On Friday, February 16, former Michigan safety Keon Sabb logged into the transfer site. Just four days have passed,
and he has already selected and enrolled in a new school.
The announcement that Sabb has enrolled and will play for the Crimson Tide this coming fall was leaked by a NIL
collective from the University of Alabama, the Rose Bowl runner-up. Later, Sabb used a social media post to
corroborate it. Out of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, the 6-foot-1, 208-pound former four-star was rated
among the top 100 prospects for the 2022 recruiting class. At first, he preferred the Wolverines to schools like Texas
A&M, Clemson, Georgia, and Penn State.
Sabb, a true freshman, saved his redshirt by playing in four games on special teams. He played in 14 games as a
redshirt freshman in 2023, recording 28 tackles, seven pass breakups, two interceptions, and one interception return
for a touchdown.
Given that Mike Sainristil was out of the nickel position in Michigan’s defense, Sabb would have been positioned for
a bigger role the next season. But it might have been difficult to get snaps at Sabb’s actual position of safety because
Rod Moore and Makari Paige were both returning to Michigan. Instead, since he transferred from Alabama to Ohio
State earlier this winter, he will probably replace Caleb Downs in that capacity. The Wolverines return the previously
mentioned established starters and will now depend on Zeke Berry, DJ Waller, Ja’Den McBurrows, Jyaire Hill, and
Brandyn Hillman, among others, for depth in the secondary in 2024—a blow to Michigan’s depth in the secondary,
no doubt.
