Can Alabama’s defense be as ferocious in 2022 as those insanely good Nick Saban units of the 2010s?

Not likely.

Not with how today’s college football landscape (and the NFL, for that matter) tends to favor offenses over defenses.

But this Alabama defense should absolutely be better than last year’s unit, which was solid but broke down when the stakes were highest, allowing a combined 74 points in the regular-season showdown at Texas A&M and the national championship game against Georgia. Not coincidentally, the Crimson Tide lost both games and fell just short of a 7th national title under Saban.

With the 2022 season beckoning and an all-world player in junior linebacker Will Anderson Jr. entrenched in the middle of the unit, the Tide defense has a bit of unfinished business to take care of. Its biggest goal, of course, is to help finish what last year’s defense couldn’t, and that’s bringing home the biggest trophy in early January.

Besides that ultimate team goal, here are 5 somewhat realistic goals for Bama’s defense to achieve in 2022:

1. An elite pass rush

The Tide can absolutely have the best pass rush in college football. Anderson, last year’s Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner who could win the Heisman this season, and Dallas Turner, named to the All-SEC Freshman team last season, will be staring down quarterbacks from opposite sides this fall. It should create a dynamic duo that no other team in the SEC, or maybe the country, will have at its disposal. When junior linebacker Chris Braswell and senior Henry To’oTo’o are added to this ferocious mix, it will give defensive coordinator Pete Golding multiple formations from which to terrorize opposing quarterbacks and intimidate overmatched offensive linemen.

Alabama finished 7th nationally last season in total defense, allowing 304.1 yards per game, which isn’t anything to be ashamed of. It just wasn’t consistent enough from start to finish to win a championship. Arkansas and Florida, middling SEC teams in 2021, combined for more than 900 yards against Bama’s defense. The Tide won both of those games, but the inconsistencies were glaring. Anderson and Turner smack in the middle of this year’s unit, along with To’oTo’o having a year under his belt in Tuscaloosa, will likely prevent those head-scratching pitfalls, with their constant pressure throughout games making life easier for all 3 levels of the defense.

2. A tighter secondary

The secondary will be much improved from a beaten-up and sometimes shaky unit in 2021. First off, Bama should have the best safety duo in the SEC in seniors Jordan Battle and DeMarcco Hellams.

Battle was a 1st-team All-SEC selection last season and was named a 1st-team All-American by Pro Football Focus, among his All-America honors from elsewhere. He had 3 interceptions and returned 2 for touchdowns. The strong safety should be even better this fall, not to mention motivated after what Stetson Bennett did to the secondary in the 4th quarter of the national title game.

Hellams suffered a lower leg injury in fall camp last season but returned with a vengeance. He finished 3rd on the team in tackles with 87, and like Battle he had 3 interceptions. He is primed to get a few more this fall at free safety. Most programs in the country don’t have 1 safety like Battle and Hellams, but Bama is fortunate to have 2 roaming the same field.

The Tide has capable if not standout cornerbacks to go with its elite safeties. The corners aren’t great, but they are good enough. Gone are last year’s starters Jalyn Armour-Davis and Josh Jobe, and their absences because of injuries were felt in the national title game loss as Kool-Aid McKinstry and Khyree Jackson gave up big plays. But McKinstry, who was a 5-star recruit, and Jackson both reportedly showed improvement during spring camp, and Saban dipped into the transfer portal and grabbed ex-LSU 5-star corner Eli Ricks.

Ricks earned All-SEC honors in 2020 before his 2021 season was cut short by a shoulder injury. He will add needed depth to the cornerback position, as will redshirt freshman Terrion Arnold and redshirt sophomore Jahquez Robinson. Besides the overall talent of the secondary itself, the dominance of Bama’s defensive front and linebackers alone should make the secondary better in 2022.

3. D-line veterans boost production

The senior defensive line trio of DJ Dale, Byron Young and Justin Eboigbe will combine for more than 100 tackles and 10 sacks this season after totaling 76 tackles and 5.5 sacks in 2021.

The 100 tackles might be a lofty goal. But with the presence of those fearsome linebackers causing havoc everywhere on just about every play, and with the likelihood that 1 of those edge rushers will get double-teamed on every play, there should plenty of tackles and sacks left over for this experienced 3-man front. Junior Tim Smith should get his, too, after finishing strong last season and ending up with 24 tackles, 4 of them for loss.

4. A top-10 scoring defense

The Tide will finish in the top 10 in the nation in scoring defense. While Bama was 7th in total defense last year, it slipped to 18th by season’s end in scoring defense, which is solid but not what it could have been. The Florida, Texas A&M and Arkansas games didn’t help that ranking, as the Tide allowed a combined 105 points while still managing to win 2 of those games.

Then Georgia put up 33 points on Bama in the national title game, although the Bulldogs’ final touchdown was defensive. You get the point, though. The Tide’s scoring defense wasn’t quite high enough to win it all last season. In 2022, with Anderson and Battle leading the way, it can re-enter that top 10 and possibly be holding the big trophy at the end this time.

5. A Heisman for a defender

Last but certainly not least, Anderson can most definitely win the Heisman. He led the nation last season with 17.5 sacks and 34.5 tackles for loss while piling up 102 total tackles and 9 quarterback hurries. Besides winning the Nagurski, Anderson was named 1st-team All-American by everyone who does All-America teams and was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year.

He did all of this as a sophomore.

This fall, the 6-4, 243-pound wrecking ball who’s nicknamed “The Terminator” can very well make some history before he possibly becomes the No. 1 pick in next year’s NFL Draft. Anderson can try to break Terrell Suggs’ single-season collegiate sack record of 24 set 20 years ago. And in December, he can become just the 2nd defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy, joining Michigan defensive back Charles Woodson, who won it 25 years ago.