Alabama developing depth in OLB room at season's midway point

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Now six games, or halfway, through the 2024 regular season, the outlook of different position groups on the Alabama football team have started to take shape.

While some rooms, like cornerback or offensive line, have trimmed down the number of players regularly seeing the field, the number of rotational players has seemingly increased with the outside linebacker spot, or ‘wolf’ as it’s called in defensive coordinator Kane Wommack‘s scheme.

It was a bit of a surprise when Qua Russaw, a redshirt freshman, trotted onto the field in Alabama’s season opener as the starter at wolf, but he quickly erased any doubt with his play and proved why he was a former 5-star prospect. Russaw suffered an injury against Wisconsin, and while he hasn’t missed a game this season, he’s been dealing with a ‘pitch count’ as Wommack called it for the last few games.

“He’s just shown great resilience,” Alabama outside linebackers coach Christian Robinson said. “After coming off the bye week, to see him go get back out there and make a big play, make a fumble at a crucial moment, that’s why you trust the people in this building, and Jeff Allen and his staff do a great job. Just to see him grow in that way, and to believe what we’re saying an prepare for those moments, I continue to see him grow. Obviously he’s a guy I’m counting on, and that I’m excited to see in this environment. He’s picking up being at the pace he needs to be, and this is the stage for it. I’m excited to see him go do that.”

Even before Russaw went down, 5th-year senior Que Robinson played significant snaps as the first wolf off the bench. Robinson has had an excellent season, particularly from a pass rushing perspective. With a long 6-foot-5 frame, he leads the team in sacks with four on the season, while no other Alabama player has more than 1.5

He’s been one of the most efficient pass rush rushers in the country, with the sixth-best pass rush win rate nationally at 23 percent.

“I think that he’s using his tools. The greatest thing as a player, or anything, is to know who you are,” Christian Robinson said. “LT Overton’s one guy, he’s a different build, different skillset. Que’s got extremely long arms and I think he’s done a really good job using what he’s been blessed with to do execute, and to trust it and say ‘if I get in this situation this is what I’m gonna use.’ Knowing who you are, when to use it, because I don’t know what the offense is gonna do, I don’t know if the tackle’s gonna slip and fall. So what situation am I in and how can I use it to the best interest of the team?”

What’s been equally as impressive as Que Robinson’s pass rush success has been his ability to make plays on run downs. With Russaw playing less over the past few weeks, Que Robinson has been forced into playing significantly more on early downs. He’s performed very well in those spots, with a number of highlight-reel tackles for loss while setting the edge.

“I think it’s been his mentality. He has a lot of confidence,” Christian Robinson said. “It’s knowing ‘I can do this’ and I think he’s mastered what he can do for him. He’s a long guy, tall guy. That means you’ve got to bend a little more than other guys because you’re on a level playing field. [Russaw’s] a little bit shorter but he’s built, so he can get underneath people pretty well. I think that’s been an advantage for him. I think [Robinson] is more, ‘I know myself, what do I need to do in this moment’ and trust that.”

In addition to Russaw and Que Robinson, Alabama has given junior Keanu Koht and redshirt freshman Yhonzae Pierre extended time as well. Developing that depth is important for a team with aspirations that include a long postseason.

“I think that they understand, we kind of talk about hunting as one. That’s the whole mantra. We can’t do it by ourselves, and it’s a long season, and we want to play deep in a long season,” Christian Robinson said. “Teams that have depth are going to be able to play longer, so if we understand next man up, Yhonzae, he showed up at Georgia, Wisconsin, and I think he’s done a great job, too. … The more guys that can play, we all want to be on a winning team.”