Alabama football’s cornerbacks room saw significant turnover throughout the offseason. Terrion Arnold and Kool-Aid McKinstry are both off to the NFL, and Trey Amos, who could have filled one of those roles, transferred within the SEC to Ole Miss, along with Dezz Ricks (Texas A&M), Antonio Kite (Auburn) and Earl Little, who left for Florida State.
Couple that with Nick Saban’s departure, Kalen DeBoer bringing in Kane Wommack to run the defense, and Maurice Linguist coming in to coach the position, and it’s safe to say the group saw as much or more transition than any other position group. Two days into Alabama’s preseason camp, Wommack and Linguist are tasked with getting the suddenly very young room up to speed.
“The depth chart’s going to continue to settle itself over the next couple weeks,” Linguist told reporters Thursday. “Right now we’re just spreading out reps, getting guys prepared to play. Putting the ball down and seeing who does what, and looking for consistent execution.”
Alabama isn’t totally devoid of experience at cornerback. Junior Domani Jackson transferred from Southern Cal before Saban retired, sticking around through the transition.
He earned praise from both Wommack and Linguist, along with Wake Forest transfer DaShawn Jones. The redshirt junior has played more college football than anyone else in the group, something DeBoer said was valuable on Wednesday.
“We need him out there,” DeBoer said. “I think there’s a confidence about him just because of that that, yeah, we need in our program always but also in that position room. All of those guys, the cool thing is, I think, they all respect each other and just pushing each other, learning every single day. Coach Mo is doing an awesome job.”
After Jackson and Jones, the group gets young fast. Alabama will be relying on freshmen, including Zabien Brown, Zavier Mincey and Jaylen Mbakwe, whether as starters or key depth pieces.
Fortunately, all parties said the kids were doing just fine. Wommack singled out Mbakwe, a five-star prospect from Clay-Chalkville.
“With the strides that he’s made from spring ball to where he is right now, I would are that he’s made as many strides as anybody in our defense,” Wommack said.
Mincey and Brown have also drawn compliments from the coaching staff as the Crimson Tide prepares to open the 2024 season against the high-flying offense of Western Kentucky. That challenge likely won’t compare to what awaits UA in SEC play, with the likes of Georgia and Missouri on the schedule.
Linguist said he would expect the corners to keep on improving through the campaign, given how young many of them are.
“You gotta continue to get guys game-ready,” he said. “Sometimes you look at maybe a guy that maybe started out as a fifth guy or a sixth guy. You don’t know when that guy may be called upon in the game in October, November, December to make a play or go in for a series or play the entire game. So we’re just getting guys game-ready. They’re nameless and faceless man, we’re just trying to get the room ready.”
Alabama continues preseason camp on Saturday. The Crimson Tide opens the season on Aug. 31 against WKU in Tuscaloosa.
