In case you haven’t quite noticed, Alabama Crimson Tide true freshman Minkah Fitzpatrick is a stud.
While subjective in nature, this statement is hard to debate as the defensive back from Jersey City, New Jersey has done what a very select few have managed to do in a Nick Saban defense, which is start as a freshman.
Fitzpatrick was highly touted coming out of high school. He was a consensus five-star blue chip recruit whom few doubted would make an immediate impact. However, those same pundits could not have predicted just what we’re seeing right now.
Game after game it seems we’re continuing to see him grow up even more before our eyes. Throughout fall camp, it was a daily praise report of Fitzpatrick and he quickly took over the star position in Saban’s nickel defense, which is basically his starting defense in today’s offenses.
As for yesterday, just when it appeared we may have seen just about all Fitzpatrick was capable of, he made perhaps the play of the game when he shot out like a cannon and blocked the Georgia Bulldogs punt and recovered it and returned it for a touchdown. The play only put the Tide up 17-3, but it was a moment to let the Bulldogs know that, ‘Excuse me, we’re coming, and we’re not stopping.’
Alabama celebrates after Minkah Fitzpatrick blocks punt and scores TD. John David Mercer – USA TODAY Sports
So far this season, Fitzpatrick is fifth in tackles with 21, has three tackles for loss, two sacks, four passes defended, and of course the blocked punt and touchdown.
This defense is very talented, yet they are continuing to develop and gain continuity on a weekly basis. With the assistance of this unlikely source, it’s scary to think how good this defense will be by season’s end.
Brandon Williams is an Editor and Columnist for Touchdown Alabama. You can follow him on Twitter, @BWilliamsTDAL, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.
