TAMPA, Fla. — Jaylen Mbakwe is back on offense.
In Alabama football's first practice ahead of Tuesday's ReliaQuest Bowl against Michigan , the freshman cornerback is practicing with the wide receivers, a position he played at Clay-Chalkville High School in Pinson, Alabama.
As a junior at Clay-Chalkville, Mbakwe had 41 catches for 615 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. He played quarterback as a senior and had 19 touchdowns and 2,536 passing yards along with 891 rushing yards and 19 rushing touchdowns.
It's experience Alabama offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan saw at work.
"Obviosuly he has experience... just with the ball in his hands," Sheridan said. "You know, catching the ball and securing the football is not something new to him. Has good quickness, very good athlete. It's a lot for him to learn in a short amount of time. But he's got a great attitude and practices really hard, so we're glad that he's out there with us."
As a freshman cornerback, Mbakwe had 15 tackles, two pass deflections and an interception.
While Sheridan admits practice is a more controlled environment, it's a perfect space for Mbakwe to work with wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard and get up to speed "as quickly as possible."
In his short share of reps, Sheridan said Mbakwe's been "attentive" and "a quick learner."
It's a position Mbakwe is already beginning to embrace.
"I don't think the game is too fast for (Mbakwe) at all," Sheridan said. "So I don't see any wide-eyed piece of that... He seems to have good presence there."
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Jaylen Mbakwe reps at WR during Alabama football ReliaQuest Bowl prep
