Alabama Football: 5 impact players for Tide in national title game

MIAMI, FL - DECEMBER 29: Tua Tagovailoa #13 of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrates after the win over the Oklahoma Sooners during the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

4. Quinnen Williams

Projected as a top-five pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, Quinnen Williams is a mammoth 6-foot-4, 289-pound defensive lineman who has dominated all of college football this season. Williams has 18 tackles for loss and eight sacks this season and won the Outland Trophy as the most dominant interior lineman in the game.

The Alabama defense achieved three sacks and two quarterback hurries on the elusive Kyler Murray and those numbers will likely need to improve against Clemson to prevent Trevor Lawrence from sitting in the pocket and having time to pick the Alabama defense apart.

Some of that will fall on Williams, but his main job will be stopping talented running back Travis Etienne. No player on Clemson’s offense is more impactful than the ACC Player of the Year Etienne, who ran for 1,573 yards and 22 touchdowns in 2018. Etienne ran for 109 yards and a touchdown against Notre Dame, easily slicing through the Fighting Irish. If Williams can slow Etienne in any meaningful way, and that’s a big if, the game could turn in Alabama’s favor.

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