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247Sports' Barton Simmons: Da'Ron Payne is the Next Great Alabama Defensive Lineman

RTR91

RTR91

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The Alabama defensive line has been the natural habitat of some scary creatures. ... Guys who have knocked Colt McCoy out of a national title game to win it ... Guys who have blocked two field goals in a game to beat Tennessee ... Guys who have been drafted regularly by the NFL every spring.

This fall, Nick Saban is going to trot out one of the best he's ever had in sophomore Da'Ron Payne.

Sources around the Alabama program are saying that Payne, a five-star recruit in the class of 2015 per the 247Sports Composite, is the best defensive lineman in Tuscaloosa since Marcell Dareus, who executed the aforementioned knockout of McCoy. Payne is big at 6-foot-2, 319 pounds but it's his freaky athleticism at that size that makes him unique.

When Payne was coming out of high school, he was as good as anyone in the country for one rep but I never knew which Payne I was going to get from event to event. When he would show up in shape and motivated, he would dominate but he wasn't always in shape and he wasn't always motivated. At Alabama, Payne has gotten motivated and in shape. Motor is a non-issue.

If Payne stays healthy and dominates up front like I expect him to, that entire Alabama defense will benefit and another national title run could be in the cards.
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TiderJack

TiderJack

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Great to see Da'Ron getting some hype. Probably the strongest player on the team and he has some quickness that is going to give centers and guards fits. Also good to see a Shades Valley/Birmingham grad excelling.
 
sanjosecrimson

sanjosecrimson

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TiderJ said:
Great to see Da'Ron getting some hype. Probably the strongest player on the team and he has some quickness that is going to give centers and guards fits. Also good to see a Shades Valley/Birmingham grad excelling.
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very true J. but what makes him really scary is he is the strongest and most athletic player Bama has ever had. Jesse Williams was a beast in the gym, but he didn't have Payne's agility, quickness, and explosiveness. Dareus was a stud , but he wasn't a gym rat like Payne. so now you have a guy that is naturally bull strong and freakishly athletic... nightmares are coming for OL and QBs in 2016!
 
TiderJack

TiderJack

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sanjosecrimson said:
very true J. but what makes him really scary is he is the strongest and most athletic player Bama has ever had. Jesse Williams was a beast in the gym, but he didn't have Payne's agility, quickness, and explosiveness. Dareus was a stud , but he wasn't a gym rat like Payne. so now you have a guy that is naturally bull strong and freakishly athletic... nightmares are coming for OL and QBs in 2016!
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Good points SJC. I am hoping we can find an able back-up to Da'Ron. I'm a little concerned with our interior depth. I know we can slide some guys over but we really need a 310-330lb guy to give Da'Ron a break. Thinking incoming frosh Raekwon Davis may be that guy if he can learn the playbook quickly.
 
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bodiddle

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TiderJ said:
Good points SJC. I am hoping we can find an able back-up to Da'Ron. I'm a little concerned with our interior depth. I know we can slide some guys over but we really need a 310-330lb guy to give Da'Ron a break. Thinking incoming frosh Raekwon Davis may be that guy if he can learn the playbook quickly.
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Aren't O. J. Smith and Josh Frasier in the 310-330 range?
 
G

gtgilbert

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bodiddle said:
Aren't O. J. Smith and Josh Frasier in the 310-330 range?
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They are both about 310-315. i'd guess the uncertainty of it is Frazier is a JR, who has not played a lot, and Smith is a SO in the same boat. Payne passed them both up.

Good news is that Tomlinson is now listed at 307 so has added some significant weight. We don't play the 3-4 that much any more, so with the two of them being 300+, and hand and allen being the lighter guys we still have an ok rotation, but no where like we had last year. If smith/frazier can provide some reps that will be a big bonus as will be getting some reps from the incoming freshmen
 
TiderJack

TiderJack

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gtgilbert said:
They are both about 310-315. i'd guess the uncertainty of it is Frazier is a JR, who has not played a lot, and Smith is a SO in the same boat. Payne passed them both up.

Good news is that Tomlinson is now listed at 307 so has added some significant weight. We don't play the 3-4 that much any more, so with the two of them being 300+, and hand and allen being the lighter guys we still have an ok rotation, but no where like we had last year. If smith/frazier can provide some reps that will be a big bonus as will be getting some reps from the incoming freshmen
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This is my point and I was underwhelmed with their performance in the A-Day game against the 2nd team OL. I'm not sure they are ready to play a SEC schedule but hope I'm wrong.
 
G

gtgilbert

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TiderJ said:
This is my point and I was underwhelmed with their performance in the A-Day game against the 2nd team OL. I'm not sure they are ready to play a SEC schedule but hope I'm wrong.
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Agree - and not getting Jones due to grades and with King being an unknown if he will qualify makes the incoming class for big guys smaller than it needed to be. With king being JUCO I am sure th eplan was to get him into the rotation as quickly as possible, even though he's more of an Allen/Hand type DL instead of the big body type.
 
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