LSU Tigers

NFL scout on 'Bama's D-line: 'I've never seen one team as loaded'

Published Nov. 17, 2015 3:19 p.m. ET

Bruce Feldman

Start with this: In 10 games this season, Alabama has 38 sacks. That's already more than the Tide have had in any season in the past eight years. 'Bama also leads the SEC in run defense by almost 30 yards fewer than any other team is allowing. In total defense, 'Bama is yielding fewer than 212 yards per game in SEC play. That's almost 100 yards better than what the team did last season.

The biggest reason for that? The deepest and most talented collection of defensive linemen in college football. In fact, one veteran NFL scout who has been in the business almost two decades calls the Tide D-line group the best he's ever seen.

"I've never seen one team as loaded from seniors to freshmen as this team is," he said. "It's amazing. They're all huge and they all can move really well."

The scout projected at least three first-round talents on the 'Bama front: A'Shawn Robinson, a 315-pound junior; Jonathan Allen, a 285-pound junior; and Jarran Reed, a 313-pound senior. The scout also was impressed with Dalvin Tomlinson, a 295-pound junior; Darren Lake, a 320-pound senior; and Daron Payne, a powerful, 315-pound true freshman.

The Tide front was so dominant against LSU that 'Bama was able to bottle up the great Leonard Fournette to 31 yards on 19 carries without needing to load the box with nine or 10 men. Instead, Nick Saban just let his D-line clog up the lanes and keep Fournette from getting any momentum going.

Robinson, a hulking former five-star recruit with long arms and eye-popping explosiveness, has really emerged as a dominant force the past two games -- blowout wins over LSU and at Mississippi State -- by notching 4.5 tackles for loss.

Allen also had a huge day against MSU, sacking Dak Prescott three times -- and also taking down Nick Saban when the D-lineman barreled into his head coach on the sideline. Allen has a team-high 11.5 TFLs and nine sacks.

Reed is the leading tackler among the group with 45.

'Bama, 9-1, shouldn't have much trouble with a 9-1 FCS Charleston Southern squad this week before visiting archrival Auburn.

Bruce Feldman is a senior college football reporter and columnist for FOXSports.com and FS1. He is also a New York Times best-selling author. His new book, “The QB: The Making of Modern Quarterbacks,” came out in October 2014. Follow him on Twitter @BruceFeldmanCFB and Facebook.