Josh Jobe did not get a ton of reps as a freshman in the secondary, but he played in almost every game. He was more of a rotational corner last year, but he has a chance to get more reps in 2019.
Jobe is very aggressive as an outside corner. In Alabama’s A-Day game, he lined up against Jerry Jeudy some as a nickel corner, and he held his own. he also was vicious in one tackle of Najee Harris. if he shows that type of aggressive play style in the regular season, he will get some time in games.
The only issue with Jobe being a breakout candidate is the fact that there are so many players in front of him. As a corner, Jobe competes against Patrick Surtain, Shy Carter, and Trevon Diggs in the depth chart. Carter plays more in that Star position, but there are still so many great members of this Alabama secondary.
If Jobe keeps playing like this, however, he will force his way into the rotation. The other ways he could potentially get into the starting lineup are position change or injury. If Jared Mayden struggles early, Saban might be tempted to move Shy Carter or Trevon Diggs to safety in order to get his five best defensive backs on the field in nickel coverage. I don’t see this happening, though. If it didn’t happen in the spring, I don’t expect Saban to make a sudden change in the fall.
Injuries are always detrimental for a team, but it has to make Saban feel better to know that he has an ace up his sleeve with Josh Jobe.