No Alabama football reserve gets more attention than Ben Davis.

Status reports for the linebacker are the most frequent requests from readers for reporters covering the Crimson Tide. Email. Social media. Everyone wants to know how Davis is doing.

The fascination is natural given the hype surrounding Davis coming out of nearby Gordo High School. He was the No. 10 overall recruit in the 2016 signing class. Yet after two seasons in Tuscaloosa, the former five-star recruit has appeared in just one game.

AL.com caught up with Davis before the Sugar Bowl to see where things stood and how he's dealing with the attention. Soft-spoken in the interview, Davis repeated his intention is to keep improving daily after spending last season moving from the middle linebackers group to the outside linebackers.

"It's kind of the same stuff, but it's one side of the ball you have to worry about," he said. "It's much easier, I'd say, also. I think at Alabama, you basically have to learn to play both of them."

Through four practices this spring, Davis is back working with a middle linebacker group with depleted depth.

In terms of the attention, Davis said he doesn't use social media that much. He's tweeted about a dozen times this year but it can be a two-way street on social media. The public messages run the full range, Davis said.

"Yeah," he said, "sometimes it's negative but I just keep going every day."

There's still some inspiration that comes from the positivity he hears.

"It is," he said. "I'm just going to keep getting better every day. Getting bigger, stronger, faster. Keep getting better in practice."

The profile picture on Davis' Twitter account is from the lone game he entered last season. Alabama used a heavy rotation of subs in the second half of the 56-0 beating of FCS opponent Mercer in the final home game of the season.

Jogging onto the field the first time, Davis was the outside linebacker on the left side of the formation. First play was a read option to his side of the field, and though he didn't get the stop, Davis slowed running back Tanner Brumby on a one-yard loss.

Davis said the first game experience wasn't too different from practice.

"I wasn't really thinking about that," He said. "I've been playing football all my life."

Teammates enjoyed seeing him out there, though.

"Everybody was proud of the fact that he was able to go out there and do what he did," starting linebacker Rashaan Evans said after the game. "Ben Davis works very hard. He's going to be one of those guys that comes up and shows everybody that he can play."

Davis redshirted his first year in Tuscaloosa. After the season, he told AL.com he wasn't expecting to sit out the year but a preseason ankle injury was a contributing factor. The transition to college was a little harder than expected "at first" before settling in, too.

That first year was spent adding 20 pounds of muscle with the focus turning toward 2017. Then in the spring, he moved to outside linebacker.

Davis had a simple answer when asked where he grew the most last season.

"I'd definitely say playbook," he said. "Learning the defense. Changing positions to outside linebacker, learning more about that position."

That 2017 season was spent working with outside linebackers coach Tosh Lupoi who was promoted to defensive coordinator after Jeremy Pruitt's departure.

Nick Saban a year ago said the move to outside linebacker was a better fit for Davis athletically and they planned to look at him as a nickelbacker.

It's unclear if he's back at middle linebacker full time or a response to the thinned depth without Rashaan Evans, Shaun Dion Hamilton. Keith Holcombe is focusing on baseball this spring, so there's definitely a need for help behind starters Mack Wilson and Dylan Moses.

No doubt, it'll lead to another round of speculation surrounding the former top recruit still working toward that break-through season.

Michael Casagrande is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter

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