Replicating what the defense is going to see on Saturday with Florida State's dual-threat QB in Tommy Castellanos isn't easy, and none of the QBs on the Crimson Tide's roster have a skill set that is similar to his. He's a naturally quick and shifty runner who won't be easy to contain.
Freshman QB Keelon Russell has some mobility, but he doesn't possess the speed Castellanos does.
Fortunately, Alabama has a former dual-threat high school QB who also happened to be one of the best athletes in his recruiting class and was willing to step into that role this week to simulate what the Tide is going to see with Castellanos operating a Gus Malzahn offense.
Former 5-star CB-turned-WR Jaylen Mbakwe has been the scout-team QB this week for the Crimson Tide.
“Jaylen Mbakwe, he comes down here and gives us a couple of reps, and he is pretty shifty, so I think it’s a good scout player for us," LB Deontae Lawson said on Tuesday.
The news of that on Tuesday seemed to shock Alabama fans, who took it as an opportunity to further question Mbakwe's decision to move from CB to WR.
Mbakwe came to Alabama as an athlete with the intent of playing corner in college. He spent his freshman season at CB, but longed for the offensive side of the ball. After briefly flirting with the portal, Mbakwe stayed at Alabama and made the move to WR for bowl practices.
Mbakwe played QB in high school at Clay-Chalkville, so he's got plenty of recent experience at the position. He's a high-level athlete who is best equipped to give the Tide's defense a look at what they're going to have to deal with on Saturday.
Jaylen Mbakwe running scout team says a lot about him and this team
The unselfish nature of this Alabama team continues to be apparent. They have the mental makeup of a championship team. You need more team guys than me guys. Jaylen Mbakwe is clearly a team guy.
It looks likely that Mbakwe's role as a sophomore will be as a return man on special teams with the occasional WR reps. But as things stand right now, he's probably, at best the No. 7 WR on the depth chart.
Alabama's starting trio of Ryan Williams, Germie Bernard, and Isaiah Horton is set. Redshirt freshman Rico Scott has set himself apart as the No. 4 WR. After that, third-year receivers Jalen Hale and Cole Adams seem to be competing for WR5, with the other sliding down to WR6. Those six guys are the two-deep, with Mbakwe competing with freshmen Lotzeir Brooks and Derek Meadows for any other snaps that may go around.
That's not how Mbakwe envisioned the second year of his college career going. I'm sure he's disappointed. But he also seems to understand that his transition to WR is a process. He'd never played it before until last December. It was always unlikely that he would step in and play immediately at a place like Alabama, especially at a new position.
Instead of sulking about it, Mbakwe is doing whatever it takes to help make his teammates better. If that means running scout-team at QB, then so be it. He's bringing the energy to help get the guys ready to play in Tallahassee on Saturday.
“He just comes over here, brings some energy, tells us we can’t tackle him and things like that, just to try and get us going,” Lawson said. “But we love the looks we’ve been getting, and we’re looking forward to it throughout the week.”