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Dylan Moses was thinking about flipping his commitment back to LSU.
It was a real consideration. So, before officially signing with Alabama, the linebacker and his family went to LSU for an official visit.
That was Dec. 9, 2016.
Had the visit gone well, it seems like it was very possible that Moses could have ended up with the Tigers.
It didn’t, though.
Instead, the Baton Rouge native will be in Tiger Stadium Saturday as a member of the Crimson Tide. It’s one of the big subplots entering this weekend — Moses against his hometown school, one with a fan base and coaching staff that weren’t happy about the former five-star recruit leaving home in favor of Nick Saban and Alabama.
“He’s fired up,” Tide linebacker Mack Wilson said of Moses.
Former LSU DB stepping up for Alabama’s defense
It goes back to 2012, when LSU was so impressed with Moses’ performance at a Tigers summer camp that the coaching staff offered him a scholarship before he had even started eighth grade.
Moses then committed to LSU one year later as a ninth-grader. While he decommitted from the Tigers in 2015, LSU remained his No. 1 school until the fall of 2016. One week after LSU fired Les Miles, Moses committed to the Tide and ultimately stuck with that commitment despite a significant late push from Ed Orgeron and the Tigers.
“Great young man,” Orgeron said this week. “I enjoyed the recruiting process. He chose to go to Alabama. He’s doing well. We wish him well.”
While the feeling at Alabama is that both inside linebackers — Moses and Wilson — have gone through some growing pains as first-year starters, Moses is second on the team with 42 tackles and has also recorded 7.5 stops for a loss, 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble.
Moses was named one of the Tide’s players of the week after posting nine tackles and a stop for a loss against Texas A&M Sept. 22. He has since had multiple tackles for a loss in two of Alabama’s last three games. That includes the Arkansas game, which Moses finished with 10 tackles, a forced fumble, a quarterback hurry and those two stops for a loss.
“Dylan’s done a nice job for us,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “I think that we’ve made a significant improvement at that position as the players have a better understanding of what’s expected from them. He and Mack both have played some around here in the past and people sort of see them because they started a few games. But they didn’t have to go through and experience all the different adjustments that we have to make from week to week with the teams we play, and I think they’ve gotten a lot more comfortable with that. And I think that’s helped them play better.”
Louisiana native could be big factor for Alabama offense vs. LSU
This one has extra significance for Moses though, which teammates realize.
A reported asked Wilson this week: Out of the Louisiana guys, who’s been talking about this game the most?
He answered quickly.
“Dylan,” he said, smiling. “He’s ready to smash somebody.”
Matt Zenitz is an Alabama and Auburn reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mzenitz.
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