Tag: Alabama secondary

Where does Phil Steele rank Alabama’s secondary ahead of 2024 season?

Alabama football lost a lot of talent in the secondary but Phil Steele remains confident in Malachi Moore and company!

In one week SEC football head coaches and some of the conference’s top players will make the trip to Dallas, Texas for the 2024 SEC media day. All eyes and ears will be on Kalen DeBoer and the Alabama Crimson Tide football program with the post-[autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag] era officially underway.

One question that is certain to be asked is what Coach DeBoer and his staff will do to replace the elite talent lost in the secondary from last season. The cornerback duo of Kool-Aid McKinstry and Terrion Arnold are now in the NFL and freshman phenom Caleb Downs opted to transfer to the Ohio State Buckeyes.

According to Phil Steele, Alabama doesn’t have much to worry about in the backend of the defense. In his preseason position rankings, Steele ranked the Crimson Tide secondary as the 10th best in the country and third in the SEC behind the Georgia Bulldogs and the Oklahoma Sooners.

While it’s true that Alabama lost plenty of star power, the Crimson Tide did a good job of replenishing its talent pool both from the high school ranks and the transfer portal.

Veteran Malachi Moore returns to lead the secondary for Alabama. The portal additions of Domani Jackson from the USC Trojans, Keon Sabb from the Michigan Wolverines, and DaShawn Jones from Wake Forest will provide the Tide with more experience entering the 2024 season.

Alabama also has a trio of five-star freshmen defensive backs who could push for playing time as well with Zabien Brown, Zay Mincey, and Jaylen Mbakwe.

Talent and experience were certainly lost in the Alabama secondary but both Coach Saban and Coach DeBeor did a fantastic job of reloading the Crimson Tide roster.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Stacey Blackwood on X (Twitter) @Blackwood89.

Nick Saban emphasizing position versatility to Alabama defensive backs

Position versatility a point of emphasis for the Alabama secondary

Alabama lost a ton of production and experience in the defensive backfield following the conclusion of the 2022 football season. Brian Branch, Jordan Battle, DeMarcco Hellams, and Eli Ricks are all now playing in the NFL and that void left Tide fans curious about what the secondary could look like in 2023.

Fast-forward to the present and it appears that the secondary could be one of the strengths of this Alabama team.

Following Saturday’s scrimmage, head coach Nick Saban was asked about the versatility of the players in the secondary and the seven-time national championship-winning coach was quick to convey the emphasis he and his staff was putting on position versatility.

“We got a bunch (of versatility), I mean we’re playing guys all over the place. (Terrion Arnold) can play different spots, (Kool-Aid McKinstry) can play different spots. (Malachi Moore) can play just about everywhere. Jaylen Key can play multiple positions, trying to develop Tony Mitchell to be able to play multiple positions.

“We need to have a lot of guys that can do that. (DeVonta Smith) can play a couple different things. Kristian Story can play a couple of different things. That’s one of the things that we tried to do in camp, we got guys rolling all over the place. It does sort of sometimes affect the repetitions that a guy gets at a certain position, but I think it’s important that guys have a background and a basic knowledge of information so we get guys injured during the season we can move guys around and have a chance to get the best people in the field. Same thing on the offensive line. You know, guys you got to be able to play multiple positions.”

With so many players already able to play in multiple spots it gives the coaching staff some wiggle room for injuries, situational matchups, and any other advantages they might find.

As the 2023 season quickly approaches, Tide fans should be excited about the potential playmaking ability of the versatile secondary in Tuscaloosa.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Stacey Blackwood on X (Twitter) @Blackwood89.

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Post-spring depth chart projections for Alabama’s defensive backs

Projecting Alabama football’s defensive back depth chart post-spring!

Now that spring football has officially wrapped up and the 2023 NFL draft is complete, it is time to shift our focus to the offseason.

Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide have many questions exiting spring and fans are champing at the bit for answers.

So as we dive into the dog days of summer, I thought we would take a look, position by position, and project the possible depth chart for the 2023 Alabama football team post-spring.

We have already taken a look at the quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, offensive line, defensive line, outside linebackers and inside linebackers. Today we wrap up our projections with the position group that has made a couple of portal additions over the past week, the defensive backs.

What the addition of transfer CB Trey Amos means for the Alabama secondary

Whether he starts or not, adding Trey Amos to the Alabama secondary can do nothing but help the Crimson Tide’s defense!

On Tuesday of this week, [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag] and the Alabama Crimson Tide received a commitment from coveted Lousiana transfer cornerback Trey Amos, beating out arch-rival LSU for the former Ragin’ Cajun.

So what does the addition of Amos mean for the Alabama secondary? Well first, I believe the coaching staff likes who they have on the current roster, but with the departures of Eli Ricks, Khyree Jackson, Jahquez Robinson, and Tre’Quon Fegans, Alabama was beginning to be a little thin in the backend.

Bringing in Amos certainly helps cure some of the depth issues. Still, it also provides more competition at the corner spot opposite Kool-Aid McKinstry and possibly at the STAR position with Earl Little.

The most likely scenario for Amos stepping on the field in a starting role for the Crimson Tide would be beating out redshirt sophomore Terrion Arnold at corner. While Arnold certainly has tremendous upside, Amos has significantly more experience, appearing in 30 games while at Louisiana compared to Arnold who has just appeared in 11 total games.

At this particular point in the offseason, it is hard to predict what may happen this fall, but I expect a heated competition at cornerback between Arnold and Amos and we all know that competition breeds excellence.

Whether he starts or not, adding Trey Amos to the Alabama secondary can do nothing but help the Crimson Tide’s defense!

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Stacey Blackwood on Twitter @Blackwood89.

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