Alabama football has its bonafide inside linebacker for the first time since Rashaan Evans.
Deontae Lawson, a Mobile (Ala.) native, is having a good year as a sophomore. He is a first-year starting linebacker, but the former four-star has the Crimson Tide playing well on defense at the right time. Lawson runs a unit that is No. 12 in the nation for scoring defense (16 ppg allowed) and No. 15 for total defense (291.6 ypg allowed). He ranks fourth on the team for total tackles (37) and has 3.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, two quarterback hurries, and a pass breakup. Lawson is following in the footsteps of Rolando McClain, C.J. Mosley, Reggie Ragland, Evans, and Shaun Dion Hamilton as Alabama natives at inside linebackers.
Mosley, Ragland, Evans, and Hamilton suffered a loss as inside linebackers, but they led their defensive units to national championships despite the loss. Lawson has a chance to accomplish a feat this season by leading the defense to a championship, despite a week two loss to Texas. Trezmen Marshall, a transfer from Georgia, looks up to Lawson, regardless of his age.
“It’s crazy because he is a real deal leader,” Marshall said Tuesday about Lawson. “It’s crazy to see that. I always tell him, ‘Bro, you remind me of Nakobe (Dean).’ I try not to compare players, but I tell him, ‘I look up to you even though you are younger than me.'”
Marshall’s comparing Lawson to Nakobe Dean is a big deal.
Dean, Marshall’s former teammate at Georgia, won the Dick Butkus Award last season.
The Butkus honor goes to the nation’s top linebacker in college football. Dean was also a Unanimous All-American. He was selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. Dean captained the Bulldogs’ defense to a CFP National Championship in 2021. Lawson has the potential to be an All-American and a Butkus Award winner if he continues to excel.
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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.
