Nick Saban reveals the greatest areas of growth in Jaylen Moody

Nick Saban has watched as Jaylen Moody has patiently waited for his turn to become a player on the Alabama defense.

Over that time, Moody has grown as both a player and a person. Speaking with the media ahead of the Crimson Tide’s matchup with Texas, Saban praised the growth of Moody over the course of their time together.

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“I think that’s the key to the drill. A lot of players want to make plays, but they don’t understand that systematically you have to do your job relative to what’s required on that particular play in that particular defense, and that will actually enhance your chances of making plays,” began Saban. “When players understand that, then we can play much better team defense because we’ve got everybody in the right places. The term I like to use is nobody here need to farm somebody else’s land.

“So if you just do your job, then we got a chance to be successful, because when one guy is trying to do something he’s not supposed to do, that opens up an area that offers an opportunity for the other team to make plays.”

As you can see, nothing goes unnoticed for Nick Saban — Jaylen Moody embodies everything he looks for in an Alabama athlete.

Henry To’oTo’o goes in depth on playing alongside Jaylen Moody, Chris Braswell

Continuing, Alabama middle linebacker Henry To’oTo’o has become a fixture in the Crimson Tide defense since transferring in from Tennessee a few years ago. Once the newcomer, To’oTo’o is now one of the veterans and he gave his review on a few fellow defenders cracking into the lineup.

Fellow linebackers like the aforementioned Jaylen Moody and Chris Braswell showed out in some of their first extended run for Alabama, combining for 10 total tackles. Moody, a senior who has spent his entire career at Alabama, led the team with six tackles, including one for a loss.

“Yeah, you know, before the game I just came up to him and told him how proud I am of him. All the hard work he’s put in. And the time that he’s put in here at the university. So I was super proud of him. And you know, just keep building off our first game. Our chemistry, our communication. Just playing with each other and gelling with each other,” To’oTo’o said.

Braswell, an outside linebacker, is battling for playing time in a really loaded group. Still, he logged four tackles including one for a loss, and To’oTo’o and the Alabama defense expects more big things from Braswell.

“Yeah, you know, our entire outside linebacker room is a great room. They do a great job of working together. You know, they don’t have a lot of knuckleheads in there, so they do a great job of that,” To’oTo’o said. “But you know, Chris Braswell is such a huge part to our defense. He’s so fast. So heavy handed. Physical. And he’s a great pass rusher. You know, I try to take some moves from him and apply it to my own game. But he did a great job and we expect a lot of big things out of him this year.”