Alabama developing depth with a new crop of young safeties

Alabama’s secondary has been almost completely reconfigured heading into year one under Kalen DeBoer and his staff. At the safety position, Bama lost both starters with Jaylen Key going to the NFL and Caleb Downs transferring to Ohio State.

The Tide should still be set on the back end with 5th-year senior Malachi Moore and Michigan transfer Keon Sabb manning the starting safety spots. However, depth at the position became a concern after a tumultuous offseason. The transfer portal activity in the Tide’s safety room was almost laughable, as Bama essentially had to replace every member of the position group from 2023.

Veteran reserve Kristian Story and a trio of promising young prospects in Jake Pope, Peyton Woodyard, and Tony Mitchell all transferred out of the program. With redshirt junior Devonta Smith moving to the Husky spot, only sophomore Bray Hubbard returned to Alabama’s safety room. Of course, Smith and Malachi Moore are both versatile enough to play deep safety or in the box. This gives the Tide some flexibility heading into 2024, but the attrition at this position was astounding nonetheless. 

Coach DeBoer and his staff had no choice but to turn to the portal to replenish the room, getting late-spring additions Kameron Howard and King Mack to backfill at safety. Though the losses Bama sustained were tough, these replacements are very promising in their own right.

King Mack was highly recruited coming out of high school as a top-100 player in the class of 2023. The former 4-star comes from the NFL factory known as St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and spent last season at Penn State where he became a special teams contributor. Mack is expected to compete in Bama’s safety room in 2024 and provide quality depth.

Kameron Howard was not the highly-touted recruit coming out of high school that Mack was, but he has proven himself to be a quality football player. Though he also came from a powerhouse high school program (St. Frances Academy in Maryland, which produced recent Bama standout Chris Braswell among several others), Howard was an unranked prospect in the class of 2023. He received no Power Five offers and ultimately enrolled at Charlotte University.

Howard proved to be a difference-maker as a true freshman at Charlotte. He recorded 38 tackles and two interceptions for the season, starting two games and playing in all 12 for the 49ers. Howard intercepted a pass in his first career college game, then picked off another in his second outing against former Bama QB and Big Ten all-time passing leader Taulia Tagovailoa. He is making a big jump to the SEC, but Kameron Howard is a playmaker who should be able to contribute in the Bama secondary in time. 

Mack and Howard were much-needed additions for the Alabama defense. They will provide necessary depth as early as this season, and could be the safety tandem of the future in Tuscaloosa.