Kalen DeBoer praises level of play from entire defensive backfield throughout spring

TUCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama completed spring practice No. 11 on Friday afternoon, which also served as the team’s second scrimmage of the spring, this one taking place at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Head coach Kalen DeBoer met with the media following the scrimmage, and was asked how the young players in the defensive backfield have been playing with a few major pieces missing this spring. DeBoer answered with extremely high praise about the entire secondary as a whole.

“They’re seeking out, they’re hunting the ball, they’re confident,” DeBoer said. “They love it when other guys make plays, they’re excited for of course, the plays they make. It’s really cool seeing Mo Linguist and Jason Jones really gel that whole defensive backfield together and go out there and – a takeaway is really the expectations for those guys every single play.”

The Crimson Tide secondary is missing some starters, including top cornerback Domani Jackson as well as Keon Sabb, who started at safety for seven games last season until suffering a season-ending injury against Tennessee in mid-October.

DeBoer gave a positive update on Sabb as he continues to work back from that injury:

“Keon, we continue to get the feedback and reports. It’s super positive,” DeBoer said. “Even today, another positive report. Probably as positive as we’ve had. And we expected that. Excited for him to be able to get going and keep taking those steps, when you get to those benchmarks and going on to the next level. He’s on track, he’s on pace.

“It was quite the injury that he was coming back from. The fight, you’ve never had to question that. Last fall, what he worked through and the way he sacrificed himself, the Tennessee game in particular, kind of that two game stretch leading up to it. He’s got a lot of fight, people respect him and I do too for that.”

Even with Sabb and Jackson out, Alabama has a number of returners in the secondary to lean on. Zabien Brown is back as the starting corner opposite Jackson. At safety, Bray Hubbard is back after filling in as the starter following Sabb’s injury. A number of other players saw rotational snaps by the end of the year, including DaShawn Jones, Red Morgan and Zay Mincey.

In addition to the returners, Alabama brought in Utah transfer Cam Calhoun and 5-star freshman Dijon Lee, among others, as talented additions to the secondary that have been practicing with the team this spring.

DeBoer raved about the progress of the new additions, as well as the state of the secondary being much further along now than it was at this point a year ago.

“The young guys, they really – they don’t feel like younger guys,” DeBoer said. “That’s across the board, the 18 guys, early enrollees, I don’t see them as freshmen anymore at all. The defensive backfield a year ago at this time, thin, new faces, knew we had to get more faces in. I think we had one returning corner on scholarship that returned from the season before.”

“That position group, I think both corners and safeties, have really kind of reconfigured and are playing an extremely high level of football.”

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