Alabama starting defender expected to return for 2024, per report

Alabama LB Deontae Lawson is eligible for the NFL Draft, having played 3 years of college football. Lawson, though, looks to be holding off on going pro for at least one more season. Matt Zenitz of 247Sports reports that Lawson is expected to return to school instead of declaring for the draft.

Lawson arrived in Tuscaloosa in 2021. He went from redshirting in Year 1 to contributing primarily as a reserve in Year 2 to becoming a regular starter.

This past season, Lawson played in 11 games. He missed the Mississippi State, Kentucky and Chattanooga contests due to injury.

After a 6-tackle performance in the Rose Bowl, Lawson finished second on the team with 67 total tackles. He had 5.5 TFLs and 3 sacks, along with 4 QB hurries and 4 pass breakups.

The 2023 season was a big step forward for Lawson. His Alabama bio notes that he played significant minutes on special teams while growing his role on defense as a redshirt freshman. Lawson played in 11 games, including 4 starts, recording 51 tackles with 2.5 TFLs in his redshirt freshman season.

Out of Mobile (Alabama) Christian, Lawson was rated 4-stars, the No. 7 linebacker and No. 52 prospect overall in the Class of 2021 on the 247Sports Composite. In Alabama’s 2021 season, he made 4 appearances and redshirted.

The current belief is that Alabama standout linebacker Deontae Lawson is likely returning to school instead of leaving for the NFL, sources tell @247sports.

Despite missing three games this year, the Class of 2021 five-star recruit ranked second on the team with 67 tackles.… pic.twitter.com/RAqpgdhkTf

— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) January 4, 2024

Andrew Olson

Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.