Alabama Football Spring Preview: Linebackers

In years past Alabama's linebacking corps has been good. In 2013, it has the potential to be elite.

On paper, everything seems to be in place. The Tide returns its top two tacklers from last season in CJ Mosley and Trey DePriest in addition to one of the team's best pass rushers in Adrian Hubbard, who after a slow start finished off the season with three sacks in the final three games.

Xzavier Dickson was also a part of that unit in 2012, but this spring the Griffin, Georgia native may be looking at a change in position-spending time working with the defensive lineman before moving back to the outside linebacker position. Only time will tell if Dickson will remain at the Jack linebacker spot or move to the line, but if there is a change in position it will only be because of a push from the players behind him.

One of those who made a push last season was true freshman Denzel Devall who appeared in 13 games last season for the Tide, recording 18 tackles on the season while showing his ability to get after the quarterback with sacks against Arkansas and Mississippi State. He is one of those players who really impressed me in his limited duty last season and if he continues to progress this spring, I can only imagine his role will be increased in the fall.

Devall was a part of talented group of linebackers in the 2012 signing class that also included Reggie Ragland, Dillon Lee and Ryan Anderson.

Ragland and Lee came out of high school considered to be some of the top inside linebackers in the country and should also be in contention to earn a spot in the rotation. Out of the two, you would have to say Ragland has the best chance after Lee and Anderson (Redshirted) moved into the dog house after being sent home from the national championship game in January.

Not to be forgotten in the plethora of youth on the Crimson Tide roster are veterans Tana Patrick and Jonathan Atchison, both of whom will be seniors this upcoming fall. While both have just seen limited playing time thus far, both have strong skill sets and experience that coach Saban could fall back on.

As you can tell, this unit is already chalk full of talent. That makes the addition of Jonathan Allen and Rueben Foster in the fall a scary thought.