TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — There’s a new No. 7 working in drills with the Alabama secondary during practice. After signing with the Crimson Tide on Wednesday, four-star cornerback Jahquez Robinson suited up in crimson and white for the first time Thursday as he took part in drills with the rest of Alabama’s cornerbacks.

Robinson isn’t currently dressing out in full pads as he takes part in the NCAA’s acclimatization period. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound cornerback won’t be eligible to play in Alabama’s Citrus Bowl matchup against Michigan on Jan. 1 either. However, he is still getting a head start on his Crimson Tide career as an early enrolee.

“It can be tough. It’s a different environment, coming out of high school straight to college,” Alabama cornerback Patrick Surtain II said Friday. “But football is gonna be football at the end of the day. As long as you prepare and practice the right habits, everything’s gonna be fine.”

Surtain said he was familiar with Robinson before working with him for the first time as teammates Thursday. The early enrollee came to Alabama as the No. 13 player cornerback and No. 181 player overall in the 2020 class.

“He’s a pretty talented guy,” Surtain said. “He was out there, doing plays with us, doing all the periods with us. He looks good. He’s starting to get caught up a little bit. He’s out there having fun.”

Robinson is one of four defensive backs who signed with Alabama on Wednesday, joining fellow freshmen Malachi Moore and Brian Branch as well as JUCO transfer Ronald Williams. Friday, Surtain referred to the group as a “big-time class” and stated the quartet would “come in and do big things.” Head coach Nick Saban also expressed satisfaction with the secondary haul, calling it a need after the Crimson Tide lost its entire starting dime secondary two seasons ago.

“We've been trying to play catch up since we had six guys leave a couple years ago all at once, four seniors and two guys who went out early for the draft,” Saban said Wednesday. “So it's been a work in progress to try to develop depth in that group.”

With Trevon Diggs electing to sit out the Citrus Bowl, Surtain is now Alabama’s most tenured cornerback. That role will increase even more next season as several of the Crimson Tide’s defensive backs are set to depart this offseason. Surtain called his newfound leadership role surreal, stating, "it feels like I was just a freshman yesterday." However, that didn’t stop the sophomore from passing down some veteran advice to his newest teammate.

“Take every opportunity you can get and learn from it,” Surtain said. “The first day’s practice is going to be a little stressful at times because of all you can manage, but just keep a high head, that’s what I said.”

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