Why Jeremiah Alexander moved from outside to inside linebacker
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – In pregame warmups before Alabama’s road game at Mississippi State, reporters in the press box noticed a position change for a second-year defensive player.
Jeremiah Alexander was not going through individual drills with the outside linebackers, but he was working with the inside ‘backers instead. It wasn’t a huge surprise, given the Crimson Tide was without starting Will linebacker Deontae Lawson, who missed the Week 5 matchup due to an ankle injury, but nonetheless, Alexander was warming up in a different spot.
Two days after the 40-17 win, head coach Nick Saban was asked about the position move.
“I think it’s something we’ve been considering,” Saban said on Monday. “Jeremiah was developing nicely as an outside ‘backer, wasn’t getting to play much. So the injury kind of enhanced this is the right time to do this. I think it could be good for us in the future.”
Alexander was the nation’s No. 1 edge rusher in the 2022 recruiting class, according to the On3 Industry Rankings. The Alabaster, Ala., native totaled 93 tackles, including 29 for loss, to go with 10 sacks and 27 quarterback hurries as a senior at Thompson (Ala.) High School as he helped the Warriors to the state title in 2021 before enrolling early at Alabama in 2022.
As a freshman a year ago, Alexander appeared in four games, primarily on special teams or as a defensive reserve, and recorded one tackle in his college debut against ULM. He maintained a season of eligibility to enter the 2023 season as a redshirt freshman. This year, Alexander has played in all five games but has only seen the field as a blocker on kickoff returns.
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Alabama has a deep outside linebacker room, one that junior Dallas Turner said is the best on the Tide’s entire roster, but the inside linebacker group, while talented, isn’t quite as loaded. In addition to Lawson, redshirt sophomore Ian Jackson did not make the trip to Starkville, leaving Alabama with five scholarship players at the position, not including Alexander.
Whether the position change is permanent or not remains to be seen, but his teammates have confidence in Alexander as he makes the transition from edge rusher to stand-up linebacker.
“I’ve been around Jeremiah since he’s been here, before he got here,” Turner said. “He’s a very smart football player, invests his time into being here at the facility and just understanding the playbook. He’s starting to have to change about playing inside linebacker now, with Deontae being down.
“I have no doubt in my mind he’ll fill the need and stuff like that. It’ll be a good fit for him as well, just to show off the versatility.”
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