Jaylen Mbakwe hints at switch back to old position after Alabama portal exit

Jaylen Mbakwe made a head-scratching decision this time last offseason that changed the trajectory of his career at Alabama for the worse. He may have realized that now after riding the pine all last season, being buried deep on the Tide's wide receiver depth chart before hitting the Transfer Portal last Friday.

Now, after committing to Georgia Tech on Monday, Mbakwe quickly hinted at a move back to defense.

Jaylen Mbakwe could be moving back to DB at Georgia Tech

This crossover back to defense for Mbakwe comes after many questioned why he left it in the first place after showing promise as a cornerback during his true freshman campaign with Alabama. Mbakwe had proved to be a viable contributor, totaling 15 tackles, two pass breakups, and a notable interception across 11 games during 2024 after first coming to Tuscaloosa as an in-state 5-star athlete from Clay-Chalkville High School in Pinson, AL.

The 5-foot-11, 195-pounder jumped in the portal briefly in a bizarre series of events last offseason before announcing his return to Alabama to play wide receiver. Despite having little experience at the position, many were still excited with this dynamic due to the speed he had shown in flashes on special teams when Alabama toyed with him as a return man, along with his athletic background, reeling in 41 receptions for 615 yards and 9 touchdowns during his junior season at Chalkville before primarily playing quarterback his senior year.

Unfortunately, this did not translate for Mbakwe with Alabama in 2025, playing sparingly and only catching three total passes in nine games for 55 yards during his time on offense. This lack of production after seeing success on defense may be why Mbakwe appears to be making the switch under Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key.

Make no mistake about it, Mbakwe is a unique athlete with a lot of facets to his game, but even from the early goings, it became obvious to many Alabama fans that the former defensive back had no future as a contributor in the Crimson Tide offense. It also looks like Mbakwe may have realized that he is better suited for defense altogether.

Either way, Mbakwe's departure now leaves an empty seat in Alabama's receiver room entering 2026, with the Tide only officially returning four WR's from last season's roster in Ryan Williams, Lotzeir Brooks, Rico Scott, Derek Meadows, and potentially Isaiah Horton. The Tide also signed their lone wide receiver recruit in in-state 4-star WR Cederian Morgan.

No, Mbawke's loss isn't roster-crushing, but it'll be interesting to see just how Alabama looks to fill the blank he left at the position from a depth standpoint in the transfer portal, now being thin at wideout in the early stages of the 2026 offseason.