How Alabama WR Jaylen Mbakwe is Performing After Position Switch

Alabama football had over 20 players enter the transfer portal following last season, but none were as surprising as cornerback Jaylen Mbakwe.

Mbakwe announced on December 16 that he would head into the portal, but then he changed his mind the next day. Shortly after, he switched positions from defensive back—where he had a large impact in the rotation last season as a true freshman—to wide receiver.

Mbakwe officially made the switch to wide receiver just before the ReliaQuest Bowl against Michigan. It was uncertain at the time if he'd play on offense and defense like reigning Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, but now he's solely a member of the receivers room.

Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer spoke about Mbakwe's development following Day 4 of fall camp on Sunday.

"Bak’s made some nice plays here," DeBoer said. "He’s actually gotten practice kicked off in a good way from an offensive standpoint with some big plays early on. So again, growth is happening. It’s fun, it’s great to see.

"I feel like any player, you’re always looking—can you trust him to get lined up? Can you trust him to do his job? Those are really things that I’m not worried about with Bak, so now it’s just getting comfortable more and more with the offense and the timing, and working with the guys around him. That growth I would hope for is what I’m seeing."

A strong argument could be made that Mbakwe is the most athletic player on the roster, but the former 5-star recruit and Clay-Chalkville two-way standout will continue to have all eyes on him during fall camp to capture the transition. As previously stated, he played a ton of snaps at cornerback as a freshman last season and excelled, but this switch can make or break his development.

On top of it all, Alabama's wide receiver room is being considered one of the deepest and most talented in college football heading into the 2025 season. Mbakwe is one of 10 scholarship wide receivers and he'll have to find a way to move up the depth chart as the season moves along.