Alabama called on freshman linebacker Xavier Griffin for a major road test last Saturday, and let's just say he answered the call.
In Alabama's 56-23 victory over Mississippi State, Griffin recorded a team-high nine tackles, his first career sack, a quarterback hurry, and four pressures. He helped the team hold the Bulldogs to 18 total rushing yards, force four turnovers that converted to 21 points, record nine tackles for loss, and post five sacks.
Griffin led the team in tackles and earned True Freshman honors from 247Sports and On3, as well as SEC Co-Freshman of the Week.
The Gainesville, Georgia native was a consensus five-star recruit and rated as the No. 1 overall player in Georgia and a top-five linebacker in the country for the class of 2026.
His efforts in a big road test proved exactly why he was a highly rated prospect coming out of high school. The college football world was introduced to his capabilities on Saturday, but coach Kane Wommack always knew what Griffin could do and how well he would perform once given the opportunity.
During Monday's media availability, Wommack gave Griffin his props and said his hard work is paying off.
"A young player that is continuing to work and elevate his role in a number of positions for us, which is very hard to do at any age, but to do it as a true freshman is a credit to the amount of time and effort that he's putting in."
Griffin's workload increased after Justin Hill and Desmond Umeozulu suffered lower-body injuries, but Alabama's staff prepared Griffin for any moment, as he has built trust to be on the field in key situations.
"He's able to handle a little more volume, and so that's where we were playing him primarily at the inside linebacker position and kept his role fairly tight. We've used him as a rusher, and now we're starting to be able to do more things with him. We used him on some base downs at the outside and inside linebacker position. I've been most impressed with expanding his role as a pass rusher, but his inside linebacker reps are really good. We're able to add more onto him and not at the expense of what he's doing as an inside linebacker."
Before the season began, Griffin drew comparisons to former Alabama linebacker and now Philadelphia Eagle Jihaad Campbell. While at Alabama, Campbell was used as a versatile hybrid linebacker and "Swiss Army knife," lining up both off-ball in the middle and rushing off the edge.
It seems that Griffin will continue to be tested and used the same way as Campbell. For Alabama, this is a major advantage. Having a versatile, speedy linebacker in your arsenal is very beneficial when competing against top offensive units.