Alabama’s passing game has question marks at precisely the two spots you’d rather not have question marks at: quarterback and left tackle. The good news? That’s where the glaring questions end. Here’s where the Crimson Tide ranked in the SEC in three key passing categories last season:

Passing yards per game: 227.1, 5th
Passing TDs: 22, 5th
INTs: 8, tied for 6th

Less than two weeks ago, there wasn’t any concern in regards to the player who’d be protecting the team’s eventual starting quarterback’s blind side.

However, the news broke that left tackle Cam Robinson had been arrested on marijuana possession and weapons charges, and replacing a First-Team All-SEC performer is no small task.

Meanwhile, the question remains as to who will be the starting quarterback, but it looks like it’s Cooper Bateman’s job to lose as of right now.

Here’s the thing that should act as a nice breeze on a warm summer day to those in Tuscaloosa: Alabama didn’t know who it’s starting QB would be in each of the last two seasons, and the Tide still made it to the College Football Playoff both years, winning the national title in 2015.

QB Play

Although Bateman is the early front-runner for the starting job, coach Nick Saban has plenty of options to choose from, and they’re good ones.

Bateman, a redshirt junior, is the most experienced player on the roster. He saw action in six games last season, going 37-for-52 with 291 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs. Blake Sims and Jake Coker won the starting jobs in each of the last two seasons as redshirt seniors, so that bodes well for Bateman.

The 6-foot-3, 224-pound four-star prospect and No. 4 pro-style QB in the Class of 2013 has the physical tools to boot, but Saban has said that the starter will ultimately be the one that “wins the team.”

There’s plenty of time between now and Week 1 against USC in “Jerry World” for that to change.

Keep in mind, Sims and Coker weren’t necessarily the most talented quarterbacks on the roster and neither lit the world on fire in their A-Day performances before eventually being tabbed the starter.

Like last season, nothing was decided in the spring, and there’s a good chance nothing will be decided in the fall or even in the season opener against the Trojans.

Saban gives a lot of credit to offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin for molding unproven starters into signal-callers who guided the team to back-to-back SEC titles and CFP appearances.

Could Kiffin do that with Coker or maybe redshirt sophomore David Cornwell, whose “arm talent is probably as good as anybody we have,” according to Saban. What about former five-star prospect Blake Barnett, the most gifted in terms of passing and running? Early enrollee Jalen Hurts still has a puncher’s chance.

Unlike other programs, the Tide have a little room for error when it comes to the most important position on the field because the talent is so rich and loaded at so many other spots on both sides of the ball, and that’s no different this season.

Receivers/TEs/RBs

Whoever does settle in as the defending national champions’ starter will have lots of great options surrounding him.

The Tide may have the best one-two receiver tandem in the entire SEC with Calvin Ridley (89 catches, 1,045 yards, 7 TDs) and junior ArDarius Stewart (63 catches, 700 yards, 4 TDs).

Ridley was named Second-Team All-SEC as a freshman and, although he had a couple extra games, he led the SEC in receptions and was second only to first-round draft pick Laquon Treadwell in receiving yards.

Stewart has yet to record a 100-yard receiving game in his career, but he was a steady contributor last season in an offense that fielded talent like Ridley, Heisman-winning RB Derrick Henry, fellow running mate Kenyan Drake and TE O.J. Howard.

Howard didn’t have a 100-yard receiving game under his belt either until his name was called in the national title game victory over Clemson. The senior had 5 catches, 208 yards and 2 TDs in the game, winning Offensive MVP honors.

His 208 yards were the most by any Alabama player in a bowl game and the most by any player in a national championship game. It would benefit the team’s eventual starting QB if he gets off to a faster start in 2016. Robert Foster is also expected to emerge as a factor in the aerial attack.

Sophomores Bo Scarbrough and Damien Harris will share the responsibility of replacing Henry. While Scarbrough had earned a place on the first-team offense for the spring game, Harris was the one who shined on A-Day with a game-high 114 yards on 20 carries.

For his efforts, Harris won the Dixie Howell Memorial Most Valuable Player of the A-Day Game Award and was one of the only bright spots in what was a miserable day for offenses.

“Damien Harris had a really nice day,” Saban told reporters in his postgame news conference. “(He) looked quick and explosive and he did a really nice job.”

Third-string RB Ronnie Clark tore his ACL the week before the game, which amplifies the importance of Scarborough and Harris staying healthy. A couple 2016 signees, four-star talent B.J. Emmons and three-star recruit Joshua Jacobs, have an opportunity to see time this fall.

Play-calling

As expected, Alabama ran (302) much more than it passed (187) on first down last season. When you have a Heisman winner in the backfield that stands at 6-foot-3, 242 pounds, that better be the case.

However, the Tide was very successful throwing the ball on first downs, completing 71.1 percent of passes and 9.2 yards per attempt with 10 TDs, 4 INTs and a passer rating of 161.7.

Of Alabama’s 187 pass attempts on first down, 61 of them (32.6 percent) went for a first down. The threat of Henry getting the ball obviously played a factor in that.

The Tide certainly seemed to save its best for last when it came to the passing game, shredding Michigan State and Clemson through the air behind Coker’s two best performances. Still, for the season, Alabama led the SEC in completion percentage (67.5) and was fourth in passer rating (143.5).

Expect the offense to employ some short routes and screens while the season is young.

The key to opening up Kiffin’s play-calling will be Scarbrough and Harris quickly establishing themselves as a threat in the early portion of the season to help the team’s starting quarterback get comfortable and make use of the team’s great downfield options, especially considering Alabama has two tough games away from home in the first three weeks (vs. USC and at Ole Miss).

One stat — actually two — that must improve

The passing game doesn’t have everything to do with these stats, but it can certainly help.

Alabama needs a better third-down conversion rate and penalties per game. The Tide was ninth in the SEC and 86th in the FBS in converting third downs (37.4 percent) and was ninth in the SEC with 5.9 penalties per game. Meanwhile, the team was 12th in penalty yards per game (55.7).

Greatest concern

Right now it has to be who will fill Robinson’s spot at left tackle. The team seems to have found its answer at center to replace All-American and first-round draft pick Ryan Kelly, and that’s Ross Pierschbacher, who got plenty of praise in the spring after moving from left guard.

Robinson’s arraignment date is set for June 16, and it will be there that he enters a plea of guilty or not guilty to stolen possession of a firearm, a felony, and possession of a controlled substance and illegal possession of a firearm, both misdemeanors.

Saban and Mario Cristobal, who coaches tackles and tight ends and is entering his fourth season with the team, will have their work cut out. Regardless of whether it’s sophomore Lester Cotton, senior Korren Kirven or even true freshman Jonah Williams, neither project to be as good as Robinson.

Better or worse?

There’s nothing saying Alabama’s passing game can’t be even better than it was last season. Trust in the coaching. If there’s any coach who’s proven his ability to reload after losing key contributors, it’s Saban, and if there’s any offensive coordinator who’s proven his ability to develop unproven quarterbacks quickly, it’s Kiffin.

It might not look like it right out of the gates, but Alabama can improve on its 227.1 passing yards per game from last season. In fact, the Tide offense may lean on the passing game at times. There’s too many weapons for there to be a noticeable regression.