Patience is something few people seem to have, but Alabama linebacker Dylan Moses had no choice but to show it last season when he suffered an ankle injury that sidelined him the entire year.
It was supposed to be Moses’ breakout year in terms of being the unquestioned leader of the defense. He no longer shared the middle of the field with former teammate Mack Wilson which put a ton of responsibility on his shoulders.
Up until the injury Moses had met the challenge, but life decided to give the Louisianna native a different path and the defense ultimatley suffered for it.
But following some deep consideration and a great deal of rehab, Moses returned to the University of Alabama for his senior season and is looking to take full advantage of the time he has left.
“As far as our defense I just want to see toughness, grit, I want to strike fear in my opponents,” said Moses during Monday’s player press conferences. “I want it to be, you know, just like how it used to be you know as far as our culture goes. That’s what Alabama’s identity is and I want to bring that back.”
Last season Alabama ranked third in the SEC in total defense which normally wouldn’t even warrant a raised eyebrow, but the Crimson Tide’s defense gave up 137.4 rushing yards per game which was by far the most in the entire Nick Saban era. Being forced to implement two freshman linebackers in Christian Harris and Shane Lee when Moses and fellow senior linebacker Joshua McMillon were lost to the season with injury led a rather up and down season on that side of the football.
The last time Moses was on the field for Alabama the team gave up an average of 122.0 rushing yards per game which was the third best ranking in the conference only behind Mississippi State and Texas A&. So having someone like Moses back is huge for Alabama and pairing him with a player like Harris next to him, who already has an entire season under his belt has completely shrunk any learning curve Moses would have had to assist with last season.
Moses and Alabama will have its first shot at showing the country that the defensive culture of old has returned against Missouri this Saturday.
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
