Alabama's One Major Rebuilding Job is in the Secondary Minus Patrick Surtain II
The construction signs all around Tuscaloosa are kind of fitting when it comes to the 2020 Alabama football team, the secondary.
Nick Saban has a lot of rebuilding to do.
"The big challenge for this team, because of the four starters we lost in the secondary out of five guys, is to get that rebuilt with some good players who lack experience, but they are good players and we have confidence in them," Saban said on Monday. "So that's going to be a key to the drill, especially with the fact that we didn't have spring practice and we weren't able to work with these guys as much as we usually are.
"But I really think a lot of these Zoom things that we did in the offseason and the meetings that we had really helped conceptually understand the defense and what they were supposed to do. Maybe not so much how they were supposed to do it, but why it's important to do it that way and what they were supposed to do, I think there's a lot of benefit to that."
Alabama lost three of the four base starters, yet cornerback Patrick Surtain II is good enough to build the unit around.
Named All-SEC by essentially every preseason publication or media outlet, including the SEC publishers of Sports Illustrated, Surtain totaled 42 tackles to go with three forced fumbles, eight pass breakups, two interceptions, a fumble recovery and one quarterback pressure in 2019.
The other corner spot will likely come down to Josh Jobe, who started two games last season including the Citrus Bowl when Trevon Diggs opted out and had an interception against Michigan, and junior college transfer Ronald Williams Jr.
At safety, sophomore Jordan Battle showed last year that he's ready to step into a starting role. He played in all 13 games with four starts, to go with 30 tackles with a pair of tackles for loss and one sack.
Redshirt junior Daniel Wright is the player to watch at the other spot.
"I’ve seen him grow a lot," linebacker Dylan Moses said. "He’s been communicating a lot in the back end, gives a lot of feedback, helps me actually with how to communicate on the field. He’s a strong leader in the weight room. Strong leader off the field as well. The guy just has a good head on his shoulders.
"I believe he’s ready to have a great season."
That leaves the nickel (star) and dime (money) spots where redshirt sophomore Jalyn Armour-Davis figures to be in the mix. Williams might be the player to watch, though, because how fast he gets the defense down and develops will give the coaches more options — and Saban loves having versatility in the secondary.
Remember, Alabama carries an extra defensive backs coach on the staff, plus Saban coaches the cornerbacks during practice.
The position group might be the key to the whole Crimson Tide season because none of the other ones could use those construction signs. Alabama is set with returning starters or experienced veterans nearly everywhere else.
2020 Alabama Defensive Backs
Returning: Patrick Surtain Jr., Jordan Battle, DeMarcco Hellams, Brandon Turnage, Jalyn Armour-Davis, Josh Jobe, Daniel Wright, Marcus Banks, Eddie Smith.
New: Brian Branch, Kristian Story, Jahquez Robinson, Ronald Williams Jr., Malachi Moore.
Departures: Trevon Diggs (NFL), Xavier McKinney (NFL), Jared Mayden (NFL), Shyheim Carter (NFL), Nigel Knott (transfer to East Carolina), Scooby Carter (Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College).
This is the fifth story in a series regrading Alabama's fall camp:
• Quarterbacks: Mac Jones Enters Fall as Alabama's Starting Quarterback; The Job is His to Lose
• Running backs: With Najee Harris Leading the Running Backs, Alabama's Ground Game in 20/20 Shape
• Wide receivers: Alabama's Wide Receivers Aim to Be Like Rock Paper Scissors: Versatile and Unforgettable
• Defensive line: Strength in Numbers Doesn't Begin to Describe Alabama's Potential
