Consensus first-team All-America linebacker? Check.
Voted by the players as the team’s most valuable player? Check.
Chance to play for a second straight national championship? Check.
Even with all of that, C.J. Mosley announced Thursday he will return to Alabama for his senior season, partly because he still has two unchecked goals to reach. He wants to graduate, which he said he will do next December. That remains his most important goal.
As for the second goal, it’s something most would’ve figured he reached a long time ago: Earning a spot on Alabama’s first-team defense.
“I want to be a first-year starter, officially,” Mosley said.
Mosley was on the field for the first defensive snap for eight of the Tide’s 13 games, but that was because of the requirements of whatever defense Alabama needed that particular day. The Crimson Tide coaches never listed him as a first-team linebacker all year, because his strength is in pass defense, rather than against the run. . Sophomore Trey DePriest and senior Nico Johnson hold the two inside linebacker spots.