TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama started a pair of freshmen in its defensive unit against Western Kentucky on Saturday. Zabien Brown made his debut at cornerback, while redshirt freshman Qua Russaw started the game at the Wolf position.

Russaw made the most of his opportunity, finishing the game with four tackles, including one for loss and a quarterback hit. His strong debut performance impressed defensive coordinator Kane Wommack, who praised Russaw for his versatility Tuesday. It also pleased linebackers coach Christian Robinson, who enjoyed the fact that Russaw was able to show off the work that he’s put in behind the scenes this offseason.

“I think everybody is seeing what everybody has seen here in practice for about a year,” Robinson said. “He’s taken a huge step in terms of his understanding of overall football. The way that he takes notes in meetings, he’s always making me have to sneak out of a meeting to come meet with him and that’s one of the things I love about him.”

During one of those meetings, Russaw expressed to Robinson what motivates him to earn his early game time.

“In high school, he got hurt and then when he was going through that [he talked about] how much he missed football,” Robinson said. “So he’s preparing as if it's going away and he’s trying to make sure that he’s doing everything he can right now and I’m really proud of him.”

Russaw’s attitude has helped him turn a negative situation during his prep days into standing out in a competitive Wolf room and making positive contributions in his first-ever start for the Crimson Tide.

“He’s one of the guys that I believe can help us in almost any situation,” Robinson said. “But he’s earned the right to go out there first and I was really proud of him and the other guys.”

Russaw certainly can’t get complacent after earning the not in Week 1. Alabama has plenty of depth in its Wolf room with Redshirt junior Keanu Koht and Redshirt senior Que Robinson both capable of filling the role. Robinson was responsible for Alabama’s first sack of the season on Saturday. Koht played 13 snaps and finished the game with a solid 73.2 overall defense grade from Pro Football Focus.

“I was really proud of our group,” Robinson said. “They’re excited for more and want to go get more and more opportunities and I’m hoping to give them those.”