Alabama Football has found its replacement for Caleb Downs at safety in Michigan’s Keon Sabb. The Alabama football team was in the final running for Sabb in his initial recruitment, and landed him this time through the portal.
Sabb will step in and immediately compete for and most likely win a starting job at safety. He flashed his talent this past season despite being the third safety in the Michigan defense with 28 tackles, two interceptions, half a sack, and four pass deflections.
Landing Sabb gives Alabama Football an immediate boost on the defensive side of the football, eliminating questions about who would win the safety position. The rising junior was the fourth-ranked safety and the 57th ranked player overall in the transfer portal.
The safety position is vital in Kane Wommack's swarm defense with NFL Pro-Bowler Jeremy Reaves who played for Wommack at South Alabama saying the following:
"Everything in that defense funnels to the safety, he's going to do numbers for sure."Jeremy Reaves
The question will now become who fills the other traditional safety role? Malachi Moore would be the favorite unless the team plans to continue to deploy him in the box in a role similar to the star position. If Alabama keeps Moore in the box, the name to watch is DeVonta Smith, who returns after missing most of the 2023 season with an injury. The others in contention are true freshmen Zavier Mincey and Peyton Woodyard.
The addition of Sabb may also provide a boost on the recruiting trail with Kalen DeBoer recruiting Keon's younger brother Amari. The younger Sabb is an athlete in the 2026 recruiting class with an offer to Alabama as well as plenty of major programs.
The second addition came a little later as the Alabama Football team added tight end Josh Cuevas. The tight end spent two seasons at Cal Poly before joining Washington in 2023. Over his three seasons, Cuevas has 66 catches for 898 yards and seven touchdowns. He'll join a loaded tight end room with CJ Dippre, Robbie Outzs, Danny Lewis Jr, and Ty Lockwood all returning, along with fellow newcomers Jay Lindsey and Caleb Odom. With former Washington tight ends coach Nick Sheridan filling the role of offensive coordinator, we may see Cuevas get extended run this season.
Alabama Football: DeBoer faring well in the portal
The Alabama Football team lost a handful of players to the transfer portal with the departure of Nick Saban, but the losses were very overstated. The team has fared well in the transfer portal since Kalen DeBoer's arrival, a welcome sight ahead of the spring transfer window.
DeBoer has now brought in three solid starters in Keon Sabb, Parker Brailsford, and Germie Bernard. The additions have all been to positions of significant need, as some of the team's biggest questions were at receiver, center, and safety.