Pair of Former Five-Star Freshmen on Track to Contribute Early

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - A pair of former five-star freshmen are on track to get early playing time and see a role in Alabama's defense in 2026, according to defensive coordinator Kane Wommack following Tuesday morning's practice.

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Former Peach State product Xavier Griffin and Maryland-native Jireh Edwards have both begun to carve out roles for themselves in their first season in Tuscaloosa.

"Zay’s (Xavier Griffin) doing a really good job. It’s hard to play the linebacker position, and we’re asking him to do multiple things in that room," Kane Wommack told reporters on Tuesday. "He has value as a pass rusher. He did that for most of his high school career, and then what was really cool is his senior year, he got to play as a stack backer and took his game, really, to another level. Chuck Morrell’s done a fantastic job with him. I came in here, whatever it was, 6 a.m. this morning, and they’re meeting one-on-one, spending time. We’re working to get him ready. I think he’s going to have a role for us this year. He’s doing a really nice job."

"I think he’s maybe 223, 224 right now. We’d love for him to be north of 225. If he’s north of 225, we’d feel pretty good about that.”

As a senior at Gainesville High School in Georgia last season, Griffin finished with 96 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 18 quarterback hurries, 4.0 sacks, 2 pass breakups, 1 interception, and 1 fumble recovery. Griffin is a part of an inside linebacker room that will likely rotate four defenders in the middle.

"Jireh’s one of the most instinctive playmakers I’ve ever seen coming out of high school," Wommack said of Jireh Edwards. "Very physical. He’s got phenomenal tracking of the ball. His blitz IQ and awareness is really high, and so he can create production out of that package as well. Really, for him, it’s about putting the whole thing together. Jireh’s going to play for us, but how much does he play for us early in the season and in what situations? Those are the question marks we’ve really challenged him in, like, can you put everything together that we can throw you out there on any given down? And he’s still working towards that.”

Alabama is no stranger to rotations on defense, with freshmen Dijon Lee Jr., London Simmons, Luke Metz, and Ivan Taylor earning early playing time last season. Alabama has a crop of first-timers looking to make early impacts, and Griffin and Edwards could be among the first two to do so.

Alabama will return to the practice field on Wednesday, August 19, for the 12th practice of fall camp. Alabama's second scrimmage of camp will be this Thursday, August 20. The first game of the 2026 season is scheduled for Saturday, September 5, when Alabama hosts East Carolina.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.