TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The big black club on Zabien Brown is hard to miss during Alabama’s practice, but the new accessory shouldn’t limit the freshman cornerback for long.
Brown, was first seen wearing a black cast on his left arm during Sunday’s practice. When Alabama returned to the practice field Tuesday morning, the freshman was sporting a bigger club. Brown still went through drills with the rest of the unit during the media viewing period and even caught a few one-handed passes with his right hand.
“He’s limited, he’s on a bit of a pitch count with stuff right now,” Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said following Tuesday’s practice. “But we expect him to be back and fully going in the next couple of days here.”
Brown signed with Alabama as the No. 25 overall player and No. 3 player in this year’s class. The five-star freshman worked with Alabama’s first-team defense in the spring, starting the A-Day game across from Southern California transfer Domani Jackson at the cornerback position.
Brown has continued to build off his spring momentum despite his recent setback. Tuesday, he led the cornerbacks during individual drills.
“Zabien was so impressive to me coming right off the jump,” Wommack said. “To walk out of high school early as a mid-year enrollee and then to be able to play the way he’s been playing from the springtime. What I’ve been most impressed with him is when he makes a mistake, he gets it corrected. And I can’t think of a time where I saw him make the next mistake again.”
Wommack also praised Zabien for his confidence so far this offseason. That’s something that the freshman’s teammates have noticed as well, especially Jackson, who played with him at California’s Mater Dei High School.
“He doesn’t act like a freshman at all,” Jackson said. “He spends extra hours in the film room just getting the knowledge of the game so he can perform like he does.”
Tuesday marked Alabama’s fifth of 20 preseason practices before the team enters game week for the season opener against Western Kentucky on Aug. 31. The Crimson Tide will return to the practice field Wednesday morning.
