Tag: Zabien Brown

Alabama’s Ryan Williams and Zabien Brown named to SEC All-Freshman Team

SEC All-Freshman team’s includes two members of the Alabama Crimson Tide.

On Saturday, the Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Texas Longhorns in overtime to claim the SEC Championship throne. It was a race to the finish, with eight teams having a chance to compete for the championship, including the Alabama Crimson Tide, who ultimately came up just short.

Despite missing out on an SEC Championship and College Football Playoff berth, there are many positive things to take away from the 2024 season. I know people are upset with Kalen DeBoer for the 9-3 finish, but he was in his first year in a new environment and is still the right man for the job.

The future is very bright in Tuscaloosa as DeBoer and the Crimson Tide hold the No. 3 recruiting class in the 2025 cycle and saw solid production from some very young players. WR Ryan Williams and DB Zabien Brown were two freshmen who stood out this season and were both named to the SEC All-Freshman Team.

Williams was second on the Alabama roster in terms of receptions with 45, but led the team in yards with 857 and touchdowns with eight, while also rushing for two more scores. On the defensive side of the ball, Brown finished the season with 17 total tackles, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.

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Two Alabama players named to On3’s Midseason True Freshman All-American Team

Two Alabama players named to On3’s Midseason True Freshman All-American Team.

Even though the Alabama Crimson Tide are coming off of one of the ugliest losses in program history against the Vanderbilt Commodores, there is no doubt in my mind that Kalen DeBoer is still the man for the job. The Tide sit at 4-1 on the year and are still ranked No. 7 in the country, but their path to the SEC Championship and Playoff berth just became much more difficult.

If the Crimson Tide want to make a Playoff run, then obviously, they will need QB Jalen Milroe to continue playing at an elite level, but they will also need to continue to get production from some of the younger players. Despite the coaching transition from Saban, DeBoer did an outstanding job keeping the 2024 recruiting class intact and even was able to re-recruit Ryan Williams. Those efforts have quickly paid off.

Williams has been arguably the best receiver in the country this year, forget the fact he’s 17-years old, with 19 receptions for 544 yards and 6 TD. On the defensive side of the ball, CB Zabien Brown has also had an immediate impact with eight tackles, two pass break ups, one fumble recovery and the game sealing interception against Georgia.

On3 Sports named both Brown and Williams to their Midseason True Freshman All-American Team alongside nine other players from the SEC.

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Ryan Williams among risers from EA Sports College Football 25 ratings update

Alabama had one of the risers in EA College Football 25’s latest ratings update.

EA Sports College Football 25 recently updated the player ratings for their video game, with a few Alabama Crimson Tide football players among the most notable risers in the update.

As expected, star freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams was the headline name among this group, rising one rating up to an 82 overall. Williams is currently off to a phenomenal start to his Alabama career, hauling in a total of 16 receptions for 462 yards and five touchdowns, while also leading the nation with an average of 28.9 yards per catch.

Alabama’s biggest riser in this update was linebacker Jihaad Campbell, who jumped four spots to an 89 overall. Campbell is Alabama’s leading tackler so far this season, amassing 32 tackles, three TFL, and 0.5 sacks over four games.

Alabama true freshman cornerback Zabien Brown also rose two spots, jumping to an 81 overall. So far this year, Brown has eight tackles, one TFL, and one INT to begin his Crimson Tide career.

Alabama freshman duo named to Shaun Alexander Award watch list

Alabama has won the award twice previously.

Ahead of Saturday night’s Week 1 matchup against Western Kentucky, a pair of Alabama Crimson Tide freshmen, Ryan Williams and Zabien Brown, have been named to the preseason watch list for the Shaun Alexander Award.

The award, which is named after the former star Alabama running back, is presented annually to the freshman player of the year across college football.

Williams comes to Alabama as one of the nation’s top overall recruits from the 2024 class, even despite reclassifying from the 2025 cycle. A five-star prospect from in-state Saraland High School in Alabama, Williams was rated as the nation’s No. 4 overall player according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, and is likely to make an immediate impact for the Crimson Tide at wide receiver.

Brown, who was also a five-star prospect, was considered the nation’s No. 30 overall prospect out of national power Mater Dei High School in California. The cornerback is also expected to be a prominent contributor in 2024 for the Crimson Tide, potentially even starting at the position.

Alabama has won the award twice since its’ inception back in 2018, as Will Anderson Jr. previously took home honors during the 2020 season, as well as Caleb Downs winning in 2023.

An unexpected true freshman may become one of Alabama’s top stars in 2024

This Alabama freshman may be one of the most impactful players in 2024, but it’s not who you’d think.

As Alabama Crimson Tide football fans prepare for the upcoming season, there are a lot of new aspects of the game to get accustomed to. While it can be challenging to adjust to a new coaching staff, two new teams in the conference and a new-look roster with multiple players joining the program as incoming freshmen or as transfers, there are a few names and faces that fans of the Tide should be familiar with.

Of course, there are a few obvious answers like head coach Kalen DeBoer and highly-coveted freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams. However, fans need to get used to hearing the name Zabien Brown.

CBS Sports’s Chris Hummer named the true freshman defensive back as one of the best freshmen on one of the best teams in the nation.

“Alabama lost its top two cornerbacks to the NFL Draft and returned only one player from that room last year, so there was a lot of opportunity for young players this spring to step in and compete,” writes Hummer. “Brown did just that and ended up starting Alabama’s spring game opposite USC transfer Domani Jackson. Brown’s starting status isn’t assured heading into fall camp after the Tide added former Wake Forest cornerback DaShawn Jones in the portal. But Brown, a dominant player at California power Mater Dei, showed this spring he’ll play a lot in 2024.”

Brown joins the Crimson Tide at an interesting time, but it may work in his favor. For the entirety of Nick Saban’s tenure as the head coach of Alabama, the defensive secondary consisted of star players who wreaked havoc on opposing teams.

Saban would personally work with the defensive backs, which was a large reason as to why they consistently performed so well. DeBoer is an offensive-minded head coach, so he’s not expected to have the hands-on approach that Saban did.

To sum it all up, Brown has an opportunity to play as a true freshman, showcase his talents under an immensely bright spotlight as a cornerback at Alabama and has some mighty shoes to fill when considering the legends who were previously a member of that positional group.

There’s no telling how much playing time Brown will get early on in the 2024 college football season, as Hummer mentioned; but fans should be ready to see his skills on full display whenever he gets the chance to take the field, which will not be sparingly. Even if Brown isn’t given a starting job, he’s still expected to serve in a considerably large role for a freshman in the Crimson Tide program.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama football news as the 2024 offseason progresses and the team prepares for the season-opening matchup against Western Kentucky on Aug. 31 in Bryant-Denny Stadium.

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Predicting 5 early signees that will contribute as true freshmen

There is plenty of talent in Alabama’s 2024 recruiting class. Roll Tide Wire predicts five of Alabama’s early signees that will contribute as true freshmen next season.

Alabama seems always to have several players who  step up and make immediate impacts as true freshmen. In some cases, there are several that earn starting roles. In 2023, former five-stars Kadyn Proctor and Caleb Downs both started as true freshmen.

Alabama has one of the highest-ranked recruiting classes in the country for the 2024 recruiting class. There is talent to go around at every position. The Alabama coaching staff has done an excellent job of filling in holes at positions that will see turnover in the offseason.

Roll Tide Wire predicts five Alabama early signees that will contribute as true freshmen during the 2024-2025 season.

Mater Dei redeems regular-season loss to St. John Bosco with championship win

Mater Dei won the CIF-SS championship by taking down St. John Bosco by 28 points — the same differential as the regular-season shutout.

It hasn’t been since 2017 that the winner of the regular-season game between Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) and St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) also won the championship game between those two teams. Over the last five years, the teams have rematched in the title game three times; the result was flipped all three times.

This year, the sixth season since 2017, it looked like there could be a flip in the script. No. 5 Mater Dei was shut out in the regular-season contest, and if No. 3 Bosco had truly figured out the Monarchs, the regular-season winner would wrap up the title game.

It was not to be. Mater Dei rolled over St. John Bosco 35-7 on Friday night, defeating them by the exact same margin in which the Monarchs lost to the Braves a month and a half ago. The Monarchs are back at the top of the California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section (CIF-SS) as champions for the second time in the last three years.

Mater Dei’s defense set the tone early with a first-quarter pick-six when three-star linebacker Abduall Sanders returned an interception 52 yards for the first points of the game.

St. John Bosco was unable to move the ball efficiently in that first half, recording negative-one rushing yards, according to the Los Angeles Times. Mater Dei held the Braves to just one touchdown, a reception by four-star linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa while tacking on a pair of scores from four-star RB Jordon Davison and WR Kayden Dixon-Wyatt to take a 21-7 lead into the break.

Defense and special teams carried the Monarchs through the second half, as a muffed punt in the fourth quarter gave Mater Dei the opportunity for four-star defensive lineman Tomu Topui, lined up at tight end, to score a 14-yard touchdown. On the first play of the next drive, four-star cornerback Zabien Brown had a pick-six of his own to put the game away.

The LA Times reported that first-year Mater Dei head coach Frank McManus took a more active role in managing the defense during games after the defeat against Bosco in October. He succeeded in helping the unit prepare for this game, and the players put away the Braves. McManus has gotten through the beast that is Bosco, and Mater Dei is set to place its claim as the top team in California once again.

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Zabien Brown commitment helps put Alabama in top 15 nationally

This cycle is far from over, though and Nick Saban’s squad is beginning to catch up with the usual contenders.

Alabama won last year’s recruiting cycle, putting together the highest-ranked group of prospects in the nation. However, this year the Tide has been lagging behind a little bit compared to how high they usually finish. Heading into this past week, they weren’t even in the top 20 of the 247Sports composite 2024 recruiting team rankings.

This cycle is far from over, though and Nick Saban’s squad is beginning to catch up with the usual contenders. They got an especially big boost on Sunday night when Alabama got a commitment from Mater Dei (Calif.) four-star cornerback Zabien Brown.

Brown (6-foot-0, 180 pounds) reportedly had offers from 18 other schools. Among the other programs that were considered contenders for his commitment were Ohio State and USC.

According to 247Sports, Brown is the fifth-best cornerback in his class, ranks No. 4 overall in the state of California and No. 45 nationally.

Asked why he picked Alabama, Brown credited his relationship with the coaches, per Hayes Fawcett at On3.

“I just felt like there was a unique opportunity being presented and I really felt at home out there… I grew a great relationship with coach T-Rob, coach Wiggins, and coach Sam Petitio… Also had great talks with coach Saban and my family and reminded me a lot of coach Rollo.”

The Crimson Tide also got a commitment from three-star German linebacker Justin Okoronkwo.

Alabama is now No. 14 in the nation in our updated national recruiting rankings for the 2024 cycle.

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Ohio State misses out on 2024 California cornerback, commits to SEC power

The Buckeyes miss on one of their DB targets #GoBucks

[autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] was in 2024 California cornerback[autotag]Zabien Brown[/autotag] ’s final three, along with USC and Alabama.

On Sunday afternoon, Brown made his choice, selecting the Crimson Tide over the two Big Ten programs. The 6-foot, 180-pound corner took official visits to his final three programs, but in the end, his last visit to Tuscaloosa sealed the deal.

It would have been nice to add Brown to the 2024 Ohio State recruiting class, but they have done a great job recruiting multiple secondary prospects. Currently, the Buckeyes have commitments from Bryce West and Miles Lockhart for the position. They are still actively recruiting Aaron Scott, Kobe Black, and [autotag]Corian Gipson[/autotag].

The targets are all high-level prospects but the staff would have taken a commitment from Brown had he chosen the Buckeyes.

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2024 CB Zabien Brown commits to Alabama over USC

2024 cornerback Zabien Brown announced his commitment to Alabama on Sunday. The California native chose the Crimson Tide over USC.

Cornerback Zabien Brown of the 2024 class announced his commitment to Alabama on Sunday. Brown chose the Crimson Tide over USC.

Brown plays for Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California. That is the same high school that former Alabama quarterback and Heisman trophy winner Bryce Young once played for. As a junior, Brown tallied 32 tackles and three interceptions for the Monarchs.

Brown is the third cornerback to have committed to the Crimson Tide in the 2024 recruiting class. He joins five-star Jaylen Mbakwe and four-star Jameer Grimsley.

Much like Grimsley and Mbakwe, Brown also competes for his school’s track and field team. As a junior, Brown ran an 11.12 in the 100-meter dash. His raw speed and athleticism will allow Brown to contribute on either defense or special teams as a true freshman.

Roll Tide Wire breaks down Zabien Brown’s recruiting profile.

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