Turnover is set to hit Alabama’s secondary this offseason. Two senior three-year starters are departing at safety in Jordan Battle and DeMarcco Hellams, and junior slot man Brian Branch is a strong bet to enter the NFL draft as a projected first-round pick.
It did not seem to be a coincidence that Alabama’s 27-player signing class Wednesday was heavy on highly-rated players in the secondary.
The Tide’s top-ranked class included a five-star safety, Caleb Downs, ranked No. 6 nationally among all prospects and two players who previously had five-star rankings in Florence’s Jahlil Hurley and Thompson’s Tony Mitchell. Four-star Mississippi athlete Brayson Hubbard, a quarterback in high school, is another addition at safety.
“There’s four DBs there,” Nick Saban summarized Wednesday afternoon. “A couple of guys I think we’ll try at corner. I think all the guys are capable of playing safety or star.”
Hurley and Mitchell are likely to get a shot at cornerback, where Alabama has Kool-Aid McKinstry and Terrion Arnold returning for their junior seasons and potentially could have Eli Ricks for his senior season pending his decision about the NFL draft.
Finding the next great Alabama cornerback is no small task, Saban emphasized Wednesday.
“I think corner is one of the most difficult positions to find, and that’s still something that we’re going to continue to look for,” he said.
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Alabama’s 2022 recruiting class was light on highly-rated defensive backs, with cornerbacks Earl Little Jr. (No. 106 nationally in 247 Sports’ composite rankings), Trequon Fegans (No. 117) and Antonio Kite (No. 167) the signees along with safety Jake Pope (No. 391). All are still projected to return in 2023.
The other defensive backs Alabama has on its roster are star Malachi Moore (No. 211-ranked in the 2020 class, cornerback Jahquez Robinson (No. 296 in 2020), safety Kristian Story (No. 185 in 2020) and safety Devonta Smith (No. 250 in 2021).
The left McKinstry (No. 18 in 2021), Arnold (No. 51 in 2021) and Ricks (No. 14 when he signed with LSU in 2020) as the only blue-chip talent in the secondary before Wednesday’s restock. If Alabama can find a cornerback among its 2023 signees, that would provide a succession plan at cornerback when those three leave. Otherwise, Alabama might need to dip back into the transfer portal.
At safety, Downs is a candidate to replace Battle or Hellams in the starting lineup.
“First of all, he’s a great person,” Saban said. “A really smart football player. Football means a lot to him. And the guy’s a great competitor, loves to compete. Their team won the state championship. He was all into that. Could have gone anywhere he wanted to go and wanted to stay with the team that he played with the whole time, and they won the state championship in Georgia, which is a significant accomplishment.
“I just think he’s the right kind of person. He’s got leadership qualities that are hard to come by, and the guy’s really got a lot of talent physically to be able to develop into something special. And we’re really looking forward to working with him.”
Beyond the secondary, Alabama also addressed its defensive front seven, where most of its starters are expected to enter the NFL draft. That includes defensive linemen Byron Young and DJ Dale, who have both accepted invitations to the Senior Bowl, as well as inside linebacker Henry To’o To’o (senior) and Jaylen Moody (fifth year), plus decorated junior outside linebacker Will Anderson.
There are some in-house candidates to replace them including Jamil Burroughs and Jaheim Oatis on the defensive line, Deontae Lawson at inside linebacker and Chris Braswell at outside linebacker. But Saban suggested Wednesday that some of the incoming freshmen could see the field early.
“I think one of the things that was a real focus for us was to improve up front,” he said. “I think we recruited some guys who can certainly help us do that. I don’t like to single out players, create expectations for them or anything like that. I think the media does a really good job of that.
“But I do think those guys that we were able to recruit are certainly going to be guys that can help us with the front seven in the very near future.”
Eight of Alabama’s signees are defensive linemen or linebackers, including junior college addition Justin Jefferson, an inside linebacker. Alabama added two new five stars Wednesday in Montgomery defensive lineman James Smith and outside linebacker Qua Russaw, buttressing a group that was already headlined by five-star edge rusher Keon Keeley.
Mike Rodak is an Alabama beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.
