ATLANTA — Alabama’s roster is an advertisement for recruiting in the South. The majority of spots at college football’s most powerful program are filled by stars from below the Mason-Dixon Line.
But Nick Saban needed New Jersey to create what may be his best defense yet.
Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, of Old Bridge, N.J., leads the Crimson Tide with five interceptions and two defensive touchdowns, and cornerback Anthony Averett, of Woodbury, N.J., leads the team with eight passes defended.
While Fitzpatrick started every game as a true freshman last season and has excelled after moving from cornerback to safety after Eddie Jackson’s season-ending injury, Averett only appeared in two games heading into his redshirt junior season.
Averett, a high-school state champion in track and field, learned when he got to Alabama his extraordinary athleticism was no longer enough and struggled to move up the depth chart.
“He’s good living proof of the process, a guy who stuck around and worked and was patient,” Alabama secondary coach Derrick Ansley said. “He had to develop and learn the position and build his body, and now he’s maximizing his opportunity.”
Friends wondered why he wouldn’t leave Alabama when there was no promise he ever would play — linebacker Reuben Foster called Saban’s candor about playing time “so straightforward it can be heartbreaking.” Averett said it was for the opportunity to play in games like the College Football Playoff, which he missed last year — along with most of last season — after suffering a torn biceps, hyperextended knee and broken finger.
“People back home wanted me to come back home, asking why I don’t just play somewhere on the East Coast,” Averett said. “I knew I could play here. I wanted to be with the best … part of arguably one of the best defenses ever.”
Fitzpatrick might not even have been noticed by Alabama if his parents had allowed him to leave the power program at Saint Peter’s Prep.
Just as he was about to begin attending the school — which his parents already could barely afford — in 2011, Fitzpatrick’s house was condemned following damage from Hurricane Irene, forcing the family to move into a shelter, and then into his grandmother’s basement, with seven other family members.
Fitzpatrick offered to pass on the opportunity and get a job to help his family.
“They were kind of struggling to [pay] for that, and I didn’t want to be doing that when my little brothers and sisters needed to eat and have clothes on their back,” Fitzpatrick said. “But they told me not to. … It was a real hard time because I’d never been through anything like that. I had nothing. I had no home, no clothes, no shoes. It showed me not to take anything for granted.”
In Jersey City, Fitzpatrick became a five-star recruit, luring Alabama’s staff far from Tuscaloosa. Now, he could lead the country’s best defense to a second straight national title.
“It’s extremely gratifying knowing that my family’s sacrifices have paid off,” Fitzpatrick said. “It all paid off in the long run. It is right now.”