The beginning of the Kalen DeBoer era at Alabama meant a shift away from the Nick Saban defense and the year over year excellence that came with that. New defensive coordinator Kane Wommack had to break in a bevy of new starters for his 4-2-5 scheme, and there were some ups-and-downs with that. But his group improved over the course of 2024, and now going into 2025, he's got a ton of experience returning.
The defensive line should be one of the better groups in the SEC. Defensive tackle duo Tim Keenan III (40 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks in '24) and James Smith (20 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 1.0 sack) will anchor the middle at a high level, and LT Overton should take a step forward at defensive end to give the Tide a strong starting trio. Florida transfer Kelby Collins is expected to play multiple spots and further boost things.
Inside linebacker Deonte Lawson (76 tackles, 6.5 TFL) is one of the league's best, though he will be working is way back from an ACL tear suffered late last season. Even if he's slow to return, Bama should be good to go with Justin Jefferson (60 tackles, 6.5 TFL) and Colorado transfer Nikhai Hill-Green (82 tackles, 11.5 TFL). Quah Russaw and Jah-Marien Latham give the Tide a pair of good options at Edge.
No position group is more experienced than the secondary. Nickel Malachi Moore is a major loss, but otherwise, Alabama has four starters returning on the backend. Starting corner duo Domani Jackson (52 tackles, seven PBU) and Zabien Brown (three interceptions) are strong, and Wake Forest transfer DaShawn Jones should fill in for Moore. Bray Hubbard and Keon Sabb will likely be one of the SEC's better safety tandems.
2025 Alabama defense could be one of the nation's best
The 2024 transition came with its challenges, but outside of Georgia's second-half comeback and the inability to stop Vanderbilt's triple option attack, the Alabama defense mostly did its job last season despite so much new on that side of the ball.
Now with plenty of returning talent, there's good reason to think this unit will take a big step forward and become one of the best groups in the country. There are stars, potentially multiple, at each level of the defense. They'll ideally need to generate more of a pass rush, as that lacked last season, but getting stops and forcing turnovers shouldn't be an issue for this team. This will be a defense Bama can lean on.