Cole Cubelic has identified a concern with the Alabama defense, and it’s something that has lingered for a while.

“My only real concern for this defense is the middle,” Cubelic said on WJOX’s “McElroy and Cubelic In the morning” from Birmingham, Alabama. “Has D.J. Dale played some good football? He has. Has Byron Young played some good football? He has. Consistently, they’ve either not been in the lineup, or not played good football. For me, G-Mac, I don’t think it’s extremely deep. I thought Tim Smith was going to bust out last year. Saw a few flash plays from him, not consistent again.”

He was then reminded about a conversation last year with Alabama defensive coordinator Pete Golding.

“He’s like, ‘Yeah, we’ve got some dudes, but none of them are stepping up,'” Cubelic recalled. “And none of them are consistently showing up. We’ve gotta have some guys that come in and act like adults and play that position. Because it takes a grown up to play D-tackle in the SEC, and we don’t have many that are acting like grown ups right now.”

While Will Anderson Jr. and Dallas Turner will get plenty of attention with the Alabama defense, the defensive line, and interior, is an area to watch.