Reggie Ragland racking up plays for Crimson Tide

photo Alabama defender Reggie Ragland gets called for pass interference breaking up a long pass to Hunter Henry near the endzone during the Hogs game in Fayetteville.

Alabama linebacker Reggie Ragland's interception in the final minute of the third quarter last Saturday helped preserve the Crimson Tide's shutout in their 59-0 trouncing of Texas A&M, but Ragland had been wreaking havoc on the Aggies long before that.

And the rest of the Southeastern Conference as well.

Ragland, a 6-foot-2, 254-pound junior from Madison, Ala., is the latest emerging standout linebacker in the Nick Saban era. He has compiled 34 tackles during the past four games, including 1.5 tackles for loss against Texas A&M to follow up his career-high 12-tackle performance in the 14-13 defeat of Arkansas.

"I feel like I've developed a lot," Ragland said Saturday night. "(Inside linebackers) Coach (Kevin) Steele has been on me, especially working on my eyes, and everything has started to slow down. I see everything starting to dial up now, and I'm starting to play football.

"I would say the Arkansas game was when I really felt in a zone for the first time."

When asked why it took so long to make his desired impact for the Tide, Ragland smiled and said, "I finally had a chance to get on the field. I've always had an All-American in front of me."

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Before this season, Ragland spent most of his Alabama career behind C.J. Mosley, who in May became a first-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens. Like so many players who make their way through Tuscaloosa, Ragland first had to make an impact on special teams, tallying 11 of his 17 tackles last season on kickoff coverage.

He was thrown into this season's opener against West Virginia in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic as not only a first-time starter but as the defensive play-caller due to Trey DePriest's one-game suspension. The Crimson Tide won 33-23 but not before giving up 365 passing yards.

"Reggie has played very well for us and has gotten better and better every week," Saban said Monday. "Thinking back to the first game of the year, when he was a guy who had not played a lot and was a new starter, there were some mental errors and a lack of confidence. Each week since, all those things have improved dramatically, and his production has certainly reflected that."

Said Ragland of the opener: "That was very humbling, and it showed me what I had to do to get better."

Alabama will play at Tennessee this Saturday night with the nation's No. 3 scoring defense (13.1 points per game), No. 3 total defense (262.1 yards per game) and No. 2 rushing defense (63.4). Ragland is coming off the most "fun" performance of his career, and Saban likes what he sees from yet another talented linebacker.

"Reggie is very athletic, and he is getting more confidence and playing with more instinct," Saban said. "The biggest thing is to get these guys to play pass defense like they need to and that they react properly in pass defense. Most of the time, play-action passes are sort of the last thing a linebacker has to react to, and he's getting better and better at that.

"Reggie is a big, physical, fast guy whose improvement has been welcomed defensively and has impacted the success we've had on defense the last couple of games."

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.

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