With Patrick Surtain II's Departure, Alabama DB Jordan Battle is Poised to Take on Leadership Role

The Crimson Tide junior defensive back said that the team has yet to find its leaders but feels that he is ready when his name is called

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama junior defensive back Jordan Battle is ready to be a leader.

And in all honesty, that’s right where he belongs.

Despite being just a sophomore in 2020, Battle was third on the team in tackles with 66 over the course of 13 games played. Being opposite of now-departed senior Patrick Surtain II, Battle was able to prove himself as a vital key to the Crimson Tide’s defense despite his young age.

Now, with Surtain gone, it’s Battle’s turn to take on a leadership role on the Alabama defense.

“[Leadership is] something that I’m comfortable with now because the players I have before me, who have shown me the way,” Battle said in a Zoom meeting with the media on Tuesday. “Players last year like Landon Dickerson, Alex Leatherwood, Pat Surtain, guys like that. DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle, guys like that showing me the way ever since I was a freshman.

“So at this point, I’m more comfortable being vocal and getting on other players.”

With so many leaders departing the team in 2021 to join the ranks of the NFL, though, Battle is going to need to feel more than comfortable in order to succeed in his new role.

Despite the loss of Surtain, Alabama returns the majority of its defensive backs this season. Along with Battle come Malachi Moore, Josh Jobe, DeMarco Hellams and others along with new talent like Ga’Quincy McKinstry. While the group as a whole didn’t live up to many fans’ expectations last season, this season sees the returners enter the 2021 season as experienced veterans, no doubt chomping at the bit to improve over last season.

Battle said that when it comes to leadership, he most often looks back to what Surtain taught him during his time at Alabama.

“Well, for me, most importantly, Pat Surtain because we’re both in the DB corps,” Battle said. “Just him showing me the way, leading guys, speaking after practice or keeping us after practice extra hours to tell us to get on the other positions like the linebackers, D-linemen, because it’s gonna take not just us, it takes everybody to be on one corps.”

Alabama is now just days away from completing its 2021 spring season. On Saturday, the team hosts its third and final scrimmage in the annual A-Day Game. With only 14 practices and three scrimmages this year that represent the spring football season for the Crimson Tide, Battle and his players haven’t had a lot of time to really figure out who’s leading the team.

On Tuesday, Battle said that even head coach Nick Saban hasn’t figured out who the leaders are on this 2021 team.

“The last scrimmage, it was very competitive,” Battle said. “We were actually going back and forth. It was a great scrimmage all around for the offense and defense. One of the goals is just to get better, always to get better. More leadership guys.

“Coach Saban hasn’t found his leaders yet. I just challenged all the guys on the defense to be more vocal and get everybody on the same page”

While one of the primary reason that Saban hasn’t determined the leaders yet is most certainly due to the high level of leadership turnover following last season on both sides of the ball, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t leaders on the team. It simply means that they haven’t emerged just yet.

Last season, Alabama’s spring practice season was missed in its entirety due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team wasn’t able to host a full padded practice until the summer. What happened in the 2020 season? Despite not having enough time to prepare as adequately as it normally would, the Crimson Tide was still able to cap off its season with its 18th national title.

Leadership takes time. Now that the team has more time to prepare between spring and summer, there’s no doubt that the team’s leaders will emerge over the course of the summer.

Now just days away before the conclusion of spring practices, Battle says that Saban’s main challenge for him for the rest of spring and heading into next season is to become the leader that he knows he can be.

“The only challenge I’d say is for me to be a better leader,” Battle said. “Just leading these guys – we have a couple young guys that’s gonna be key players for us this year, and just got them on the right track and keep them focused and allow them to lead others and get them on the same track as us. Because we all want that same, that one common goal.”