What position will athletic Jaylen Mbakwe play at Alabama
Alabama commit Jaylen Mbakwe seldom comes off the field during a Clay-Chalkville football game.
“You will see him everywhere – quarterback, receiver, defensive back, returning kicks. Wherever we need him,” Cougars head coach Drew Gilmer said.
However, there is little doubt where his future lies.
“He’s an NFL corner,” Gilmer said. “He has elite speed. He is like a 10.4 or 10.5 100-meter guy. He also can close that distance quick. He has natural instincts. He has a nose for the football. He knows how to bait a quarterback, and he knows how to go play the football. He has long arms. He’s an all-around player.”
The 6-foot-1, 171-pound Mbakwe committed to the Crimson Tide last July and this week announced he was shutting down his recruitment.
“I feel like it was just time – time to focus on everything and get ready for my senior season,” Mbakwe said. “I just want to have fun and just get this thing back to a state championship.”
Mbakwe is the top rising senior recruit in Alabama, according to the On3 industry rankings, and is No. 17 nationally. The latest 247 Sports rankings have him at No. 3 in the state behind Vestavia Hills’ EDGE Jordan Ross and Foley wide receiver Perry Thompson. Gilmer describes Mbakwe simply as a “once-in-a-lifetime player.”
“He is a guy who we knew would be extremely, extremely talented as a young kid. To watch him grow and develop … he can do everything,” Gilmer said. “He can play receiver, he can play corner, he can play quarterback, he can return kicks. You name it, he can do it.
“What he brings off the field and in the lockerroom is just as important honestly. He is just a great person. He is a great teammate. His teammates love him. Coaches love him. His teachers love him. He just has an attractive personality and is a guy who makes people around him better.”
As a junior for Clay last fall, Mbakwe caught 41 passes for 615 yards and 9 TDs, ran for 118 yards and 2 TDs and returned 9 kickoffs for 145 yards and 2 TDs in addition to playing defensive back.
“Everything he does is amazing,” Clay-Chalkville linebacker DJ Barber said. “It’s good to be able to practice against someone like that because you know you are practicing against one of the top talents in the country.”
Gilmer said Mbakwe was a natural fit at Alabama.
“He’s going to play for the best, especially at that position,” he said. “He is a natural fit there. He has a great family. They are real close, and they will be able to head to Tuscaloosa to watch him play on Saturdays.”
For now, however, Mbakwe has just one thing in mind.
“We want to get back to that championship game,” he said.
Mbakwe and Clay-Chalkville went 15-0 and won the 2021 Class 6A state championship, defeating Hueytown 46-42 in the final. In 2022, the Cougars were upset 7-6 by Parker in the first round.
The team is skipping a traditional spring practice in favor of having an extra week in the fall.
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