For the second year in a row, Alabama football might start a freshman at cornerback. This time, however, it won't be out of necessity like it was last year with Zabien Brown. That's not a knock on Brown, who stepped up and won the job over older, more seasoned players. This year, however, with returning starters all over the place in a secondary that helped the Crimson Tide finish with a Top 10 defense a year ago, a freshman stepping into a starting role seemed like a long shot, no matter how talented the player.
Enter Dijon Lee.
The former 5-star recruit has made an immediate, indelible impression on the coaching staff, drawing rave reviews from his defensive coordinator and his head coach.
"To me, with two very experienced corners that we have on this roster, we feel like Dijon can go right in," Wommack said. "Credit to him and the way he's playing right now. I see him as a starter in our defense."
"You keep throwing more and more on his plate, and he rises to the occasion," DeBoer said. "You feel very comfortable putting him out there on the football field.”
Dijon Lee's emergence gives Alabama a lot of options in the secondary
Wommack has depth to play with in the secondary this year. He showed a willingness to rotate defensive backs last season. You'll see that again this year, perhaps even more so because of the talent level in the two-deep.
Alabama has double-digit guys in the defensive backfield that they are comfortable putting out there for snaps.
Lee's emergence at corner brings forward an interesting option to get the Tide's best cover guys on the field. Sophomore CB Zabien Brown has been cross-training at the "Husky" position. For the uninitiated, that's the nickel corner spot in Wommack's defense.
DaShawn Jones has been the projected starter at Husky since the spring, with Utah transfer Cam Calhoun and Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. getting reps there in fall camp. Recently, Brown has been repping there more and more.
Shifting Brown inside allows Lee to slot in at corner opposite Domani Jackson. That puts Alabama's three best cover guys on the field at the same time. Now, that doesn't mean that's going to be the Crimson Tide's starting defense, but it gives Alabama a wrinkle they can use when playing the more prolific passing offenses on the schedule.
I suspect that Jones will start at Husky on Saturday afternoon in Tallahassee with Brown and Jackson at corner. Lee will play, likely a lot, but as time wears on this season, it's going to be more and more difficult to keep the freshman phenom off the field.