C.J. Mosley making sure 'everybody is focused on Alabama football and getting our defense right'

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama ? It seems like yesterday when C.J. Mosley was a freshman linebacker, getting ready for his first Alabama football season fresh out of Theodore High School.

But that was 2010. He?s a senior now. He?s a star, and he?s the leader of an Alabama defense that has some holes to fill this season.

None of those holes is at linebacker. Inside linebacker Trey DePriest and strong outside linebacker Adrian Hubbard are back as juniors, as is Jack linebacker Xzavier Dickson. But sophomore Denzel Devall might start instead of Dickson.

Mosley shared an inside spot the past three years with Nico Johnson, who has moved on to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Mosley is ready to shine. This is his fourth preseason camp. He and DePriest, who started 13 games last season, know what to expect from each other.

?So all we're worried about is making sure that the younger guys and the freshmen are buying in and letting them learn the way of the defense,? Mosley said.

Heralded freshman Reuben Foster and Walker Jones are the newcomers. Reggie Ragland has one season of experience.

Overall, Mosley agreed that this is a unit that is ahead of where it was as a group a year or two ago.

?To start camp off, you always start from the bottom up,? he said. ?Make sure everybody is focused on Alabama football and getting our defense right. Making sure everybody learns the calls before we start worrying about the rest of the season.

?As a whole, we're all connecting with Reuben and Walker to make sure they're doing what they have to do to be productive on the field. So we just have to be sure we have their back and know what to do.?

Though he is impressive physically, Foster looks like a freshman, according to Mosley.

Ragland has made progress, Mosley said.

?He's more comfortable with his position,? Mosley said. ?That's the main thing. Last year he was kind of still getting the feel for it, just being a freshman and learning the system. This summer he knows what to do. He's been through camp. He's been through spring ball. It's just getting comfortable with the position.?

Two starters must be replaced in the secondary ? cornerback Dee Milliner and safety Robert Lester ? but Mosley likes what he is seeing from the unit behind him.

?They're just competing, with the wide receivers or in their own drills,? Mosley said. ?They're coachable, so that's the main thing for them. They have to be coachable. And they're doing what they have to do to get on the field whether it's special teams or going against each other and learning from players like HaHa (Clinton-Dix) and Vincent (Sunseri) and things like that.?

Clinton-Dix is a junior safety who started 10 games last season. He?s stepping up, according to Mosley.

?He took more of a leadership role just based on knowing what you have to do and kind of accepting the fact that people are going to be looking up to him as far as the secondary,? Mosley said.

?Even though Lester left, even though Mark Barron left, he's kind of taken that role like, 'I'm the leader. I have to show the players how to do the right things.??

Source: http://www.al.com/alabamafootball/index.ssf/2013/08/cj_mosley_making_sure_everybod.html

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