TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama freshman cornerback Zabien Brown has pushed his peers this fall. Despite his lack of college experience, Brown has competed with Alabama’s more seasoned corners, including veteran transfers Domani Jackson and DaShawn Jones.

Brown has been one of the standout performers during Alabama’s fall camp practices so far. His play is all the more impressive given that Brown has spent a considerable part of fall camp with a cast on his left hand.

The injury is not expected to affect Brown long-term and hasn’t seemed to give him trouble in the short term either. Brown’s willingness to not only play but excel despite his injury limitations drew praise from Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer following the Crimson Tide’s second fall camp scrimmage Saturday.

​​“I’m just super proud of how he’s done that,” DeBoer said. “I think there might be some guys that would’ve taken themselves, maybe not from practice but from certain drills or certain reps. He has certainly shown a toughness about him by going out there and competing and really not missing anything as far as what we have approved him to do from a doctor’s standpoint.”

In addition to praising Brown’s competitiveness, DeBoer also said he isn’t surprised that Brown is right there with the other corners at the top of Alabama’s depth chart given his football background.

Brown came to Alabama from Mater Dei High School in California. The powerhouse program also produced Jackson, and several other former Alabama players, including Bryce Young. Alabama has continued to pull from its Mater Dei pipeline, landing two commits from the school in 2025 — cornerback Chuck McDonald III and linebacker Abduall Sanders.

With strong high school experience under his belt, Brown is already capitalizing on his opportunity at the next level. He has been taking reps with the first team across from Jackson and will likely continue to challenge Jones for the second starting cornerback spot as fall camp turns to preparation for Alabama’s first game of the season.

“He’s got a great head on his shoulders,” DeBoer said. “He played high-level high school ball and I think that’s helped him translate to being able to emerge and come through here.”

DeBoer also acknowledged that Jones having college snaps under his belt has been a positive during fall camp. Jones started 10 games at Wake Forest last season, logging three interceptions and a pair of pass breakups. He also recorded 37 tackles, including 1.5 for a loss. Even with Brown’s rise during camp, Jones' experience as a Power Four starter will be key to the success of Alabama’s cornerback room.

As a whole, Alabama’s cornerbacks have remained competitive throughout camp. DeBoer was impressed with the physicality of the unit during the scrimmage Saturday, stating the group tackled well and laid some big hits on Alabama receivers and tight ends.

Brown playing through injury is the embodiment of the unit's collective toughness. The question marks regarding Alabama's cornerback room won't be answered until the group proves it on the field in game situations. But the progress of Brown and others during camp suggests Alabama's corners are on track to find success in 2024.

“We don’t have as many [corners] as we normally would have on a regular year,” DeBoer said. “But each of them understands that that’s on them and they’re bringing it every single day, and Coach [Maurice] Linguist I think has done a tremendous job trying to balance that confidence that they need to have with just continuing to stay on top of them, push them, hold them accountable to a higher standard, higher level every single day.”