Alabama linebacker C.J. Mosley was a Freshman All-American last season, racking up 67 tackles, a team-high 10 pass deflections and two interceptions.
And he isn’t convinced he was that good.
“As a freshman last year, I didn’t know the defense very well, but the intensity that I’m playing with this year is different,” Mosley said two weeks into preseason workouts. “I was slow to the ball trying to learn everything last year, but now everything clicks.”
If Mosley’s attitude is shared throughout Alabama’s roster, fifth-year Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban appears to be communicating his message.
Despite having four NFL first-round draft picks for the first time in its history, Alabama is being viewed as the most stocked team in the Southeastern Conference for 2011. The Crimson Tide return four starters on the offensive line who have combined for 74 career starts, but their biggest strengths are at linebacker and in the secondary.
Mosley, junior Dont’a Hightower and senior Courtney Upshaw have been named to SEC preseason first or second teams at linebacker, as have junior cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, senior safety Mark Barron and junior safety Robert Lester. That’s not to say junior linebacker Nico Johnson and sophomore corner Dee Milliner, who had 11 starts as a true freshman, are scrubs.
Saban has recognized since the 49-7 thrashing of Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl that he had talent galore at the back levels of his defense, but he wasn’t about to take it for granted.
“Are we going to take that talent and experience and challenge ourselves to a high standard of what we want to accomplish?” Saban asked at SEC media days. “Or is that going to create a comfort zone for our players in thinking that they don’t need to work as hard or invest the time or pay attention to detail like you definitely need to?
“Those kinds of questions, to me, are what make the difference in really having a good, good unit reaching their potential, or having a unit that sort of just hovers on maybe not being what they could be.”
There shouldn’t be a lack of motivation, even without Saban’s challenges, for a defense that was mostly solid in last year’s 10-3 finish but had notable breakdowns in the defeats.
South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia had the game of his career in a 35-21 upset of the top-ranked Tide, completing 17 of 20 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns. LSU converted a double-pitch reverse to DeAngelo Peterson to hand Alabama its second defeat, and nobody in Tuscaloosa needs reminding about a 24-0 lead that got away in a 28-27 loss to Auburn.
“We have a bit more maturity and a little better leadership on this team, and we have a little more experience in a lot of ways,” said Saban, who is 36-5 the past three seasons. “I saw that in the way we approached the offseason, spring practice and the summer conditioning program both on and off the field in how we’ve managed our business and conducted ourselves and the improvement we’ve made.
“I know there is always a high standard at the University of Alabama. We sort of relish that kind of challenging circumstance.”
The veteran defenders certainly seem eager to get going.
“We’re one of the most athletic groups to come through Alabama in a long time,” Hightower said. “You won’t see a group of guys work harder in the country.”