After a decade and a half spitting out 1st round draft picks at cornerback in nearly every starting lineup, Alabama entered the 2024 season with a total question mark at the position. The Tide lost all of their starters to the NFL, graduation, and transfer while simultaneously losing the entire depth of the position to transfer as well.
Defensive coordinator Kane Wommack was working with a slate entirely comprised of players new to the team, and there weren’t all that many of them. In fact, due to a few ill-timed injuries, the Tide was down to only 3 players left at the position during the Tennessee game during the season.
Despite that, the Tide wound up with one of the very top passing defenses in the country, and a lot was due to the immediate development of two key newcomers from California, Domani Jackson and Zabien Brown.
Alabama returns most of the contributors from last season, plus went out and added their fair share of newcomers over the offseason, turning this into what should be considered one of the strengths of the team.
Alabama also added a new coach, Jason Jones, as the “assistant DB coach” to Maurice Linguist. A year ago, Linguist was the cornerbacks coach while Colin Hitschler was the safeties coach. Now, we just have a DB coach and assistant DB coach. Whatever the case, Linguist did a phenomenal job a year ago, and Jones is a former Alabama player in the 90s who’s got two decades of experience coaching defensive backs - it’s hard to ask for more than that.
Now, in Wommack’s scheme, the “husky” position (or nickel, or star, whatever) is essentially a crossover position that can be a corner or a safety type of player. So for the purposes of this article, we’ll list the guys who are primarily corners and also the Husky, but note that any of the safeties in a subsequent article may join that group.
Also, note that Wommack tends to rotate his players more than Alabama fans were used to under Nick Saban.
“I’ll use as many (defensive backs) that are ready to go, that we trust,” Wommack said on Saturday during Day 3 of fall camp. “If you think about the scope of trust, it’s ‘OK, these are the top five players in our defense, from a defensive back standpoint, who (else) can play to the same level that a starter can? And if that backup guy can play to the same level the starter can, then he deserves to be on the field.”
So in the past, while the two outside corners were pretty much untouchable snaps for the rest of the roster, for Wommack, there could be multiple guys who get “starter” reps.
Devonta Smith was the starter at Husky for most of the season, but struggled with injury for most of his career. He was a solid player for the Tide last year before going to Notre Dame as a graduate transfer to be closer to home.
Jahlil Hurley never played any real snaps for the Tide and transferred out. Best of luck in Kansas.
Jaylen Mbakwe was a rotational player at corner for Alabama last season as a true freshman. He had his ups and downs, but definitely flashed his athleticism and potential at times. He’s now swapped over to the offensive side of the ball and is working with the receivers.
#1 Domani Jackson (Sr) 6’1” 196
The former 5-star recruit almost committed to Nick Saban four years ago, but chose USC instead. He wound up back at Alabama anyway last year, then decided to stick with the Tide despite the coaching change just as he arrived. Jackson had otherworldly athleticism, but had been yet to put together a full season since his junior year of high school due to injuries.
Last year, though, Jackson won the starting job out of the gate and never looked back. He put together a very, very quiet season, only allowing 27 catches for 311 yards with a 63.0 passer rating. Not quite dominant, but extremely good. In 2024, he’ll be looking to take the next step with a year in the same scheme and put together his athleticism, quality play, and now veteran experience to grow into one of the top corners in the game.
#2 Zabien Brown (So) 6’0” 192
A true freshman from Mater Dei High School last year, Brown won the starting job opposite of Jackson fairly early on and eventually forced out the others rotating with him until he had sole control of the job. He clinched the Georgia game with a game-winning interception that cemented his place in Alabama lore, too.
Brown was known as a technician of a cornerback in high school, and that lent himself to playing early and often for the Tide. While he’s not the most physically impressive corner around, he made up for it with incredible footwork and ball skills throughout the season.
Despite his playmaking, he also had his fair share of freshman moments. He had plenty of good games, but he also gave up some big plays, too. Can he turn that year of experience into squashing out the mistakes from his game in 2025? If so, he and Jackson could very well be the best tandem in the country.
Role Players
#7 DaShawn Jones (RSr) 6’0” 190.
I almost included Jones as a “starter” from a year ago with Jackson and Brown, but ultimately decided against it. Jones started out playing outside cornerback in rotation with Brown a year ago, then eventually moved to Husky later in the year after Brown had solidified the job. Jones then rotated with Devonta Smith throughout the year, eating into snaps more and more as the season went on and eventually getting the start in the final game of the season.
Jones is a former multi-year starter at Wake Forest, so he brings a wealth of veteran savvy to the role. He should be viewed as the favorite to be the starter at Husky going into 2025, but the job is far from locked up.
#16 Red Morgan (So) 6’0” 185
Morgan rotated in regularly as a Husky early last season as a true freshman before ultimately losing some of his playing time in favor of Smith and Jones. Despite displaying a nose for the football, Morgan just had too many freshman mistakes with his positioning on the field. This spring and fall, he’s been working more with the outside cornerbacks than the Husky spot, so it seems that’s where he’s aiming to be for now. Still, he’s cross-trained up at virtually every DB spot and has real-game experience.
#9 Cam Calhoun (RSo) 6’0” 180
Calhoun’s already packed a lot into his young career. He was originally a Michigan recruit that redshirted his freshman year, then transferred to Utah where he led the Utes in pass breakups before jumping to Alabama for his 3rd team in as many years.
He mostly played outside corner for Utah, specializing in aggressive man coverage. At Alabama’s he’s worked at both outside corner and Husky, with most reports sounding like he’s pushing DaShawn Jones for the starting job at Husky. He’s a high-energy, vocal player that brings a lot of juice to the field, so it’ll be tough to keep him off the field. He may very well wind up in the top three with Jackson and Brown by mid-season.
#19 Chuck McDonald (Fr) 6’1” 194
McDonald followed both Jackson and Brown from Mater Dei High School to Alabama. He’s a solidly built corner with good speed and, like Brown before him, a fairly refined technique for a freshman. He may not have a starting role in year one, but he’ll likely earn his way onto the field at times through sheer talent.
#5 Dijon Lee (Fr) 6’4” 202
For one thing, I don’t for one second believe that Dijon Lee is only 202 pounds. The dude looks like a linebacker playing cornerback. He’s drawn plenty of praise from the coaches this season, and who knows what kind of role Kane Wommack envisions for him, both in the short term and the long term. However it goes, 6’4” corners with 5-star recruiting ratings don’t grow on trees, and there has to be all kinds of ways he can be weaponized. Don’t be surprised if we see him randomly get in games in some odd packages here and there.
Seriously, look at these two. Lee and McDonald (on the left) make Alabama’s returning DBs look like children. There’s some camera angle tricks going on, sure, but still…. Lee looks like an NFL edge rusher, not an 18 year old cornerback.
Predicted Depth Chart
Field Cornerback: Domani Jackson, Chuck McDonald
Boundary Cornerback: Zabien Brown, Red Morgan, Dijon Lee
Husky: Cam Calhoun OR DaShawn Jones
For now, I’m copping out and saying that Calhoun and Jones are co-starters at Husky as the competition plays out through the first few games of the season. Jones will likely get the first snaps, but I think Calhoun ultimately wins the bulk of the snaps. They could also get some competition from a couple of the safeties, but for now, I think the job is between these two.