Carmelo O’Neal didn’t arrive in Tuscaloosa as the loudest name in the portal, but Alabama clearly thinks it may have found something special.
The Mercer transfer has already turned heads in a Crimson Tide defensive back room that was looking for another long, experienced piece. At 6-foot-4, O’Neal fits the profile Kane Wommack and Maurice Linguist tend to favor at corner, and he brings 23 games of college experience with him, even if that came at the FCS level.
Alabama already has Zabien Brown and Dijon Lee locked in as starters, and freshmen Jorden Edmonds and Zyan Gibson are waiting in the wings. Still, the Tide wanted another veteran option who could help right away if needed, and O’Neal checked that box.
What made him stand out to Alabama wasn’t just the portal announcement. It was what he put on film against Auburn last season.
“I remember when we were preparing to play Auburn and Mercer had played them maybe one or two games before us, and I’m watching this long DB, and I’m like ‘man, this guy is impressive,'" Wommack said after Friday's practice."Then all of a sudden he shows up in the portal and we went after him quickly. There’s not many guys that have that length and that athleticism."
That matchup put O’Neal on Alabama’s radar, and once he entered the portal, the Tide moved fast. Since arriving in the spring, he’s done more than just validate the interest.
Wommack said the early returns have been even better than expected.
"I knew there was a skill set to work with; he was athletically further ahead, it was better than I even anticipated; I think better than what any of us anticipated when we got here. He came out here in the fourth quarter program and is running drills, and you realize that there’s a lot to work with here.
"And then Mo Linguist, from a fundamental standpoint, from a development standpoint, is as good as it gets. So Melo has just dove in.
He’s got a professional mindset. He works at it every day; he’s very coachable.
He’s just made huge strides in the last eight months."
That kind of progress is exactly why Alabama views O’Neal as more than a depth piece. He came in as an under-the-radar portal addition, but the upside is obvious enough that he already looks like a potential steal.
He may not force his way onto the field in a major way this fall with Brown and Lee in place, but the path to snaps is there. And with Alabama already fielding one of the top secondaries in college football, O’Neal has the chance to make it even stronger.
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