Kane Wommack tells why a freshman defensive back will play a lot in year one

3/25/25 MFB Spring Practice Alabama Football Assistant Coach (Co-Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs) Maurice Linguist Alabama Defensive Back Dijon Lee Jr. (5) Photo by Kent Gidley

Perhaps no Alabama player defensively has had a better fall camp than defensive back Dijon Lee Jr.

With Domani Jackson being kept on a ‘pitch count’ and being a bit limited through the offseason, Lee has stepped up as a freshman and filled the void in the Crimson Tide defense.

Alabama’s defensive coordinator Kane Wommack told media members on Wednesday that Lee has received a lot of reps as a freshman through the offseason, but he said he’s done a nice job, especially in fall camp with his reps on the starting defense.

“I think Dijon’s had a fantastic camp,” Wommack said. “I think obviously, Domani’s been coming back from an offseason where he didn’t go through spring. He was very limited in the summertime, and so, we just tried to get him back the right way and put him on a pitch count through fall camp. He’s handled it well. He’s done a nice job, but it’s allowed Dijon in the spring, summer and fall camp to get tons of reps and reps with the ones.”

Wommack said that even with the returning corners like Jackson and Zabien Brown having experience under their belts, he feels like Lee can play at just as high of a level as them and play at any time in games.

“To me, with two very experience corners that we have on this roster, we feel like Dijon can go right in,” Wommack said. “Credit to him and the way he’s playing right now, I see him as a starter in our defense, really impressive.”

The Tide’s defensive backs coach Mo Linquist was able to help develop Zabien Brown into a solid starter for Alabama last year, and Wommack credited him for developing another young corner in Lee that’s ready to go year one.

“This is two years in a row where we had a young freshman that Mo Linguist has done a tremendous job of developing that guy to being a starter-level player for us,” Wommack said. “Excited for Dijon and what that does for our defense.”

Lee is a 6-foot-4, 202-pound corner who’s great at high-pointing the football and has great length that can make getting off the line of scrimmage a nightmare for opposing receivers this season. The impact he has as a freshman is one storyline to monitor in 2025.