Alabama DC Kane Wommack identifies injury-recovered standout ‘playing his best football’

Alabama football LB Deontae Lawson missed spring practice rehabilitating an ACL knee injury, and was eased into fall camp under watchful eyes as he put the finishing touches on his recovery.

For most players, that can mean some rust upon return, or some mental hesitancy, or both.

So it raised a few eyebrows on Wednesday when Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said that Lawson, less than three weeks into practice, has never looked better.

He’s playing his best football right now, which is pretty impressive to say, eight, nine months coming off a leg injury,” Wommack said. “Impressed with him. Proud of him.”

In late July at SEC Media Days, Lawson said he felt his rehab was 90% complete at SEC Media. That was about two weeks before fall camp commenced, so it was clear then that the Mobile native was at least on track to be on the field for the Crimson Tide’s season opener at Florida State. But by Wommack’s account, the UA defense is getting an even better version of Lawson than it had prior to his injury, which was sustained at Oklahoma last November.

“He looks a little more like the 2023 Deontae Lawson from a weight standpoint. I don’t know that he got too heavy last season, necessarily,” Wommack added. “He carried a lot of bulk on and moved really well, but from an injury standpoint, he had to come back from that. And his body is in a position where he’s moving really fast. He looks good, he’s playing with great anticipation, his leadership has been taken to another level.”