Sports

Alabama Caves To Demands Of 5-Star Defensive Back Jaylen Mbakwe After He Threatened To Transfer

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Jaylen Mbakwe Alabama Wide Receiver Transfer NIL
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Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne asked Crimson Tide fans to “fight back” after defensive back Jaylen Mbakwe threatened to leave the program for approximately 24 hours. The former five-star recruit was lured into the transfer portal by a lucrative NIL offer from another SEC team.

In addition to money, the suitor presented him with the opportunity to play snaps on offense.

Mbakwe initially committed to play college football at Alabama approximately 18 months before Nick Saban decided to retire. He ultimately stuck with the commitment after Kalen DeBoer was hired despite a late push from Auburn. However, his freshman season did not go as well as he had hoped.

The 5-foot-11, 192-pound corner recorded 15 tackles and one interception in limited action during only seven games. Alabama prioritized Malachi Moore, Bray Hubbard, Domani Jackson and Keon Sabb over Mbakwe.

Jaylen Mbakwe almost transferred!

There is still a lot of potential for the top-12 recruit to blossom into an All-American superstar so Ole Miss allegedly tried to capitalize on his down year. The Rebels (through the Grove Collective) may or may not have offered him an NIL package worth at least seven figures over the next two or three seasons.

In addition to the money, Lane Kiffin and his staff supposedly teased the idea of an offensive package for Jaylen Mbakwe, who played both wide receiver and cornerback during his first three years of high school football. The Alabama-native also started at quarterback for Clay-Chalkville as a senior.

Needless to say, he’s a freak athlete. Ole Miss would’ve been willing to let him play both ways.

With an offer on the table, Jaylen Mbawke entered the transfer portal on Dec. 16. He then withdrew his name from the transfer portal approximately 24 hours later. Alabama matched the offer!

Byrne immediately urged his fanbase to “fight back” with a desperate plea for more NIL donations.

Alabama fans,

Over the past few years, there have been drastic changes in college athletics. We have been careful during this transitional period to protect our position at the top of college athletics while being mindful to listen, engage and learn from our generous supporters, proud alumni and unrivaled fans to make sure that we protect our great traditions here at Alabama. But there’s a time for talk and a time for action. Now is a time for action.

Although we have been competitive from an NIL standpoint, our competition has us in their sights and are actively trying to surge ahead with NIL. You have heard examples of other teams using promises of million-dollar paydays to lure away our players or convince them not to come to Alabama. It is time for the Bama Nation to fight back.

Under the new model of college athletics, which is the result of an antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA, a university can succeed if their fans purchase authentic NIL from student-athletes. The good news is when Yea Alabama was created last year, the focus was on providing our fans with a legitimate product rather than booster inducements. Yea Alabama delivers exclusive content and access you cannot get anywhere else. We also have a plan to grow Yea Alabama’s offerings with more videos, features and news in 2025.

So, please visit https://yea-alabama.com/join/ to join!

A subscription to Yea Alabama isn’t about the now; it’s about the future. It’s about roster retention for future seasons – keeping our legends in Crimson. It’s about attracting and developing the best recruits in the country to represent the script A. You being a part of the team has never been more important.

At Alabama, we’ve not measured ourselves against our competition. We are the standard, and that measurement is against the mirror and against a rich and proud history, but it’s impossible to ignore what is taking place in college athletics. Hungry fan bases are acting decisively to give their respective programs competitive advantages. We must respond. We are Alabama.

Join Yea Alabama today!

— Greg Byrne

Not only did the Crimson Tide pony up the money for Mbakwe, DeBoer was willing to meet his request for snaps on offense. The first-year head coach teased the idea of making him a two-way player just one day after the five-star freshman withdrew from the portal.

Sure enough, Jaylen Mbakwe was spotted getting reps at wide receiver during Alabama’s practice for the ReliaQuest Bowl on Friday.

Mbakwe wanted to play on offense and almost left the team because he could get paid more money to play both ways on a different team. The Crimson Tide didn’t want to lose him so they caved to his request demands!