Preview 2019: Previewing and looking ahead to the Alabama Crimson Tide season with what you need to know.
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Recruiting Class Analysis | Schedule Analysis
– Alabama Previews 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2018 Record: 14-1 overall, 8-0 in SEC
Head Coach: 13th year, 146-20
– CFN Preview 2019: All The Team Previews
5. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE ALABAMA OFFENSE
– 2019 was the answer to the question, what would Alabama be like if the offense was every bit as amazing as the defense? Of course there was the power outage in the national championship debacle against Clemson, but when the O was humming, it was unlike anything college football had ever seen.
Alabama finished the year with the nation’s most efficient passing game and averaged 522 total yards and 46 points per outing. Of course there are a few key losses, and of course there are ready-made talents to fill the void and keep it all going. However …
– Tua Tagovailoa has to stay healthy. Banged up last season with knee and ankle issues, he was famously knocked out of the SEC Championship against Georgia – paving the way for the epic performance by Jalen Hurts – and was hobbling a bit during the year. It didn’t matter too much during the regular season, but Hurts isn’t around to save the day if something goes wrong.
Sophomore Mac Jones and freshman Taulia Tagovailoa will battle for the No. 2 spot with Jones the safer choice. Either one of them can step in and Bama will likely play for the SEC title, but you don’t just replace a historically great performer. All Tua did was hit 69% of his passes for close to 4,000 yards with 43 touchdowns and six picks, with most of the production coming in just over a half of play.
– If this isn’t the best receiving corps in college football, it’s No. 1A. It was good when all the NFL talents were freshmen, and it’s even better now that everyone is older and more experienced.
Junior Jerry Jeudy is the top of the pro prospect heap – leading the team with 68 catches with a 19-yard-per-grab average and 14 scores – but fellow junior Henry Ruggs isn’t far behind.
Now keep on going – sophomore Jaylen Waddle finished second on the team in yards, 2018 CFP National Championship hero DeVonta Smith is back, and freshman John Metchie will find a role right away.
There isn’t an Irv Smith talent at tight end, but the situation is deep and fine. 6-5, 234-pound junior Miller Forristall is a big receiver, and the rise of former linebacker Cameron Latu added a physical element who can catch and move.
– Only Alabama could lose Damien Harris and Josh Jacobs and potentially have a stronger running game. 6-2, 227-pound Najee Harris has the speed to go along with the size, 6-1, 226-pound Brian Robinson has the speed to go along with the size.
There are plenty more backs with the speed to go along with the size, but the Harris-Robinson combination should be strong enough to combine for 2,000 yards.
– One of the keys to making the machine go last season was the pass protection that led the SEC in fewest sacks allowed. Jonah Williams is gone at tackle along with center Ross Pierschbacher, but the starting five will once again be outstanding. The developed depth will need some work, but as long as there aren’t any major injures, there aren’t any worries.
Junior Alex Leatherwood will move from guard to left tackle, Jedrick Willis will remain at right tackle, and junior Chris Owens will step in at center. The guard spots will still be in play in fall camp, especially when the star recruits – like 6-7, 360-pound Evan Neal – get longer looks.
NEXT: What You Need To Know About the Defense, Top Players, Keys to the Season, What Will Happen
4. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE ALABAMA DEFENSE
– By any reasonable and normal standard, the Alabama defense was incredible. By the standard set under Nick Saban, the D was a total disaster. Okay, that’s a bit much considering the pass rush was fantastic and the team gave up just 320 yards and 18 points per game.
However, as Georgia’s Jake Fromm, Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray, and Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence showed, it was possible to put up big numbers against the secondary. All those three did was combine for close to 1,000 passing yards with eight touchdowns and no picks. But …
– This is one seriously talented secondary. Bama always has top-shelf talent at defensive back, but this is an NFL group.
Junior safety Xavier McKinney was third on the team in tackles and senior Jared Mayden is fine at free safety, but there’s about to be a wave of recruits who’ll be rushing hard for jobs, starting with 6-2 Jordan Battle out of Florida.
Shyheim Carter picked off two passes and made 44 tackles moving around safety spots – living at the Star position – and there will be some rotation from the corners to see time at the spot.
Patrick Surtain was an NFL talent from Day One with 6-2, 202-pound size at one corner, and when healthy, Trevor Diggs – he missed time with a foot injury – is a baller with 6-2 size, too. Like the safety jobs, though, the star freshmen are coming in looking to take over time at corner.
– As long as everyone can stay in one piece, the Bama linebackers will be as good as always, starting with leading tackler Dylan Moses returning to the inside. Senior Joshua McMillon is getting his time to step up and shine at the other inside spot.
The outside is set, but again, has to stay in one piece. 6-5, 252-pound junior Terrell Lewis has all the tools to be a dangerous edge rusher, but he’s coming off a knee injury, and 6-3, 259-pound senior Anfernee Jennings is back on the other side. There’s better depth outside than in.
– Is there another Quinnen Williams? That’s asking for a whole lot, and it’s asking the world of a true freshman to step in and try to replace – arguably – the best defensive player in college football. 6-3, 314-pound true freshman DJ Dale – a good but no five-star recruit – looked ready right out of the box in spring ball. As always, there will be a rotation inside, but there’s no real experience on the nose.
The ends are in better shape with 6-7, 309-pound mainstay Raekwon Davis on one side, and 6-5, 385-pound LaBryan Ray set on the other. Overall, though, this is going to be a very, very young line – at least for Alabama.
NEXT: Top Players, Keys To the Season, What Will Happen
3. TOP ALABAMA PLAYERS
Best Alabama Offensive Player
QB Tua Tagovailoa, Jr.
He’d have been an Arizona Cardinal if he was able to come out for the 2019 Draft, and it’ll be Tank For Tua time throughout the NFL season to get an amazing combination of talents – think Brett Favre gunslinger mentality and Drew Brees accuracy.
All he did was come up with one of the most efficient and effective seasons of all-time, throwing for 3,966 yards and 43 touchdowns with just six picks. He not only bombed deep, but he also showed the knack for getting the ball to his receivers where they could do something big.
So let’s nitpick a bit. He takes a whole lot of chances, he still needs to be more comfortable at throwing the ball away, and there’s a bit of a durability concern. But if he’s healthy for a full season, he’s going to destroy the record books and take the Heisman.
2. WR Jerry Jeudy, Jr.
3. RB Najee Harris, Jr.
4. OT Alex Leatherwood, Jr.
5. WR Henry Ruggs, Jr.
Best Alabama Defensive Player
LB Dylan Moses, Jr.
The latest in the line of guided missile Alabama linebackers, the 6-3, 235-pound junior was the team’s leading tackler with 96 stops with 3,5 sacks and ten tackles for loss.
His range is the stadium with a fantastic burst and scary speed – he’s going to rip apart the NFL combine – but he doesn’t spend a lot of time dominating in the backfield. That’s because he doesn’t need to, but it’s there for some pro team to utilize in 2020.
2. DT/DE Raekwon Davis, Sr.
3. LB Anfernee Jennings, Sr.
4. CB Patrick Surtain, Soph.
5. S Shyheim Carter, Sr.
NEXT: Keys to the Season, Prediction & What Will Happen
2. KEYS TO THE SEASON
Biggest Key To The Alabama Offense
Finish off longer drives a bit better. It’s a bit like telling Kim Kardashian that she has a hair out of place, but the Alabama offense occasionally had issues closing drives with points, especially against the big boys.
It was able to hit the big play and score from anywhere on the field, and it’s not hyperbole to suggest that all of the starting skill guys would start in the NFL this season. But for such a potent attack, it faltered a bit too often in the red zone.
Again, this is getting way hyper-critical for what should be an other unstoppable attack, but Bama came away without points on 14 trips inside the 20. This was an issue in 2017, too, but that was more because of the shaky kicking game.
The placekicking was rock solid over the second half of last season with no missed field goals over the last eight games. Even so, Bama scored just 12-of-16 times in the red zone against Georgia, Oklahoma and Clemson. And as far as the kicking game going into this year … more on that in a moment.
Biggest Key To The Alabama Defense
The young guys up front have to grow up fast. Boo hoo – Alabama has experience issues on its defensive front three.
Most programs would trade their entire defensive starting 11 for even one of the stars on the Tide line, but it’s still asking for a whole lot to expect true freshmen to be ready to handle the rigors of the SEC world right away.
Tackles Antonio Alfano and Ishmael Sopsher were the big gets in the latest recruiting class, but it was three-star prospect DJ Dale who stepped up this spring and grabbed ahold of one of the jobs in the interior.
Raekwon Davis and LaBryan Ray are the veteran upperclassmen up front, and 6-4, 317-pound sophomore Phidarian Mathis will likely be the starter on the nose after fall camp – unless Dale keeps this up – but the season relies on a bunch of teenagers being ready to man up.
Key Player To A Successful Season
P/PK Will Reichard, Fr.
And/or sophomore Joseph Bulovas. And go ahead and throw in punters Skyler DeLong and Mike Bernier in there, too.
No mater how this all shakes out, at some point, the team will need a big blast somewhere, and it’s going to take a true freshman to likely make it happen.
The placekicking was strong over the second half to last season once Bulovas settled in, but he had an okay spring and a rocky final scrimmage. He was able to crank out three 40+ yard field goals, but the door is open for the new guy.
Bulovas could solve the woeful punting game as well as extend the options on field goals. Bama averaged just 35.8 yards per boot and rarely flipped the field. Look for Reichard to start at punter and for Bulovas to hang in the placekicking job.
Key Game To The Alabama Season
at Texas A&M, Oct. 12
Bama should be able to roll out of bed and start out 5-0 – even with a date at South Carolina. However, lose to what’s going to be a jacked up Texas A&M squad coming off a week off to rest up and get ready, and there’s going to be a world of issues.
Lose, and the pressure is on with LSU still to face at home, and with road games at Mississippi State and Auburn late in the year. Lose, and there’s no margin for error. Win, and Bama can go 11-1 and almost certainly get into the CFP with or without the SEC Championship.
– Alabama Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2018 Alabama Fun Stats
– 1st Quarter Scoring: Alabama 233 – Opponents 59
– Sacks: Alabama 45 for 270 yards – Opponents 15 for 121 yards
– Average Yards Per Pass: Alabama 11.1 – Opponents 6.5
NEXT: What Will Happen
1. ALABAMA WIN TOTAL PREDICTION: WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN
Bama isn’t the absolute slam dunk you might think it is.
Okay, it is, but only if everyone stays healthy.
Okay, that’s not quite true, either, but there are enough landmines over the second half of the season to potentially lose two games in a regular season for the first time since 2010.
But that’s not going to happen.
Losing QB Tua Tagovailoa would be devastating, but Mac Jones has been groomed to run the attack – and rememberer, Jake Coker won a national title for Nick Saban. Even if the main man is out for any stretch, the amazing running backs will handle more of the work, and the ridiculously good receiving corps will help make anyone throwing it look like Aaron Rodgers.
There are concerns, though.
The lines are going to be great, but the experienced depth is lacking. There’s talent, but this isn’t one of Saban’s more experienced teams.
The kicking game is a question mark, the secondary – even with all of its NFL-level skill – got picked clean by the future pro quarterbacks on the slate late in the season, and maybe, just maybe, there’s a wee bit of a hangover effect from the Clemson disaster. Even so …
Set The Regular Season Win Total At … 11
There will be a misfire when someone has the right formula in the shootout. The trick, though, is for Bama to lose twice, and this team is more than capable of handling the challenges.
Even so, with road games at Auburn, Texas A&M, South Carolina and Mississippi State, and on-the-wrong-day-uh-oh home games against Tennessee, Ole Miss, and certainly LSU, this isn’t going to be easy.
Okay, so that’s not even true. It’ll be more of the same, Bama will go 11-1 and get to the SEC Championship.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Recruiting Class Analysis | Schedule Analysis
