Crimson Tide continue to seek secondary help

While the recent departures of Peyton Woodyard and Tony Mitchell cost the Tide some depth at the safety position, cornerback continues to be Alabama’s top priority. 

After missing on Greedy Vance Jr. and Ed Woods, Bama will receive visits from two more transfer portal targets in former Wake Forest corner DaShawn Jones and former Houston corner Isaiah Hamilton (per BamaOnLine’s Andrew Bone). 

Jones started nine games in 2023, making 22 career appearances for the Demon Deacons. He has notched 61 tackles, three interceptions, and seven pass-breakups through three seasons in Winston-Salem, and is one of the more experienced corners in the portal.

This past season, he recorded a career-high 10 tackles in a win over Pittsburgh, made five stops against Clemson, and had four tackles against eventual ACC champion Florida State. He also nabbed interceptions against Elon, Vanderbilt, and Georgia Tech. In 2022, he made a season-high eight tackles against the Drake Maye-led UNC Tar Heels.

Dashawn Jones will visit Tuscaloosa on Saturday and should be a priority target for Coach Kalen DeBoer, defensive coordinator Kane Wommack, and the rest of the staff. He is being courted by several more SEC teams who are also in need of a corner, so the competition will be stiff once again.

Isaiah Hamilton is also expected to visit this weekend, though a date has not yet been finalized. Hamilton was a standout for three years at Texas Southern before transferring to Houston ahead of the 2023 season.

He didn’t appear to miss a beat upon moving to the Big 12, racking up 50 tackles and four interceptions. Hamilton finished the year very strong, with six tackles and a pick-six against Oklahoma State and a season-high nine tackles against UCF.

Based on this one-year sample size, Hamilton looks to be the more impactful player, though Jones has much more experience at the Power Five level. 

The coaching staff is clearly making an effort to shore up this position of need. It shouldn’t be long before Alabama adds some experience to its cornerback room.