The fall of Alabama is not that big a secret, not that difficult an answer.

The 5 most important positions in football, college or the NFL (in order): quarterback, edge rusher, left tackle, cornerback, wide receiver.

Alabama, which has recruited better than anyone in college football over the past 5 years, needed the transfer portal this offseason to fill holes in 3 of those 5 positions.

And missed on all 3.

The fall of Alabama — or whatever you want to call it — isn’t really a secret at all. It’s recruiting and developing players.

For nearly 15 years, Nick Saban and his staff were the best in college football.

They’re not anymore.

“They don’t have difference-makers like they used to,” an NFL scout told me. “If you take (quarterback Bryce) Young off that team, what are they?”

A team that beats the worst Texas A&M team since the early 1970s — on the last play of the game.

Because that’s exactly what happened last month, when Young missed the Texas A&M game with a sprained shoulder. Yet for some reason, we were all too engrossed in the drama of Nick Saban vs. Jimbo Fisher to see a Tide program with flaws it never had before.

Without Young’s masterful career, we could have seen this coming last year — when the Alabama offensive line was the worst in the Saban era, and the zero depth at wide receiver was exposed when Jameson Williams was injured in the Playoff national championship game.

Those 2 key areas — offensive line and wide receiver — have been the most well-recruited and developed positions in the Saban era. In 15 previous seasons under Saban, Alabama has produced 9 first-round picks on the offensive line, and 8 first-round picks at wide receiver.

Yet Saban looked to the transfer portal to sign a left tackle (Tyler Steen) and 2 wide receivers (Jermaine Burton, Tyler Harrell). None of the 3 has made an impact (Harrell has been injured), and the position groups are marginally better (line) and worse (wide receivers).

The deterioration of the line and receivers was never more evident than the final drive in regulation during last weekend’s loss at LSU.

Protection was spotty early in the drive, better late. And for every play made by a wideout (JoJo Earle), there was a key drop (Ja’Corey Brooks) that forced the Tide to kick a game-tying field goal and move to overtime.

“They just don’t have the guys on the outside who scare you, and more important, who make big catches,” another NFL scout told me. “All of those Alabama receivers over the years made so many Alabama quarterbacks look so good.”

The obvious question: Why has the talent dipped at offensive line and wide receiver?

Is it recruiting or development — or both?

It’s not like the high school talent isn’t there. Alabama has former 4- and 5-star recruits sitting on the bench. They’re either recruiting misses, or they haven’t been developed and put in position to be ready to play.

Either way, that’s on the coaching staff. It’s on first-year offensive line coach Eric Wolford, and Doug Marrone before him and Kyle Flood before Marrone.

Those are 3 highly-respected offensive line coaches in college football and the NFL not getting the most out of elite recruits.

It’s Holmon Wiggins, Alabama wide receivers coach since 2019, walking into a strong situation with elite players (Henri Ruggs III, Jerry Jeudy, Jaylen Waddle, DeVonta Smith) and developing superstars.

But also recruiting 12 receivers since 2019 — 1 5-star, 10 4-stars — and not one developing into a consistent threat on the outside.

But the blame isn’t unique to players or assistant coaches. Saban — who looked drained and lost after the LSU game — deserves criticism, too.

Midway through the 4th quarter, Young was pressured (again) and forced off schedule (again), and eluded 6 — yes, 6! — defenders collapsing the pocket to throw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Brooks.

That score gave Alabama a 21-17 lead with 4:44 to play. For some reason, Saban decided to go for 2. Even analytics dorks would say kick the extra point, because Alabama didn’t need 2.

Wouldn’t you know it, LSU scored to tie the game at 24, and instead of Alabama driving for a game-winning field goal had it kicked the extra point on the previous possession, the Tide were kicking to tie the game.

“Look, I can’t blame the players,” Saban said. “I’m responsible for all this stuff, so if we didn’t do it right, that’s on me, and we’ve gotta do a better job of coaching the players so that we give them a better chance to have success.”

But where do we go from here? It’s not just player development. It’s also a lack of discipline, something we’ve never seen from Saban teams until this season.

Alabama is last in the SEC and 124th in the nation in penalty yards per game (74.6). It’s not just the penalties, it’s where and when they happen — and why.

On each of LSU’s last 3 scoring drives in regulation (17 points), Alabama had a crucial pass interference call. It’s bad enough that the calls happen in big games (Texas, Tennessee, LSU). What makes it worse for Saban is why.

Why can’t he and his staff reach players and coach them out of it? Two weeks ago in a rout of Mississippi State, Saban was beside himself when yet another pass interference call prevented the Tide defense from earning a shutout.

“You just don’t see that kind of stuff in previous years,” an NFL scout told me. “Nick is a defensive backs coach; coached those guys all of his coaching life. They keep making the same mistakes. They’re not using leverage, not turning their head, not finding the ball.”

But that’s far from Alabama’s big problem moving forward.

Young will leave for the NFL Draft after this season, and the most important position on the field will be in a state of flux for the first time at Alabama since 2015 — when former offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin limped along with Jake Coker until it finally clicked for Coker in the last month of the season.

There’s Jalen Milroe, who played well enough to beat Texas A&M and hold off Arkansas, 5-star freshman Ty Simpson and a pair of 4-star commitments from the 2023 recruiting class.

Or maybe Saban decides to hit the transfer portal for immediate help. And maybe this time it will work.

Or maybe it won’t — and the secret that really isn’t will be laid bare for all to see again.