View full sizeFifth-year senior Robert Lester is entering his third season as a starting safety on the Alabama football team. (The Birmingham News/Mark Almond)TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – Stars fell on Alabama in 2008, and they've been falling ever since.
Robert Lester wasn't one of those bright 5-star signees, or even a consensus 4-star.
The Foley High School defensive back only rated 3 stars from Scout.com. But so did running back Mark Ingram, who went on to become Alabama's first Heisman Trophy winner. Marcell Dareus and Terrence Cody were 3-star defensive linemen, according to Rivals.com.
Lester came to Alabama as a private first class. He rose to corporal in 2010, but he might have been a starter only because more-heralded Robby Green was suspended for the year.
All Lester did that season was lead the Southeastern Conference with eight interceptions, which ranked second nationally and tied for second in school history.
Now listen to senior linebacker Nico Johnson talk about rank in a reloaded Alabama secondary.
“He’s pretty much the general back there, telling everybody what they need to do, how they need to do it,” Johnson said.
“He’s holding everybody back there to a standard, because he feels like the DBs aren’t getting the respect that they want. So they’re going to go out there and earn the respect. He’s holding everybody accountable.”
Listen to coach Nick Saban talk about the only returning defensive back who started every game last season.
“This is an example of a guy who has worked hard and had all the right stuff in terms of perseverance, resiliency, overcoming adversity as a player and has continue to improve, not get frustrated,” Saban said.
“And has become a very, very effective player for us. … Robert has turned out to be a really, really good leader in the secondary. Has great understanding. Hopefully he's going to have a fantastic year for us.”
Lester was overshadowed in high school by teammate Julio Jones, who starred as a wide receiver at Alabama and now shines for the Atlanta Falcons.
Lester was overshadowed the past few seasons by Mark Barron, who was selected in April by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round of the NFL draft.
This was Barron’s secondary the past few seasons. Is it Lester’s secondary now?
“Pretty much, yes sir, it is,” Johnson said.
Pretty much, no sir, Lester “wouldn’t say so,” which speaks volumes about him.
“We all work together,” he said. “I'm just doing my role, which is, by me being the most experienced, if there's something I see by being here so long, it's my job to get it right. I've seen it before, I've played in the secondary for so long. So I just want to make sure that if there's anything that needs to be changed or adjusted, I'm there to do it.”
Told that Johnson called him the general, Lester grinned, and he admitted to holding teammates to a standard.
“We didn't win a national championship in 2009 or 2011 by being mediocre,” Lester said. “There's a standard here that Coach Saban set when he first got here that we all bought into.”
Former linebacker Dont'a Hightower, Barron and former safety Rashad Johnson taught Lester about exerting influence.
“There's all types of different leadership,” Lester said. “Dont'a Hightower, he was the more of the aggressive type that demanded out of you. And I've seen that that worked.
“I've seen that Mark Barron was the quiet type that led by example and that worked. Rashad Johnson was more of a support-type guy and that works.”
View full sizeAlabama safety Robert Lester returns an interception during a 2011 victory at Ole Miss. (The Birmingham News/Mark Almond)Lester said he can be aggressive, but the support style comes more naturally.
“I … just let them know that, hey, you're here for a reason,” he said. “Just buy into that reason and go out here and play. Have fun. It's football. That's what you like to do.”
That’s what he heard from Barron two years ago. Lester remembers his first start. It was the 2010 opener. As a third-year sophomore, he had the Tide’s only interception and only sack in a 48-3 victory over San Jose State.
“I was nervous, scared that I was going to mess up – mess up so bad that I might get benched or get my spot taken,” he recalled. “There were just so many things going through my head.
“And Mark being the guy that was right next to me, my comforter … he was like, ‘Just go play football. That's what you're here for, that's what you like to do, just go play football.’ That's what happened, and I had success from it.”
Lester expects Alabama’s retooled secondary to be tested early and often, beginning Saturday when the second-ranked Tide meets an eighth-ranked Michigan team.
He invites Denard Robinson, the Wolverines' star quarterback, to challenge the Tide's defensive backs.
“There's more opportunities for me to make plays,” Lester said with a smile.
What’s the moral of the story of a 3-star recruit developing into a three-year starter, other than the fact that recruiting ratings are overrated?
“I think it's the system,” Lester said. “Certain guys play in certain types of systems. I guess this was the system that I could fit in, and it worked out for me, and I was able to succeed in it.”