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Alabama Football: 5 potential breakout candidates for spring 2019

By John Mitchell

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA - NOVEMBER 03: Brian Robinson Jr. #24 and Kyriq McDonald #26 of the Alabama Crimson Tide take the field prior to their game against the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium on November 03, 2018 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA - NOVEMBER 03: Brian Robinson Jr. #24 and Kyriq McDonald #26 of the Alabama Crimson Tide take the field prior to their game against the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium on November 03, 2018 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

3. Josh Jobe (CB/Sophomore)

One of the few positive developments in the loss to Clemson was the emergence of freshman cornerback Josh Jobe, who replaced an injured Saivion Smith in the second half of the game. Jobe gave up a couple of plays to fellow freshman receiver Justyn Ross, but he was in good coverage on both plays and Ross made absurd one-handed catches that Jobe was powerless to stop.

Jobe is a former four-star recruit out of Cheshire, Connecticut who should see an increased role in 2019 with Smith’s decision to depart for the NFL Draft. The emergence of Jobe, as well as a wealth of other talented young defensive backs, likely factored into Smith’s decision to go ahead and enter the draft despite his standing as a late-round prospect.

Jobe flew under the radar for most of the season with the attention squarely on freshman Patrick Surtain II, who earned a starting role at corner for the Crimson Tide. Jobe played sparingly in the second half of blowout wins and proved to be a key player on Alabama’s special teams before being thrust into the spotlight in the biggest game of the season.

Jobe will have a tough time finding playing time in Alabama’s base defense next season with Surtain returning along with nickel corner Shyheim Carter and senior Trevon Diggs bouncing back from a foot injury. Those figure to be your starters, but Jobe will push for playing time in the dime and quarter packages for Alabama.

With Deionte Thompson gone, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Carter shift to safety, a position he is likely to see some time at this spring, although senior Jared Mayden figures to be the favorite to replace Thompson in the staring lineup.

Alabama boasts a ton of returning talent in the secondary, but Jobe flashed enough potential that it will be tough to keep him off the field in 2019.

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