In the afterglow of Alabama’s 35-28 victory over Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, Patrick Surtain II drifted back to one of the more trying moments of his freshman year.
“This all started in summer workouts,” he said. “That’s what it led up to, big games like this.”
Alabama’s boot-camp-style preseason isn’t exactly the first thing you’d imagine to be on a player’s mind following the biggest game of his life. However, it’s where Surtain’s dream season began.
The former five-star recruit joined Alabama this summer as the No. 1 cornerback in the 2018 class. Surtain, the son of former NFL Pro Bowler Patrick Surtain Sr., was expected to pick up Alabama’s defense quicker than most. After all, the freshman played under his father in high school and was already accustomed to barking out checks and coverages in a defense modeled after several Division I schemes.
Still, mastering Nick Saban’s pattern-matching defense in a matter of months is no easy task. Even the older Surtain joked that Saban’s defense caused his head to spin a bit during his brief time with the head coach while with the Miami Dolphins. Undeterred, the younger Surtain immersed himself in his new playbook, mentally preparing himself for every nuance and adjustment his head coach could throw his way.
“There were some jitters at first, but as the season went on I knew what I had to do,” Surtain said. “I knew what I had to prepare for, and when I got in the game, I got more comfortable.”
As expected, Surtain’s developmental period was short lived. The 6-foot-2, 202-pound corner supplanted himself into Alabama’s first-team defense by Week 3, replacing Saivion Smith early during the game against Ole Miss. Surtain tallied his first interception during his first career start the following week against Texas A&M and has been a steadying force in the Crimson Tide’s secondary ever since. Appearing in all 13 games, he has tallied 33 tackles, 1.5 for a loss, with one interception, six pass breakups and one forced fumble.
“I'm not surprised at all. I've seen him how hard he worked in the summertime, working with us, so I feel like it's showing now,” cornerback Trevon Diggs said earlier this season. “He's a really good player; I've been saying that since he came in. He's a really good player, and it's showing.”
Surtain credits much of his success from the help he’s received from the older defensive backs in the secondary. Chief among those is Diggs, who despite suffering a season-ending foot injury against Arkansas on Oct. 6, continued to mentor the freshman corner this season.
“He helped me a lot. He took me under his wing,” Surtain said. “I looked up to him, and he taught me everything, what it means to be an Alabama football player. I just took that and rolled with it.”
The first half of the SEC Championship Game wasn’t Alabama football, at least not as far as Surtain was concerned. Georgia picked on the freshman corner early as receiver Jeremiah Holloman beat him twice on receptions of 19 yards and 18 yards respectively. The third ball to come Surtain’s way nearly resulted in disaster as he watched helplessly as Georgia receiver Mecole Hardman bobbled away a would-be touchdown in the end zone.
“As a defense, we weren’t playing like how we needed to be, but at halftime we made our adjustments and made sure we got our production straight,” Surtain said. “We came into the game more focused. We had a plan, and I feel like that’s what gave us the win.”
From there, Surtain allowed just one reception for five yards over the remainder of the game. He finished the night with seven tackles and a pass breakup, playing an instrumental role in Alabama’s fourth-quarter comeback.
That’s more in line with what Surtain envisioned during those grueling summer workouts and is what he has been preparing for his entire freshman season.
“I came here to play in big games like this,” Surtain said. “That’s why I chose Alabama.”
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