TUSCALOOSA -- First, Alabama lost two starters to the NFL in Cyrus Jones and Geno Smith, as well as another veteran contributor in Jabriel Washington. Then, the Crimson Tide was hit with a couple of transfers in Shawn Burgess-Becker and Maurice Smith. And now, redshirt freshman Kendall Sheffield has not been with the football program this week.
Mix together the losses, Sheffield’s situation and no Tony Brown for a fraction of the season, because of an NCAA suspension, and Alabama finds itself with some holes in its lineup and depth to fill in its secondary.
The good news is the Tide will return four starters to the defensive backfield in Eddie Jackson, Marlon Humphrey, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Ronnie Harrison, but Alabama likes to operate out of five- and six-defender secondaries on the defensive side of the football. Depth will need to be developed at both corner and safety before Sept. 3’s season opener.
Head coach Nick Saban has paid close attention to the corners -- the position group he works with at practice.
“Anthony Averett has played really, really well and is a really good third corner and would be a solid guy to play if we need him to in nickel,” Saban said. “I think after that, we’ve got young players that we have to develop. Kendall Sheffield was certainly a guy that was in that mix. But it is what it is and we’re going to work hard to do the best we can with the players that we have and try to develop those players.
“Tony Brown – suspension pending – is also a very capable guy but he won’t be there for several games. So we’ll just do the best we can with the players that we have. We recruited some freshmen, three freshmen, we’re working hard with them right now.”
Last year, Alabama intercepted 19 passes, which was its highest season total since 2010, when it picked off 22 passes. The secondary was a strength down the stretch of the season and could be exactly that again if the Tide’s younger players -- it signed four defensive backs in its 2016 signing class -- can blossom into what Saban and company want out of them.
Cornerback, at least, has some depth with Averett, Brown and the freshmen, Jared Mayden, Shyheim Carter and Aaron Robinson -- receiving valuable reps. The safety position, on the other hand, is a bit more thin.
Outside of Jackson and Harrison, Laurence Jones is the only other player with game experience under his belt. Deionte Thompson is a redshirt freshman, and Alabama has experimented with a couple of guys in camp to provide depth.
“We’re just basically trying guys,” Saban said. “I think we have a lack of depth in the secondary right now, so we’re trying to play Trevon Diggs at two spots. He’s playing receiver and we’re trying to get him to learn one position in the secondary.”
Diggs is a player that impressed his teammates at receiver during the team’s 7-on-7 drills this summer but was moved to defense because of a lack of depth at safety and a plethora of options at wideout.
He is not the only player, however, to move to safety during the Tide’s fall camp. Linebacker Keaton Anderson has worked with the defensive backs this week in an effort to build the depth the coaches are looking for.
“Keaton is really, really a great competitor, very smart. His size has been a little difficult for him at linebacker, so we feel like we want to see if he can play safety and maybe a Money, which is our sixth defensive back. Which by him being a safety, he’d learn defensive back skills so that would allow us to see if he can play that position, so we’re trying him there.
“It’s an experiment, and it’s an experiment based on need at the position and something that might be beneficial to him in the future. He’s going to be a really good special teams player for us this year, so we’re trying to find a role for him.
Mix together the losses, Sheffield’s situation and no Tony Brown for a fraction of the season, because of an NCAA suspension, and Alabama finds itself with some holes in its lineup and depth to fill in its secondary.
The good news is the Tide will return four starters to the defensive backfield in Eddie Jackson, Marlon Humphrey, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Ronnie Harrison, but Alabama likes to operate out of five- and six-defender secondaries on the defensive side of the football. Depth will need to be developed at both corner and safety before Sept. 3’s season opener.
Head coach Nick Saban has paid close attention to the corners -- the position group he works with at practice.
“Anthony Averett has played really, really well and is a really good third corner and would be a solid guy to play if we need him to in nickel,” Saban said. “I think after that, we’ve got young players that we have to develop. Kendall Sheffield was certainly a guy that was in that mix. But it is what it is and we’re going to work hard to do the best we can with the players that we have and try to develop those players.
“Tony Brown – suspension pending – is also a very capable guy but he won’t be there for several games. So we’ll just do the best we can with the players that we have. We recruited some freshmen, three freshmen, we’re working hard with them right now.”
Last year, Alabama intercepted 19 passes, which was its highest season total since 2010, when it picked off 22 passes. The secondary was a strength down the stretch of the season and could be exactly that again if the Tide’s younger players -- it signed four defensive backs in its 2016 signing class -- can blossom into what Saban and company want out of them.
Cornerback, at least, has some depth with Averett, Brown and the freshmen, Jared Mayden, Shyheim Carter and Aaron Robinson -- receiving valuable reps. The safety position, on the other hand, is a bit more thin.
Outside of Jackson and Harrison, Laurence Jones is the only other player with game experience under his belt. Deionte Thompson is a redshirt freshman, and Alabama has experimented with a couple of guys in camp to provide depth.
“We’re just basically trying guys,” Saban said. “I think we have a lack of depth in the secondary right now, so we’re trying to play Trevon Diggs at two spots. He’s playing receiver and we’re trying to get him to learn one position in the secondary.”
Diggs is a player that impressed his teammates at receiver during the team’s 7-on-7 drills this summer but was moved to defense because of a lack of depth at safety and a plethora of options at wideout.
He is not the only player, however, to move to safety during the Tide’s fall camp. Linebacker Keaton Anderson has worked with the defensive backs this week in an effort to build the depth the coaches are looking for.
“Keaton is really, really a great competitor, very smart. His size has been a little difficult for him at linebacker, so we feel like we want to see if he can play safety and maybe a Money, which is our sixth defensive back. Which by him being a safety, he’d learn defensive back skills so that would allow us to see if he can play that position, so we’re trying him there.
“It’s an experiment, and it’s an experiment based on need at the position and something that might be beneficial to him in the future. He’s going to be a really good special teams player for us this year, so we’re trying to find a role for him.
