ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The fanfare for Keon Sabb isn’t nearly as high as it might have been.
Once a five-star recruit in the 2022 class, Sabb originally picked Clemson over Michigan football before flipping back on early signing day. However, by that time, he was reduced to a four-star, thus, he isn’t getting the type of hype he may have at one point.
Still, Sabb wasn’t supposed to see the field quite this early, yet he has three starts under his belt due to incumbent Rod Moore dealing with an injury in the early going.
And he’s acquitted himself well in the first three games. He’s even caught one of his fellow safeties, Makari Paige, by surprise.
“From when he first got here until now, it’s crazy,” Paige said. “The amount, the step he took from then to now — he’s definitely a great player and he’s making a lot of plays.”
Where has Paige seen the biggest area of growth for Sabb? There are a lot of areas, but you can chalk most of his improvements up to maturity and understanding his role.
“Just communication and being confident in what he’s doing,” Paige said. “Being able to get people lined up the right way. Just being more comfortable out there and making plays, really.”
For Sabb himself, he feels like the game is starting to slow down. The more he’s been out on the field, the more he’s getting the hang of playing at a high level. He says that when he sits down to watch film, it doesn’t feel any different, but getting more game reps has helped him understand the situations he’s found himself in.
“I think the film watch is pretty much the same, but now it’s starting to click for me, I’m starting to understand things more,” Sabb said. “I think it’s more about reps, the first time seeing things. I don’t really understand it as much, but now I’m seeing it over time, and getting the experience to play is making it a better transition for me.”
That said, Sabb isn’t surprised he’s had a good run to start his second year in college football. He’s currently fifth on the team with nine tackles and also has a tackle for loss.
“Nothing really surprises me,” Sabb said. “Just really playing out there with the team, making sure I do my job and if plays come then I make plays. But I’m just basically doing my job and if I’m doing my job, everybody else does theirs, the defense is gonna be playing pretty well.”