Alabama DB DaShawn Jones 'getting comfortable' with move to husky
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Alabama secondary is a unit that’s seen a lot of different players take the field this season. Malachi Moore and Domani Jackson have been the mainstays, but outside of those two there has been a lot of rotation.
Wake Forest transfer DaShawn Jones has been one of those rotational players. Jones was originally a competitor for the starting cornerback spot opposite Jackson in the preseason. That job was eventually won by freshman Zabien Brown, and he’s rotated with fellow freshman Jaylen Mbakwe at that spot throughout the season.
That left Jones in limbo for a while, until the last couple weeks, where he’s been seeing some playing time at slot corner, or “husky” as it’s called by defensive coordinator Kane Wommack.
“I’m getting comfortable with it,” Jones said. “Taking each rep, taking it day-by-day. It’s still a transition that I’ve gotta make, but I’m still working on it. The husky position, you’re in the box more. You make a lot more tackles rather than the outside.”
The husky position has been manned by DeVonta Smith as the starter for much of the season, but he’s dealt with minor injuries on and off throughout the year. It’s been a new experience for Jones, as he strictly played outside corner at Wake Forest, making this the first time he’s played this position.
“I embraced it,” Jones said. “I was really confident in myself as being a versatile player. I felt like I could get the job done for the team.”
While getting playing time at husky against LSU this past week, Jones had his best statistical outing of the season. He recorded three tackles and had 0.5 sacks, flying in on a blitz and helping bring the quarterback down alongside linebacker Jihaad Campbell.
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Even outside of transitioning to playing a new position, the overall defensive system at Alabama has been different than what he played at Wake Forest. There’s also been an increase in the level of daily competition, with better players around him to compete against.
“It’s different. At Wake, we played quarters. Here it’s a lot of man, and there’s a lot of competition here. Especially in the SEC. It’s pretty good, I’ve been liking it a lot,” Jones said. “When you number gets called during the preparation leading through that week, you’ve got to be focused, mentally focused, and stay locked in. You never know when your number will get called. That’s kind of the approach with my game. Staying locked whenever my number gets called. I knew I had to work for my position. I knew I was going to come in here and work, and nothing was given.”
Overall, Jones said the transition from Wake Forest to Alabama has been an easy one, and he expressed happiness about making the move.
“It’s been pretty easy. The guys embraced me as soon as I got here. Ever since day one, it’s felt like I’ve been here four years already. It’s been a cool transition,” Jones said. “I wanted to come here to be great. Knowing what this program has done, and knowing what it can do for you. I took that approach and wanted to be great, so that’s why I came here.”
