Alabama staff discusses how transfer Kelby Collins fits in defensive system
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama made its first transfer portal addition of the cycle yesterday with the signing of former Florida defensive lineman Kelby Collins. After Wednesday’s bowl practice, the Crimson Tide staff discussed what Collins will bring to the 2025 defensive unit.
“Kelby’s a guy that a number of us had a relationship with before, Freddie Roach in particular,” Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said. “Alabama guy that has had production in the SEC and looking forward to seeing what he does for us.”
“Versatility, just a guy that can come in and do a lot of different things,” head coach Kalen DeBoer said. “Add to a group that I think has a lot of good numbers, good competition, but he’s got his kind of niche too. Outside, inside, he can do a little bit of both, help add to what we want to be better at. Get to the quarterback in different ways.”
Collins is a native of Gardendale, Alabama and was recruited by Roach coming out of high school. He chose Florida as a top-50 recruit in the 2023 cycle and played two seasons for the Gators, being named to the SEC All-Freshman team in 2023.
Listed as an edge rusher at Florida, Wommack projects Collins to play the ‘bandit’ position at Alabama, which is the defensive end in Wommack’s 4-2-5 defense. However, he’s leaving options open for Collins to move around if need be.
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“He’ll be a bandit for us, play the field defensive end position. He’s a big man, so it’ll be exciting to get out there and work with him,” Wommack said. “When you go through this you watch tons of tape, anything you can get your hands on to see what the guy’s skillset would be. Then you talk to a million people to try to figure out exactly where you place him. I think guys like that, that are big frames and still developing, I don’t know if we want to put him into any one box in particular. That’s where he will start, and then to me it’s wherever he will help the team best.”
This past season, Alabama had two co-starters at bandit in LT Overton and Jah-Marien Latham. Both Overton and Latham have eligibility remaining and could opt to return to the Crimson Tide in 2025 rather than turning pro. Wommack also spoke about what the defensive line room could look like with the addition of Collins if Overton and Latham do decide to return to school.
“LT would stay at that position in the field, and the nice thing about Jah-Marien is he’s been going back and forth playing the wolf position and the bandit position, which has been huge for us,” Wommack said. “It was a life-saver the past two games, being able to have him play both positions And athletically, even though he’s 280 pounds, the dude can move in space, he can drop under one to the boundary as a buzz dropper and do a lot of things for us. A lot of value when you have guys that can play multiple positions.”
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