Entering his third season in Tuscaloosa, Alabama defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick is finally starting to get comfortable with his role on the defense. That’s not to say he hasn’t been performing well for the Tide, he was named Freshman All-American in 2015 and All-American in 2016, but entering the spring of his junior season Fitzpatrick is finally taking over the position he’s wanted all along for Alabama.

During his media availability Thursday, Fitzpatrick expressed his excitement with finally moving to an outside corner position.

“That’s what I came here to play,” Fitzpatrick said. “I moved to star my freshman year because we had Marlon (Humphrey) and Cyrus (Jones) out there and last year Eddie (Jackson) went down, so I had to move to safety. Now this year, I’m at where I’m most comfortable really. Coach (Saban) trust me to be out there and I’m going a good job with it.”

Fitzpatrick was then asked about his unexpected move to safety last season, following the season-ending injury to team leader Eddie Jackson in the Oct. 22 game against Texas A&M.

“It was difficult, especially because it was in the middle of the season,” Fitzpatrick revealed. “Everybody pretty much helped me out every single day I was watching film with (the coaches), learning to make the calls in the film room… I kinda had no choice but to do it the right way and to get it done.”

The junior defensive back expounded on what Alabama expects from its safeties, as opposed to its cornerbacks and the need to step up his voice on the field in order to keep the machine that is the Crimson Tide defense rolling.

“At corner you are on your own. You don’t have to worry about anyone else and make no calls,” Fitzpatrick explained. “At safety, you have to almost run the defense and make calls. Have to talk to the linebackers, talk to the defensive line, talk to the corners and the star, so you have to be more verbal and more of a leader out there. So that’s something, I did it a little at star, but I had to do more at safety.”

It’s scary to think just how good Fitzpatrick can be now that he is projected to line up at his most natural and comfortable position. After two years of lining up all over the field, wrecking havoc in the defensive secondary and scoring a combined four defensive touchdowns, what can Fitzpatrick possibly do for an encore?

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