Nick Saban: We have a lot of confidence in Deontae Lawson

Deontae Lawson got thrown into the deep end last week in Alabama’s game against Texas A&M. Not only did he start his first career game, but he played the whole way in a close game.

He impressed Nick Saban in the process.

Saban, speaking with reporters earlier this week, expressed his happiness with Lawson’s performance against the Aggies, especially considering Jaylen Moody was out. He totaled five tackles as Alabama held on for a 24-20 win over Texas A&M, and Saban said the staff has confidence in Lawson going forward.

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“We’ve been playing him all year long,” Saban said. “I thought he played fairly well in the game this past week. We have a lot of confidence in him. He’s a good competitor, he’s serious about what he does, he’s smart, he understands what he’s supposed to do, he can run, he’s a good athlete. I’m pleased with his progress and thought he played a fairly good game, especially being his first start when he had to go out there and play the whole game. He did a really good job.”

Deontae Lawson stepped up for Alabama with Jaylen Moody sidelined

One player that stepped up for Alabama in the absence of Moody was second-year linebacker Deontae Lawson. In the win, he finished with three solo tackles and five total stops.

Nick Saban liked what he saw out of Lawson, and said that he’s a valuable player on the defense. Alabama is confident with Lawson out there, and that could prove to be huge for the unit moving forward.

“But I thought Deontae did a good job out there, actually,” said Saban. “He’s a good player. We have a lot of confidence in him.”

Lawson is a former four-star recruit. He was rated as the No. 48 player in the 2021 class, and was the No. 7 linebacker in that cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

On3’s Jonathan Wagner contributed to this report.