Tide to lean on Alabama native more in secondary for ‘rest of the season’

Alabama football’s defensive back, Red Morgan was one of the more impactful players on the Crimson Tide’s defense against Tennessee, despite him not having eye-popping stats.

Morgan contributed as a true freshman in 2024 at the Husky position. He remains a key contributor for the Tide in 2025 despite him not being a starter, and he flashed he can still be leaned on in year two against the Vols.

The Alabama native finished the game with two total tackles and one pass breakup. The Tide’s defensive coordinator Kane Wommack felt Morgan’s skill set was a perfect fit for what the Tide needed in their secondary to defend the Tennessee offense.

“We asked a lot out of him a year ago as a true freshman to go in and play in some high-level games and execute, and he took his lumps and he also did some really great things,” Wommack said. “I think fundamentally, he has improved so much. His consistency on the field has improved so much, and it was really great to see him be rewarded with the way that he’s playing right now. He’s got twitch. He can make space tackles. He can take the air out of the ball, meaning he can cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time. And when you’re dealing with teams, for example, like Tennessee, that stretch you laterally in the RPO perimeter passing game, really good to have a guy that not only can close space but can also finish on the ball carrier. I thought he did a tremendous job at that the other night.”

Keon Sabb, who is a starter for the Crimson Tide at safety, feels Alabama will be leaning on Morgan more as the season progresses.

“Red Morgan coming in and doing his job,” Sabb told reporters on Tuesday. “He’s the guy that will lean on more this year, the rest of the season.”

Having trusted depth is something Wommack raved about while talking about his defense after the spring, and Morgan is showing why it is so important at this stage.