Alabama Football: 5 new faces to watch at Tide’s A Day Game
By Dakota Cox
New faces for Alabama football’s A Day Game
2. Marcus Banks, CB
Alabama returns six experienced defensive backs from last year’s team, but only four of them will start. Alabama football still needs an outside corner to play across from Josh Jobe.
The Tide have plenty of options. GQ McKinstry and Khyree Jackson will join the team with the 2021 recruiting class, and there were plenty of reserve corners on last year’s team. Despite the plethora of options, Banks appears to be the man for the job at this point in the year.
Alabama needs a corner who can win in man coverage. Patrick Surtain was one of the best defensive backs in college football last year, and he was able to lock down an entire half of the field in most games. While Banks doesn’t have to live up to that standard, he cannot be the weak link. Quality quarterbacks can find ways to expose one defensive back, so every player in the defensive backfield must be talented.
This will be our first chance to see Banks play against top-tier offensive weapons. He will likely line up against John Metchie and Javon Baker in the A Day Game, so he will be tested early and often. If he holds his own, he should be the frontrunner to earn the starting job in the fall.