Penn State’s King Mack Heads to Alabama: Defensive Shift for 2024

Penn State safety King Mack was one of the Nittany Lions‘ spring transfer portal entrants and found his new home Friday where he’ll play for at least the 2024 season.

The Fort Lauderdale, Florida native is returning to the south but will play for Alabama.

1000% committed #RollTide pic.twitter.com/4dkimSjoso

— King Mack (@kingmack2004) May 10, 2024

Mack appeared in 13 games last season for Penn State as a true freshman and recorded three tackles.

The Crimson Tide have been known for having some of the best defensive backs in the country every single season since former head coach Nick Saban was an expert with that group. Still, now that he has retired and new head coach Kalen DeBoer has come in, we will have to see how that position group does.

Alabama lost true freshman safety Caleb Downsto to Ohio State this winter. Last season, he was one of the best defensive players in college football, so King will have some shoes to fill.

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How Penn State Replaces King Mack

King should see playing time in his first season in Tuscaloosa.

Penn State will need to get back to the drawing board on defense this season after they lost their defensive coordinator, Manny Diaz, to Duke.

At safety, the Nittany Lions will lean on Zakee Wheatley and Kevin Winston Jr., who have the potential to be impact breakout stars this fall.

They lost a handful of stars to the NFL, but they have one of the best players in college football in EDGE Abdul Carter, so they still have that going for them.