Alabama football: 2020 linebacker preview

Alabama football: Outside Linebacker (SAM)

Projected Starter: King Mwikuta (SO)

Unlike the Jack position, Sam will tout far less-experienced defenders. It’s probable that King Mwikuta will earn the starting role after playing in 10 games and earning valuable playing time in 2019. In Alabama’s home opener, Mwikuta accounted for 4 tackles and came off the bench against Southern Miss. He also earned snaps during SEC-play against Ole Miss. We should expect to see a big year from the sophomore.

Second Team: Drew Sanders (FR)

The former 5-star recruit has fantastic size at 6’5 232 pounds. But don’t let that fool you, Sanders has sneaky athleticism and should use it to compete for the starting role. Again, it seems like the reocurring theme for the incoming freshman is their obvious lack of experience. We’ll see how Sanders progresses throughout the season- he may slide into the starting role eventually.

Reserves: Ben Davis (RS-SR)

Davis is a redshirted senior who hasn’t played much during his career at Alabama. I can’t imagine that he would see much playing time, as it would take away from the young, future contributors in Sanders and Mwikuta. At the expense of Davis, Saban would like to see his younger talent gain as much experience as possible.