Alabama DB coach praises growth of multiple freshmen

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — This Alabama team hasn’t shied away from giving young players significant playing time this season, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

The Crimson Tide secondary came into the season as one of the most inexperienced units on the team, and has seen multiple true freshmen get significant playing time over the course of the season. One starting spot has been manned by USC transfer and veteran Domani Jackson, but the other has been split between Zabien Brown and Jaylen Mbakwe, both freshmen.

Following Alabama’s Wednesday practice, cornerbacks coach Maurice Linguist praised Brown for the his growth and commitment throughout the year as his freshman season is nearing its end.

“Just steady. Steady, steady, steady. Hard work, steady commitment, details matter to him. He wants to be great. I think a lot of it is, how great do you want to be,” Linguist said. “No coach can really push you to a place where you really just don’t want to go, our job is to find out what your goals are, push you even higher than those, but to teach you and be as accessible as possible to reach the goals that you set for yourself.

“From the onset, ZB has always talked about the type of player he wants to be, what he wants to look like on film, what his vision is for himself here at Alabama. Our job is to help him reach those goals. He’s putting in the work, he’s showing the dedication and the commitment. He’s putting the time in with the film study. He takes every practice rep like a game rep.”

Against Mercer last week, Brown scooped up a fumble and returned it for a touchdown to secure Alabama’s first non-offensive touchdown of the season. That was the latest in a number of big plays he’s made throughout the year.

On the season he’s recorded two pass breakups and an interception, that interception being what sealed the game in a resume-defining win over Georgia back in September. Linguist attributes all of Brown’s exceptional plays to his constant drive and work ethic.

“You can see the on-field production, it’s not a surprise,” Linguist said. “LSU, he’s making PBUs, Georgia, he gets a game-winning interception, last week, he takes a fumble for a touchdown. All these things are just a byproduct of hard work. When you put in the work the right way, the byproduct is gonna look the way it does.”

Linguist also discussed Zay Mincey, another true freshman who started the season rotating at cornerback, but has since made the switch to start playing some safety.

He first made an appearance at safety against Missouri, and played every one of his defensive snaps against Mercer at safety as well.

“You look at our players, Zay started with us when he got here in January really taking all those reps at corner. We’re trying to identify the best players on the back end just in general,” Linguist said. “He’s a guy that always continued to get our attention to the point where we’re looking at our roster to find out how we can get our guys on the field. What maybe would be the best fit for him right now to have some immediate contribution to the team, along with all the special teams work he’s done. We made a little bit of a switch to put him at safety, he’s taken to it really well, he’s moving around good.

“I think from an evaluation standpoint it’s always a reminder that, find long and athletic guys that can run and make plays and we’ll find a place for you to go and play for us on the field.”

The future is bright in the Alabama defensive back room with the amount of young talent on the team, and they’re making their impacts felt very early on in their careers.