Alabama Football: Da’ron Payne is Tide’s secret star

Alabama football has a secret weapon. It’s Da’ron Payne’s time to shine and he isn’t going to miss his shot at the limelight.

It’s hard to classify a 5-star recruit as a secret. That said, this 5-star recruit has had to wait his turn before he was inserted into the starting lineup. Even though he was the No. 1 player in the state of Alabama he had to pay his dues and serve time as an understudy to slew of other 5-star studs.

The rest of the country has to restock and retool. The Alabama Crimson Tide just reload. That will be the case with Tide defensive tackle Da’ron Payne. Standing at 6-foot-2, 308 pounds the junior defensive tackle is poised to have a tremendous impact on Saban’s defense front in 2017.

In 2016 Payne tallied 36 tackles (3.5 for a loss) with 1.5 sacks. He saw action in 13 games, including a season high five tackles in the National Championship game against Clemson. Payne was one of the many Tide defenders to score a defensive touchdown. He snagged a Chad Kelly fumble and lunged into the end zone for the crucial game-tying score.

What’s the ceiling for Payne?

SEC analyst Cole Cublic went so far as to say that Payne “…has a chance to leave as the best DT under Saban. Power is just impeccable. Solid technique with great hands.” It’s a bit surprising and all the more significant that Cublic was so bold about his praise of Payne. Alabama had had six defensive tackles drafted under Saban’s tenure including first rounder Marcell Dareus and three second rounders, most recently Dalvin Tomlinson in 2017.

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Alabama wins football games in the trenches. That’s where Payne excels. He has the brute force to overwhelm just about every combination of blockers, but he also has the finesse to read the play and explode into the backfield. The Tide might have lost a good amount of talent, but Payne is a name that you’re going to hear on Sundays.