TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Markail Benton saw the field at Mike and Will linebacker on Saturday.

The redshirt sophomore subbed in for both Shane Lee and Christian Harris in Alabama’s 47-28 win over Texas A&M this past weekend, a move coach Nick Saban explained Monday.

“Markail’s been injured, and he was actually competing and we were going to try to create a role for him and he pulled his hamstring and missed a couple weeks,” Saban said. “It was really to try to get him an opportunity, as well as maybe take some burden off the other guys in terms of what’s on their plate.

“So, if he continues to do well, it would be helpful to our team that we have more guys on defense that can play winning football, and he’s certainly a guy that has the capability to do that.”

The 6-foot-2, 235-pound linebacker has appeared in four games this season, including the road win at Texas A&M, and 18 games in his career, recording 20 total tackles. Benton entered this last game as early as the first quarter, and although the Phenix City, Ala., native did not record any stats, he played well, according to his head coach and teammate Xavier McKinney.

“I thought he did good, I thought he played well,” McKinney said. “I haven’t really watched the film on him, but I’m sure he knows he has some more work to do. I thought he played well.”

Saturday’s game that saw Benton more involved isn’t the first time we’ve seen the young inside ‘backers get a breather. At South Carolina, Harris was replaced at Will by sophomore Ale Kaho.

Lee and Harris have started all six games in the middle of the defense because of preseason injuries to Dylan Moses and Joshua McMillon. They are two of six true freshmen that have seen extensive first-team minutes this fall. To help the young players on defense, Saban and his staff have made things simpler than normal so the freshmen are playing fast instead of thinking.

Alabama linebacker Markail Benton and safety Jordan Battle combine to make a tackle vs. Duke.

“I think it can be simple,” but it’s not as simple as you might think,” McKinney said.

So, are Benton’s snaps at both Mike and Will related to that?

“No, I don’t think so,” McKinney said. “I think (Saban)’s just getting different guys in there, let them get that experience, let them go out there and see what they can do while they’re out there on the field. I don’t think it’s anything about trying to get them less reps and stuff because, obviously, I think we will want more reps for them to be out there just for later games.

“But I think having different guys go out there is good for us as a defense.”

The youth on defense has been a top storyline for the Crimson Tide all year long. Alabama does lead the nation, along with UMass, in freshman starters with seven players taking the field for the opening play. UA has started one freshman on offense, one freshman on special teams and an NCAA-high five on defense during the 2019 season. Stanford is second with six starters.

Regardless of the number of freshmen contributing, Saban wants to see more from his defense.

“I don’t think we’ve played as well as we’d like to play, given up more points and more yards than we typically do,” Saban said. “But we’ve got young players playing and we have to help them develop to play with more consistency. And we haven’t always had all the players on the field that I think we need to give us guys that can make plays out there.

“It was probably better in the last game with Terrell (Lewis) and Anfernee (Jennings) both on the field at the same time. That’s something that we haven’t had much of this season. And we’ve just got to continue to focus on what we need to do to improve.”

Contact Charlie Potter by 247Sports' personal messaging or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).