Paul Finebaum Admits Why He's Concerned About SEC Powerhouse

The upcoming season will reveal whether new Alabama Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer can sustain the team's success after Nick Saban's retirement.

The Crimson Tide lost several players to both the transfer portal and the NFL, but they still have a lot of talent returning. However, there is one position group that has ESPN's Paul Finebaum concerned. On Tuesday's episode of " The Paul Finebaum Show ," the SEC Network analyst mentioned that Saban talked at SEC media days about his concern with the secondary. Finebaum said that hearing that from Saban scared him a little bit.

"For him to say that he has concerns about the secondary scared me a little bit," Finebaum said. "In terms of what he is not saying."

Finebaum mentioned the secondary was the position group that Saban coached, which adds to the concern. He said that the departure of star freshman safety Caleb Downs to Ohio State is a major loss due to how quickly he can change a game.

"The one name that bothers me the most, and I know I'm being picky here, is the loss of Caleb Downs," Finebaum said. "He could change the game so quickly."

Downs finished with 107 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions last season. His 107 tackles were 40 more than the next highest on the team and his two interceptions were good for the second most.

He was honored as the Shaun Alexander National Freshman of the Year, earned first-team All-American and SEC Freshman of the Year accolades, and was selected for the first-team All-SEC team. Certainly! Here's the revised text:

There's no question that he will be a significant void to fill in Alabama's secondary.

Related: ESPN Analyst Predicts Major Step Back For SEC Powerhouse