The 2024 college football season is just a month away, and it's time to take a look at each of the teams in the sport's premier conference: the SEC. We start with the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Nick Saban's reign over college football has finally come to an end, and now Kalen DeBoer steps in to attempt the impossible task of replicating his success, fresh-off of leading Washington to the national title game.
A new era gets underway in Tuscaloosa in 2024. What does DeBoer's squad look like?
Examining the Alabama Crimson Tide Offense
The expectation is for Kalen DeBoer to bring the dynamic offense he ran at Washington to Tuscaloosa. He inherits one of the nation's more electric QBs in Jalen Milroe to serve as his focal point. Milroe is no where close to being the passer that Michael Penix was for DeBoer. But he's an elite runner, and DeBoer has previously called offenses where his QB was a primary rusher.
The question is if DeBoer can develop Milroe into a more polished passer, but if the passing game is going to take-off, WRs need to emerge. Bama loses their top three from 2023. Top returnee Kobe Prentice needs to take a step forward, and ideally 5-star true freshman Ryan Williams becomes an immediate star.
Regardless of the passing attack, the Tide should be dominant on the ground. The OL, led by LT Kadyn Proctor and former Washington C Parker Brailsford, should improve with more experience. And despite losing their top RBs from last season, there's still plenty of talent in the backfield.
Examining the Alabama Crimson Tide Defense
After 17 years of the Nick Saban defense, Alabama is making the shift to new DC and former South Alabama HC Kane Wommack's hybrid 4-2-5. Wommack will have plenty of elite talent to plug into his system, but the Tide aren't without major losses. DE Justin Eboigbe, LBs Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell, CBs Kool-Aid McKinstry and Terrion Arnold, and S Caleb Downs are all gone. Those are some big hits to both the pass rush and pass defense.
That said the run defense could be excellent. Interior DL Tim Smith, Tim Keenan, and Jahiem Oatis all return. Deontae Lawson and Jihadd Campbell should be one of the SEC's top LB duos. If Jah-Marien Latham or Texas A&M-transfer LT Overton can emerge as consistent pass-rushers, the Front 7 should remain strong. The bigger questions are on the backend, as outside of S Malachi Moore, there aren't any proven commodities.
It was an annual tradition under Nick Saban that Bama would lose a bunch of defensive stars to the NFL, and the elite talent that backed those stars up would simply slide into the starting lineup and shine. But now that Saban's gone, does that tradition continue?
Thoughts on the Alabama Crimson Tide entering 2024
Kalen DeBoer is a winner. He's won at a high level everywhere he's coached. And it's why he's been chosen to fill the shoes of the greatest coach in the history of college football. No one expects him to replicate Saban's run, but can he give the Tide something even remotely similar? And if so, how quickly?
The overall talent level in Tuscaloosa is still there to keep the machine rolling. It really just comes down to how quickly and how well the team acclimates to DeBoer and his staff and if the players that would've undoubtedly stepped-up into key roles under Saban do so now.
The schedule is daunting with six of the SEC's upper-tier on the slate and road trips to Wisconsin, Tennessee, LSU, and Oklahoma. But they get Georgia, Missouri, and Auburn in Tuscaloosa while avoiding Texas and Ole Miss. That's helpful when it comes to the conference title race.
This program no longer has a stranglehold on college football, but don't expect them to suddenly stop being one of the elites. Alabama is firmly in the playoff picture and is more likely to be there than not.