TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The Will linebacker position is still up for grabs, according to Nick Saban.

The Alabama head coach made sure to mention the area of his defense most recently affected by injury during the opening statement of his Thursday evening press conference. With redshirt senior Joshua McMillon out indefinitely with a knee injury, all eyes have been on the Crimson Tide’s inside linebackers this week. But nothing has been decided for the spot opposite Dylan Moses.

“You’ll probably ask about the competition at the linebacker position, and all I can tell you is there’s a lot of competition there,” said Saban following practice No. 12 of Alabama’s preseason camp, “and we need somebody that will step up and be responsible to do the job, develop confidence of the players around them and develop confidence in themselves that they can go out there and play winning football for us, regardless of the circumstance or the situation.

“So, whichever guy steps forward to do that the best, that’s who will win the job.”

McMillon suffered a knee injury during the Tide’s first fall camp scrimmage this past Saturday. A redshirt senior, he had manned the Will linebacker position since the first day of spring drills in March and seemed poised to finally crack UA’s starting lineup in his fifth year in the program.

But now that McMillon is out for what could be the rest of the year, and Alabama needs one of its younger players to step up in his absence and positively affect the other players around him. That was one of McMillon’s strengths, according to defensive coordinator Pete Golding, so the player that takes the field against Duke in 16 days needs to be able to juggle several responsibilities.

Alabama inside linebacker Markail Benton

“You can’t make any plays against us,” said Golding in his first and only availability of the regular season. “I think that’s the biggest thing. I think at the second level, obviously, it’s affecting the guys around you, getting everybody on the same page, making the plays they’re supposed to make.”

In the practices since McMillon’s injury, redshirt sophomore Markail Benton has lined up beside Moses in the middle of Alabama’s defense. Benton appeared in 14 games as a reserve a year ago as a redshirt freshman and recorded 14 tackles. Outside of McMillon and Moses, Benton has been in the program the longest and looks to be getting the first crack at the vacancy at Will.

But younger players are also battling for the position.

True freshman Shane Lee and sophomore Ale Kaho have made up the next duo behind Moses and Benton this week. Lee enrolled early in January and at 6-foot, 246 pounds, looks the part physically. The third twosome has featured sophomore Jaylen Moody and another freshman in Christian Harris. The young guys were impressing McMillon when he was still practicing.

“I feel like each and every one of them came in and did a real good job,” said McMillon prior to his injury. “Me and Dylan -- it was the whole linebacker corps -- we tried to get in there with them and coach them up and make sure they know what they’re doing and what they’re supposed to do to try and keep the ball rolling. … They came in and showed good progress. They’re all doing a great job, trying to learn the playbook. They’re breaking down the plays, getting extra film in.”

The five young linebackers will get a chance to prove why they deserve the starting spot during Alabama’s second and final fall camp scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 17, at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

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

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