A month from now, it will all begin again, for real.

The rambunctious, ravenous anticipation of a passionate, anxious Alabama football fan base will give way to a (likely) primetime pounding of Middle Tennessee at Bryant-Denny Stadium, and in 1 3-hour blissful blitz the town of Tuscaloosa will be back in its element.

A week later will come the sexy rematch with Texas under the lights in T-Town, followed by a true roadie in Tampa against South Florida that will lead us into the relentless and glorious SEC brigade beginning on Sept. 23 when Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss invade Tuscaloosa.

After that, the drama will be dizzying in a season that, on paper at least, carries more historical significance than even the typical Crimson Tide football campaign.

But before that, way before wide-eyed Middle Tennessee comes calling in 30 days, we get the reality of now.

The true start of it all.

The start of fall camp, when a litany of questions and concerns will be sorted out and answered and, just maybe, Bama will finally emerge with a starting quarterback who will officially be the successor to Bryce Young.

In the next month, gallons and gallons of Gatorade will be washed down in the searing heat of west-central Alabama by a group of young men whose sole mission will be to prevent 1 dynasty from starting while keeping another going — their dynasty. The dynasty that is still supposedly churning at Alabama, all the hyper-critical chirping be damned.

That whole dynasty thing will be answered through the battles of the fall and probably into January. It’s the question everyone who cares about Alabama football, SEC football and college football can’t wait to be answered, but it’s got to play out.

Just like Alabama’s intriguing (and rare) quarterback battle.

And just what will the Tide’s defense look like in ’23 without Will Anderson Jr.?

There are so many unanswered questions, way more than usual, as a stacked — on paper — Tide roster with a ton to prove clocks in for duty to begin the long journey. That list of preseason questions could drag on seemingly forever like, well, a Nick Saban-led practice in the August heat, but we’ll go with the 10 questions we think are most on fans’ minds as fall camp finally dawns.

1. Will Tommy Rees be a revelation or a regression?

The first question is the simplest one to answer, because we really won’t know the answer for, say, 2 seasons. Rees has never worked with Saban. Rees knows nothing of the hyper-intensive SEC world, either. Besides a few cups of coffee in the NFL as a player and coach, and a short stint as a grad assistant at Northwestern, Rees’ world has been all Notre Dame. So, yeah, it’s going to be a huge transition, and to properly (and fairly) evaluate Rees, we’re going to need more than 1 season. It doesn’t mean Rees won’t be open to criticism this fall, but this is just the odd reality of his particular situation.

2. Can Jase McClellan actually win the Heisman?

Yes, he can. Even though the senior has gone this deep into his Crimson Tide career without ever really being thought of as a star, although maybe that has something to do with him sharing the same backfield with Bryce Young the past couple of seasons. McClellan can win the Heisman, even though his cumulative numbers over his first 3 years aren’t exactly overwhelming, with career highs of just 655 yards and 7 touchdowns coming last season.

But maybe McClellan’s overall production has been somewhat limited not only because of the presence of Young — and the departed Jahmyr Gibbs — but because he’s never totally been given the keys as the No. 1 running back workhorse. Maybe he’s been an immense talent, bubbling at the surface, who’s just never totally exploded onto the national scene because he hasn’t been allowed to. That’s the theory that was intimated earlier this week when McClellan was named to the preseason watch list for the prestigious Maxwell Award, which goes to the best player in college football.

A lot of years, the Maxwell Award winner is also the Heisman Trophy winner. So, simply, if McClellan is good enough to be considered for the Maxwell before the season starts, he definitely at least belongs in the conversation for the Heisman, at least right now. There were glimpses of greatness last season, too, highlighted by McClellan’s 81-yard touchdown run at Texas that helped the Tide escape Austin with a victory. A huge factor that could work in McClellan’s favor is that Young is gone and with a new quarterback who’s not dominating the ball, McClellan’s touches should rise astronomically in 2023. So the Maxwell is in play and therefore so is the Heisman.

3. Is the schedule really as favorable as it looks on paper?

At the risk of jinxing the Tide, yeah, it just might be. Of course, the exercise of looking at an NFL or college football schedule in August and going, “win, win, loss, win,” is a dangerous one, even for Alabama fans who can almost always assume way more wins than losses. The fact is that — on paper — all of the Tide’s showdown games are at home.

Texas in Week 2 is at home, after last season’s narrow victory in Austin. A potentially challenging SEC opener in Week 4 against Ole Miss is at home. Arkansas in Week 7? Yep, that’s at home, too, not in crazy Hog Heaven like last year. Bama only has 1 road back-to-back in 2023, and (on paper) it’s not exactly a Murderers’ Row, with consecutive trips to Mississippi State and Texas A&M in Weeks 5 and 6.

Of course, the Tide’s biggest advantage (on paper)? That the matchups with the teams that handed Bama its 2 losses last season — Tennessee and LSU — are in T-Town. And while the showdowns with the rival Vols and Tigers arrive in consecutive games, they do not come in consecutive weeks. After the Tide tussle with Tennessee on Oct. 21, there is a very convenient bye week before the LSU battle on Nov. 4. Finally, the Iron Bowl is at Jordan-Hare this year, but general expectations for Hugh Freeze’s 1st year aren’t great — yeah, on paper.

4. Should Tide fans root for a specific player to win the QB job?

This is dangerous, because — unless Jalen Milroe somehow had the greatest offseason progression ever, unless Ty Simpson can somehow hide the fact that he has 5 career passing attempts to his name, and unless Tyler Buchner can somehow parlay his familiarity with Rees’ offense into immediate success against fast SEC defenses — it’s extremely likely, almost a certainty, that none of the 3 quarterbacks vying to replace Young are suddenly going to become Young, or anything close to the legendary Tide quarterback.

So rooting for Milroe, or Simpson, or the Notre Dame import Buchner, to thrive in fall camp over the other 2 candidates is probably going down a road that ends in disappointment. Each QB has his upside, his promise, his potential ability to ease the transition from the lofty standard that Young set. We saw glimpses of Milroe’s athleticism and grit in 2022 when Young injured his shoulder, including his ability to will the Tide to victory in hostile territory with that 77-yard scamper at Arkansas. But we also saw mistakes, misthrows, costly turnovers as he was rushed into the spotlight after Young went down.

We know that there’s insane talent within Simpson, and just because he hasn’t gotten his shot yet doesn’t mean he won’t thrive when he does. He wasn’t a 5-star recruit for nothing, and he didn’t choose Alabama over Tennessee and Clemson to watch from the sidelines forever. He wants his time to come badly, just like Buchner believes following Rees from South Bend to Tuscaloosa can make his up-and-down collegiate career finally blossom. So, no, Tide fans shouldn’t be rooting for anyone specifically. They should be rooting for the most intense competition imaginable over the next month, which will be the best thing for whoever wins the job and for the 2 disappointed but hungry QBs who don’t.

5. Is Dallas Turner really, truly ready to lead the defense?

The symbolism at the past 2 SEC Media Days is hard to ignore. Last summer, Will Anderson Jr. represented the Bama defense on center stage with reporters, because of course he did. This July, it was Turner, because the prevailing, logical thought is that the junior from Fort Lauderdale is the next-in-line leader of the Crimson Tide defense. But will he be, after seeing his sack total go from 8.5 as a freshman in 2021 to just 4 last season?

Turner doesn’t necessarily have to become Anderson’s equal to become the latest in a long line of ferocious Bama linebackers. But for the Tide to get back to the College Football Playoff, in a season with a new quarterback and without Young’s leadership under duress, this needs to be where Turner goes from star-in-waiting to star. There needs to be double-digit sacks this fall, a lot more than the 37 tackles he registered last fall, along with a whole lot of quarterback hurries, the kind that serve notice that Turner is always lurking even when he doesn’t get home.

New defensive coordinator Kevin Steele already has made a big impression on Turner this offseason, which is wonderful and all, but it needs to translate on the field when the games count. Turner made a point at Media Days about Anderson preparing him to be The Man, which is wonderful, too. And Turner has brought the necessary verbal bravado to the table as his junior season beckons, boasting that he believes he’s the best defensive player in the SEC. Those are big words, and this is Turner’s big moment. Now, he really, really needs to meet that moment.

6. Is Bama too loaded to miss the CFP 2 years in a row?

Being the 5th wheel isn’t good enough — just look at last year, when Bama was generally thought of as the best team on the outside looking in.

Could that happen again? Could the Tide miss the Playoff in back-to-back years for the 1st time since the format was instituted in 2014? Well, if they can miss the Playoff in a season with Young and Anderson, they can certainly miss the Playoff in a season with a new starting quarterback, a new offensive coordinator and a new defensive coordinator (even if he is in his third stint at Bama). And they can certainly miss the Playoff in a season when Brian Kelly wants to show that LSU is indeed a long-term threat to Bama’s supremacy even in the SEC West, let alone the SEC.

Yeah, Nick Saban brought in yet another insanely talented recruiting class, like he almost always does, and this class might contribute to Alabama winning the national title in, say, 2025, because everyone knows that’s how this thing works. Dynamic freshmen are wonderful to sprinkle onto a loaded roster of upperclassmen, but they rarely win you national titles right away and they rarely are the difference between an undefeated or 1-loss regular season and a 2-loss death sentence like the Tide experienced last year. Yes, the Tide are loaded, like always, but they are just as likely to miss the Playoff again as they are to win the national championship.

7. Just how crucial was Will Reichard’s change of heart?

In a word, it was huge. The kid from Hoover has grown up to become arguably the best kicker in Crimson Tide history, and anytime you’re considered the best anything in Alabama football history, you’ve done pretty well for yourself. Reichard sat at his locker after last season’s Sugar Bowl victory over Kansas State on New Year’s Eve and basically said, I’ve had a great run, it’s been a blast, but I’m accepting my invite to the Senior Bowl and that’ll be that.

But just a few days later, on Jan. 3 to be exact, Reichard reversed course and announced he was returning for his 5th and final year of eligibility. And that sudden reversal in the first few days of 2023 could very well be the difference between the Tide getting back into the Playoff at the end of this calendar year. It really does mean that much. Reichard is Alabama’s all-time leader in points scored (426), its all-time leader in extra points made (240), ranks 4th in Tide history with 62 made field goals and is No. 1 all-time in field goal accuracy (82.7%).

Besides the historically glossy numbers though, there is simply the safety net of having a kicker who’s been through it all, amid the Bama pressure cooker, for years now, and so a few of the inevitable close games that the Tide might have lost this season without Reichard could flip to wins. With a new quarterback (whoever it is) and the adjustment period that will entail this fall, Alabama might just be playing a few more close, low-scoring games than usual, and Reichard will now be there for those crucial moments to push the Crimson Tide through.

Yeah, huge.

8. What version of Jermaine Burton will we get?

Burton’s transition from Georgia to Alabama didn’t quite go as planned last fall, and he could have run straight to the transfer portal after the season but didn’t. The senior is sticking it out after an up-and-down 2022 season (40 catches, 677 yards, 7 touchdowns) that was trending up down the stretch. You would think he’ll be a lot more settled in during his 2nd season at Bama, but once again he’ll have adjustments to make, working with a new quarterback and offensive coordinator. Whatever the result, Bama will need a much better version of Burton than what it got last fall.

9. Which newcomer will Tide fans fall in love with this fall?

Easy — it’s running back Justice Haynes. He seems to have everything already. He’s got the catchy, perfect football name. He’s got the pedigree as a 4-star product the Tide swiped from the state of Georgia. And he made the all-important quick 1st impression with fans at A-Day in April, scoring 3 touchdowns to go with his 10 carries (the most for any running back) and 4 catches for 40 yards out of the backfield. The kid showed he was ready immediately in the spring and it wouldn’t surprise at all if he shows that quality again when the games count this fall.

10. Is Nick Saban’s 15-year dynasty finally nearing a cliff?

Naturally, we saved the juiciest question for last. And the answer to this on-going, often times polarizing question will only be answered with the passage of time, football time and real time, and with the victories and defeats that follow in the next few years. How can you seriously attempt to answer this question now, as Saban opens the gates this week to his 17th fall camp as Alabama head coach? You can try, but it would be mostly futile, sort of a waste of time, kind of a waste of passionate energy coming from the lungs of a fan base that did just celebrate a national title 3 years ago, a “drought” that would make every college football fan base not named Georgia giddy with appreciation.

Which is the issue, of course. Since Bama celebrated its 6th national championship in the Saban Era after the COVID-shortened 2020 season, that neighboring, rival state school has reeled off back-to-back crowns, led by a Saban disciple no less. Many are calling Georgia the “New Alabama,” and they might just be right. But that doesn’t necessarily mean Alabama isn’t still Alabama, the already tradition-rich program that Saban re-launched into the stratosphere not long after he took over in 2007.

Since the Tide won their 1st national championship under Saban in 2009, Alabama hasn’t gone 3 consecutive seasons without winning another crown. The next title was always, at most, 3 seasons away. Which, of course, makes the 2023 season so darn interesting. If the Crimson Tide finally do go 3 seasons without (gasp!) winning it all again, the end-of-the-dynasty questions will boil over, and especially if that happens after a 2nd straight Playoff-less season. And if Kirby Smart pulls the hat trick in January on top of that, well, forget about it. Many will say — again — that the Saban Cliff is near or has arrived.

Let’s get to January though. Or even early December, when we know who’s heading to Atlanta to play for an SEC title.

And, oh yeah, long before that let’s see who’s behind center for the Tide against Middle Tennessee in 1 month.