Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama Gets Major Keon Sabb News as DC Kane Wommack’s Secret Weapon Draws Attention

Alabama’s defense without Nick Saban is still dangerous. And DC Kane Wommack’s first year in Tuscaloosa under Kalen DeBoer wasn’t average. They still finished last season, ranking 10th in scoring defense. But things could be about to change for the better in 2025. That’s because of safety Keon Sabb, the Michigan transfer who once helped the Wolverines bury his current HC’s Washington in the national championship. After a rocky 2024 that saw him go from CB to safety to injured reserve, he’s back, and he’s bringing fire to the Tide’s secondary. 

Everybody’s high on Alabama’s secondary unit heading into 2025. In a new episode of The Next Round on June 13, the hosts discussed Pro Football Focus’ ranking that put Kalen DeBoer’s team in second place after Texas. “Second-best safety combo according to Pro Football Focus is in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in the Crimson Tide,” Jim Dunaway said.

He added, “That includes in the safety position. Brady Hubbard and Keon Sabb, as Max Chadwick of Pro Football says, arguably the best safety pairing in the sport of college football. Throw in the talented corners that they’ve got and the depth they’ve got, you can make a case that Alabama’s secondary is the best in college football.” And both these players make their own cases with their performances. 

Like many folks, co-host Ryan Brown gave Brady Hubbard his flowers. “Brady Hubbard grades out so well. I think there are certain categories where he was the best in the nation when graded last year,” he said. Hubbard didn’t even start Week 1 last season. But he finished with an absurd 89.2 PFF overall grade and 89.7 coverage grade. He allowed just a 21.3 passer rating when targeted, fifth best in the nation. As for Keon Sabb, he was the breakout star on Michigan’s title-winning defense in 2023. 

Keon Sabb’s production hasn’t caught up to his reputation in Alabama yet. He finished 2024 with just two picks and four breakups; both INTs came in Week 1 before he suffered a season-ending injury, missing the final six games. But anyone who watched his film from Ann Arbor knows that the guy is a formidable safety.

Back then, he gave up just 10 catches on 21 targets and tacked on a couple of picks and three pressures. As Lance Taylor put it, “Incredible, Sabb. You thought he would be good playing at Michigan. You didn’t know he would be the factor he’s been. You talk about the cornerbacks. I didn’t see Domani Jackson being as good as he was.”  And the way Alabama is stacked at secondary, it works very well for Kane Wommack, whose secret weapon lies there. 

Keon Sabb leads Kane Wommack’s secret weapon

Kane Wommack’s defense is different. He builds from the back. “What did we always hear about Kane Wommack’s system of defense? Where are you going to have to be the best for his system of defense? Secondary,” Ryan Brown said. “It’s a secondary first defense. That sounds weird to say secondary first, but it’s a defense that is built around being dominant to the secondary.”

And this year, everything’s ready. As the DC himself said, “We have something that we didn’t have a year ago, which is depth in our backfield. And that’s exciting.” 

While Keon Sabb and Brady Hubbard are the safety gems here, they’re far from being the only productive players. With both Domani Jackson and Zabien Brown back at corner, plus Utah transfer Cameron Calhoun and DaShawn Jones added to the mix, Alabama has what might be the deepest and most talented secondary in the nation.

Calhoun was top 10 among Power Four corners last season, while Jones is stepping in at nickel and already boasts the second-best tackling grade among SEC corners. Then you have Dijon Lee, Dre Kirkpatrick Jr., Chuck McDonald, Ivan Taylor, Kameron Howard, and Zavier Mincey. 

If Keon Sabb and the other starters stay healthy, they could be the reason Alabama’s defense goes from really good to national-title-winning again. Because in Kane Wommack’s world, dominance starts in the secondary.