Domani Jackson committed to transfer to Alabama football when Nick Saban was still the head coach. At least for a few more weeks.

Jackson, a Southern Cal transfer cornerback, announced his decision to join the Crimson Tide on Dec. 28 while Alabama was preparing for the Rose Bowl. Then on Jan. 10, Saban retired.

Not only did that mean Alabama no longer had arguably the greatest college head coach of all time, it also meant Jackson wouldn’t get to work with the legendary coach whose specialty was defensive backs.

Yet, Jackson kept his commitment and decided to stay.

Why?

“Truthfully, the A doesn’t change,” Jackson said. “It’s still a powerhouse in college football. I just wanted to have a change and reset my college career. I just felt like this was the best opportunity for me.”

Jackson is expected to be one of Alabama’s starting cornerbacks in 2024. He’s a 6-1, 197-pound junior who played for Mater Dei in California before he went to Southern Cal and played two seasons with 18 games of experience.

Those games also included competing against new coach Kalen DeBoer’s then Washington Huskies. That time facing DeBoer team helped sell Jackson on staying at Alabama once DeBoer took over in Tuscaloosa.

“I played against them,” Jackson said. “I knew what they were capable of. You could just go down his road as a winning coach. I knew the coaches he was going to bring in were going to be great.”

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.