'You Can't Go Back:' How Dijon Lee Responded to an Adversity-Filled Season

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — What happens after you hit rock bottom?

That's a question that has been at the center of Dijon Lee's season. The cornerback had a nightmarish day against Georgia last month with lapses in coverage, a costly pass interference penalty, and an unsportsmanlike conduct call for throwing a punch that sealed the win for the Bulldogs.

Lee was among the most scrutinized figures in the sports world after that game, from the front page of ESPN to the incessant criticism that prompted the sophomore to temporarily deactivate his Instagram account. The game helped reinforce in Lee a lesson that every athlete knows: do not pay attention to social media.

"I don't even be on social media, so I can't really tell you too much about it," Lee said. "If I do get on social media, I'm not really involved, to be honest. I don't really read the comments. People can say what they want to say."

Officially a full month removed, that October night now serves as the backbone of a season filled with opportunities for growth.

"Just a lot of trials and tribulations, just leaning on my teammates, and they just made me a better person, better individual," Lee said. "Just learned a lot of lessons."

In the aftermath of that game, the entire Alabama team rallied around Lee. Multiple players came to his defense on Instagram, and Lee acknowledged the role they have played in his ability to move on.

"Pretty much the whole defense, whole defense and offense too, pretty much the whole team and coaching staff, everybody lifted me up," Lee said. "One in particular, Zabien Brown, that's my guy on the other side, that's my twin right there, and Keon Sabb."

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Brown, who is one of Alabama's three captains, has implored Lee not to allow his struggles to affect his performances moving forward.

"Just play ball. At the end of the day it's football. It is what it is," Lee said of Brown's message. "Things happen. Nobody's going to be perfect. Next play."

While Lee's teammates have lifted him up, so has Alabama Director of Player Development Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, who was involved in a viral moment with Lee immediately following the punch against Georgia. As a heated Kalen DeBoer got in Lee's face, Clinton-Dix prevented the sophomore from walking away from his coach in a moment that serves as a snapshot of the role Clinton-Dix has played throughout Lee's entire Crimson Tide career.

"The last year and a half, me being here, Ha Ha has been like my big brother, to be honest. He helps me through everything. I mean, he's really smart," Lee said. "I mean, he's been through it. He's been in my shoes before. So he has just taught me a lot. Just, you know, keep my composure. Just at the end of the day, it is what it is, and you did what you did. But, I mean, you can't go back, just, you know, learn from your mistakes pretty much is what he was telling me."

Lee's season, both before and after the Georgia game, hasn't been perfect. His seven penalties are the most on the defense by far, and he has struggled in press-man coverage throughout the year. He specifically cited his need to get better at locating the ball, and there is no sugarcoating the fact that things just haven't quite come together for the 2025 Freshman All-American corner.

Still, there are plenty of silver linings, moments that have reminded the nation of what Lee is capable of. From his two pick-sixes to his 47-yard kickoff return against Mississippi State to the moments of brilliance he displays in coverage, Lee very clearly is somebody capable of being an elite player. And a top-five Alabama team very clearly needs Lee to deliver on that potential as it enters the home stretch of its season.

"I really don't care about how people say I played," Lee said. "I just want this team to win the national championship."

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