Alabama doesn’t sound like a team planning to keep Xavier Griffin parked on the sideline for long.
The freshman linebacker has already drawn strong early praise inside the program, and defensive coordinator Kane Wommack made it clear Tuesday that the Tide see real value in what Griffin can do. A native of Alabama who played at Gainesville High School in Georgia, Griffin arrives in Tuscaloosa with the kind of athletic profile that lets coaches move him around and ask for more than one job.
“Zay’s doing a really good job,” Wommack said. “It’s hard to play the linebacker position, and we’re asking him to do multiple things in that room.
He has value as a pass rusher. He did that for most of his high school career.
And then what was really cool was his senior year, he got to play, you know, as a stack backer and took his game really to another level.”
That versatility is exactly why Alabama believes Griffin can help this season. Wommack said Griffin has been working extra with inside linebackers coach Chuck Morrell, and the coach’s message was blunt about the progress he’s seeing.
“Chuck Morell has done a fantastic job with him,” said Wommack. “I came in here, whatever it was, 6:00 AM this morning, and they’re meeting one-on-one, spending time.
We’re working to get him ready. I think he’s going to have a role for us this year.
He’s doing a really nice job.”
Griffin is expected to be used in multiple spots for the Tide this fall, and Alabama already got a first look at him in the spring game, when he lined up rushing from the edge.
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