Keon Sabb made an instinct impact for Alabama football in 2024, but the Michigan transfer didn’t get to finish the season. Now he’s working his way back to starting again in 2025 at safety.
“I feel really good,” Sabb said after practice Saturday. “(Trainer) Jeff Allen and (strength) coach (David) Ballou did a great job getting me ready for the season. I think I’m really close. I’m really getting there.”
Sabb hasn’t played in a game since the Crimson Tide lost to Tennessee on Oct. 18. He missed the final six games of the season, including the ReliaQuest Bowl, with a lower-body injury. The Tennessee game was Sabb’s last of 2024, but he was “battling with (the injury) a few weeks before that.”
“The Tennessee game ended up being the last straw for it,” Sabb said. But Sabb’s absence presented an opportunity for Bray Hubbard to step into the starting lineup next to captain Malachi Moore and gain valuable experience. With Moore off to the NFL with the New York Jets this season, Hubbard is back alongside Sabb as the likely starters. Now the key is getting Sabb fully healthy.
“I think he’s ahead of really every marker we had in the offseason for him,” Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said. “We weren’t sure if he was going to be able to go to the level he’s going right now at the beginning of fall camp, but he is. He’s here.” Sabb was seen going through drills with the other safeties without restrictions during the 15 minutes of practice open to reporters. But none of the drills were 11 on 11 or involved any form of full contact.
“He’s out there playing with our guys,” Wommack said. “He’s comfortable enough to be able to do that. Sometimes those injuries, you’ve got to build a callous of coming back. And I think that’s something he’s really pushing himself right now to get ready for the season.”
Sabb joined the Crimson Tide in the offseason preceding the 2024 season, transferring over from Michigan. Then Sabb became a starter and was productive right away. He had two interceptions in the first game against Western Kentucky. By the time he was out for the year following the Tennessee game, Sabb had tallied 39 tackles, four pass breakups and two interceptions.
