Dijon Lee Gets Strong Support From Alabama Teammates After Georgia Setback

Enough time has passed for Alabama cornerback Dijon Lee to move forward with what happened last week.

The unnecessary roughness penalty that he committed that essentially sealed the game for the Bulldogs carried a ton of weight, but his teammates want him to know that he’s not alone.

Fellow corner and team captain Zabien Brown made sure to let the media and the fans know that Lee will bounce back.

"He's responded good," Brown said during Tuesday's practice. "He's a very strong-minded dude, and he had a great practice out there today. We got his back no matter what. That's my guy, that's my brother. Great player, and he's going to have a great rest of the season."

Outside of the penalty, it’s been a trying season for the sophomore. After earning the trust of the coaching staff in his freshman season, Lee was rewarded with the starting corner position opposite of Brown.

In the first six games of the season, according to PFF, Lee has allowed 17 receptions on the 24 times he’s been targeted, and has allowed 254 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

It seemed like he was turning the corner, after posting his best game of the season against Mississippi State, where he recorded the first pick-six of his career and a pass break up.

Head coach Kalen DeBoer praised Lee after that game, commenting on Lee’s talent and it almost presented a little bit of foreshadowing leading to the Georgia game.

"Every play is its own play,” DeBoer said. “You have to reset. He's too good of a football player. He works too hard. Every one of us is human. It's never gonna be perfect. But man, he went out there and made the plays early… You have to have a short memory, especially when you're at his position. You got to go out there and go get the job done the next play."

Whether Lee retains his starting role against Tennessee remains to be seen. Carmelo O'Neal could see an expanded role after already featuring prominently in Alabama's defensive rotation.

This isn’t the end for Lee. Not even close.

There’s a good reason why DeBoer wanted him a part of the program so badly. He possesses the attributes needed to be one of the better corners in the game with his 6-foot-5 length and his 6-foot-10 wingspan.

When you watch the tape, you can see the vision. Staying with his man isn’t the hard part, it’s making the correct reads will separate him from the pack.

That is teachable. And Lee has plenty of time to get things right.