Will Jaylen Mbakwe play on offense? Alabama coaches answer

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama freshman defensive back Jaylen Mbakwe flirted with entering the transfer portal earlier this week but elected to remain a member of the Crimson Tide.

Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer was asked what those 24 hours were like.

“His conversation with me was that he wanted to come back,” DeBoer said. “That’s not that complicated. First of all, the kid loves this place, and he’s a great teammates, works extremely hard. Obviously, we see what he is on the field. He’s extremely versatile. We see him play defense. We see him do the things with the ball in his hands in a punt returner situation.

“I think some guys, just as they go through it, realize really what they want. We just are in the world right now where that’s what it is. Man, we’re excited that he wanted to be here with us and back out there going to work today.”

One reason for briefly looking elsewhere was a desire to play snaps on offense, sources told BamaOnLine and On3’s Pete Nakos. Will Mbakwe get those opportunities at Alabama?

DeBoer and Nick Sheridan were asked about that after Wednesday’s bowl practice.

“I think it’s a little early to really have a crystal-clear vision of what that would look like other than we know that he’s a talented kid,” Sheridan said. “He loves this place and we’re glad that he’s here. What that looks like in the future, ultimately the players decide what their roles look like by what they do in practice and in the offseason. 

“But yeah, we’re excited about the potential of him having an opportunity to get the ball in his hands.”

Mbakwe was a 5-star recruit out of Clay-Chalkville High School. For his senior year, he moved to quarterback and led the Cougars to a 6A state championship. Mbakwe ran the ball 148 times for 1,065 yards and 23 touchdowns and threw for 2,007 yards and 20 scores. He was named the MVP of the state championship game after accounting for 282 yards of total offense and four touchdowns in a win over Saraland and now teammate Ryan Williams.

Mbakwe, a freshman, has played in 11 of Alabama’s 12 regular-season games during his rookie year in Tuscaloosa. Part of the Crimson Tide’s cornerback rotation early on, Mbakwe registered 15 tackles, one tackle for loss and two pass breakups. He also contributed on special teams, as most freshmen do, but even returned punts – a pair for 46 yards in 2024.

The punt return element is something both DeBoer and Sheridan mentioned.

“Never really have felt concerned about his ball security,” DeBoer said. “He’s just got that trust factor that you have with him and it goes back to his high school days. You’re always looking at guys that can help you on the football field one way or another.”

Alabama is low on healthy receivers ahead of its matchup with Michigan. Four wideouts elected to move on when the 20-day portal window opened and four more are dealing with injuries. That leaves Williams, Germie Bernard, Jaren Hamilton and freshman Rico Scott for ReliaQuest Bowl prep. With that in mind, could that lead to offensive reps for Mbakwe?

“We certainly are short there at wide receiver with injuries and some guys that entered the portal,” DeBoer said. “So yeah, it’s always been that we’ve been open to what he can bring to the table. I think as a freshman coming in, you’re really trying to focus on doing one thing well. But this is certainly a time where we can look into that and figure that out.”

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