Alabama's Top Defensive Performers From Week 1: The Extra Point

Naturally, Jalen Milroe's performance as the starting quarterback has gotten much of the attention following Alabama football's 56-7 win over Middle Tennessee last weekend.

While Milroe made waves in his second career start, Alabama's defense took a major step towards establishing the identity it wants for the 2023 season: a physical defense that flies to the football and makes life miserable for opposing offenses.

The game was already out of reach by the time the Blue Raiders scored their first points, and a shutout was in play for much of the game.

Old faces such as Dallas Turner and Kool-Aid McKinstry played good games overall, but it was some of the newer faces that made the most waves when looking back on the game.

True freshman safety Caleb Downs looked every bit like the 5-star prospect he was coming out of high school in his first ever collegiate action, leading the team in tackles with eight and being named SEC Co-Freshman of the Week by the league office on Monday.

Deontae Lawson stepped into a new role as the middle linebacker and signal caller of the defense, and he not only looked to be in command as a leader, but filled the stat sheet as well. For the game, he tallied seven tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack.

Transfer safety Jaylen Key, the other starter on the back end next to Downs, recorded an interception in his first start in crimson.

The amount of new faces that shone brightly in Bryant-Denny Stadium Saturday night should give Crimson Tide fans tons of optimism for the 2023 defense to be one of the better ones the program has seen in recent years.

Check out the video above where BamaCentral's Blake Byler and Austin Hannon discuss Alabama's top defensive performers from the Crimson Tide's Week 1 win over Middle Tennessee.

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