Why is Jaylen Mbakwe Running Alabama’s Scout Team at Quarterback?

Alabama is four days away from opening its season on the road in Tallahassee, Florida, against the Florida State Seminoles. The FSU starting quarterback, Thomas Castellanos, is a shifty quarterback who can create plays in space, posing an interesting competition for the Crimson Tide defense.

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On Tuesday, Alabama starting linebacker Deontae Lawson revealed who was playing scout team quarterback: sophomore wide receiver Jaylen Mbakwe.

Mbakwe signed with Alabama as a defensive back before entering the transfer portal last winter. Mbakwe returned and switched to wide receiver for the Crimson Tide.

Why is Mbakwe playing scout team quarterback?

"He comes down here and gives us a couple of reps," Deontae Lawson said on Tuesday. "He is pretty shifty, so it's a good scout player for us."

"He'll tell us we can't tackle him and things like that, try to get us going, but we love the looks we've been getting. We're looking forward to it throughout the week."

Mbakwe, a former five-star athlete from Clay-Chalkville High School, played quarterback as a senior for the Cougars. He led Clay-Chalkville to an AHSAA 6A State Championship win over Ryan Williams and the Saraland Spartans in December 2023.

Williams and Mbakwe combined for eight touchdowns in the game, but Williams doesn't want to remember that game.

"I looked over there, and he was pulling. He hit somebody with a fake pump and took off," Williams said, "You know he's got it in him. Honestly, I'm just super proud of our guys. Everybody understanding that it takes all of us in this season in order for us to do what we wanna do.

"Him (Mbakwe) just going over there and attacking the scout field, that's just a testament of our guys so far."

"But I try not to look over there too often; he almost made me mad," Williams said.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.