Tennessee transfer Henry To'o To'o emerging as leader for Alabama

The rich got richer this offseason when Alabama added former Tennessee linebacker Henry To’o To’o in the transfer portal in the aftermath of Jeremy Pruitt’s firing. Through fall camp, To’o To’o is proving to be a valuable addition.

Alabama defensive coordinator Pete Golding spoke on the value the third-year linebacker has added to the defense so far during Alabama football media days Sunday.

“We brought in a transfer that I think from a leadership standpoint he is above and beyond from a transfer standpoint that I’ve ever had,” Golding said. “The familiarity he’s already had with this defense coming from where he’s come I think has been good for us.”

To’o To’o is familiar with the defense Alabama runs due to his time at Tennessee. He was recruited by Pruitt, who coached under Alabama head coach Nick Saban from 2007-2012 and from 2016-2017 and ran a very similar defense at Tennessee.

Tide teammates rave about To’o To’o

Alabama second-year outside linebacker Will Anderson also heaped praise on the Tennessee transfer.

“He’s been great,” Anderson said this week. “He communicates a lot. If you do something wrong, he’s gonna step on your toes about it. He’s a very great communicator. He knows the defense well, too. So just him being able to do that and being able to be on the field and help us and help the younger guys, he’s a great leader and a great player.” 

To’o To’o is expected to start alongside Anderson and fellow inside linebacker Christian Harris. Between the three, and a rotation of Chris Braswell, Drew Sanders, Christopher Allen and Shane Lee, the Crimson Tide very well could have the best linebacker unit in the country.

Safety Jordan Battle was also very complimentary of To’o To’o’s leadership.

“He’s a leadership guy,” Battle said. “He’s on the leadership team with us. He’s stepping into that role very well. He’s playing very good on the inside, being very vocal, making sure the D-line, the whole defense is getting the calls. We love what he’s doing right now for us.”

In two seasons at Tennessee To’o To’o started 22 of 23 games. As a sophomore, he the Volunteers with 76 tackles and 10 tackles for loss. As a freshman, he received freshman All-America honors and was named to the freshman All-SEC team, finishing second on the team in tackles with 72.