Alabama cornerback feels he made a big jump this spring

Nov 22, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama defensive back Dijon Lee Jr. (5) intercepts a pass that bounced off of Eastern Illinois wide receiver DeAirious Smith (6) at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images

Alabama cornerback Dijon Lee supplied fans with an early showcase of what he’s prepared to produce during his sophomore season this fall, which will follow what an already succesful freshman year for the former five-star prospect.

As a member of the 2025 high school class, Lee’s position among his peers was finalized with him ranking as the No. 1 prospect out of California, the No. 4 cornerback in the class and No. 15 player in the nation overall.

When the 6-foot-3, 187-pound prospect arrived in Tuscaloosa, he immediately proved his capabilities as a contributor for the upcoming season, starting five games and appearing in the rest while recording 32 total tackles and two interceptions.

Now in his second spring with the Crimson Tide, Lee reflected on how far he’s come and what he’s improved on since his arrival.

“I mean, I just feel like I made a jump everywhere, just every aspect of the game,” Lee said after A-Day. “Spiritually, mentally, just being able to diagnose plays and stuff like that for sure. So, I just feel like I jumped in every aspect.”

But as a defensive back, individual success rarely exists, as collective efforts are what make a defense successful. While Lee and others have put in individual work over the offseason, there’s one thing Lee says the defense as a whole still needs to work on.

“Just trust. We’ve all got to trust each other,” Lee said. “We’ve got to say what each other is doing. Got a couple of [missing assignments] out there sometimes. We just clean those up, I just feel like there’s not much we can do then… We got a lot of returners, so base stuff is kind of easy for us to get back. The transfers came in; they just kind of hit the ground running, like everyone else, learned everything pretty fast. So, the base stuff is definitely there, for sure.”

Lee will work the cornerback position alongside junior Zabien Brown and others who will compete for their respective spot on the depth chart. Other potential options at cornerback include redshirt freshman Chuck McDonald, Mercer transfer Carmelo O’Neal, junior JUCO transfer Nick Sherman and freshmen Jorden Edmonds and Zyan Gibson.