Alabama legend Nick Saban called for a Georgia-Texas SEC title game last month at SEC Media Days and gave his former team some motivation to stew on for a few months. When asked to give a title prediction, Saban went away from the Tide, citing question marks in the secondary that make it “hard to sort of jump on that bandwagon.”

No doubt, one of the groups hit hardest by Saban’s retirement was the one he most closely worked with. Starters Caleb Downs and Trey Amos hit the transfer portal. Six defensive backs in total left the program. New head coach Kalen DeBoer and defensive coordinator Kane Wommack were tasked with rebuilding a pivotal group on the fly.

With fall camp under way, the jury is still out on what Alabama’s secondary will be, but Wommack is at least promoting some optimism.

“Time will tell if those guys that have not played in the SEC the last couple of years across the board, whether they can handle those things,” Wommack said Thursday when he met with reporters, “but I think they are taking steps in the right direction against what I would argue are some very good skill players on our offensive side right now.”

Malachi Moore is back. He and Michigan transfer Keon Sabb have partnered at the back of the defense to provide some leadership. That’s important. Between Moore, a 13-game starter and a captain for the Tide last season, and Saab, a 5-time starter on Michigan’s title-winning team, Wommack can expect a relatively high floor from his safeties.

Wommack runs a 4-2-5 system that utilizes boundary and field cornerbacks. A “Swarm D” style, the emphasis is on attacking the football and creating takeaways.

How does a defensive coordinator help a young secondary? Limit the exposure. If Alabama can successfully pressure the quarterback with base looks, it can kill 2 birds with 1 stone, so to speak.

“We are very focused on takeaways here,” Wommack said. “And you create takeaways by creating pressure on the quarterback. … I think we’ve got some guys naturally that can (create pressure) off the edge.”

But does Alabama have strong enough coverage options in the secondary? Domani Jackson is a former 5-star recruit who transferred from USC this offseason. He was a starter for the Trojans, though his reps featured good and bad (like most USC defenders last year). DaShawn Jones started 9 times for Wake Forest last season, and he was a big get in the spring window.

Beyond those 2, Alabama is leaning on freshmen. Excellent freshmen, but freshmen nonetheless.

Jaylen Mbakwe was the 12th-ranked recruit in the 2024 class, per the industry-generated 247 Composite. Zavier Mincey was ranked No. 27. Zabien Brown was ranked No. 30. All 3 of them joined in the spring — a huge win for DeBoer and Womack.

Jones came in the summer and, according to Wommack, has significantly changed his physique.

“I think Da-Da is doing a really great job. You know, he has really changed his body. You think about seniors and guys that are maybe a little further down in their career that may not be able to push quite as far as the development of a freshman, but I thought he’s made tremendous strides in 8 weeks in terms of changing the makeup of his body,” Wommack said. “I think he’s playing very fast right now. He seems to be playing with confidence in the first couple of days.”

Asked who at corner has impressed him the most, Wommack singled out Jackson and Brown.

“To me, right off the bat, Domani Jackson, Zabien Brown have been really impressive,” Wommack said. “If you look at Jaylen Mbakwe, he’s probably made the greatest strides over the last 6 months. Then I would say all 3 of those freshmen — Zabien Brown, Jaylen Mbakwe, and then Zavier Mincey — I think are taking steps in the right direction. And of course, Da-Da, great to have him in there for us.”

Wommack felt Alabama was too slow to work itself into games last season on the defensive side of the ball. As the game went on, he felt the defense would find a rhythm, but he would rather see the Tide be the aggressor from the opening kick.

“We want to allow our guys to be able to break on the ball, play with some vision at times. And when you play with instinctive vision, the windows start to get really tight. People have a misconception of vision coverage, that it’s all this space out there. Really, what you’re doing is you’re taking away the grass and the people that the quarterback is wanting to get the ball to,” Wommack said. “So, you’ll see our players naturally starting to get a little bit more matchy with some of their coverage when we play some of our vision style coverages, and then just having a better feel for our defense.

“… We’ve really encouraged our guys to start playing not on their heels but be the aggressor early, and that means playing with some instincts. I think we’re seeing that.”

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