Alabama’s secondary has a chance to separate itself from the rest of college football, and the reason goes beyond the obvious names at the top of the depth chart.
Yes, the Tide already have plenty of recognition on the back end. Cornerback Zabien Brown and safety Bray Hubbard landed on the Preseason All-SEC First Team, while Keon Sabb made the Third Team.
That’s a strong starting point. But the real edge for Alabama might be the way the room keeps going after the headline guys.
Dijon Lee is a big part of that case. The former five-star stepped into his freshman season and pushed his way onto the field fast. Last season, defensive coordinator Kane Wommack pointed to Lee’s consistency and how quickly he earned trust.
"We talk about it all the time: a body of work, and you have to answer for the things that we put on tape," defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said of Lee last season. "And we just felt like what Dijon was doing in the game, and as the game was going on, he was operating at a very efficient level and doing his job at an efficient level… And so Dijon is certainly on a very good trajectory right now."
That kind of production is exactly why Lee is drawing national attention. According to PFF, he was the second-best returning cornerback heading into the season, behind Notre Dame’s Leonard Moore.
Max Chadwick also put it plainly: “Lee emerged as one of the SEC's top cornerbacks as a true freshman last season. He intercepted two passes and broke up five more en route to an excellent 80.2 PFF coverage grade… He and the rest of Alabama's secondary should make life very difficult for opposing offenses again in 2026.”
Lee isn’t the only young defender who made a real impression. Safety Red Morgan also earned Wommack’s confidence last season, and the coach made clear how much the staff asked of him right away.
"That’s a young man that we asked a whole hell of a lot of a year ago, to come in here and start as a true freshman, and it was because we didn’t have another answer," Wommack said last season."So we put a whole lot on his plate, and some things he handled really well... Proud of his fight and excited to see what he’ll do on the back end of the season.”
That’s the through line for Alabama’s secondary: not just star power, but layers. The Tide are already in the mix with the usual heavyweights at defensive back - Georgia with KJ Bolden, Oregon with Brandon Finney Jr., Carl Williams IV and Ify Odibegwu, and Notre Dame with Moore - but Alabama’s depth could be what tilts the race.
The biggest test now is whether Lee and Morgan keep climbing. If they do, Alabama won’t just have a secondary built around proven talent. It could end up with the deepest defensive back room in the country.
In Other News...
Alabama Fans Will Have Strong Reactions To Keelon Russell's SEC Ranking
Bud Elliotts early look at the 2026 SEC quarterback race put Alabama fans in a familiar spot: plenty of hope, and probably a little debate. In his CBS Sports ranking, the college football analyst slotted Texas star Arch Manning at No. 1, then filled out the top five with Ole Misss Trinidad Chambliss, LSUs Sam Leavitt, Alabamas Keelon Russell and South Carolinas LaNorris Sellers.
For Alabama, the noteworthy part is not just Russell cracking the list, but where he landed in a conference that rarely leaves much room for error at quarterback. Elliott also weighed recent performance and future potential in making his selections, which only adds to the intrigue around Russell heading into next season. Crimson Tide fans have spent plenty of time waiting to see what the next quarterback era will look like, and this ranking is another reminder that the conversation around Russell is already starting to get serious. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Scrimmage Left One Big QB Question And Fresh Injury Concern
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There was also a more concerning note on the injury front, as true freshman EJ Crowell sat out while continuing to work back from an ankle issue. In a camp where every rep matters, Alabama is still sorting out both its top competition and its early health picture, and the final shape of the depth chart will depend on how those pieces come together over the next stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Former Alabama Player Just Won A Massive Case Tied To 2023 Shooting
A former Alabama basketball player has now won a major legal battle that reached far beyond the court. An Alabama jury ordered The New York Times to pay $9.25 million in damages to Kai Spears after finding the paper defamed him by wrongly reporting that he was at the scene of a fatal 2023 shooting, a claim Spears challenged in a lawsuit filed in 2023.
The nine-day trial ended with the jury siding with Spears, putting a sharp spotlight on how a mistaken report can follow an athlete long after his playing days. The Times had acknowledged the error in its original story and said it is reviewing its legal options after the verdict, leaving the case with another chapter still possible. [Read more 🡒]