Why Dijon Lee Saw Increased Playing Time Against Missouri

Leading up to the 2025 season, freshman defensive back Dijon Lee generated a lot of hype. Many touted his talent before he arrived at Alabama, and he performed well during fall camp.

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Lee was expected to see time this season and a significant number of snaps, and the lengthy and athletic 6-foot-4 defensive back has steadily found his way onto the field.

His first appearance came during Week 1 against Florida State, where he played five snaps and recorded one tackle. Through Week 6, he ranks ninth on the team with 171 defensive snaps.

Although not a starter, Lee has gradually worked his way into rotation and has shown consistency. In Week 6, Lee played a vital role in Alabama's 27-24 victory over Missouri, playing 49 snaps – nearly double the 22 snaps played by senior cornerback Domani Jackson.

On Monday, defensive coordinator Kane Wommack explained why the freshman saw more time than veteran Jackson. "We talk about it all the time, right, a body of work and you have to answer for the things that we put on tape and we just felt like what Dijon was doing in the game and as the game was going on, he was operating at a very efficient level and doing his job at an efficient level. What you do in practice and what you do in games ultimately determines the amount of playing time moving forward, and so Dijon's certainly on a very good trajectory right now," Wommack said.

Lee impressed in the victory over the Tigers. Although he had only one tackle, he showed consistency and sealed the game with an interception of quarterback Beau Pribula.

Lee boasts elite coverage skills, rare size, and physicality. As the tallest defensive back on Alabama's roster, his length is a significant advantage when playing against teams with bigger, taller wide receivers.

Alabama and Tennessee will face off this Saturday for the Third Saturday in October. The Volunteers will come to town ready to battle, especially with their star wide receiver, Chris Brazzell II, who leads the Volunteers in receiving yards with 536 and seven touchdowns.

The 6-foot-5 wide receiver is quick, shifty, and can easily separate from defenders. Given that he and Lee have similar builds and skills, it would be ideal for Lee to cover Brazzell.

Wommack was asked about how he plans to cover Brazzell and whether he would have Lee matched up against him. "You can do some of those things for sure, but when they're going fast, it's hard sometimes to just say, hey, we're gonna go trade and match corners over all the time. Those are things that, we have done that in the past," Wommack said.

"Those are things that you can do. Some of it is based upon what type of coverage you're wanting to play. Some of it is situational based. It's not like we have one 6-4 guy and we have all 5-9 DBs other than that, right? Zabien Brown is 6'2", you know what I mean?

"We've got guys that are long, athletic, so we do feel like we can challenge the receiving corps but certainly, we'll look at whatever matchups we can have. So you stop by my office afterwards with any other ideas."

Given Lee's abilities, Alabama has multiple ways to utilize him this season as their competition builds and they are entering the midpoint of their season.