The Saban 250: 61-70 Highlights Move that Helped Make Trevon Diggs an All-Pro

BamaCentral marks the end of the Nick Saban coaching era with the definitive rankings of his top 250 players with the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Oct 26, 2019; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back Trevon Diggs (7) returns an interception for a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: / Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Most people can’t go anywhere without their cell phone, and some don’t like to leave home without bringing along a book to read.

When he was at the University of Alabama, cornerback Trevon Diggs always traveled with his cleats — seriously.

“Everywhere,” he said, stashing them in everything from his car to his backpack. It’s something that he picked up from his older brother, Stefan, wide receiver who at the time was with the Minnesota Vikings.

“He’s a really hard worker. He’s always plans to get work wherever he’s at. It doesn’t matter if he goes on a trip to somewhere. He’s always trying to work. I feel like it helps me because when I see him do it, it makes me want to work hard.

A year after switching from wide receiver, Diggs became one of the key players that Crimson Tide coaches relied upon in the secondary in 2018. That he was able to make a major push to start almost immediately in 2017 while competing with a veteran group spoke volumes about his potential, although Levi Wallace instead had a breakout season.

Diggs has kept working and learning, though, on things such as not looking into the offensive backfield before a snap. One of Nick Saban’s favorite sayings with his position group during practices was “Look at the quarterback and watch him complete the pass.”

He also did things such as follow All-American Minkah Fitzpatrick during his pregame routine and run routes with him before team warmups began.

“I kind of looked at it as if, ‘Well, I can learn something from him. He’s going to be a first-round draft pick, so why not?”’ Diggs said.

It turned out that even though Diggs would suffer a foot injury and miss half of the 2018 season, his emergence was still crucial to that team. In addition to becoming one of its leaders, the secondary didn’t return a single starter. Moreover, the player who stepped into his role as a replacement was future All-American Patrick Surtain II.

At the time, Diggs’ career stats were just six tackles and three pass breakups on defense, yet he had already played in 28 games for Alabama and made his mark on special teams. During the 2017 season he returned 18 punts for 154 yards with a long of 21 while bringing back two kickoffs for 74 yards. So there was a comfort level already in place.

“He’s taking strides at every practice,” safety Deionte Thompson said. “He’ll be fine.”

Diggs and junior college transfer Saivion Smith knew each other before they got to Alabama, which has helped with the transition and turnover as they’ve been the primary first-team cornerbacks with junior Shyheim Carter taking over the star position — the extra defensive back in the slot in the nickel package.

Behind them on the depth chart were numerous future NFL players including newcomers Surtain, Jalyn Armour-Davis and Josh Jobe. But they weren’t carrying their cleats around like Diggs, who didn’t have time as a luxury.

They also didn’t have a brother in the league who during the few times they could get together during the offseason would lace up, work on releases and discuss some of the tricks wide receivers use to try to get open. They even filmed their sessions, although Trevon claimed his older brother would grab his phone and delete the video evidence whenever he lost.

Stefon, who played at Maryland and was a fifth-round selection in the 2015 NFL Draft, caught the game-winning touchdown in Minnesota’s 2017-18 playoff victory over the New Orleans Saints. Dubbed by some as the Minneapolis Miracle, the play happened as Stefon’s little brother Trevon sat in the stands just a few days after Alabama won the National Championship Game against Georgia. Stefon’s cleats from that play are now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“He was pretty excited,” Trevon Diggs said. “I’d never seen him cry before.”

Something else they’ll be celebrating for the rest of their lives is achieving the honor of being an All-Pro. Stefan earned the title with the Buffalo Bills in 2020. Trevon, who was a second-round pick by the Dallas Cowboys in 2020, snared it in 2021. The cornerback who caught passes like a wide receiver had a league-leading 11 interceptions, the most in a season since Everson Walls in 1981.

The Saban 250: 71-80

The Saban 250 ranks the players who made the biggest impact during his time with the Crimson Tide (2007-23).

61. Brian Branch, DB, 2020-22

• 2022 second-team All-American
• Second-round selection in 2023 NFL Draft
• Over 40 career games made 172 stops, including 19.5 for a loss and four sacks, with 27 passes defended and four interceptions
• Started every game of final season at star, and made 90 tackles, third on the team, to go with 14 for a loss and three sacks. Also had seven pass breakups, two interceptions and a pair of quarterback hurries, and returned two punts including a 68-yard touchdown
• In 2021, totaled 55 tackles, including five for loss and one sack, to go with a team-high nine pass breakups and one fumble recovery

62. Dalvin Tomlinson, DT, 2013-16

• Second-round selection in the 2017 NFL Draft
• As a senior had 62 total tackles, including 5.5 for a loss and three sacks, seven quarterback hurries and four pass breakups
• Had a knack was swatting down balls at the line of scrimmage, with nine passes broken up
• In 39 games played tallied 122 total tackles including 10.4 for a loss and four sacks

63. Antoine Caldwell, C, 2007-08

• 2008 consensus All-American
• 2008 All-SEC; 2007 second-team All-SEC
• Third-round selection in 2009 NFL Draft
• Was a four-year starter, including two under Nick Saban
• Twice named a team captain
• As a senior was second on the team with 92 knockdowns, and finished with an 85.93 percent blocking consistency grade

64.  Jarran Reed, DT, 2014-15

• Second-round pick in 2016 NFL Draft
• The junior-college transfer made 28 career starts
• Notched 112 tackles (49 solo), 2.0 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, one fumble recovery and seven passes defended over two seasons

65. Xavier McKinney, S, 2017-19

• 2019 All-American; second-team All-American
• 2019 All-SEC
• Second-round pick in 2020 NFL Draft
• As a junior finished 10th in the SEC in tackles with 95 in 13 games. Also 5.5 tackles for loss and three sacks
• Led the SEC with four forced fumbles to go with three interceptions, five pass breakups and five quarterback hurries. Returned a pick for an 81-yard touchdown
• Had 175 career tackles, including 13 for a loss and six sacks, to go with five interceptions and six forced fumbles
• Team captain

Green Bay Packers safety Xavier McKinney (29) is shown during organized team activities Wednesday, May 29, 2024 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. / Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

66. Kareem Jackson, CB, 2007-09

• No. 20-overall selection in the 2010 NFL Draft
• Started 12 of 13 games as a true freshman in 2007 and earned Freshman All-American honors while making 48 tackles and three interceptions
• Broke up 10 passes as a sophomore, while making 44 tackles
• Tallied one pick, 13 broken up passes and 49 tackles during final season
• Was credited with 159 tackles, including eight for a loss, and five interceptions

67. Cyrus Kouandjio, T, 2011-13

• 2013 consensus All-American
• 2013 All-SEC
• Second-round selection in 2014 NFL Draft
• Made 24 career starts, all at left tackle

68. Trevon Diggs, CB, 2016-19

• 2018 second-team All-American
• 2019 second-team All-SEC
• Second-round selection in the 2020 NFL Draft
• As a senior tied for team lead in pass breakups with eight, to go with three interceptions. Allowed a passer rating of just 44.5 when targeted, according to Pro Football Focus
• Had an 84-yard pick-six against Arkansas
• During three seasons as a cornerback, made 68 tackles and four interceptions, returning one for a touchdown. Also returned 31 punts for 284 yards (9.2 average), and 15 kick returns for 357 yards (23.8 average)

69. Mike Johnson, G, 2007-09

• 2009 consensus All-American
• 2009 All-SEC; 2008 second-team All-SEC
• Third-round selection in 2010 NFL Draft
• Team captain
• Played both guard and tackle

70. T.J. Yeldon, RB, 2012-14

• 2013 All-SEC; 2014 second-team All-SEC
• Second-round pick in 2015 NFL Draft
• In first college game rushed for 111 yards and a touchdown. Had 153 yards against Georgia in 2012 SEC Championship Game. Set Alabama freshman record with 1,108 rushing yards
• Ran for 110 yards and one touchdown against Notre Dame in BCS Championship Game
• Had 3,322 career rushing yards and 37 touchdowns over three seasons. Just missed becoming first running back in program history with three 1,000-yard rushing seasons

Alabama running back T.J Yeldon on the cover of the Sports Illustrated season preview. /

The Most Interesting Man at Alabama: Dalvin Tomlinson

Defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson was interesting. Really interesting at the University of Alabama.

He’s interesting as a player, who seemed to turn on a mental switch as needed. When his Crimson Tide teammates saw a certain look in his eye they knew what was about to be unleashed.

He’s interesting as a person. Tomlinson’s as likable as can be, hails from Georgia and had already overcome two knee surgeries. Away from the game he was usually pretty laid back and often smiling.

Tomlinson’s even interesting as a student. Of course he wanted to give the National Football League a try after his college football career concluded, but if it didn’t work out had a backup plan.

“I’ll go into financial planning,” he said with a grin.

It wasn’t necessary. Tomlinson’s the kind of player that every NFL team covets: big, fast and hard-working. That he was one of the main cogs on a national champion defensive line didn’t hurt his pro prospects either.

“I don’t know if you can tell, but he’s really a difference maker on the front. That’s my dawg man. He’s funny.”

- defensive lineman Jonathan Allen

While players like Allen, interior linebacker Reuben Foster and outside linebackers Ryan Anderson and Tim Williams got more of the attention among the Crimson Tide’s imposing defensive front seven in 2016, Tomlinson was a program stalwart for years.

Before his final season he had already played in 29 games for Alabama, notching 60 tackles, including six for a loss, two sacks and six passes knocked down. About the only thing he hadn’t done is start. He took care of that in the high-profile opener against Southern California, a crushing 52-6 victory.

“Dalvin has been a real contributor for us,” Nick Saban said. “Made a lot of plays, bats down a lot of balls. A very consistent player, a smart player. Plays really good technique and is athletic and can rush and do a lot of things.

“He's been an outstanding player for us. He's gotten better and better each year. He was a little bit undersized when we recruited him. He's gotten bigger and stronger and now he's a pretty effective player on a consistent basis.”

That fed into the notion among his teammates that Tomlinson might have been the most underrated player on the Crimson Tide roster. Sometimes they even contributed to it themselves, although not intentionally.

“Dalvin is a big part of this defense,” Anderson said. “He doesn’t get a lot of credit he deserves, but Dalvin is a monster. He’s been that way for a while. He can run, pass rush.

“[The other day] we were talking and I thought he was like 280, he’s like 310. So he got up on the scale and I was like ‘Dang.’ He don’t look like it. He doesn’t play like it. He’s one of the fastest D-linemen we have besides Da’Shawn [Hand]. He’s big. Dalvin is a big-time player man.”

But that mean streak that Tomlinson played with was something to behold, and came through in each and every game. It allowed him to pounce off the line with a burst that could be surprising, causing a rushing lane to collapse, or disruption in the backfield.

That’s one of the secrets to his playing success. Another was his hands, something that can make or break a defensive lineman.

“Pretty much hands for a defensive lineman are key, if you don’t use your hands you’re not going to be successful,” Tomlinson explained. “You use your hands every single play, and simply, if you don’t have good hand placement you’re going to pretty much get blown off the ball by the offensive lineman and lose your block and lose your gap which leads to big plays by the offense.”

Tomlinson had exceptional hands, perhaps the best on the Crimson Tide — at least among the linemen. Although he was surrounded by players who were rated as being 5-star prospects by a variety of recruiting services, they couldn’t duplicate what he did. And yes, they tried.

“I watch a lot of things he does with his hands, and I can’t really pick up on it’s just natural the stuff he does,” Anderson said. “I don’t know if he took jujitsu or something in the jungle. It’s just so quick.”

Actually, a lot of it came from playing other sports in addition to football. Tomlinson was the goalie for his high school soccer team (which was how the first knee injury occurred) and a prize wrestler. He only lost twice.

“The first one was my first-ever varsity match and I was nervous and lost by points,” he said. “The second one I got disqualified for hip-tossing a dude onto his neck.”

Dalvin was a 3x 3A State Champion Champion at heavyweight including a 9 second pin in the finals his senior season. He was one of the most dominant wrestlers around. @DalvinTomlinson @AlabamaFTBL @UA_Athletics @Giants @Vikings @SeWrestle #Alabama #giants #vikings pic.twitter.com/fKDVWO73OQ

— Georgia Grappler (@GeorgiaGrappler) March 16, 2022

To clarify, Tomlinson wasn’t trying to hurt his opponent, he executed a move that his coach called for when way out in front and missed on the follow through. But that he was able to throw a 285-pound opponent like that was more than enough to raise the eyebrows of his teammates.

They shared the videos of him wrestling, including the one when Tomlinson won a state title faster than the time it took you to read this sentence. He was that good, and was undefeated as the Crimson Tide’s locker room champion, initially defeating A’Shawn Robinson for the unofficial title.

Regardless, it all helped explain how Tomlinson could be so effective at getting off blocks and knocking down passes. 

“Ryan just thinks I’m a freak of nature,” Tomlinson said.

He was certainly one of a kind.

See also: 71-80 Features Two Key Leaders, Damien Harris and Greg McElroy

Next up: 51-69