Nick Saban reminisces about moving Trevon Diggs to cornerback

Dallas Cowboys second-year cornerback Trevon Diggs has been playing like a man on fire in the National Football League in 2021, picking off nearly everything and anything that is thrown his way. So far in just five games, he’s snagged six interceptions and has catapaulted himself into the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Diggs, a former wide receiver at Alabama, was suggested to make the move to defense back by his former college head coach, Nick Saban.

In the SEC head coaches teleconference this week, Saban talked about the decision to move Diggs from wide receiver to cornerback.

“Well, first off, he was a really good receiver. And I think a lot of times guys have a vision of what they’d like to be. But because of his skill set, he had great ball skills, really good hands, long, very athletic. I just thought the guy would be a really good corner. And I thought it’d be more value for his future if he was a corner. Look, I don’t make guys move positions. So it was his final decision to do it.”

“I’d say, ‘Look, I think you’ve got a better future if you play defensive back.’ Whether it was Corey Webster at LSU or Trevon Diggs, Cyrus Jones (Alabama). Those are all guys that we moved from receiver to corner that ended up playing in the NFL. And it’s certainly worked out really well for him. I’m really proud of the way he’s playing.”

Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach had a beautiful quote about what makes Nick Saban such a great football coach this week. Leach talked about how the Alabama head coach’s ability to evaluate prospects is one of the more underrated aspects of his coaching acumen and it’s what has helped separate him from everybody else.

“I’ve thought he evaluates really well because he’s in a position where he can get pretty much anybody, but I think he evaluates as far as which ones to take very well,” Leach said on Monday.

It’s an excellent point by Mike Leach. Not all five-star or four-star prospects pan out. That’s just reality. The scouting evaluation process will always be an inexact science and even coaches like Saban have their fair share of hits and misses.

As the head coach at Alabama, Saban doesn’t have as much time to spend with certain position groups as other position coaches, but he has focused on working with the Crimson Tide defensive backs a lot over the years.

Trevon Diggs is playing like the best defensive back in the NFL right now. It’s safe to say Saban is looking brilliant with the switch.

On3’s Ashton Pollard also contributed to this report.