Freshman Surtain emerges in Alabama’s secondary
Even though Alabama began the season No. 1 in the polls, there were some concerns for the Crimson Tide, notably in the secondary.
Coach Nick Saban needed to replace all six players from last season’s dime package, including do-it-all All-American Minkah Fitzpatrick.
The “veteran” of the returning group was junior safety Deionte Thompson, who played in 28 games in the previous two seasons, mostly as a reserve and special teams player. He made two starts last season, both coming in the College Football Playoff as he filled in for an injured teammate.
Around here, Saban needed lightly-used players and newcomers to emerge. That has happened through the top-ranked Tide’s 4-0 start, which includes a 2-0 SEC record by a combined 77 points over Ole Miss and Texas A&M.
Alabama plays host to Louisiana (1-2) in a nonconference game Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium, when true freshman cornerback Patrick Surtain II is expected to make his second start.
His first came last weekend in a 45-23 home win over Texas A&M. Surtain’s first career interception came just before halftime, giving the Tide the ball at midfield with 19 seconds left. That was enough time for Alabama to navigate for a 47-yard field goal by Joseph Bulovas.
Surtain didn’t allow a completion until the fourth quarter, when the Aggies hit a 12-yard slant when he was in soft coverage. He later gave up one more completion.
“He made some mental errors at the end of the game that we’ll need to correct, that he’ll learn from,” Saban said.
“But I’ve been pleased with his progress, I’ve been pleased with his performance. He’s a bright guy. He’s athletic. He plays with good ball skills. Plays with toughness. He made a couple mistakes at the end of the game that we need to get corrected, but I’m sure there’s a lot of players that did the same.”
Opponents have tried to test Surtain, the son of former NFL standout Patrick Surtain, through the early season, avoiding junior cornerback Trevon Diggs, a converted wide receiver.
But with Surtain (5-2, 202) and Diggs (6-2, 199), Alabama is long, lanky and fast at cornerback … and getting more experienced all the time. The Tide is ninth nationally in pass efficiency defense with a rating of 94.39.
Surtain, a five-star recruit from Florida, is fitting right in, even though he is only scratching the surface of his potential. But it shouldn’t be a surprise that Saban has found another plug-and-play recruit.
“No, when you come to Bama,” sophomore wide receiver DeVonta Smith told BamaCentral.com. “That’s what you expect.”
