Alabama is counting on this transfer player to have a huge game.
The Alabama football team will need to go through a significant transition year in order to repeat as SEC Champions in 2024. After deciding to hang up his whistle, perhaps the greatest and most successful college football coach of all time, Nick Saban, NCAA runner-up coach Kalen DeBoer, will now try to keep the Alabama Tide atop the SEC.
DeBoer has been very busy this offseason, working the coaching pool and the transfer portal to bring in new players to the Crimson Tide. They recently added another assistant from the Washington Huskies. Saban has disclosed his new position with the team, and it sounds exciting.
The Tide’s acquisition of Keon Sabb from the Michigan Wolverines—a smart, disciplined defender who, if he can live up to his potential, could be an immediate upgrade this coming season—was perhaps the biggest transfer portal news.
The Worth of Keon Sabb to Alabama Football
After high school, Sabb was rated as a four-star prospect and received offers from several universities, including Texas A&M, Michigan, Penn State, and Clemson. However, he was not well-known until his stellar performance with the Big Ten Conference champions the previous season.
With his long and wiry build, Sabb is a versatile and instinctive player who can play almost any position, from fill-in cornerback to free safety.
Standing at 6 feet 1 inch and 208 pounds, he possesses the NFL-caliber size that Alabama football has incorporated into its roster over Saban’s tenure at the university.
Last season, Sabb recorded 14 solo tackles, two interceptions, and four passes defensed.
He was in a secondary that was led by Jesse Minter, who was also going to San Diego to take on the role of defensive coordinator with the Chargers, and defensive backs coach Steve Clinkscale, who was now playing for Jim Harbaugh in the NFL.
It won’t be easy, but Sabb should come to Tuscaloosa this fall prepared to fight for a starting position.
In 2024, Sabb Has the Most to Prove
Among the transfers from Alabama, Sabb has the most to prove for a number of reasons.
First off, Will Johnson, a projected top-10 NFL pick, safeties Rod Moore and Makari Paige, who should both be selected in the first three to fourth rounds of the NFL Draft the following spring, led an extremely talented secondary that he played on last season.
In addition, Sabb will be going into uncharted territory in the Southeastern Conference, which, despite Michigan’s 15-0 national championship season last year, most, if not all, analysts would agree has been superior to the Big Ten in recent years.
For Sabb, the tempo of the SEC game will change. Former Michigan transfer Joe Milton made a comment about it as soon as he moved to Rocky Top from Ann Arbor, and now that Sabb is a defensive back, he will get to witness it for himself.
Since he did not play in 2022, Sabb’s 2023 season marked his first full-time season with the Wolverines.
With Nick Saban departing and Coach DeBoer’s scheme taking effect, the Crimson Tide are going through a transitional period, so he will be expected to step up and make crucial plays right away.
Though it won’t be simple, Sabb has the ability, experience, and skill to make this a season to remember and possibly even make Coach DeBoer’s squad famous right away.
As strange as it sounds to talk about an Alabama team, he will be playing in a tougher conference and will have fewer experienced defensive back field companions than he is used to. That will be a significant adjustment.
It’s predicted that Sabb will go on to become another outstanding Alabama football player in a long line of them, but it might take longer than anticipated as the native of Glassboro, New Jersey eases into SEC play.
