Wallace has passed multiple tests on NFL journey

The following season, he beat out Trevon Diggs for a starting spot opposite Anthony Averett in a secondary that also included future Steelers teammate Minkah Fitzpatrick along with strong safety Ronnie Harrison.

“I’d have conversations with his dad. His whole family grew up loving Alabama. When I first met his dad, that’s what he told me, his son was going to Alabama. That’s where he wanted to go,” Argraves said. “So, it didn’t come as a surprise he was going there. That was something he wanted to do for a long time. But it’s Alabama. It’s the premiere college football program in the nation. For him to get in and work his way up. Once he got there, it didn’t surprise me how fast he elevated, just because I knew the type of individual he is. He has that strong work ethic. Tremendous.”

Wallace finished that season with 48 tackles, including 4.5 for a loss, two sacks, three interceptions and 15 pass defenses as the Crimson Tide won the national championship.

“We’ve had a lot of walk-ons through the years that have done a really good job of becoming contributors to the team,” Saban told reporters. “Levi’s probably done it as well as any of them.”

Still, the NFL was unimpressed.

At the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine, Wallace ran a 4.63-second 40-yard dash at 6-foot, 179 pounds.

According to his prospect bio on NFL.com, one unidentified AFC scout told draft analyst Lance Zierlein, “He’s the opposite of all of the other guys on that defense. I think he was a zero stars prospect, and he’s turned himself into a starter all the way from being a walk-on. To do that at Alabama tells you about his mental toughness. He can play a little bit too.”