Alabama football added some young linebackers to its roster in January with the addition of Luke Metz, Duke Johnson and Abduall Sanders.
A bit of an unexpected opportunity has opened up for the group of early enrollees this spring with Deontae Lawson missing the spring while recovering from an injury and with Justin Jefferson limited to no contact.
Metz, Johnson and Sanders now have an opportunity to take advantage of more reps than what they would have if Jefferson and Lawson were full go.
Kalen DeBoer is looking for the linebackers to grow socially on and off the field this spring.
“Those guys being here for the pre-bowl practices, that was really good,” DeBoer said. “Abdul, Luke, Duke, all three of those guys. They really got a feel, and it’s a social thing, too. Just getting comfortable with some of the relationships. They get here…They’re already kind of off. And in some ways, it ain’t gonna be long. We’re not gonna think of all these early enrollees, not as freshmen anymore. We’re gonna think of them as almost sophomores.”
Developing depth at linebacker looks to be a goal for Alabama this spring.
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