Alabama Football: 2018 Signee, CB Jalyn Armour-Davis

Alabama football added an in-state 4-Star cornerback, Jalyn Armour-Davis to the Crimson Tide 2018 Signing Class.

Alabama football fans made strong connections with Crimson Tide players. Jalyn Armour-Davis is one of the players fans will connect with on a personal level beyond football.

He is also a gifted football player, blessed with great size for a cornerback, flexibility and speed. Evidence of his athletic ability is his high school track accomplishments. He was the 5A champion in the triple jump and the 100-meter dash.

St. Paul’s head coach Steve Mask gives Jalyn high marks.

"He is a great cornerback. I’m not saying he is Deion Sanders, but he is that type of player. Jalyn is going to lock down one side of the field, and opponents just aren’t going to throw it at him."

Despite that lofty praise, Mask is hoping Alabama football will redshirt Jalyn as a freshman. Mask thinks a patient development approach will yield big dividends. A year with Scott Cochrane can turn Jalyn into not just a talented player, but a physically dominating one as well.

Few gifted players are content to redshirt. But Jalyn is not an average player because he is not an average person. In August, Ben Thomas of al.com wrote a thoughtful story about Jalyn and his family.

"Jalyn spends a lot of time helping his mom at home. She depends on him to be a positive role model for her younger kids.“Family has always been important to me,” Armour-Davis said. “It is the way I was brought up, something my mom installed in me.”"

Jalyn shares some of the domestic responsibilities for his younger siblings. To help his Mom, Jalyn does whatever needs to be done. His much younger sisters are now three and 16 months. Jalyn never shied away from diaper duty with either one.

Jalyn has big goals as a football player but his priorities stay focused on his family.

"If I look 10 years down the road, I hope I have a stable family and I hope I can provide for my mom. My main goal has always been to help my mom retire as soon as I can. She’s done so much for me, made so many sacrifices."

No Alabama football fan of a certain age can help but remember that listening to “Mama call” carries special meaning in Crimson Tide history. Long before Bear Bryant heard a call from his school, he heeded the needs of his own mother while growing up in Arkansas. Perhaps someone will tell Jalyn that story.

Based on the 247Sports Composite, Jalyn is a 4-Star, No. 15 rated CB and the No. 122 Overall player in the nation.

Next: 50 Best Alabama Football Players of All-Time

Along with Jalyn and others, the Tide’s new secondary class could become one of its best. Alabama football fans welcome Jalyn to the 2018 Crimson Tide.