Roll Tide: Alabama Linebackers Have Bolstered Pats, Ravens

Dont’a Hightower starred at Alabama before the Patriots drafted him in the first round in 2012. AP

By Jack Andrade

January 7, 2015

2 minutes to read

On January 9, 2012, the University of Alabama put on the most dominant defensive performance in the history of the BCS Championship Game, holding rival Louisiana State to 92 total yards and winning, 21-0.

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Three years and a day later, a trio of star linebackers from that team will play a critical role in determining whether the New England Patriots or the Baltimore Ravens reach the AFC Championship Game.

For Baltimore, starting SAM linebacker Courtney Upshaw will need to be a tone setter. One of the top run-stuffing outside linebackers in football, the 272-pound Upshaw could also be used to jam Rob Gronkowski at the line of scrimmage.

The middle of the Ravens defense is anchored by Pro Bowl rookie C.J. Mosley, who made 133 tackles this season and established himself as the rightful heir to Ray Lewis in Baltimore. Mosely is solid in coverage and could be matched up quite a bit with Shane Vereen on third down.

For the Patriots, Dont’a Hightower has been among the NFL’s shiniest breakout stars this season, registering 89 tackles and 6 sacks despite missing 4 games. Hightower’s presence in the middle has been invaluable to the Patriots in Jerod Mayo’s absence, and he’s become the every down defender the Patriots envisioned when they traded up for him in the 1st round of the 2012 NFL Draft.

At Alabama, the trio led one of the best defenses in school history. Talented, intelligent, and versatile enough to play both 3-4 and 4-3 defensive schemes, the Crimson Tide leaned on the senior Upshaw and the junior Hightower as captains in 2011. Mosley, a sophomore at the time, split the middle linebacker snaps with Nico Johnson and intercepted LSU QB Jordan Jefferson in the BCS Championship rout.

Upshaw and Hightower, close friends while teammates, went through the 2012 draft process together. Hightower was selected 25th overall, and Upshaw went 17 picks later. In 2014, Mosley was selected 17th overall by the Ravens.

For as many accolades as the 2011 Alabama defense received, the three linebackers have blossomed as the true stars at the next level. Safety Mark Barron (seventh overall pick in 2012) has already been traded after failing to fit into the scheme in Tampa Bay, and cornerback Dee Milliner (ninth overall pick in 2013) has been injury prone and inconsistent in his brief time with the Jets. Outside of safety Ha’Sean Clinton-Dix (21st overall pick in 2014), no other defenders from that team went in the first 3 rounds of the draft.

Nick Saban is one of the crown jewels of Bill Belichick’s coaching tree, and he’s also built a good relationship with the Harbaugh family over the years. How much those relationships have impacted the success of Saban’s former defensive stalwarts in New England and Baltimore is hard to gauge.

Either way, Saturday’s matchup figures to be the next chapter in the relatively young Patriots-Ravens rivalry. Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Joe Flacco, and Terrell Suggs have earned their status as centerpieces of the rivalry, but there’s fresh, young, Crimson blood infusing both teams on the defensive side of the ball.

The future of the rivalry (and quite possibly the present as well) could lie in the hands of three former teammates from Alabama.