Over the past decade, Alabama has built the passing game in a way that allows it to be a complementary piece of the offense rather than being the focal point. That run-first strategy has led to enviable success — with the team carrying a 119-19 (0.862 win percentage) during that time.

The 2016 season continued to that highlight that approach as the Tide finished second in the SEC in rushing yards per game (245.0 yards per game) while eighth in passing  (210.3).

Alabama has topped 3,000 yards passing for five consecutive seasons. The program record is 3,890, set in 2014.

The quarterback room will look much different this season with Cooper Bateman, David Cornwell and Blake Barnett all transferred out. Instead, the group will consist of two true freshmen — 5-star Tua Tagovailoa and 4-star Mac Jones — and returning sophomore starter Jalen Hurts.

The lack of experience as a whole is rather concerning, but this might be the most talented group of signal callers that Nick Saban has had.

Alabama has also turned to former New England Patriots assistant coach Brian Daboll as the offensive coordinator after Lane Kiffin departed for Florida Atlantic. There has been incessant speculation that the offense will look a lot different under Daboll, and those changes could be exactly what the Tide needs to make it back to the national championship.

So, how much better, or worse, will Alabama’s passing game be in 2017?

Passing yards per game (SEC rank): 210.3 (8)
Passing TDs: 26 (T-3)
INTs: 9 (T-9)

Quarterback play

Alabama will have a returning starter at quarterback for the first time since AJ McCarron in 2013. Hurts finished the 2016 season as the SEC Player of the Year, but he came up short of getting an invite to New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony.

Hurts was electric as a runner in his freshman season — he set a program record for QBs with 954 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground. His presence added the same type of threat that made Blake Sims such an effective player in 2014.

Three Alabama QBs have passed for more than 3,000 yards in a season. Blake Sims holds the record (3,487 in 2014). Jalen Hurts just missed becoming the fourth as a true freshman.

However, despite throwing for 2,780 yards and 23 touchdowns, Hurts struggled occasionally as a passer — especially on passes downfield.

“The goal this spring and certainly before next spring is that we can create more balance by being a better passing team to go along with what we are able to do with our feet as a quarterback as well as how that creates balance for our overall offense,” Saban said before spring began.

If the A-Day game was any indication, things are looking up for Hurts. He finished the game with 301 passing yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception — completing 64-percent of his passes in the process. He also made several impressive throws downfield — a welcomed sight for Alabama coaches and fans.

  • 60-yard pass to Calvin Ridley
  • 65-yard pass to Robert Foster (TD)
  • 60-yard pass to Foster
  • 37-yard pass to Ridley (TD)

Freshman QB Tua Tagovailoa also looked impressive — throwing for 313 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. It remains to be seen if he will take a redshirt, but he seems ready to play if called upon.

Receivers/Running Backs/Tight Ends

There’s good and bad news in regards to the skill players. The bad news is that TE O.J. Howard and WR ArDarius Stewart have moved on to the NFL. That’s a big blow considering they combined for 42.3-percent of the Tide’s receiving yards last season.

The good news is the offense will feature a trio of former 5-star prospects in Ridley, Foster and true freshman Jerry Jeudy. Despite the claim that Ridley had a sophomore slump, he actually improved from Year 1 to Year 2. Foster finally looks healthy, and he has the speed to take the top off of opposing defenses.

There could also be some unsuspected contributions from players such as TJ Simmons, Cam Sims and Miller Forristall — who will be replacing Howard at tight end.

Alabama’s stable of running backs give them the deepest unit in the SEC. The Tide return their top five rushers from 2016 and added 5-star Najee Harris and 4-star Brian Robinson to the mix. Harris looks SEC-ready, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he emerged as a workhorse soon.

Damien Harris and Bo Scarbrough could have something to say about that, however. The older Harris was Alabama’s only running back to rush for over 1,000 yards last season, and Scarbrough went on a stretch in the postseason where he ran for 364 yards and 6 touchdowns — averaging 7.9 yards per rush. That’s a tough duo to displace atop the pecking order.

Play-calling

Alabama’s play-calling in 2016 was a lot different than it had been in previous years. In their six divisional SEC games, Kiffin called passing plays 41.5-percent of the time on first down.

That number seems surprisingly high given Alabama’s run-first reputation. Even more surprising, the Tide also chose to pass on the first play of the game in all six of those games.

While a lot of the plays were relatively safe passes, Hurts was efficient on first-down when asked to throw the football. He completed 73-percent of his passes for 593 yards with 2 touchdowns to only one interception — averaging 8.3 yards per attempt.

It’s possible that Daboll will continue that trend of throwing early downs in drives, but the actual type of plays could change. Expect him to take a lot of deep shots in those situations in order to loosen up the box for the run game.

Some have speculated that Alabama would turn back to the power-run offense with an emphasis on eating clock, but that isn’t entirely true.

There will still be a lot of spread principles involved, but it is likely that the team will be better suited to grind clock when necessarily with Daboll leading the way.

One stat that must improve

If Alabama wants to make another national championship run, Hurts must improve his passing efficiency in the postseason.

Over the course of the final three games of the season, Hurts threw for 326 yards and 2 touchdowns — with only a 47.7 completion percentage.

Clemson ran Cover 3 for most of their game against Alabama — forcing Hurts to remain in the pocket as a result. That strategy has given teams a blueprint on how to stop Alabama’s offense if Hurts continues to struggle throwing the football.

Greatest concern

Alabama will be looking to replace the entire right side of its offensive line. Sophomore Jonah Williams — who started every game at right tackle in 2016 — will move to the left side to replace Outland Trophy winner Cam Robinson.

While right guard was a revolving door for most of last season, converted defensive lineman Korren Kirven eventually settled in as the full-time starter for the final six games.

Alabama only gave up 1.6 sacks per game last season — fifth-best in the SEC. Will returning three key starters in Williams, Ross Pierschbacher and Bradley Bozeman be enough to at least maintain that pace?

Better or Worse in 2017?

The hope is that the passing game will take the next step. While Hurts’ overall statistics looked impressive, he missed reads and struggled with ball placement.

One aspect of Hurts’ outlook that hasn’t been addressed enough is how much being “the guy” during the offseason should help him. Going into the 2016, four quarterbacks were competing for the starting job — and Hurts was the youngest.

The coaching staff couldn’t put too much time and focus on any particular quarterback — making it difficult for Hurts to get the necessary coaching to correct some of his weaknesses. That hasn’t been the case heading into this season.

Hurts should be a much improved player in 2017 — which is scary considering he’s the reigning SEC Player of the Year.