Alabama Crimson Tide Defensive Players To Watch vs. Texas Longhorns

The Alabama Crimson Tide's defense is headlined by All-American cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry amidst a flurry of departures for the 2023 NFL Draft.

Last season, the Alabama Crimson Tide had one of the best defenses in the country.

In 13 games in 2022, the Crimson Tide allowed 318.2 total yards, 187.8 pass yards, 130.4 rush yards and 18.2 points per game. Aside from the rush defense which ranked 35th last year, all other of the main defensive marks ranked inside the top 20, headlined by its scoring defense which tied for ninth.

Alabama lost its top-four tacklers and six of the top eight to the NFL Draft last season. The Crimson Tide will have an uphill battle looking to replace the voids left by sack artist Will Anderson Jr. and top defensive back Brian Branch, who were taken Nos. 3 and 45 overall, respectively.

Last week against Middle Tennessee, No. 3 Alabama showed no signs of those losses hindering its unit, surrendering seven points and 211 yards of total offense to the Blue Raiders.

Safety Caleb Downs is considered an honorable mention, missing the cut due to just having one career game under his belt but he looked as advertised against Middle Tennessee.

Here are three players on a loaded defense to keep an eye on when  plays the Texas Longhorns in week 2 of the 2023 season.

CB Kool-Aid McKinstry

McKinstry was the top cornerback and the No. 13 player in the 2022 cycle, getting into the mix of the Tide's defense as a freshman which led to him being named an Associated Press First Team All-American.

McKinstry blossomed in 2022, recording 35 tackles, two for loss, a sack, an interception and a whopping 15 pass break-ups, which tied for the fourth-most in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

The Blue Raiders wisely targeted McKinstry only a few times last week. He recorded three tackles.

McKinstry will likely garner the assignment of Texas' No. 1 wide receiver Xavier Worthy in the Sept. 9 matchup, which will be a fun showdown between a pair of great players.

Along with cornerback Terrion Arnold, who had the Crimson Tide's only pass break-up against Middle Tennessee, McKinstry will be responsible for limiting a pass defense that made or broke the Alabama defense last season.

In games where opposing offenses threw for at least 200 yards, the Crimson Tide were 5-1 but only outscored opponents by 60 points. When they limited opponents to 200 pass yards or less, they were 6-1 and outscored their opposition 336-95.

Last season, Quinn Ewers and Hudson Card combined for 292 passing yards.

OLB Dallas Turner

Anderson was without a doubt the biggest loss on the Crimson Tide's defense ahead of the 2023 season. Replacing 10 sacks and 17 tackles for loss, which were tied for 10th and 11th, respectively, won't be easy.

Enter outside linebacker Dallas Turner.

In 2022, he tied with former defensive lineman Byron Young for the second-most sacks on the Crimson Tide with four. According to Pro Football Focus, his 21 hurries were tied with his outside linebacker counterpart Chris Braswell.

That quick first step was certainly not lost in the offseason, as he hit the quarterback four — yes, four — times last week, recording two tackles as well.

Like most of Alabama's linebackers, he is interchangeable, rushing off both ends of the offensive line, requiring Texas tackles Kelvin Banks Jr. and Christian Jones to know where No. 15 is on the field at all times.

ILB Deontae Lawson

There's a theme on this Alabama defense: players stepping up in replace of 2023 NFL Draft picks. Inside linebacker, Deontae Lawson is another example of this.

Henry To'oTo'o was selected in the seventh round of this year's draft by the Houston Texans after anchoring the middle of the Crimson Tide's defense a year ago.

There was a lot to be desired in Alabama's boom-or-bust rush defense a season ago. In seven games last year, the Tide held opponents to less than 80 yards, but in the other six, the opposition ran for at least 180 yards and two touchdowns in each contest.

This is where Lawson will be a big help in filling To'oTo'o's void. 

Lawson's 74.3 defensive and 74.8 run defense grades are both the highest of Alabama returning linebackers that played at least 300 snaps last season, according to PFF.

Last week, Lawson was one of three Alabama defenders to record a sack, finishing second on its defense with seven tackles.