Is freshman Dylan Moses Alabama's answer at linebacker moving forward?
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The future is now for Alabama at the linebacker position. At least that’s the way it has looked during practice this week.
Five-star freshman Dylan Moses was seen working with Alabama’s first-team unit in both the nickel and dime packages, taking the role of injured linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton who broke his kneecap against LSU two weeks ago.
“Dylan’s done a really good job for us. He’s got a little more opportunity now because of some of the injury situations that we had at linebacker,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said during the SEC Coaches Teleconference on Wednesday. “I think getting the additional reps in practice have really helped his confidence, and hopefully we’ll get to play him a little bit more and that’ll continue to develop because we don’t have a lot of depth at the position and he’s certainly a guy that certainly has the potential to be a really good player for us when he gets the knowledge and experience that he needs to go out there and play with confidence. And we have every confidence that we can put him in a position to do that.”
Redshirt junior Keith Holcombe got the start last week against Mississippi State. Despite finishing with six tackles, the veteran linebacker struggled at times and seemed to be a step behind defenders on several occasions. While Alabama’s struggles on defense can’t be completely attributed to Holcombe, his performance didn’t help on a night where the Crimson Tide surrendered a season-high 172 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
Moses finished with just two tackles against the Bulldogs but could receive a bigger role moving forward. The 6-foot-3, 232-pound linebacker came to Alabama as the No. 32 player overall in the 2017 class. He has tallied nine total tackles including 1.5 sacks in limited action this season.
Whether or not Moses has shown enough during practice to earn the starting role in a game is yet to be determined. When asked what he’s looking for from his younger players during practice, Saban’s response was simple.
“What I’m looking for is guys that can play winning football,” Saban said. “What does that mean? You can go out there and do your job and you can do it on a consistent basis, whether it's playing your gap, cover your guy, drop to the right zone, break on the ball the right way, be a good tackler — play winning football at your position.”
Saban said he goes over mistakes with his players every week after grading film from the week before, providing an explanation for every missed play or assignment. From there, it’s up to which players are willing to correct their mistakes moving forward.
“When you get to the point where your name doesn’t come up on that list, then you’re playing winning football,” Saban said.
No. 1 Alabama (10-0, 7-0 in the SEC) will host FCS opponent Mercer (5-5) on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT for the last game inside of Bryant-Denny Stadium this season. The game will be televised on SEC Network.