With today’s alarming news about Jimmy Johns, Alabama’s Linebacker situation is becoming dire.

I was not one who believed that Jimmy was going to be a major contributor this season, but he was an experienced college football player - something that Bama will severely lack at the position this fall.

At the moment Bama has 15 scholarship players at the position. Even given Bama’s 3-4 set, at first glance 15 guys to man 4 spots seems like an abundance. That’s at first glance.

At the moment Bama has only 10 active players at the position. Zeke Knight is inactive due to health issues and Prince Hall has yet to be officially reinstated from his suspension. The other 3 players (Don’ta Hightower, Jerrell Harris & Courtney Upshaw) will be incoming freshmen.

Let’s look at each position individually:

JACK Linebacker - There are currently 4 players at this position, and a total of 1 returning lettermen (Brandon Fanney). Backing him up are redshirt Sophomore Charlie Kirschman, who has yet to see the field, redshirt Freshman Alex Watkins, and incoming Freshman Upshaw. While Fanney has earned 2 letters, he’s also totaled a whopping 7 career tackles and 2 QB Hurries. That’s it for the entire position.

MIKE Linebacker - There are technically 3 guys at this position if you count Hall. Otherwise you are looking at Rolando McClain, a returning Freshman All-American, and Charlie Higgenbotham, who has been a good special teams contributor. All 3 of these guys have lettered and have played well at times. So this position should be in good shape.

WILL Linebacker - The really scary one. Currently Bama has Baron Huber, a converted fullback, Jennings Hester, a redshirt Freshman, and incoming freshman Hightower. There is a chance that McClain could end up here if Hall is reinstated. It is also possible that Jerrell Harris could begin his career here. The best bet is that Cory Reamer ends up back at this position, and likely starts.

SAM Linebacker - With 5 guys listed here, this position has the most depth. But that’s deceiving, to say the least. One of those listed is Zeke Knight who I don’t believe will be back. Another is Reamer, who I believe will be moved to the WILL. So that leaves Chavis Williams, who played decent in a few spots last year, Eryk Anders, who has totaled 4 tackles in 2 years of limited playing, and incoming freshman Harris.

All of that above should lead to one word - YIKES!

As things stand right now my guess for the starting 4 against Clemson is Fanney at the JACK, with McClain at the MIKE, Reamer at the WILL & Williams at the SAM. That would give Alabama an extremely untested and unproved linebacker corps, with only McClain having had any real in-game support.

The one ray of hope is the expected talent of the incoming freshmen. All 3 guys are expected to be able to contribute, and by the middle of the season, we could be seeing a lot of them.

Upshaw needs to gain at least 15 pounds from the 218 he reported in the spring to push for time. The JACK position presented very little play-making last season, and if he can gain the weight, his skill-set is perfect for the position.

Harris is the highest rated player coming in, and early reports from summer drills indicate that he is physically ready - he’s got 9 weeks for the mental part to get there.

Hightower is an imposing physical specimen at 260 lbs, but not a lot has been said about his early work. Reamer and Huber could possibly make for a decent 2-headed monster at the WILL, with Reamer specializing in pass coverage and Huber specializing in run stopping. But Bama needs someone who can do both, and if Hightower can demonstrate that ability, he’ll get early playing time.

There are potentially 2 wild cards in the mix for Bama, with 2 other signees projected as guys who could play linebacker. Mark Barron spent the 2nd half of last season there, though he seems destined for Strong Safety at Alabama. And Chris Jordan has the size and athleticism of a linebacker, but was told he would get a first look at RB. Rumors indicate that he has worked some of the LB position in 7-on-7 drills, but he hasn’t played the position competitively since his Freshman season in HS.

Having said all of this, Nick Saban is a defensive genius. He also has on his staff 2 of the nation’s best linebacker coaches Kevin Steele and Lance Thompson. These guys got more of last year’s defense and linebackers than most could have imagined. Whether they’ll be able to do it again is the real question mark.

From a pure raw talent standpoint they will have way more to work with in 2008. But the absolute lack of experience is downright frightening.

Nick Saban’s defense doesn’t work without plays coming from the LBers. So it is vitally important that Bama find some way to craft together an effective unit.