TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Dylan Moses learned the hard way thats sometimes one just has to get thrown into a difficult situation and learn as they go.

The Alabama linebacker know that one really well. When his teammates started dropping like bowling pins due to injuries last season he was one of the few still standing during the stretch run. Despite being a true freshman, he was thrust into the starting lineup as the Crimson Tide tried to keep its national championship hopes alive.

Now that experience is paying off.

" It helped me a lot, " he said. " Being thrown in back then, I didn ' t know what to expect. "

Although both Moses and junior Mack Wilson have both made two career starts, they ' re now the starting interior linebackers for the Crimson Tide.

Combined, they ' ve made four starts, none together.

Yet their potential is enormous.

" The one thing I tell everyone is that we ’ re like a 1-2 punch, " Moses said. " We feel like we play off each other ’ s skills. I feel like he ’ s a great partner to have on the side because if I do slip up he ’ ll pick up the slack, and when he tends to slip up I ’ ll pick up his slack.

" It ’ s like our chemistry is there already. We don ’ t have to develop it, it ’ s there.

Due to both have foot injuries they passed by each other when coming and and out of Alabama ' s lineup late last season, with one replacing the other on the College Football Playoff.

With Wilson sidelined after the LSU game Moses was inserted first, and for a while his head was spinning.

He made 11 tackles, including four for a loss, during his first start against Mercer, and then had 10 the subsequent week at Auburn when he finally started to feel comfortable with the defense.

“ Dylan Moses has plenty of talent, he ’ s made up of the right stuff, he ’ s a competitor, " defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi said. " As he continues to develop and gain confidence and continues to know his assignments and is able to communicate and be confident out there, he can step into that role as well to lead by action as well as vocally. ”

When Moses went down with a season-ending injury, it was Wilson ' s turn. He made his first career start against Clemson in the College Football Playoff, and responded with six tackles and a pick-six.

Wilson followed that with a career-best 12 tackles during the National Championship Game, the most of any Crimson Tide player in a game last season.

It ' s almost easy to forget that the title game was just seven months ago. This time a year ago Wilson was trying to earn some playing time while Moses had the wide-eyed look of being a freshman during his first fall camp.

Consequently, struggling to get the defense down is something that ' s still fresh in his mind.

" You can ’ t beat them up if they make a mistake, " Moses said about Alabama ' s younger defensive players. " You can ’ t put them down if they make a mental error. You have to pick them up, even with the younger guys I tell them its all right – or sometimes I don ’ t tell them anything because at the end of the day the more you mess something up it ’ s going to help you get it right eventually.

" That ’ s how it helped me. I messed up such much last year to the point … there was this one time I was ‘ Man, I know what this is, I ’ ve messed it up a thousand times. ’ I was ‘ Let me go ahead and get this right finally. ’ They ’ re going to get to that point, they just have to have that experience. "

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