Alabama’s head-scratching roster move vs. Georgia looks to be here to stay for College Football Playoff game against Oklahoma
Alabama’s last second change at corner against Georgia seems to be here to stay.
The Alabama Crimson Tide defense made a move weeks ago to start cornerback Dijon Lee over Domani Jackson, and in all honesty, the move paid dividends. Lee has multiple interceptions, a handful of pass breakups, and he has been a willing tackler in the run game.
He played very well in the Iron Bowl, and it seemed like he was a lock to continue starting against the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship, until he didn’t. Domani Jackson was reinserted into his starting role, and if you ask Kalen DeBoer, it looks like he’s here to stay.
Domani Jackson is likely to stick in a starting role for CFP
“The thing I’ll say about Domani is, it was a slow start this year. And just coming off of a lot of things that he was taking care of physically. I’ll give Domani a ton of credit. The second half [of the season] here, there’s a lot of guys that, the rotation that we’re working with, with Dijon [Lee Jr.] coming in and playing more snaps. A lot of guys could’ve handled it a different way, and he just had the right mindset,” said DeBoer of the change via the Alabama Crimson Tide YouTube channel.
“He just went back to work. I couldn’t be more proud of the way he responded. Knowing that he would be heavily involved, he knew that this was a great opportunity. I’m sure there’s things, again, that we’ll get to, that you can do better. I think that would be the case any time you have for sure a loss, but really proud of the way he has responded this latter part of the season, the second half here. He’s been in the rotation and [will] continue to stay in it. I’m proud of him.”
While the move may have caught many off guard, it was a prudent one. Jackson played a solid game even if the Bulldogs throttled Alabama. He was rallying to the ball early, diagnosing and blowing up screen passes, and he held his own in coverage.
But the move, and subsequent quote from DeBoer, still doesn’t explain what Lee did to be demoted. Perhaps Alabama saw an advantageous matchup with Jackson, and it was proven correct. With another heavy run team up next via the Oklahoma Sooners, maybe Jackson is the better fit again.
As long as the Crimson Tide win the rematch, I doubt anyone will be questioning the personnel decisions.
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