The legends of Trey DePriest and Vinnie Sunseri have grown taller with each game this season. The two freshmen are making big hits while piling up special teams stats in wins over Kent State and Penn State. It was time to address this in print. Here’s how it starts:
TUSCALOOSA — Blame it on depth.
Trey DePriest and Vinnie Sunseri would likely have prime roles on most defenses. Even though they’re freshmen, raw talent and pedigree made them high school All-Americans a year ago. But on Alabama’s defense, that doesn’t make them unique.
So the roommates and best friends found a different niche — for now.
From the opening kickoff of the first game, the two established themselves as special teams head hunters with big-hitting potential. Sunseri, son of Tide linebackers coach Sal Sunseri, made a tackle just seconds into his first game. DePriest made a cringe-worthy hit later in the first quarter against Kent State, and neither has let up since.
DePriest, in fact, still leads the Tide with 12 total tackles through two games, mostly on special teams. Sunseri has six total tackles and one major block in Saturday’s Penn State win, which freed Marquis Maze for a 44-yard punt return in the third quarter.
Having players like DePriest and Sunseri is a luxury, Tide coach Nick Saban said as his team heads into Saturday’s home game against North Texas.
“So it’s really, really good for our team when you have four or five guys who are really good special teams players who aren’t starters,” Saban said. “And that’s what they look forward to and that’s what they prepare for. That’s what they do. And you feel like they can do it as well as anybody on the team, and you’re certainly not making any compromises to play them to hold somebody else out from doing it.”
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