Keon Sabb set the tone for Alabama’s secondary.

The Michigan transfer set up Alabama’s first two touchdowns of the Kalen DeBoer era after a pair of interceptions in the first quarter. The second came when Sabb lined up as Alabama’s lone safety, read Western Kentucky quarterback TJ Finley’s eyes and broke quickly on the ball before returning the pick 64 yards to set up Alabama's second score.

It was a highlight reel start to Sabb’s Alabama career. But he wanted a bit more from it.

“It felt good, should’ve scored though,” Sabb said. “Should’ve scored, but it’s alright, more to come, for sure.”

Sabb’s big performance didn’t come as a shock to DeBoer. The first-year coach saw Sabb’s ability firsthand when Sabb had six tackles in the national championship game against DeBoer’s Washington side. Now at Alabama, Sabb has earned praise for development and leadership within Alabama’s secondary, and DeBoer gets to enjoy his talent, rather than have to scheme against it.

“A guy that was at the right spot at the right time, and made the plays,” DeBoer said during his postgame press conference. “That’s what it’s all about. A lot of guys will be where they need to be and all that, but a little special play here or there maybe it goes through their hands. Keon, you can just see he was ready for that moment. He pounced when the opportunity came and he made some really big plays and he got our offense in some great field position early in the game.”

Sabb credited his plays to the confidence he’s gained from his new coach and teammates. He and Malachi Moore have developed strong chemistry as Alabama’s two starting safeties and co-leaders in the secondary. Moore and others having Sabb’s back gives him the green light to make plays.

“Having all my teammate's trust and my coach’s trust, believing in me and just showing me that, no matter what I do out there, they got my back,” Sabb said, “So that’s allowing me to just go out there and play free and just take the chance I need to and make the plays I need to as well.”

Though Sabb is technically a newcomer himself, he’s emerged as a leader in a relatively young Alabama secondary which had to replace a boatload of talent after Caleb Downs transferred to Ohio State, and star cornerbacks Terrion Arnold and Kool-Aid McKinstry departed for the NFL.

However, with McKinstry and Arnold watching on having returned to Bryant-Denny Stadium for Alabama’s season opener, Sabb and the rest of Alabama’s new guard in the secondary impressed in their debuts as the Crimson Tide blew out Western Kentucky 63-0 on Saturday.

Sabb was satisfied with his play. But also praised his younger teammates for their performances.

“I think they did really well, they’re not even young guys anymore in my eyes,” Sabb said. “A lot of them have been there since the spring. So I don’t even look at them as freshmen anymore. You’re seasoned guys. The whole freshman talk is gone. You guys played your first game now so you’ve got something under your belt and just continue to stack it from there.”

Alabama heavily rotated its defensive backs after the first quarter, which allowed few of its freshman DBs to impress. Zabien Brown was listed as the starter on the Crimson Tide’s depth chart alongside Southern California transfer Domani Jackson. Brown has been one of Alabama’s standout performers during fall camp. He was praised for his grit after playing through an injury and took reps with the ones ahead of Wake Forest transfer DaShawn Jones.

While Brown did not log any stats Saturday, he was praised by DeBoer after the game for not making any big mistakes and continuing to make strides in Year 1.

“There are certain guys that went out there and just didn’t seem like the lights were too bright for them,” DeBoer said. “And that’s really cool, and one day at a time they’re just going to keep getting better. They’re going to be great players for us in the long haul.”

Jaylen Mbakwe and Red Morgan also appear to be two of those players. Mbakwe looked comfortable at the cornerback position and made a nice tackle followed by a pass breakup on back-to-back plays in the second quarter. Mbakwe finished second among all defensive backs in tackles with four. Morgan is battling with DeVonta Smith to start at the Husky position and had a nice pass backup when Finley attempted a deep ball down the right side of the field.

“You see Mbakwe and Red are out there a lot and so they’re right in the rotation, and I felt good about them being out there,” DeBoer said. “Sometimes when there’s guys that you don’t trust your eyes kind of get drawn to them just to make sure that they feel good and they look confident and that’s not even the case — I don’t even feel like I’ve got to worry about whether they’re ready to go or not.”

While Sabb made two highlight-reel plays at free safety, his backup, sophomore Bray Hubbard also made the most of his time on the field, leading all defensive backs with six tackles. Jones saw more action in the second half and finished with one tackle for loss and a pass breakup.

DeBoer said after the game that he was satisfied by how much Alabama rotated in the secondary and his goal is for that to continue to keep players fresh and maintain a high level of play for all four quarters. The Crimson Tide’s second matchup against South Florida should be another opportunity for its young DBs to get crucial game reps and get comfortable on the biggest stage.

Sabb made a statement during his first game in an Alabama uniform. The Tide’s younger DBs were also able to finally get their feet wet at the college level and are beginning to provide answers for a unit that had the biggest question marks of any coming into the season. The competition will only increase. But with one game down, DeBoer is satisfied with the group’s progress.

“In the secondary, I just thought for the most part they really didn’t have big mistakes where all of a sudden someone was running free through the secondary and we just dropped the zone or dropped the man that we were supposed to be covering. Always things that we can get better at — situational ball, some crossers and things like that that I saw in the second half that we can get better at covering — but for the most part, I thought they did a great job.”