The University of Alabama’s defensive football coaching staff is excited to play young guys in the secondary.
Maurice Linguist, the co-defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach, said last week that he’s not overwhelming the young players, but he’s starting them with small responsibilities. He told reporters the freshmen class is holding its own and performing well. Colin Hitschler, Alabama’s co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach, looks forward to playing more young guys.
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Hitschler, 37, has coached in the National Football League and college football.
He was a training camp assistant for the Philadelphia Eagles (2009) and a player personnel assistant for the Kansas City Chiefs (2010). An alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania, Hitschler was a graduate assistant (2014), director of football operations (2015-16), and a safeties coach (2017) at South Alabama. He served as a defensive quality control coach, safeties coach, and co-defensive coordinator at Cincinnati from 2018 to 2022. Hitschler spent last season as a co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Wisconsin. He knows the Crimson Tide played a lot of young guys in the secondary during the Nick Saban era.
Hitschler is ready for Kane Wommack and the defensive staff to do it again.
“We have a good group of young guys that are really talented,” Hitschler said last week.
“Alabama has played a lot of young guys in the past, and we will have the opportunity to do that again. They will earn it, nothing will be given, but they are doing a good job so far.”
Hitschler said all five freshmen defensive backs that came in early are ‘high-level players.’
“They competed for state championships,” he said of the freshmen defensive backs.
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“They played a lot of football, and all of them have had multiple reps with the ones today. All five of them have had at least one rep with the ones, so they are getting playing time. They have the potential to be really good.”
Tony Mitchell, a former five-star in the 2023 signing class. He arrived to the Crimson Tide from Thompson High School in Alabaster, Ala. Mitchell did not play his first season, but he learned a lot from being behind veterans.
Hitschler like the potential Mitchell brings to the defensive back room.
“Tony Mitchell is good,” Hitschler.
“He’s coming off an interesting freshman year with a lot of experiences. He has a lot of talent, very dynamic back there, he’s a bigger bodied kid back there, he was highly recruited coming out of high school, but he has not been able to get on the field because of injuries. He’s looked good from what we have seen from him so far.”
Hitschler has been training Mitchell at different positions in the secondary. The redshirt freshman has worked at ‘Husky’ and safety. Alabama has a young secondary, but Hitschler appreciates the leadership from Malachi Moore and Keon Sabb.
“He [Keon Sabb] and Malachi work really well together,” Hitschler said.
“It has been fun to watch them lead from the back end. “He [Sabb] has brought a different perspective from Michigan team that won a national championship. He is humble and hungry, and it is fun to watch him work.”
The freshmen names that have caught on quickly are Jaylen Mbakwe, Zabien Brown, Zavier Mincey, Red Morgan, and Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. It will be fun to watch which young names emerge that could potentially start in the secondary.
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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.
