Alabama Football: 5 potential breakout stars for 2017

On a team full of incredible athletic talents, Mack Wilson may be one of the best athletes of the bunch. Coming off a freshman season where he played in all 15 games, Wilson enters his sophomore campaign ready to take off. In fact Nick Saban had these comments when speaking of Wilson’s athleticism.

"“He’s so athletic that maybe we could even develop him as a (pass) rusher because he is a very explosive guy,”"

Wilson showed his incredible versatility last year as the 6-foot-2, 236 pound linebacker made numerous big plays on special teams and even caught a touchdown as a fullback. Not only can Wilson move as evidenced by his 4.59 40-yard time in Alabama’s spring testing, he also squatted 505 pounds which tied Rahaan Evans for the best total among linebackers  His 40 time was the second fastest in  the linebacker group.

Wilson has been seeing action mostly with the second team defense in the spring, and had a solid performance in the Spring Game. He finished with five tackles including a stop for loss and also had a pass breakup. Star defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick has high praise for his teammate.

"“He’s been working hard, and he’s doing really well in 7-on-7 play. Hopefully he can continue to do that in camp and can contribute to the defense during the season.”"

Already a key special teams contributor, Wilson will continue to make an impact on that unit. With veteran depth at inside linebacker with Evans and Shaun Dion Hamilton, Wilson will have to work hard to earn a lot of snaps there. He has shown that he has the desire and all of the physical tools to earn a more prominent role in the formidable Tide defense this season.