Over the decade that Nick Saban has coached Alabama, no position has been as singularly impressive at churning out superstars as the linebackers. Their roles have changed over the years with the shift from a base 3-4 to a base nickel defense, but their impact as the heart and soul of the squad has remained the same.
Though it’s a general point of contention on whether to include the outside linebacker/edge rusher players as a linebacker or a defensive lineman, I will, for the purposes of this series, consider all the edge rushers to be linebackers, while the interior d-linemen were in my defensive line article.