Deonte Lawson knows what awaits him this fall.

The redshirt sophomore developed as a freshman in 2021 after being a four-star prospect from Mobile Christian. He was mentioned as a potential starter by then-defensive coordinator Pete Golding a year ago. Now in 2023, and recovered from a surgery that held him out in the offseason, Lawson is expected to be not only a leader in the inside linebacker room but an expected contributor.

“I feel like with my position that’s something I have to do,” Lawson said ahead of Alabama’s second fall practice. “Seeing guys like Henry (To’oTo’o), (Jaylen) Moody, following their footsteps. It’s a role I have to step into.”

He earned his place in the linebacker rotation last fall, making four starts and appearing in all but two games (Mississippi State and LSU). Lawson was tied for fifth in team tackles with Will Andersson (51.0). Lawson also contributed four pass breakups and two-and-a-half tackles for loss.

Lawson said Friday he felt great after his knee was “cleaned up.” The injury forced him to miss spring practices and A-Day, but his pedigree makes him an interesting cog in Kevin Steele’s defense. As the group emphasizes “the little things” and tries to have more turnovers but fewer penalties, Lawson’s prior knowledge of the scheme should only help.

“I’m happy with the group. Deontae Lawson played really good football when he played last year. He was injured a lot of the time,” Saban said. ” … He’s had a good summer. He’s got leadership, he’s got a good understanding of the defense.”

Saban credited the progress of sophomore Jihaad Campbell, who appeared in four games mostly on special teams toward the end of the year. Lawson and Campbell will pair with Georgia transfer Trezmen Marshall, junior Kendrick Blackshire, redshirt freshman Shawn Murphy and JuCo linebacker Justin Jefferson, among others, as the Tide looks for a revamped second level of the defense.

“We’ve got lots of competition at the position. I’m pleased with the way these guys are progressing. They’ve made a tremendous amount of progress. We’ve had a lot of guys out in the spring that — both outside ‘backers, one inside ‘backer — so it gave guys a lot of opportunity to get a lot of reps there. So we’ve got those guys back, we’ve got a little bit of leadership and I like the experience that we have in the group,” Saban said.

RELATED: Nick Saban explains what he wants from a left tackle

UAB transfer Jaylen Key is ‘instinctive,’ adds versatility to Tide secondary

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].