When the Saints of St. Paul’s Episcopal School take the field this fall, the voice in the middle of the defense will belong to a young man who has spent four years earning the right to use it. Senior linebacker Will Abrams steps into the 2026 season as the acknowledged leader of a Mobile defense that has, for the past two years, revolved around a different anchor entirely.
Filling a Significant Void
For two seasons, the emotional and vocal center of the Saints’ defense was Anthony “Tank” Jones, a player whose presence was large enough that teammates naturally organized themselves around him. Jones has since moved on to the University of Oregon’s football program, and his departure leaves a gap that is less about statistics than about identity. Someone has to set the tone in the weight room in June. Someone has to correct a sophomore’s alignment in the third quarter of a close game.
That someone is now Abrams, who has spent the past three seasons as a starter while leading primarily by example rather than by proclamation. He is candid that his instinct is still to demonstrate rather than to lecture.
“I feel it’s a very respected role,” Abrams said. “And it also comes with a lot of responsibility at the same time. Just being able to lead by example and talk to younger guys, but not only just say it, be able to do it at the same time. I think I’m just grateful to be able to be in that position. Playing here for four years, I’ve played alongside a lot of great guys, so I’ve seen it, and it made it easier for me to be able to jump into that role.”
He is also acutely aware of the calendar. “How can you not?” he said of embracing the responsibility. “It’s my senior season, ain’t no more time. So the time is now, that’s it.”
A Coach’s Assessment
Head coach Ham Barnett has watched the transition unfold across the offseason and describes it less as a promotion than as a natural continuation. What has changed, in Barnett’s telling, is the willingness of the rest of the roster to follow.
“What I’ve seen this summer is the kids feed off of him, especially in the weight room,” Barnett said. “He’s been leading our weight room and on the field. And so they’re following him this year. I’m excited to have him for one more year. He’s an old soul too. He’s really wise beyond his years, and that’s what I’ve challenged him about this offseason, to be that team guy.”
Barnett was also frank about the season that preceded this one. “I think last year he had a little bit of a struggle. I don’t think he played his best football,” the coach said. “But I think this year he’s going to have a special year just because of the way he’s leading, the humility he has in his heart. And I think the kids are following him because of that.”
The Style That Precedes Him
Leadership is largely an in-house virtue, visible mostly to teammates and coaches. Abrams’ playing style, by contrast, is impossible to miss from the bleachers. At 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds, he plays a physical, downhill brand of linebacker football, and he does not pretend otherwise.
“I feel like I’m a bruiser in a sense,” he said. “I like being able to just, you know, punish guys, take their will away from them.”
The production backs up the description. Last season Abrams recorded 73 total tackles, including 51 solo stops, along with:
- One quarterback sack
- Six tackles for a loss
- One defensive touchdown
Those numbers placed him essentially shoulder to shoulder with Jones, who logged 79 total tackles and 50 solo stops in the same defense. In other words, the Saints are not replacing a productive player so much as elevating one who was already producing at the same level.
Recruiting Interest, and a Deliberate Indifference to It
College programs have taken notice of Abrams’ instincts and his appetite for contact, and the recruiting attention has grown steadily. His response to it has been, by design, muted.
“I don’t like all the flattering stuff,” Abrams said. “As long as we’re out there winning, that’s where I get my joy from. The college prospects, I try not to worry too much about it. I put my team first. Recruiting is recruiting. It just goes how it goes, and I just take it one day at a time.”
He added that keeping his priorities ordered has made the noise manageable. “Just do your thing. Football is football. So all you can do is just take it one day at a time, focus on your team and winning.”
What It Means for the Saints
For a program in Mobile’s competitive private-school football landscape, continuity at linebacker is a genuine asset. Defensive systems depend on a player who can diagnose formations, communicate adjustments before the snap and hold younger teammates accountable when the tempo rises. A four-year starter who has already absorbed the culture of the program requires far less installation time than a newcomer would.
The intangible piece may matter even more. High school teams tend to take on the temperament of whoever sets the standard in the weight room during the quiet months of summer, when no one is watching and no scoreboard is running. By his coach’s account, that person is now Abrams, and the rest of the roster has fallen in behind him.
If the Saints’ 2026 defense reflects the personality of the young man leading it, opposing offenses in and around Mobile County should expect a physical autumn.
The Broader Place of High School Football in Mobile
Football occupies a particular place in south Alabama, and Mobile in particular has long been known as a cradle of the game. The city and its surrounding county have produced a remarkable number of players who went on to college and professional careers, and the fall schedule is a fixture of community life. For a school like St. Paul’s, a private institution with a proud athletic tradition, the linebacker who anchors the defense becomes a recognizable figure well beyond the stadium.
The transition Abrams is managing, from follower to leader, is one every senior captain faces, but it carries extra weight on a defense that has grown accustomed to a specific voice. The fact that the coaching staff trusts him to set that tone, after a season he himself describes as a struggle, is a measure of how much his teammates respect him.
What Fans Can Expect
On the field, the Saints should field a defense built around contact and accountability. Abrams’ tackle totals suggest a player who is around the ball constantly, and his willingness to take on the leadership role means younger defenders are more likely to be in the right place. For Mobile football followers who enjoy watching a defense with an identifiable heartbeat, the 2026 Saints will offer exactly that, with Abrams at its center.