 224-pound linebacker should put himself in strong contention to win the starting job. Last year, Kaho played on each of Alabama’s special teams units, tallying a team-high seven tackles on kickoff coverage.
With Kaho absent from practice, Joshua McMillon was second in line with the inside linebackers during drills. The redshirt senior played in 10 games last season, recording 14 tackles with one for a loss. McMillon should push Kaho for the starting job regardless of the sophomore’s off-the-field situation. With that said, the longer Kaho is away from the practice field, the more ground he’ll lose to the veteran.
