Alabama opens a new era on Monday. For the first time in nearly two decades, spring football will commence without Nick Saban running the show.

The Crimson Tide will have three practices before spring break (March 8-17). When they return to the practice field, they’ll have 11 more practices before the period concludes on April 13 with the annual A-Day game at Bryant-Denny Stadium. It’ll be fans’ first look at a Kalen DeBoer-led Alabama team

Alabama should look different under DeBoer. Will it feel different? And to what extent?

With practice set to start, here are the four biggest questions facing DeBoer’s new team.

DeBoer has the QB, what about the WRs?

We’ll see if Alabam has any kind of quarterback “competition” in the spring with Austin Mack following DeBoer from Washington to Tuscaloosa. Mack has a year’s worth of experience in the system Jalen Milroe is still learning, but that likely isn’t enough to supplant the latter as the Crimson Tide’s QB1.

Milroe played like a fringe Heisman candidate a season ago, finishing ninth nationally in Total QBR. He responded wonderfully to an early-season benching and led Alabama to an SEC title. While he’s not the same kind of quarterback as Michael Penix Jr., there should be little doubt DeBoer has a plan to maximize all Milroe brings to the table.

The more interesting subplot in the Alabama pass game isn’t who’s throwing the ball, but who’s catching it. How DeBoer transitions from a truly elite crop of pass-catchers to a remarkably green group will be fascinating.

Penix — Washington’s quarterback in 2022 and 2023 and a Heisman finalist — was wonderful operating in UW’s wide-open pass attack, but he had help. Lots of it. Washington’s top three receivers were phenomenal, enough to make even an average quarterback look stellar. Rome Odunze, a bully in 50/50 scenarios, will be a top-10 NFL Draft pick. Jalen McMillan and Ja’Lynn Polk were 1,000-yard receivers next to Odunze. All three were on the roster when DeBoer arrived in Seattle.

As DeBoer surveys the receiver group, does he see a player or, more importantly, players who can have the same kind of impact? Washington loved to work its receivers into one-on-ones and then play to its physical advantage. When you’ve got guys who can win those jump balls, it works well.

Alabama needs to replace its top two receivers from last fall. And there isn’t a scholarship receiver on the roster who can match the physical profile Odunze brought to the table. Kobe Prentice, with 18 receptions for 314 yards last fall, is the leading returning wideout.

DeBoer added former Washington wideout Germie Bernard from the transfer portal. He looked promising in his second year of college ball. Junior Kendrick Law (23 career catches) and sophomore Jalen Hall (five career catches) are also expected to compete for larger roles. The 2024 signing class added 5-star freshman Ryan Williams to the roster, but he won’t join the team until after the spring, which could limit just how quickly DeBoer can get Williams implemented into what he wants to do.

Is a rebuilt secondary a strength… or a liability?

Seven defensive backs played at least 100 snaps for Alabama last season. In order: Caleb Downs, Kool-Aid McKinstry, Terrion Arnold, Malachi Moore, Jaylen Key, Trey Amos, and Kristian Story.

One of the seven returns in 2024 — Moore.

After leading the program in tackles as a freshman, Downs transferred. So did Amos and Story. McKinstry and Arnold are off to the NFL, and Key is out of eligibility. Valuable experience walked out the door.

And even for a program that has grown accustomed to having to reload, that kind of rebuild is a daunting priority for first-year defensive coordinator Kane Wommack. Figuring out who can play where should be top priority in spring ball.

The Crimson Tide added Domani Jackson from the transfer portal, a former 5-star recruit who spent two seasons at USC before opting to transfer. If Jackson wins one of those starting corner jobs, he’ll have some questions to answer all his own. The USC tenure was a bit tumultuous. Of course, USC’s defense was a disaster under coordinator Alex Grinch and that ultimately resulted in his dismissal, but the players also bore responsibility. Jackson missed most of his first season, then in Year 2 he struggled down the field and too often missed tackles.

His situation is a pretty nice representation of the larger picture in the backend — elite potential, but not much experience. The Tide has a trio of 5-star freshmen — Jaylen Mbakwe, Zavier Mincey, and Zabien Brown — who could all feasibly play right away.

South Alabama was among the Sun Belt’s top pass defenses in completion rate against, yards allowed, and interceptions forced under Wommack. Alabama was among the SEC’s stingiest pass defenses — near the top of the conference in almost every statistical category.

We’ll get a good sense of how DeBoer and Wommack view the secondary by how they choose to approach the portal once spring ball ends. If they go chasing after an experienced defensive back or two, it could be a sign the youngsters aren’t ready to be leaned on quite yet. Conversely, if this is the group Alabama takes into the season, it’ll send a message that the coaching staff loved what they saw in the spring.

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How does the defense transition?

What’s the vibe of the Alabama defense in the post-Saban era? How different will the scheme look under Wommack? Though Saban had multiple high-profile defensive coordinators, it was his defense at the end of the day. DeBoer is Saban’s antithesis in that regard. Wommack will be running the show, and that’ll bring some inherent change. Saban was arguably the best coach the college game has ever seen. How does the roster respond to the shifting dynamic? And what exactly will the standard be on that side of the ball? It was remarkably high under Saban, but DeBoer is such an offensive-leaning coach it’s fair to question if there will be noticeable slippage. His last three teams have ranked 50th (2023 Washington), 48th (2022 Washington), and 50th (2021 Fresno State) in defensive SP+. Alabama has ranked eighth, 11th, and ninth during the same time frame.

Does DeBoer view the roster as a finished product?

Thus far, Alabama has added eight new players from the transfer portal. Three committed to the program before Saban’s retirement and five have joined DeBoer. Given all the attrition this offseason, Alabama finds itself under the 85-scholarship limit as it moves into the spring. DeBoer said last month in a radio interview they still have spots open they can use.

“We’ve got to go through our spring ball and continue to evaluate our team. I think there are some good young players who will step up and do a great job,” he said. “We do have a couple extra scholarships, not a lot, but we do have a couple extra scholarships still available that we can utilize when that time comes.”

A 15-day spring transfer window opens on April 15. Alabama’s spring practices will be wrapped up by then, giving DeBoer and his staff a nice window to assess, plan, and then recruit in the portal. It’s probably fair to expect further attrition once spring ball ends and the staff holds conversations with players about where they fit.

So, where does Alabama allocate its resources? How much work is left to be done with this roster? Last season, DeBoer took Washington to the College Football Playoff — ending a six-year drought between Playoff appearances for the Pac-12. It was a magical season for UW. The Alabama job carries higher expectations. A Playoff appearance — particularly in the expanded format — is a starting point, not a destination. Is this team, as currently constructed, capable of getting there?

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