LEXINGTON, Ky. Alabama won its SEC debut at Kentucky on Saturday , and in all the chaos was former five-star defensive back Jireh Edwards, who made his collegiate debut in front of 61,000 rowdy Wildcats, ready to pounce.
Edwards, the No. 1 safety in the class of 2026 according to ESPN, got out of surgery for a broken arm just 19 days ago and made the most of his debut by delivering one of the most physically impressive plays of the afternoon.
On the very first play of the fourth quarter, with his team leading 31-17, Edwards perfectly timed an assault through the middle of the offensive line, wreaking havoc in the backfield and recording his first career tackle for loss.
"That boy's a dog," transfer linebacker Caleb Woodson said. "He's a freshman, so think about doing that as a freshman. That's great," Woodson said. "I saw it was [number] 10, and I was like, 'yeah that's by dog, let's go.'"
It wasn't this play alone that defined Edwards's day. Those who paid close attention to the Tide's special teams unit could find the Maryland Player of the Year giving everything he had on the team's kickoff unit.
Alabama's head coach Kalen DeBoer took notice. Within the first minute-and-a-half of his press conference, after a game that saw its fair share of action, DeBoer shouted out Edwards for his toughness and noted that his team has "a lot of tough dudes."
Edwards also earned praise from his teammate Devan Thompkins, who talked about the energy the freshman brings.
"Jireh did exactly what I expected him to do," the USC transfer said. "Jireh's one of those young guys I talk to a lot. From the time he came in, he's always had the same energetic approach every day. He's one of the guys that actually lifts me up sometimes, too, when he sees I'm not feeling high energy out there."
That juice was felt after the final whistle too. Edwards was seen cutting up with his teammates and the Alabama fans who made the trip. He danced his heart out in the middle of a group of players and looked like he was on cloud nine, indicating that it was a debut to remember for the talented freshman.
Edwards may not have played a ton of snaps on Saturday, but it was clear that he badly wanted to be on the field, making an impact. And after what we saw from him tonight, one would have to imagine a sizeable uptick in snaps could be coming his way.
The Crimson Tide will return to action next week against Florida State back in Tuscaloosa. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT, and the game will be streamed on ABC.
Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Twitter /X, Facebook , YouTube , Instagram , TikTok for the latest news.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/alabama as Alabama Freshman Jireh Edwards Brings the Juice in Collegiate Debut .
