Alabama’s new defensive scheme may alter roster

Kalen DeBoer is more than just a new face for the Alabama Crimson Tide football program. He's changing the program's defensive identity.

It may take the fanbase some time to get used to, especially when it comes to the differences between Alabama's new defense and that of the past nearly two decades, but the Tide has the talent to make the adjustment a smooth one.

For 17 years at Alabama, Nick Saban's defenses were best known for their linebacker play, and his scheme emphasized that. 

Saban's base 3-4 defense plays four LBs at once, which allowed stars like Rolando McClain, C.J. Mosley, Reggie Ragland and Reuben Foster to stay on the field for longer. More recently, that success continued with players like Will Anderson, Dallas Turner and Henry To'oTo'o.

But under DeBoer and his new defensive coordinator Kane Wommack, there's going to be a major scheme shift. Wommack uses the 4-2-5 base defense, playing five defensive backs like Saban's teams would with a Star in a nickel package. 

Under Saban, one of those four linebackers would go off in favor of the Star, something that became more common as Alabama adapted to the rise of the spread offense. In some cases, Saban would even play six DBs at once in a dime package,

The 4-2-5 removes a linebacker for an extra DB as well, but that LB is not the only one leaving the field. Another linebacker goes off for an additional defensive lineman in Wommack's scheme.

As AL.com's Matt Stahl notes, this new alignment "relies heavily on the safeties." The Crimson Tide is no stranger to elite safety play, either — Mark Barron, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Landon Collins, for example — but in 2023, Caleb Downs, a true freshman, was discussed as one of the best in the sport, regardless of age.

There are rumors Downs is considering the transfer portal, but if DeBoer and Wommack can keep him in Tuscaloosa, he might be the perfect piece to ease this transition from one defensive era to the next and make the safety, not the linebacker, the default spot for the captain of the Alabama defense.