With Alabama senior cornerbacks Anthony Averett and Levi Wallace in the midst of breakout seasons for the Crimson Tide so far, they could be forgiven if they chose to engage in some harmless trash-talking with opposing receivers.
Despite the common belief that elite cornerbacks must possess endless swagger and extravagant braggadocio, Averett and Wallace prefer to play the position quietly and without much fanfare.
For Wallace, the margin for error has always been razor-thin. A former walk-on, he worked tirelessly to earn his spot on the team and his hard work was rewarded with a scholarship last fall.
He caught his first career interception while playing as a backup corner in this season’s opener against Florida State, a game that earned him the starting job. He added two more interceptions against Ole Miss and his total of three ranks second in the SEC. He also leads the conference with nine passes defended.
“The players think [Wallace] is quite the technician because he tries to do everything exactly right and really focuses and works hard on those things,” head coach Nick Saban said. “I think that goes with a guy who has come up the way Levi has come up. Because he was a walk-on, [he] had to do everything right, had to be an overachiever.”
Averett took a slightly different route to becoming a starter. A distinguished high school long jumper, he clearly has superior athletic ability, but that doesn’t necessarily equip a player to become one of the premier cornerbacks in college football.
Here he is, though, after taking a few years to learn the position, shutting down opposing receivers and catching the attention of NFL scouts.
“Anthony never played defensive back before so he went through two or three years of sort of learning the position,” Saban said. “And he’s become a really good player for us and a really good cover guy.”
Minkah Fitzpatrick spends a lot of time in the secondary with Averett and Wallace. He said their approach to playing cornerback differs from that of Marlon Humphrey, one of last year’s starting corners who now plays in the NFL.
”Marlon was more high energy, I’d say,” Fitzpatrick said. “Anthony and Levi are more quiet guys. They keep to themselves. They don’t really talk to [wide receivers]. They just do their job.”
A new breed of brash, cocky cornerbacks known for their trash-talking has hit the NFL in recent years, including the Seattle Seahawks’ Richard Sherman and the Washington Redskins’ Josh Norman.
The trash-talking can occasionally distract from the team’s performance and the players’ responsibilities on the field, as it did in Sherman’s infamous tirade after the 2013 NFC Championship and Norman’s well-publicized feud with New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr.
That’s why, according to Alabama wide receiver Cam Sims, it’s better for corners to keep their mouths shut.
“If you’re just silent and a [receiver] keeps talking, the person who’s silent is doing their job,” Sims said. “It’s going to frustrate the person who’s talking more.”
Saban acknowledged that Averett and Wallace break the mold by not being the flashiest players, but said their leadership by example and drive to improve makes them invaluable assets to the team.
“Both guys are a little different personality-wise,” Saban said. “They’re kind of quiet leaders, they go about their work. They don’t say a lot to the other guys. But in their own way they’re good competitors and do a really good job and it’s really important to them to do well.”
