Alabama football: 5 players, not including QBs, who need to be way better for the Tide's season to turn
Sometimes, the solutions to the biggest problems are the ones that seem most obvious.
It doesn’t mean what’s obvious will cure everything. It just means they’ll provide a path back to what we’re used to.
Right now, there’s a pretty big problem in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Because 2 games have been played in this still-young 2023 college football season, and the Alabama Crimson Tide aren’t 2-0 like they almost always are.
There’s no clean sheet as we hit mid-September, like there almost always is in T-Town. There’s nothing clean about most anything involving the Tide right now.
Not after the complete mess they left on Saturday night at a stunned and shushed Bryant-Denny Stadium, where Texas came to town, did mostly whatever it wanted, did what hardly any visiting team does, and left with a 34-24 victory that felt more convincing than the final score.
It was a night of firsts, and none of the history made was any good for Alabama, which predictably plummeted 7 spots in Sunday’s AP poll, all the way down to No. 10.
Suddenly, in one 60-minute Saturday night from hell, an era that has seemed eternally magical appeared to be nearing an end point.
Where exactly are the answers? Finding them will entail a delicate and detailed project that Saban is going to have to undertake. With conference play set to begin in a few weeks, the legendary 71-year-old coach must figure out how to prevent 1 loss from becoming 3 or 4.
In the aftermath of the Texas Takedown and with a very winnable road game against South Florida coming Saturday, the better question is who exactly has to step forward in the Tide’s time of need to salvage the season and maybe even point Bama in the direction of an SEC West title?
Here are 5 players (yeah, obvious ones), not counting the still-unsolved quarterback position, who need to be way better than they’ve been in the season’s 1st 2 games for Bama to stay championship relevant — or relevant at all — in 2023:
1. Dallas Turner, linebacker
The junior from Fort Lauderdale sat behind a microphone in Nashville during SEC Media Days in July and proclaimed himself the best defensive player in the SEC before he had even played a snap without Will Anderson Jr. by his side. Those were big, bold words, and if you’re a Bama fan you loved to hear them, because a guy like Turner with immense talent who feels his time has arrived should speak boldly and big. But there’s an equally big difference between a hotel podium in the middle of July in front of reporters seeking an edgy quote and a September night spent trying to slow down Quinn Ewers when everything is on the line.
It doesn’t mean Turner shouldn’t have said what he said. It just means he needed to be ready to back up the bravado with results. So far, that hasn’t happened. Not even close. It was 1 thing to only have 2 tackles (including half a tackle-for-loss) in the Week 1 blowout of Middle Tennessee, because it was a relaxed night with spread-out stats and playing time. But against Texas, when it was truly go time for Turner to become the next Tide defensive star, he was stuck in neutral, far down on the stat sheet with just 3 tackles (1 solo). The tackles totals are bad enough, but it’s the 0 sacks in 2 games that stick out like a sore thumb. Bama needs him, and it needs him to start getting into the opponent’s backfield. It needs him to start approaching the lofty standard he set for himself 2 months ago.
2. Kool-Aid McKinstry, cornerback
The junior with the really cool name has twice the chance to impact a game, since he’s a star cornerback who also happens to be a dangerous punt returner. McKinstry can theoretically return an interception and a punt for a touchdown in the same game. But through 2 games, a guy whom the defense and special teams depend on so greatly hasn’t provided big plays of any variety. On defense, he posted 3 tackles (2 solo) against Middle Tennessee and 5 tackles (4 solo) in the loss to Texas. He managed 1 pass defended against the Longhorns, and that’s it. No sacks, no interceptions, no forced fumbles and no fumble recoveries. It’s just not enough production for a defensive player of his caliber.
And he’s been mostly quiet returning punts. Against Texas, when Bama sorely needed more big plays, he had 1 return for minus-6 yards. Against Middle Tennessee, he did break 1 return for 33 yards but was shut down on his other 4 returns. Again, not enough from a player who’s known for a lot more than just his name.
3. CJ Dippre, tight end
Saban hit the transfer portal to get Dippre from Maryland, hoping the 6-5 junior would be able to duplicate his production from last year in College Park (30 catches, 314 yards, 3 touchdowns) or exceed it. And, granted, it’s early. It’s been 2 games, and there’s got to be a massive adjustment going from the Big Ten to the SEC, even before the SEC games have actually started. New surroundings, new offensive coordinator, new everything. But anyone who claims to believe 1 catch for 5 yards through 2 games is acceptable isn’t being honest.
That 1 catch was made in the opener against Middle Tennessee. The only place Dippre showed up on the stat sheet in the Texas loss was for the 1 solo tackle he was forced to make at the Bama 5-yard line after Jalen Milroe’s backbreaking interception early in the 4th quarter. Not exactly what you want from your prized transfer tight end who was supposed to ease the burden of losing Cameron Latu to the NFL. Yes, sophomore Amari Niblack has chipped in well with 2 catches and 1 TD in each of the 1st 2 games. But Dippre was brought in to be a difference-maker, not to make touchdown-saving tackles after interceptions.
4. Jase McClellan, running back
This should speak for itself. McClellan was on the prestigious Maxwell Award preseason watch list. Maybe he wasn’t expected to become a Derrick Henry bulldozer back in his senior farewell tour. But a combined 22 carries for 84 yards, a feeble 3.8 yards a pop, and 1 so-what touchdown in the first 2 games? Come on.
If Bama has any hope of still contending for an SEC crown, he’s got to become Maxwell McClellan, not the guy we’ve seen so far.
5. Jermaine Burton, wide receiver
Look, none of Bama’s receivers have stepped to the forefront yet, and maybe there’s simply no alpha dog in this group, nobody approaching the likes of DeVonta Smith, Amari Cooper or Julio Jones. You can accept that. But shaky quarterback play aside, you can’t accept a stat line in the Texas game that saw 1 receiver (Kobe Prentice) catch more than 2 passes. Two receptions is what Burton had on Saturday, for 58 yards, and his 49-yard TD catch did give the Tide a 16-13 lead for about 5 seconds.
But that’s the problem with Burton, the Georgia transfer whose strong finish to the 2022 season seemed to set him up for a full-on explosion in ’23. That hasn’t happened. Five catches combined in 2 games? Like McClellan, come on. It’s supposed to be so much better.
It’s got to be, from all 5 of the players on this list, or else the Texas loss will be the tip of the iceberg and Bama will be looking at 9-3 — 10-2 tops.