College Football 2011: Alabama Spring Preview: Defensive Line

In installment three of my pre-spring preview, I review the defensive line.

New Additions

Jessie Williams 6'4" 330 lbs, Junior College 

Quinton Dial 6'6" 315 lbs, Junior College

Wilson Love 6'4" 290 lbs, greyshirt freshman  

Losses

Marcel Dareus 6'4" 306 lbs, Left early for the NFL

Nick Gentry 6'1" 282 lbs, Graduation

Luther Davis 6'3" 279 lbs, Graduation

Alabama's defensive line was a team weakness in 2010.  Though they didn't completely fail against the run, they were much softer in the middle than they were the last two seasons and were near the bottom nationally in rushing the passer.

This spring Alabama looks to rebound from a rough season.  Defensive line coach Bo Davis has moved on.  Alabama hired Chri Rumph from Clemson to come and and get more production from the line.

Starting with the defensive ends.  The top returning player is junior Damion Square. Square blew a knee in 2009 and rebounded to start in 2010.  He struggled early and was in a logjam with Kerry Murphy and Luther Davis, but clawed his way back to the top position toward the end of the season. 

This spring Square will attempt to solidify his hold on the starting position.  

Murphy looked to have moved ahead of Square at one point but an injury seemed to slow him down.  There have been some Internet rumors that a persistent knee problem could be a problem for Murphy.  At this stage its just a message-board rumor.   If that is not the case Murphy will have a chance to earn a starting spot with Marcel Dareus now gone. 

Quinton Dial signed with Alabama in 2009 and failed to qualify.  This past season at East Mississippi Community College, Dial amassed 76 tackles and four sacks.   Dial could make a strong push for one of the starting defensive end spots or get into the two-deep rotation.  He will have two seasons remaining and can redshirt if he needs to. 

Sophomore Darrington Sentimore is a smaller speed rush end.  Many expected him to be solidly in the playing rotation this past year and he did get his opportunities early but disappeared down the stretch. No doubt this spring he will have an opportunity to get back on the field.  Sentimore showed some burst at times but needs to focus that energy into production. 

Undra Billingsley, like Sentimore, seemed to disappear as the season wore on.  Like Sentimore he is athletic but struggled to make plays when given the opportunity.

Senior Brandon Lewis played sparingly last year and will be taking his final shot at significant playing time starting this spring.  Lewis is more of a run-stuffer than a pass rusher.  This will be only his second season on campus so don't be surprised if he has a good senior season.

At nose, all eyes will be trained on one of the most unique recruits to ever sign with the Crimson Tide, Jessie Williams. 

From Brisbane, Australia, Williams played linebacker and running back (yikes!) on a local club team.  He then made the Junior National Team and played in the World Cup.  During this time he caught the eye of Jerry Dominguez, the defensive coordinator for Western Arizona Junior College.  He got a two-year scholarship and became the number-one rated lineman in JUCO.

Williams signed with Alabama with the NFL as his eventual goal.  To get there sooner rather than later he will need to have a big year.  He is a triple threat, big, powerful and athletic.  Alabama may try him at nose guard to firm up the middle that has been softened after Mt. Cody took his act to the Baltimore Ravens.

Before Williams can start, however, he must beat out incumbent Josh Chapman.  

Chapman has been part of the regular rotation since his redshirt season.  After backing up Mt. Cody for two seasons, he started all of 2010. Chapman will no doubt try and make it as hard as possible for Williams to take his spot.

A year ago, Alabama signed Memphis prep Brandon Ivory.  Ivory was committed to the University of Memphis when some film sent Nick Saban into a tizzy to sign him.  Ivory redshirted last year to whip his substantial girth into shape and this spring we get to see what has resulted.  Hopefully we will begin to signs of an eventual starter at nose.

Alabama has a large number of defensive lineman on scholarship. It's unlikely all will remain.  Redshirt sophomores Chris Bonds, Anthony Orr, William Ming and Brandon Moore have been on campus two seasons and if they are going to make a move now is the time.  

Its important to note that in the SEC It's not uncommon for a player to need two or three years to mature to productivity and Alabama has played very few on the defensive line before their junior season.

Alabama signed and greyshirted Wilson Love, the brother of offensive lineman Tyler Love in 2010.  During his time waiting he managed to bulk up quite a bit.  At somewhere between 280-290 pounds he is now big enough to take his shot.  

Alabama recently inked four true freshman defensive lineman in February.  Currently I expect all to redshirt in 2010.   Jeoffrey Pagan is still recovering from a major knee injury.  DJ Pettway and LaMichael Fanning are longer-term projects and Xzavier Dickson could end up at Jack linebacker.   The main reason to mention these guys now is that the older players that have not played to date will need to keep one eye over their shoulder because the talent just keeps coming.