Kane Wommack and Maurice Linguist, Alabama’s defensive coaches, have an open competition on their hands at cornerback in spring practice for the Crimson Tide.
Ga’Quincy “Kool-Aid” McKinstry and Terrion Arnold are moving on to the National Football League. Trey Amos (Ole Miss), Antonio Kite (Auburn), Dezz Ricks (Texas A&M), Earl Little II (Florida State), and Jameer Grimsley (Florida) transferred to different schools. Alabama returns a steady presence in Malachi Moore to its defensive secondary for his fifth season.
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DeVonta Smith, a redshirt junior from Cincinnati, Ohio, is back for his fourth season with the Tide. Alabama also brought in two transfers, Domani Jackson (USC Trojans) and Keon Sabb (Michigan Wolverines), adding experienced depth at the position.
The Crimson Tide has had lockdown corners in the past, but does the coaching staff have it in this group?
Several true freshmen, including Jaylen Mbakwe, Zabien Brown, Dre Kirkpatrick Jr., Rydarrius “Red” Morgan, Zavier Mincey, and Aeryn “Bubba” Hampton, have an opportunity to battle for playing time at corner in the fall. Malachi Moore likes Morgan’s athleticism, but he spoke highly of Jahlil Hurley and Domani Jackson’s progress through a couple of days of spring practice.
“They are great technique guys,” Moore said about Hurley and Jackson. “Coach Mo [Maurice Linguist] does a great job of bringing in the nuances that he learned from the Dallas Cowboys. Both guys are competitors, and they work really hard.”
Jackson, an alumnus of Mater Dei High School in California, carries the athletic frame and physical tools to be a cornerback at 6’1″ and 190 pounds. He played two seasons (2022-23) for the Trojans, including 11 games last year. Jackson had 33 total tackles and three pass breakups. He was not in the best defensive situation under Alex Grinch at Southern California, so a change of scenery to Wommack’s 4-2-5 “Swarm Defense” is what Jackson needs. He has the potential to be a first-round cornerback.
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Hurley, an alumnus of Florence (Ala.) High School, was one of several five-star defensive backs in Alabama’s 2023 class.
The 6-foot-2, 170-pounder did not play last year; however, he practiced a lot and has a year in the system. He was a star for the Florence Falcons, totaling 56 tackles, five interceptions, six pass breakups, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery for his senior year in 2022. Hurley had 10 career interceptions combined for his junior (2021) and senior (2022) campaigns.
He has a lot of talented freshmen to fend off, but we will see if Hurley pulls out one of two cornerback spots.
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Stephen M. Smith is the senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
