re: Gotta say, Reuben Foster is really impressing me.

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But with that being said, Alabama’s current superstar ‘backer, Reggie Ragland, may be the best of them all.

Or at the very least, he’s the most versatile.

PASS-RUSH PROWESS

One of the quotes that seemed to resonate with the press, recently, was when Ragland expressed how he’d be moved around the Tide’s formation in an effort to get him involved with the pass-rush. If there’s be an Achilles’ heel for the Saban defense, at least as it pertains to the past three or so seasons, it’s the inability to generate a consistent rush.

In that time span, when Bama was in its base “34,” edge-players Xzavier Dickson and Adrian Hubbard attempted to change the plight of the defense. While Hubbard proved to be average at best, Dickson put it all together in his senior season generating the quietest nine-sack performance you’ll ever see.

Now the Tide have a hodgepodge of “Rocket” rushers — most notably Tim Williams ( 1 1/2 half sacks in 2014) and Ryan Anderson (three) — who are aiming to replicate Dickson’s performance.

It’s time to count Ragland in that bunch.



This was one of the most athletic plays made in the entire country last season: Lined up as a hand-in-the-dirt 6-technique DE, Ragland performed a T/E exchange but pulled back once he encountered a double. He then proceeded to show off his amazing leaping ability — and timing — on the way to a fantastic interception.

How many players do you know who have the wherewithal to mission abort on their way to a turnover?



This particular play stood out for me as it matched Ragland up with college football’s premier tight end, Hunter Henry, in a battle of sheer athleticism. Henry had a pretty good jump on him, but Ragland showed some significant closing speed on his way to getting back into the play.

And while it was called pass interference on the field, there’s certainly room for contrary opinion (especially from Tide fans haha). Ragland already excels in zone drops, and he will only get better in his man coverage as he will play the strong-side inside linebacker next to, perhaps, the Tide’s next great LB, Reuben Foster.

Bone-jarring hits, sideline-to-sideline stops, backfield tackles, interceptions off pure instinct and downfield coverage ability — there’s truly nothing Ragland can’t do between those white lines.

So the title of this piece ends up being a rhetorical question; Ragland can’t get anymore freakish.

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