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.
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