ESPN report: Alabama Football, time for five-star players to play like five-stars.

Nobody has developed and recruited the edge position as well as Alabama Football has since 2020. Former 5-star recruits Chris Braswell, Dallas Turner, and Will Anderson all lived up to their rankings and were selected first overall in the NFL draft. At one point, there were so many people in the room that another 5-star recruit who would be selected in the draft, Drew Sanders, had to leave the program.

In the class of 2022, Alabama was successful in attracting two of the best edge prospects in the country, Jihaad Campbell and Jeremiah Alexander. Both players did, however, eventually switch to inside linebacker.

In 2023, the Tide showed no signs of slowing down, adding Keon Keeley, Qua Russaw, and Yhonzae Pierre, three of the cycle’s top ten edge prospects. This group will undoubtedly produce the next great Alabama pass rusher at some point, maybe even this season.

The previous season made it clear that this squad lacked a Dallas Turner or Will Anderson, two players who were prepared to make an impact and torment opposing quarterbacks as true freshman. Naturally, there wasn’t much of a chance to play behind Turner and Braswell, two of the SEC’s most veteran pass rushers. Keeley, Russaw, and Pierre may start to cause trouble as the second year approached.

The one who seems most likely to make an impact this autumn is Qua Russaw. As fall camp gets underway, he is right in the mix with seasoned pass rushers Quandarrius Robinson and Keanu Koht as a dynamic pass rusher at the Wolf position. The Alabama defense will be far more disruptive as a unit if he can establish a role similar to what Dallas Turner did toward the end of the 2021 campaign. As a true freshman, Turner totaled 8.5 sacks, all of which came in the final seven games of the campaign. This autumn, Russaw might make a comparable impression and take the lead in the room going into 2025.

Keeley and Pierre, however, might require a little more time to mature. Defense coordinator Kane Wommack says Pierre is progressing great at the Wolf slot. Keon Keeley is now gaining weight and getting used to the Bandit position. The former third overall pick in the 2023 cycle is a real defensive lineman with edge-like twitchiness, and I expect him to someday become a dominant player.