When he made the decision to come back for his senior year, every Alabama football fan had high expectations for Dylan Moses at middle linebacker.
People had him penciled down as an All-American, first-team All-SEC honoree and Butkus Award winner. After he missed the 2019 campaign with a serious knee injury, the idea was he would be the one to have the Crimson Tide back on point defensively.
Despite these thoughts, Moses has struggled since the injury.
Regardless of him carrying the team lead in total tackles (50) and having 5.5 tackles for loss with 1.5 sacks, the former five-star from the 2017 recruiting cycle has yet to have a dominant game.
The 6-foot-3, 240-pounder has had moments where he has been out of position on tackles and has not made a lot of big plays. Although he has looked better as of late, Moses needs to turn it on in the second half of the season — if he still wants to be viewed as a first-rounder for the 2021 NFL Draft.
His first opportunity to get back right comes this week against the LSU Tigers.
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Moses had a chance to choose LSU, but he spurned the top school in his home state by going to Alabama.
In the Nick Saban era, the Tide has had a lineage of playmakers at Mike linebacker — especially in big games.
On Friday of last week, yours truly of Touchdown Alabama Magazine explained why the matchup with LSU is ‘do or die’ time for Moses in terms of his draft stock.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
