Alabama football fans fell in love with the dominance it saw at the inside linebacker position during the early years of the Nick Saban era for the Crimson Tide.
Marquee names such as Rolando McClain, Nico Johnson, C.J. Mosley, Reggie Ragland, Reuben Foster, Shaun Dion Hamilton, and Rashaan Evans played with a confidence, swagger, and attention to detail that made for national championship groups.
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They destroyed everything in their path and all grew up in the state of Alabama.
These guys knew the importance of excellence and demanded of themselves to give Crimson Tide fans the best. Supporters of Alabama athletics crave this significance to resurface in the Tide’s linebacker room. Deontae Lawson, a junior, returns as a starting weakside “Will” linebacker from last season. The Mobile (Ala.) native had a couple of injuries, but he finished second for total tackles (67) through 11 games.
Lawson collected 5.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, four pass breakups, and four quarterback hurries. He assisted the Tide to a Southeastern Conference Championship and returned it to the College Football Playoff.
Lawson watched McClain, Mosley, Ragland, Hamilton, and Evans lead their defenses to national championships as defensive captains at middle linebacker. He made a change in his jersey number, becoming the first player in Alabama football history to wear No. 0.
The 6-foot-2, 230-pounder looked the part on Wednesday in the Tide’s first media viewing spring practice.
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He is expected to lead the defense back to a national championship, and Kane Wommack — the Crimson Tide’s defensive coordinator — believes Lawson is the best player for the job.
Wommack says Lawson is a ‘tone setter’ in the linebacker room.
“When he got on the field, I saw a different version of Deontae Lawson. One that I am excited to go on the field with…Our linebacker room is going to set the tone for how we do things.”
Tide DC Kane Wommack on Alabama LB Deontae Lawson. pic.twitter.com/o1WgymrGEQ
— Touchdown Alabama (@TDAlabamaMag) March 7, 2024
“Deontae is a great young man,” Wommack said.
“He carries himself with a great presence. He handles things at a professional level, you can tell he is operating with another level in mind. When he got on the field, I saw a different version of Deontae Lawson. One that I am excited to go on the field with… Our linebacker room is going to set the tone for how we do things.”
Wommack said Lawson is a guy that is ‘doing things at a high level.’
Wommack, who was a defensive coordinator and head coach at South Alabama, sees huge potential in Lawson and demands excellence from him. Alabama is getting back to empowering linebackers to be enforcers in this 4-2-5 defensive scheme.
Tim Smith, a fifth-year defensive line from Gifford, Fla., expects Lawson to ‘go crazy’ with production.
Smith, a former five-star in the 2020 signing class, experienced his best season last year. He recorded 31 tackles, two tackles for loss, two sacks, and a quarterback hurry in 14 games. The 6-foot-4, 302-pounder made 10 starts in 2023 to help Alabama secure an SEC Championship, but he came back to improve his NFL Draft stock and compete for a CFP National Championship.
Smith is very excited to see what Lawson does as No. 0.
“I expect him [Deontae Lawson] to go crazy,” Smith said.
“I’m a defensive lineman. It’s like the correlation between running backs and offensive linemen, every great running back has a great offensive line. I am holding up those double teams, filling up blockers, so you can now flash that No. 0 and hit you an A or B gap and make you a TFL (tackle for loss) for all of us. So, I am excited to see him fly around.”
Lawson said his responsibilities have not changed much with being the leader in the linebacker room.
“I am just here more,” he said on his role as a leader. “I am with coaches more and bringing other guys with me. It is the same thing I’ve been doing in just being a vocal leader. I am also leading by example.”
Lawson is getting acquainted with the new system under Coach Wommack. He is familiarizing himself with the terminology and communication signals, but he’s excited about how this defense can be. Lawson embraces his new number; however, “Agent 0” will not change how he goes about his process. The former four-star in the 2021 class is the first in school history as No. 0.
“I am just going to be me,” Lawson said in being the first No. 0 in school history. “I am not changing anything. This is just a new beginning for me. I am just going to see what happens.”
Coach Wommack mentioned there is not much of a difference between the 3-4 nickel defense under Nick Saban and his system.
Lawson said the 4-2-5 scheme is not complicated.
“We are playing free,” he said. “It is not too complicated where you have to think so much. You can just dial into your keys and play as fast as you can.”
Lawson has an opportunity to play free and Alabama’s defense can be dangerous in the fall.
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Stephen M. Smith is the senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
