If there’s anything you could criticize Alabama for, it would be its recent inability to develop touted defensive backs — specifically cornerbacks. It seems it has been ages since players like Dee Milliner, Kareem Jackson and Dre Kirkpatrick roamed head coach Nick Saban’s secondary, but in reality it’s only been a few seasons.

With Saban being the premier defensive mind in the sport, and with DB being the position he made his name on, you would expect all the four- and five-star players he’s recruited to flourish like no other.

But that hasn’t necessarily been the case.

As it pertains to technique, I’ve heard players say, specifically Kirkpatrick, that Saban doesn’t have them backpedal. “I never backpedaled,” he said in discussing his struggles his rookie season with Cincinnati Bengals (h/t to Bengals.com). “We were always press man, Cover 2. It was never just sit there and reading the receiver on his route. It was something new.”

As a former DB, I couldn’t imagine not using my pedal. Once you begin to decipher what routes are run at certain depths, it becomes kind of rhythmic. There’s really no backpedaling involved in press-man coverage, which is why it shouldn’t be used exclusively. Offensive coordinators get paid to take advantage of tendencies, too, so continually displaying the same look is not advantageous.

I’ve also read where Saban likes for his DBs to face guard from a trail position. Meaning, if they feel they are beat they won’t turn to locate the ball in flight, instead opting to get their hands up in hopes of making a play on the ball.

The coaches I played for would have a heart attack at that thought, and so would I.

But the hiring of noted defensive backs coach Mel Tucker may be paying dividends as I’ve noticed a variation in technique from Alabama’s corners.

HumphreyPick

On this particular play in Bama’s 38-10 butt whippin’ of the Georgia Bulldogs, it appears as though the Tide were in their dime sub-package with man across the board supported by a two-deep shell. The quarterback, Brice Ramsey, immediately stared down the 9-route ran by the “Y,” Jackson Harris, who was defended by Bama redshirt freshman Marlon Humphrey.

Although Humphrey doesn’t pedal, he does a fantastic job of performing the feel-and-lean technique by getting his body into the receiver, essentially using the sideline as an extra defender, and locating the ball in flight.

HumphreyPick2

Here’s a closer look. Humphrey, 6-foot-1, 192 pounds, darn near ran the route for the receiver, and because he got his head around in time to locate the ball, he reaped the rewards of his perfect technique.

Bama, like usual, has a plethora of talented corners with an abundance of athleticism. If what they are teaching is truly evolving, it’s just one more thing for the rest of the conference to fret over.

Man, I love great DB play.