Who is Alabama's Breakout Defensive Player in 2025? Just a Minute

Welcome to BamaCentral’s "Just a Minute," a daily video series featuring BamaCentral's Alabama beat writers. Multiple times a week, the writers will group up or film solo to provide their take on a topic concerning the Crimson Tide or the landscape of college sports.

Watch the above video as BamaCentral's recruiting writer Mason Woods and beat writer Joe Gaitherdiscuss which member of Alabama's 2025 defense is going to have a breakout season.

Kane Wommack enters his second season as defensive coordinator this fall and looks to have an incredibly deep group of players at nearly every position on the field. From the big uglies up front to an extremely skillful secondary, Alabama's staff will have to find unique ways to get many talented players in the fold this year.

One group, in particular, that is rich with talent is the defensive line. Between veterans like LT Overton and Tim Keenan and newcomers such as Kelby Collins, Wommack and Freddie Roach have their work cut out for them this season.

Of all the names that could be a part of this year's rotation, one seems to stand out among the rest, not only in terms of uniqueness, but in actual potential as a player. Steve Bolo Mboumoua, who was forced to spend a year at junior college before transferring in this offseason, could just be Alabama's breakout star in 2025.

Originally from Cameroon, where he played soccer growing up, Mboumoua found himself suiting up on the gridiron after he and his family moved to Lac-Mégantic in Quebec, Canada in 2016.

Though he is still a bit of a raw prospect without much experience playing defensive line, he is an explosive athlete with incredible strength. In 2024, while at Southwest Mississippi Community College, Mboumoua finished with 46 total tackles, 7.0 TFL's and 4.5 sacks.

While he is more likely to be used as a pass rush specialist rather than an every down player this season, that may just be the perfect role for a player with his skill set.

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