Pete Golding explains the noticeable improvement he's seen from Jaylen Moody

Alabama defensive coordinator Pete Golding has watched linebacker Jaylen Moody grow over the past four seasons. Now with Moody set to enter his fifth year with the Crimson Tide in 2022, Golding is hopeful he can finally put it all together.

Moody has contributed mostly on special teams throughout his career, while also occasionally seeing time as a backup linebacker. This year he has a chance to carve out a role as the starting weakside linebacker, but must first show his ability to perform in fall camp.

“The biggest thing with Jaylen — and he knows this — is consistency,” Golding said in a recent interview. “There have always been flashes where you’re able to see, ‘Hey, there it is,’ but then he’ll come back the next day and the inability to be able to stack it. The next day it’s like, ‘No, that’s not it. That’s gonna get us beat.’ So I think consistency in the decision-making process and then the proper preparation.

“Then once he’s out there, let my rules apply and play fast. I think we’ve seen more of that, but we’ve gotta put the pads on and get him in a live environment when we start these scrimmages and really evaluate it to make sure we’ve got the best guy at that spot.”

A three-star recruit in 2018, Moody ranked as the No. 125 linebacker according to On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average. This past season he finished with 11 tackles while also recording the first interception of his career.

Although Jaylen Moody has the edge over most players in experience, Pete Golding still wants to see him earn his role this year. The Alabama defensive coordinator isn’t guaranteeing anything yet, recently naming redshirt freshman Deontae Lawson as another potential candidate. Lawson spent last season redshirting, playing only in Alabama’s four nonconference games.

Outside of the weakside position, Alabama appears to be pretty set at linebacker heading into 2022. The Crimson Tide bring back Will Anderson, who led the country with 17.5 sacks this past season, Henry To’oTo’o and Dallas Turner. With those players alongside him, Moody won’t be asked to be the star, but he could still be the missing piece to the puzzle on the depth chart.