TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Raekwon Davis used a term to describe his teammate that ’ s usually reserved for him: “ Freak. ”

He was referring to fellow Alabama defensive linemen Quinnen Williams, who is on pace to be a starter when the Crimson Tide opens the regular season against Louisville in Orlando on Sept. 1.

A year ago few would have believed that the player wearing No. 92 would be the one to replace Da ’ Ron Payne at the nose position in the base formation. Of course, a lot has changed since then.

" He ' s very quick, knows how to use his technique, ” Davis added. “ He ' s got great ball [skills], he ' s good taking off on the ball, striking blocks, screening at the line of scrimmage. He ' s great. "

Yes, he was talking about the redshirt sophomore out of Wenonah High School, located just southwest of Birmingham, the one they call “ Q. ” When Williams arrived in the in the recruiting Class of 2016 he was thought to be a strong-side defensive end and maybe even a candidate to play Jack, the hybrid end/linebacker spot now occupied by Anfernee Jennings.

Williams was listed as being 265 pounds, but he told reporters on Monday that he was probably closer to 250.

Last season he weighed close to 285.

Williams is now at 305 and looks like a completely different player.

At 6 foot 4 he ’ s just a shade smaller than Payne last year (6-3, 308), but is still looking up at the 6-7 Davis. So does just about everyone else on the Crimson Tide.

“ An animal, ” was how Williams in turn described Davis. “ Raekwon ’ s just a different human. He ’ s so huge and he ’ s so athletic to be that big and strong and never get tired. So, he ’ s just an animal I ’ ve never seen before. ”

One of the things that ’ s been lost over the last week or so, or at least largely overlooked, was that the Crimson Tide defense wasn ’ t overwhelmed by the offense during the two camp scrimmages.

Granted, Nick Saban didn ’ t like the tackling in the second scrimmage last Saturday, and with new starters across the board the secondary is going to be a work in progress.

But the line has been stout — and that ’ s nothing short of huge.

" He ' s really played well, ” Saban said about Williams. “ I think he ' s one of the guys that I ' m really proud of.

“ If you look at him as a young player, how he ' s developed and what he ' s grown into, improving himself physically, having a lot of maturity, really plays with a lot of effort, really smart player. I think he ' s one of our most productive guys up front right now. "

Even though Alabama had two 2017 starters on the line move on to the NFL, the Crimson Tide pretty much knew what it was getting at the end spots.

Isaiah Buggs, a junior-college transfer last year, was every bit as good as hoped and he started 13 games. Overall, he totaled 51 tackles including four for a loss and 1.5 sacks, and was tied for second on the team with seven quarterback pressures.

Where he really excelled, though, was against the run. His 46 stops against the run accounted for 91 percent of his tackles.

Davis, meanwhile, led the Crimson Tide in sacks with 8.5 (fifth in the SEC). He was third on the team with 69 tackles, 10 of which went for a loss, despite making just six starts.

So the big question during the spring was who would line up between them. It wasn ’ t just a crucial spot horizontally, but vertically because Alabama didn ’ t have a single returning starter in the middle of the field with two new interior linebackers and two new safeties.

If the man over the center gets pushed back it could be like watching 10 bowling pins getting knocked over.

That ’ s why the technique aspect is so important.

Two years ago Williams spent a lot of time working with players like Jonathan Allen and Dalvin Tomlinson, who were known for their technique. Apparently he was paying attention.

“ He ’ s really technical, really sound, ” junior offensive tackle Jonah Williams said. “ He has great fundamentals, good hand usage, all that stuff, so he ’ s definitely a challenge. ”

“ Jon was obviously a technician and I think he definitely took some of that as far as hand fighting and hand usage goes. He ’ s always in good position, stuff like that. He doesn ’ t give his chest, so it ’ s difficult to (go against him). ”

Williams played in every game last year as a redshirt freshman, making 20 tackles including 6.5 for a loss, but that was primarily at end. Granted, Alabama ’ s linemen can often play at all three spots, and will move around some, but the coaches needed someone who could match the motor of the high-energy Buggs and Davis.

Anyone who watched A-Day, the scrimmage at the end of spring practices, saw that Williams was up for the task. The defensive line made things miserable for the offense although that may have been Saban pushing his players ’ buttons a little by calling the out halfway through spring.

Williams said he wanted to take things further, though. He made it a goal for the line to be the alpha dogs for the entire defense. Usually that ’ s a role for the linebackers, but remember that when he came in the Crimson Tied had linemen like A ’ Shawn Robinson and Jarran Reed, who were known for often setting the tone.

That ’ s been the goal and so far there ’ s been no talk about a letdown.

“ I feel like we ’ re not missing a beat on the defensive line, ” Wilson said. “ We ’ ve got great guys up front and I feel like throughout this whole camp they ’ ve been playing pretty well — offensive line and defensive line. ”

Consequently, you aren ’ t hearing a lot of talk about how Alabama ’ s defense has eight new starters, a new coordinator and three new position coaches including line coach Craig Kuligowski, aka “ Coach Kool. ”

The better the line fares, the more pressure taken off the defensive backs and the more opportunities for the linebackers.

That ’ s how important that one spot is in particular, and the line is in general.

“ We feed off each other ” Williams said. “ When all of us are freaks, we ’ re all good. ”