Alabama’s defensive line plays with an edge under Nick Saban when it’s had a nose tackle from the Birmingham area.
Marcell Dareus, a product of Huffman High School, played for the Crimson Tide from 2008 to 2010 as a defensive tackle.
RELATED: Alabama DL Tim Kennan III is preparing to become impactful in year two
He pushed the Tide to a BCS National Championship in 2009 and made first-team All-SEC in 2010. Da’Ron Payne, an alum of Shades Valley High School, arrived as a five-star in Alabama’s 2015 class. He became an enforcer in the middle of the defensive line, assisting the program to two College Football Playoff National Championships in 2015 and 2017. Quinnen Williams, who hailed from Wenonah High School, got on the University of Alabama campus in 2016. He earned a national championship ring in 2017, but his dominance came in 2018. Williams recorded eight sacks, 19.5 tackles for loss, and 12 quarterback hurries.
DJ Dale could have been the next enforcer from Birmingham, but injuries plagued him. Coach Saban may have his latest explosive defensive tackle to follow Dareus, Payne, and Williams. Tim Kennan III, a redshirt sophomore, came out of Ramsay High School in Birmingham, Ala. He arrived as a four-star prospect in the 2021 recruiting class. An injury had him redshirt his freshman season, but Saban has been impressed with Kennan in fall camp. After playing two games in 2022, he’s prepared to provide an impact up front for an Alabama team that looks to return to the CFP and capture a national title in Houston, Texas.
“Tim has done a really good job,” Saban said Wednesday in his presser.
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“He’s lost weight. He has gotten in much better shape and is moving a lot better. He is a lot quicker. He has always had explosive power. He has been a pleasant surprise in this camp to be a guy that is playing like a starter.”
Kennan is behind Jaheim Oatis in the nose tackle rotation, but he will be as important as Oatis. At the beginning of the season, Alabama will count on Kennan to dominate one-on-one matchups and command double teams to free up linebackers to make plays. If he can free up linebackers and make plays himself, Kennan will have this defense creating turnovers and being elite.
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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.
