It won’t be long now.

The familiar sounds of fall — thumping pads, piercing whistles and the unmistakable voice of Nick Saban — soon will fill Alabama’s practice fields. Fall camp is near, and we have questions that need to be addressed.

Here are the 10 biggest the Tide will face in their attempt to win a 6th national title under Saban.

1. Will Tua throw for 4,000 yards or 40 TDs?

I seriously doubt it, through no fault of his own.

Alabama threw for a program-record 4,854 yards last season, and obviously, the year ended on a bad note. The passing game generated a Big 12-like 1,878 more yards than the running game. It was thrilling and fun … until it wasn’t. That discrepancy is unheard of under Saban. Because ultimately it failed, there’s next to no chance Saban will go down that road again in 2019. That was going to happen no matter which coordinator was running the offense.

There is precedent for course correction, too.

In 2014, the Tide threw for 3,890 yards — setting a program-record — and that didn’t end well, either. The following season, Alabama returned to its running ways behind Derrick Henry and won the national title. It still threw for more yards than it ran for, but the gap was small and the passing success was a byproduct of Henry’s dominance.

The same thing happened in 2010 and 2011. In 2010, the passing game accounted for 1,017 more yards, and the season ended with a shocking 10-3 mark. In 2011, the passing numbers declined, the rush vs. pass production was almost identical and Alabama won the national title.

On talent alone, Tagovailoa would be a threat to break the single-season SEC records for yards and TDs. I just don’t see how he’ll get the opportunity.

2. How will Saban and Steve Sarkisian divide the snaps among QBs?

Last year was interesting theater because both QBs deserved to start. This year, nobody behind Tagovailoa actually deserves to play, but they will because Saban has to get them ready just in case.

I expect Mac Jones to play a lot because he’s nowhere near as ready to save a season as Jalen Hurts was last year. The 4-game redshirt rule will allow the touted freshmen behind Jones to get snaps and also preserve a year of eligibility.

3. Will Alabama have a 1,000-yard rusher?

Yes. The Tide didn’t last year, snapping a 4-year streak.

Before 2018, the last time Alabama didn’t have a 1,000-yard rusher, 2014, Derrick Henry and T.J. Yeldon both ran for more than 975 yards. Then Yeldon left and Henry broke Herschel Walker’s single-season rushing record with 2,219 yards in 2015.

Nobody is expecting Najee Harris to approach 2,000 yards. But after rushing for 783 yards on 6.7 yards per carry, he’ll cruise over the 1,000-yard mark.

4. Will the secondary be better or worse in 2019?

It’ll be significantly better. Injuries and attrition contributed mightily to last season’s issues.

The problems were so glaring and the ending so predictable that I wrote that true freshman Trevor Lawrence would throw for more than 300 yards and 3 TDs in the national title game. He did. He made it look easy, too.

The good news is key players have healed and rising sophomore Patrick Surtain now knows exactly what it’s like to go against the best in the business.

5. Would they hold Lawrence to under 300 yards and 3 TDs this time?

Absolutely not. He’s the closest thing to Peyton Manning since Peyton Manning. And he’s throwing to a guy from Alabama (Justyn Ross) who is the closest thing to another guy from Alabama (Julio Jones) since Julio Jones.

Only 2 things will stop the Lawrence-to-Ross Goal-Line Express in 2019: injury or complacency.

If they meet again as we all anticipate and want, Alabama’s offense will have to show up.

6. Who is Alabama’s next breakout star?

I stopped questioning Alabama’s ability to plug-n-play in the trenches about 4 years ago. Until then, because nobody else could do it, I foolishly believed Alabama couldn’t do it, either.

Did you see who they lost?! His backup had 3 tackles all year!

But the fact is, the Tide usually have a young 5-star sitting  behind a future 1st-rounder, waiting his turn to be unleashed, like a Ford F350 assembly line.

LaBryan Ray is this year’s breakout candidate. Everything about him — size, speed, recruiting profile, glimpses of him sacking Jake Fromm in the SEC title game — shouts “Next.”

7. Which freshman will have the biggest impact?

Trey Sanders is the obvious candidate, right? Top running back recruit in the country. Already promised a Heisman … in 2019. He actually will have some opportunities, too, unlike most of the defensive blue-chippers who will watch, wait and learn.

I think kicker Will Reichard will have the biggest impact. The Tide’s kicking game has become a running joke, but last year’s issues were no laughing matter. Alabama missed 9 extra points — more than the rest of the SEC missed combined — and 5 field goals.

Joseph Bulovas returns for his sophomore season, but he went 1-for-3 in the spring game. Reichard, the No. 1 kicking recruit in the country, made his only attempt, from 43 yards.

Reichard, from Hoover, certainly knows what he’s getting into.

“I mean, it’s better than going into some place that’s had really good kickers, because you have to feel like you’ve got to live up to (that standard),” he told USA Today in December. “But for me, there’s no pressure because (the fans) feel like they haven’t had a good one. So, I’ll just go in and do my thing.”

There’s nothing like freshman swagger.

8. Will Alabama win it all in 2019?

If I knew the answer, I’d be writing this from Vegas, trying to arrange a doubles match with Andre and Steffi.

From a Hall of Fame coach to first-round talent everywhere, without question the Tide have every ingredient necessary, plus the ace: motivation. Nobody does motivation quite like Saban.

There’s also something they don’t have: The burden of expectation. That’s all on Clemson.

As great as Clemson has become under Dabo Swinney, the Tigers haven’t yet proven they can handle prosperity. Granted, the circumstances were dramatically different the last time they opened camp as a reigning champion. Deshaun Watson left early for the NFL, and Kelly Bryant was the starter. This year, Lawrence returns for his sophomore season to lead arguably the best offense in program history, and the questions shift to Clemson’s revamped defense.

Nobody has repeated as national champion since Alabama in 2011, 2012. That includes the 2018 Alabama team, which we thought was generational.

Advantage, Alabama in 2019.

9. What’s the biggest concern for 2019?

Keeping Tagovailoa upright. It probably wouldn’t matter much in the regular season if he missed a series or even a game, depending on the game.

But nobody comes to Alabama thinking about going 9-3 and playing in the Peach Bowl.

Alabama will need to score to win in the Playoff, and they need Tagovailoa to do that. The Tide gave up 28, 34 and 44 points to Georgia, Oklahoma and Clemson, respectively. Only one other team — Arkansas — scored more than 23 against them in the regular season.

Everybody talks about defense winning championships. I’ve been on an island for 5 years, pointing out (correctly, by the way), that if you can’t get to 35, you can’t win College Football Playoff games. The 5 CFP champions scored 44, 26, 35, 45 and 42 points in the title game. Only once — in the all-SEC 2017 national title battle, could the game be described as a defensive slugfest — and that ended with the most dramatic walkoff touchdown in college football history.

Given the Tide’s ceiling, Tagovailoa is, by a wide margin, the most indispensable player in the SEC in 2019.

10. What happens in 2020?

We’re always looking ahead, aren’t we? We already assume Clemson and Alabama will stage Round 5 of their classic rivalry in the National Championship Game in New Orleans.

What happens if Alabama loses before that or in that national title game?

In some ways, this feels like the end of an era, at least on offense, almost like Florida 1993-96 or even Florida 2006-2009. Alabama has never had a collection of offensive talent like this. Never. And this very, very likely is the last go-round for juniors Tagovailoa, Jerry Jeudy, DeVonta Smith, Henry Ruggs and Najee Harris.

Alabama has never had a QB like Tagovailoa, never had a group of wideouts as collectively dangerous as this group. The Tide already are in the process of reloading, but this junior class’ potential last dance will be a developing storyline all season.

That 2020 Alabama team will be starting over almost entirely on offense against a juggernaut Clemson team that will feature the 2 most explosive juniors in the country in Lawrence and Ross.

If you’re an Alabama fan, you need to repay the Tigers this year when you have the firepower to match them.