10 questions Alabama must answer during the spring
It’s been a fun offseason for Alabama. They brought a national championship home to Tuscaloosa for the fifth time under Nick Saban, and the most recent addition was achieved in spectacular fashion.
With that said, that was last season. It’s time to move on to 2018.
Spring training starts in the coming weeks with the annual A-Day game set for April 21. Here are 10 questions that Alabama must answer during the spring.
1. How will the depth chart shake out at quarterback?
Finding out where these quarterbacks land on the depth chart should be one of the top priorities for Alabama this spring.
Tua Tagovailoa’s 193-yard, 3 touchdown second half performance in the national championship has a lot of people believing he’ll take over as the starter in 2018. But Jalen Hurts did help the team make back-to-back national championship appearances while going 26-2 as the starter, so it might be too early to count him out.
It’s not just establishing a starter, either.
There has been speculation that Hurts could transfer or switch positions. The news that Alabama is showing strong interest in East Carolina grad transfer Gardner Minshew only fuels that speculation.
2. Can they replace all the losses in the secondary?
The turnover in the secondary has been a focus of coaches, fans and the media this offseason. That’s because all six players Alabama is losing could be on an NFL roster in 2018 — including two safeties with first-round potential.
Yes, the Tide restocked with this year’s recruiting class, but the inexperience is glaring outside of safety Deionte Thompson.
3. Who will emerge as the No. 1 receiver?
Calvin Ridley — and his 224 receptions, 2,781 yards and 20 touchdowns — is off to the NFL. Finding his replacement shouldn’t be considered easy, but Alabama does have plenty of young talent at the position.
The favorite seems to be former 5-star Jerry Jeudy. That shouldn’t be set in stone, though.
If Tagovailoa is named the starting quarterback, he seemed to favor fellow freshman Henry Ruggs III as his volume guy and DeVonta Smith in those clutch moments. This is still anybody’s race.
Credit: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports
4. How will the team adjust to all the new coaches?
The only spot that might have taken a harder hit than the secondary was the coaching staff. Alabama lost its offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach. In addition, Burton Burns — the running backs coach — is moving to a role off the field.
The vacated coaching spots have been left in good hands — through hiring and promotion — but how will the team adjust to all the turnover?
5. Who takes over for Da’Ron Payne at nose tackle?
Due to the position that he plays, Payne’s impact wasn’t always felt on the stat sheet. That doesn’t mean he didn’t rack up the numbers, however. Check this out:
Alabama’s Da’Ron Payne had just 16 QB pressures in 12 games during the regular season… and then 12 QB pressures in two games in the @CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/0NDweBp3kj
— CFB Film Room (@CFBFilmRoom) January 10, 2018
The former 5-star did most of his damage as a 0-tech lined head up on the center. That’s where Alabama is going to miss him the most.
Johnny Dwight — a 6-3, 301-pound senior — is expected to take over, but can he be as effective?
6. What will be the rotation be at running back?
In an unexpected move, Damien Harris — last year’s leading rusher (1,000 yards, 11 touchdowns) — decided to return to Tuscaloosa for his senior year. That decision has changed everything in regards to how the distribution of carries will play out in 2018.
Many were expecting the lion’s share of touches to go to Najee Harris and Josh Jacobs. That is no longer the case.
Overall, it’s a good problem to have, but the inconsistent distribution did make it harder for the running backs to get into rhythm at times last season.
7. Can they still get production out of the punter?
It takes a special kind of punter to make an impact so big that it causes you to emerge as a fan-favorite. And yet, that’s exactly what J.K. Scott did after creating game-altering plays with his leg for the past four years.
Finding his replacement won’t be easy.
The heavy favorite is Skyler DeLong — a true freshman who was the nation’s No. 4 punter according to 247Sports. But that can’t be automatically assumed until he’s earned it. Let’s not forget that Joseph Bulovas was suppose to be Alabama’s next kicker in his first year on campus.
8. Will there be a shakeup along the offensive line?
The Tide will return four of last year’s five starters on the offensive line — with center Bradley Bozeman being the only loss. Still, don’t be surprised if there are changes.
Alex Leatherwood deserves to be in the starting lineup. Jedrick Wills does too. Here’s a scenario that would achieve both:
- LT: Alex Leatherwood
- LG: Jedrick Wills
- C: Ross Pierschbacher
- RG: Lester Cotton
- RT: Jonah Williams
This would put Williams — who is Alabama’s best offensive lineman — on Tagovailoa’s blindside while sliding Leatherwood into his most natural role. Wills could end up starting at right tackle, but he has the potential to be an elite guard prospect.
This would move last year’s starting right tackle — Matt Womack — to a reserve role.
9. Can the defense stay healthy?
The injuries mounted up for Alabama’s defense last season. The losses came from everywhere — including edge rushers, linebackers, safeties and defensive linemen.
They were able to get some guys back before the Playoff, but things are always a lot harder when starters are missing extended periods of time.
The good news is the depth at edge rusher — the position that was hit the hardest — should be improved with no major losses to the NFL and four additions — one 5-star and three 4-stars.
10. Do any of the early enrollees have a shot at early PT?
Alabama has fewer early enrollees compared to the past few years. Only four members of the 2018 class are on campus to take part in spring drills.
One is DeLong — who we’ve already mentioned as a guy who should get playing time early — but what about the other three — Stephon Wynn (No. 3 SDE), Saivion Smith (No. 1 JUCO CB, former LSU signee) and Slade Bolden (No. 14 APB)?
It’s possible that we could see all of them getting snaps this season.
