Kalen DeBoer praises continued improvement by cornerbacks

It’s almost all new faces in the Alabama cornerback room this season, but coach Kalen DeBoer likes how the group is coming together. The Crimson Tide bring in a pair of transfers as well as a few true freshmen to make for a lot of unknowns with kickoff looming.

Wake Forest transfer DaShawn Jones and USC transfer Domani Jackson look to be the favorites to start. Jones brings starting experience from his time with the Demon Deacons and Jackson is a former five-star prospect who ranked as the No. 1 cornerback in the 2022 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

DeBoer spoke highly of the group as a whole following practice on Saturday, noting the progress he has seen from the spring until now.

“I thought they were really on top of receivers all day long,” the coach said. “They understand the responsibilities in the right position. I’m sure there’s a couple of clips we can find where they could have been better, but really nothing as far as busted assignments. They continue to get better each and every day. They’re practicing out there and they really want to do it. There’s a high level of want to. They know a lot of eyes are on them, so I’m really proud of the way they continue to bring it each and every day.

“The physicality out there, I thought they had times when they needed to tackle and they got guys to the ground. Laid some hits on some guys running routes, both the receivers and tight ends. So a lot of good things from that group. They continue to grow and they continue to improve each and every day and each and every week.”

Alabama ranked No. 24 in passing defense this past season but loses key contributors such as Terrion Arnold and Kool-Aid McKinstry. That being the case, DeBoer is counting on the additions he brought in through the transfer portal to maintain their spot as an above average unit.

Other than Jones and Jackson, the Crimson Tide will rely on a group of freshmen to provide depth in the cornerbacks room. They added the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 cornerbacks in the 2024 recruiting class and there’s already a name who is standing out to DeBoer.

The coach highlighted Zabien Brown, a five-star and the No. 27 overall player in the class, as being a candidate see reps right away.

“Zabien’s been someone that’s been talked about a lot,” DeBoer said. “Going back to even the spring. He’s obviously still young and learning every single day and working through his injury early on. I’m super proud of how he’s done that. I think there’s some guys who would have taken themselves, maybe not from practice but from certain drills or certain reps.

“He has shown a toughness about him by going out there and competing and really not missing anything as far as what we have approved him to do from the doctor standpoint. He’s got a great head on his shoulders and played a high level of high school ball. I think that’s helped him translate to being able to emerge and come through here.”

Alabama also has Jaylen Mbake, a local product from Clay-Chalkville High School who ranks as the No. 2 corner in the 2024 class. Zay Mincey is the third five-star freshman, hailing from Mainland (FL) High School.

All three of the freshmen have been learning quickly thanks to the experience that Jones brings with him from his time at Wake Forest.

“DaShawn has more snaps under his belt and a lot of those things show up at times too for him,” DeBoer said. “It’s a huge positive. So that group, there’s depth that’s continuing to be created. Numbers wise, it’s one of our smaller groups. We don’t have as many as we normally would have on a regular year. But each of them understand that that’s on them.

“They’re bringing it every single day and coach Linguist I think has done a tremendous job of trying to balance that confidence that they need to have with just continuing to stay on top of them, push them and hold them accountable to a higher standard every single day.”