Lineups can change but how each position should fare should not. (Photo-TDA Magazine)

Alabama’s Early Projected Depth Chart and Position Analysis

By: Larry Burton

Yes it’s way to early to be exact and things may change during spring and fall practices, but it’s not too early to speculate over the positions and analyze how that position may do in the coming season. Last season I said Blake Barnett would take the opening snap as quarterback and he did and said the job would be his to lose and guess what, he did lose it. This year however has more position battles to talk over and yes, I think the quarterback position could once again be a position worth talking about.

So with that in mind, here we go.

Offense – 

Overall this should be an exceptional high scoring offense with the nation’s number one stable of running horses. There is also perhaps an SEC best corp of receivers in this mix too and the offensive line should be adequate to good as the season starts with improvement occurring as the season goes on. Only at tight end are there questions, but the promise of goodness is certainly there.

Quarterback – 

Jalen Hurts, backup Tua Tagovailoa or Mac Jones – The job in Hurts to lose. The question is, can he lose it? Of course! All he has to do is read and throw as pitifully as he did in the national championship game despite Nick Saban’s speech about there not being a QB challenge. Each of his backups are better pure throwing quarterbacks. So the real question is how much can Hurts improve? If not Saban’s comment that Hurts is the number one quarterback meant only that he is number one for now.  But to Hurts’ credit, he seems to have improved his accuracy on throws and does look to have kept himself going into fall as clearly the number one quarterback. Overall, given the quality of the backups on campus, this position is rated good with the potential to be great.

Running Backs –

Damien Harris and Bo Scarbrough, First Backups Joshua Jacobs and Najee Harris, backup B.J. Emmons – Harris is listed first as he was the starter for much of last season and Scarbrough’s injury will limit his practice enough to keep Harris there. Joshua Jacobs is a starter on the bench who would be a star on most other teams this season and Najee Harris could be this year’s freshman surprise as Jacobs was last season. When you have a guy who was the second best running back recruit in the nation when he came here  and is as talented as B.J. Emmons is at fifth string, you don’t even need to remark just how stellar this class of running backs are. Any of these could running backs could carry the load and the game if they needed to as Jacobs did so well last year when both Harris and Scarbrough were hurt.

Folks, there is so much talent at this position, it not only great, it is the best offensive backfield in the nation hands down, without argument.

Linemen – 

Left Tackle – Scott Lashley, backup, Jonah Williams –  Yes I know that most have Williams penciled in, but Saban likes to have his tallest tackle with the longest wingspread at left tackle and he likes is that way for a reason. Saban has shown no problems putting a freshman at that most valuable position so if Williams does want the starting job, he’d better work his tail off to keep Lashley on the bench. Early on, this position will be in a learning curve and could face some adversity. But once settled, by season’s end, this could be a position of strength.

Right Tackle – Matt Womack – Backups, Alex Leatherwood, Lester Cotton or Elliott Baker – The job is Womack’s to lose and he should hang on to it after an impressive winter workout and a great spring. At 6’7” he has now developed the muscle to fit that frame and Saban has praised his work ethic and ability on more than one occasion.  He would not have been who I would have guessed to start this season at the end of last season. I would have guessed Lester Cotton. Cotton got a lot of work last season and he improved throughout last season and seems very steady now at this position, Alex Leatherwood will be fighting for playing time and all the backups are really good here show good promise. This position is solid and shows no problems. But if Williams isn’t starting at left tackle, he may wind up back over here.

Center – Bradley Bozeman – backup – J.C. Hassenaur, – As a senior, Bozeman is a strength on this line as a proven leader. Hassenaur can relieve him well, but if Bozeman went out on injury for a long while, look for Ross Pierschbacher to move over from guard to center for a few practices as well. This position is rock solid.

Left Guard – Ross Pierschbacher – backup – Dallas Warmack – Pierschbacher is a rock here and the job is his, but Warmack is more than an adequate reliever, he’s a solid blocker as well. This position is very good.

Right Guard – Alex Leatherwood – backup – Brandon Kennedy – Even though Leatherwood is a freshman and Kennedy a red shirt sophomore, the job is Leatherwood’s to lose. Leatherwood may eventually shift over to a tackle position, but he’s just too good to keep out of the lineup for now, so he may start here. Should he go down, Kennedy is a good backup and the tide has other players that fill in across the line as well. This is a solid position.

Overall Offensive Linemen – Only at the vital position of left tackle is there any doubt and that should or could be quickly relieved after the first two games. It seems every year that Alabama has an offensive line they can lean on and put pressure on to drive out long scoring drives that put points on the board and takes much valuable time off of it. That should be the case this year as well. They should be among the SEC’s best and will have few rivals on their schedule this season that they can’t line up and push back as a group.

Receivers –

Wide Out #1 – Calvin Ridley, backups Robert Foster and Jerry Jeudy – If Ridley has the kind of season he could have, the junior will have to decide if this is his last at Alabama. And talk about leaving, Foster has at least hinted with the depth of receivers at Alabama he may look elsewhere to ply his trade for his senior season. One injury after another has kept Foster on the bench and away from the glory that was projected he would enjoy. Should he stay, this is one very deep very good position.

Wide Out#2 – Cam Sims, backups Trevon Diggs and Tyrell Shavers  – Sims showed glimpses of greatness last season so this job seems his to lose. Diggs had some drops but did well when he didn’t. With all the other talent to backup this spot, it’s very good. It’s also very possible to see Robert Foster getting some time as the second wideout when Ridley’s in. Foster had a good spring and showed he’s finally ready for his day in the sun. Shavers, at 6’6” is that tall “jump ball” receiver that is so hard to cover and it will be fun to watch him grow.

Slot – Henry Ruggs III – backup Derek Kief – I’m sticking my head out here as Ruggs is an incoming freshman. But with a slipperiness once he has the ball in his hands, he could be a dangerous guy to catch a bubble screen or crossing route and take off. Redshirt junior Kief may wind up being the starter here as could a few others, but overall, with the talent they have in making the decision, it’s a very well filled position. Also look for wide out backups to be used here occasionally.

Tight End – Miller Forristall, backup Hale Hentges – Neither will have the pizzazz of departing senior O.J. Howard, but Forristall has good hands and good blocking technique. He just doesn’t have Howard’s breakaway running speed. Still this spot should at least be adequate in helping the offense. I’m listing him first because he’s shown to be the better blocker, but either could start and both will certainly play a lot.

Tight End #2 / H Back – Hale Henteges will come in on a two tight end formation and may be the guy the Tide uses at H back too. He’s built more as a blocker than a finesse receiver, but he can catch well. A young true freshman from Texas Major Tennison, a 6’6” bruiser could also be used at either side and Irv Smith Jr. is also someone who come to push starters. Overall, tight end shows a lot of promise.

So overall, this group will be among the best group in the nation with perhaps the deepest overall talent pool of any college team. Given Daboll’s propensity to share the ball to lots of receivers, it may be hard for one man to be the star he could be on teams with fewer options. But this group is more deep, more solid and more talented than any group in the country hands down.

Overall Offensive Assessment – 

The running back and receiver corp that this team boasts can make an average quarterback look good. There is no way any team in college football can key on just stopping the run and leave these Alabama receivers in one on one matchups all day. Teams may not yet believe that Jalen Hurts can beat them with his arm, so this is the strategy that most teams will employ early on anyway. While Hurts hasn’t proven himself to be deadly with his arm, teams respect what he can do with his legs and mobile quarterbacks always present problems for defenses.

If Hurts come around with his arm as his coaches firmly believe he is capable of doing, then this offense could truly be unstoppable.

Defense –

Linemen –

Nose Tackle – Da’Ron Payne , backup, O.J. Smith – Payne has proven to be a force in the middle and he and fellow junior Smith have few opposing offensive linemen that can handle them one on one. While Payne may not be the best pass rusher, he anchors the line against the run. This position is very solid.

Defensive Tackle #1 – Da’Shawn Hand, backup, Raekwon Davis – Hand will be trying to be another first round draft choice after this season, so it’s obvious this position is well manned. Davis will rotate in and out and is a rock solid player himself.

Defensive Tackle #2 – Josh Frazier or Isiah Buggs – Frazier had a solid season backing up last season and this could and should be his season to shine, but Buggs is coming in as one of the nation’s best JUCO recruits and could really make a case for him to earn the nod. Alabama won’t be hurting with either so this position is also rock solid.

The defensive linemen are typical Alabama linemen that will squash the running game and just wear down the offensive line. They are fast, strong and smart. There’s no problem here I can see.

Linebackers –

SAM – Anfernee Jennings or Christian Miller, backup – Keith Holcomb or Jamey Mosley – In Saban’s defense, one linebacker may slide to another position in certain lineups. This happens a lot between the Sam and Jack positions. The player who fills either of those positions could easily fill the other.  Sam is supposed to seal the edge, turn everything back inside, pass rush or maybe cover a tight end and Jennings has shown he’s ready to fill that role with a quick explosive burst. This spot is medium with experience but great in potential. It will be rock solid.

WILL – Shaun Dion Hamilton, backups – Mack Wilson or Ben Davis or Keith Holcomb – Once fully recovered, this job is Hamilton’s and he is the next NFL star from this lineup. Him being hobbled this spring will only mean his backups will be even better and that makes this position fantastic. Will is the “weak inside linebacker” but it’s not a weak player playing it. This position is certainly one who aids to stop the run like the Sam linebacker, but the Will also helps in pass defense by often covering a slot receiver. He’s usually the most athletic, but not the biggest of the linebackers because he doesn’t take on offensive linemen as much as the others. Hamilton has shown he can do that. Holcomb filled in during the spring game because of Hamilton’s injury and raised a lot of eyebrows with two sacks and leading all tacklers. If this doesn’t show you the freakish depth here, what does?

JACK – Christian Miller or Anfree Jennings, backup -Terrell Hall – I’m leaning to Christian Miller. Miller would have already made a name for himself on other teams, but he was buried behind NFL top rounders. Given the chance to finally shine, he certainly will. Jack is on the outside edge, he is one of the leading pass rushers with killer speed.  This position is rock solid.

MIKE – Rashaan Evans, backup Josh McMillon – Evans has already shown the world that he is elite sure NFL pick and he’ll be one of leaders in this corp. Mike is usually the signal caller of the defensive line, he’s the purest form of linebacker. He is going to be one of the leading tacklers and may also have responsibilities covering a running back out of the backfield.  Rashaan is about as good as you’ll get. It couldn’t get much better at this position.

Another backup worth mentioning is Mekhi Brown, who will get some playing time at Jack or Sam but could fill in at other positions. As always, Alabama has a ton of depth at this spot and while overall there are some youngsters, it’s a great group talent wise and could be among the nation’s best group yet again.

Overall, Saban’s linebackers over the years have shown the great ability to play different spots almost seamlessly. People will shift depending on schemes and need but while this group is more on the young side, it’s freakishly talented with just enough experience in there to guide the newbies. There is no weak position on this team at any linebacker spot and it doesn’t get more solid than this.

Cornerbacks –

Look for Anthony Averette to the main corner put on the best receiver and newly turned offensive receiver Trevon Diggs to anchor the other side. In nickle, which is often at Bama, Tony Brown is going to be the man though it wouldn’t surprise me to see Diggs and Brown in reverse roles. It will all depend on how play goes early. Should someone falter badly or be injured, Saban will have to turn to inexperienced youth to fill the holes. Shyheim Carter, Aaron Robinson are inexperienced and senior Levi Wallace as a senior, has the knowledge. The X factor at corner is the development of Nigel Knott, who has a huge upside, but still doesn’t have the playbook down and hasn’t played a down of SEC football yet. By the stretch run, I expect Saban to have rotated him enough to be an asset in that vital time of the year.

Overall Assessment of Cornerbacks – Every big game Saban has lost could have the secondary pointed to as the weak link. Having to experiment to find a starter, as in the case of Diggs, shows that while the raw talent is there, the experience is not. Averette may prove to be a good corner, but the other side is still up in the air. In the spring game, Diggs showed that he could be beaten and you could see that  he’s still a work in progress. These positions can only be described as iffy at this point and once again, perhaps the weak link in the armor that is the Alabama defense.

Safety – 

Strong Safety  – Minkah Fitzpatrick as signal caller and strong safety and Hootie Jones as the first backup. Other backups look to be Xavier McKinney, who is shadowing Jones on the second team while fellow backup Jared Mayden is healing. Should cornerback prove to be a sore spot and Saban moves Fitzpatrick back to corner, Jones would be the logical successor to fill that hole. While good, he’s not as quick and doesn’t quite have the same cover skills as Fitzpatrick, but even with or if Minkah is moved, strong safety should be good, but not great.

Free Safety – Ronnie Harrison believes that this is his year to show what he can do. He was second on the team in tackles last season as a sophomore and many think that was just the beginning of what he can do. Deionte Thompson is a solid backup who gained good experience last season. Xavier McKinney could also back this position as well as strong safety.

Star – Shyheim Carter may be the man turns to for this position. It’s a hybrid position that usually plays like a third safety. Entering his second year with playing time in nine games last season, Carter has a little experience and the 190 pound frame to help stop defenders and fast enough to cover receivers like a corner. Jared Mayden, another second year player, may back him up there. While there’s not a lot of experience there, this spot should not be considered a real weakness and Carter could bloom into a star of the future to make it a good one.

Overall Assessment of Safety – If Fitzpatrick and Harrison both stay healthy and in these jobs, the safety position won’t be the reason the defensive backs are the weak link of the every drive starters. This position is very well manned, but the backups aren’t quite up to rival the starters yet, so it’s important to keep both these starters healthy.

Overall Defensive Assessment – Every year I have said that the incoming Alabama defense could be as good as the one who just left and performed so well I get snickers and eye rolls. But every year I’ve said that it actually worked out that way. Last year’s defense was very special, yet once again, in raw talent, this one is poised once again to be that good if not better. Yes I know it gets old saying that, but until the day comes that I’m wrong in saying it, I may just keep singing that same verse.

This will be one of the top defenses in the nation again this year and if the cornerback situation comes around, it could be a smothering one for other teams to deal with. There’s no other defense in the nation that Nick Saban would trade this one for and that may include a lot of NFL defenses.

Special Teams – 

Long Snapper –  Maybe no one on the team has bigger shoes to fill than Thomas Fletcher, who takes over the job where the long snapper has not had an errant snap with either of the last two players who filled the position for almost 8 years! He seems unshakable and while he doesn’t have the blocking schemes down yet as good as will soon, there’s no reason to doubt that this position is filled once again by a practically perfect player.

Punter – J.K. Scott is one of Alabama’s greatest assets and one of the nation’s best punters. His field flipping foot is just one thing that makes him such an asset. As seen in the spring game. he can also do place kicking and do it well enough to be a great backup at a position where few teams have a good one at this spot. This spot is rock solid and it would be hard to find someone who could do better.

Place Kicker – Can anyone say, “Oh Crap!”? Watching the place kicker earlier this spring was painful. We saw that kicker Andy Pappanastos is a work in progress to put it politely and since he’s a senior, one had hoped he would have been further along. The punter ended up doing a much better job at placekicking. What remains to be seen is how well incoming freshman Joseph Bulovas will do.  He hasn’t donned a jersey yet, but is among the anticipated players of any who will show up over the summer. He certainly has the leg and showed off a 70 yarder in practice at high school, but whether he can place it between the goal posts remains a question when it comes to his college game. Still, if it works out as Saban hopes, this position will go from “Oh Crap!” to “Thank God!”.

Kick and Punt Returners – This position looks like it could be filled by Xavian Marks, who did run one punt back for a TD last season and Trevon Diggs. If Marks makes more mistakes like the two punts he didn’t field properly which were downed at the two one one yard lines respectively, he may be benched, but most feel that was just part of the learning curve in this job and that now he’s all ready to go. Though I have nothing official to go on and no inside knowledge of this, I just have a nagging feeling that at some point this season we’ll get to see Henry Ruggs III  do some returning. He’s a very “slinky” fast freshman with good vision and nice moves in the open field. While I don’t see this as a position that is going to put a lot of points on the board and be a real asset, it won’t be a position that will hurt the team. Let’s just wait and see and for now call it adequately filled.

Overall Special Team Assessment – While most in the jury are still out on well the place kicking can be, I personally think that the arrival of Bulovas will stop any negative thoughts about the special teams overall grade. With a great long snapper, fantastic punter and a steady kicker which I believe Bulovas will be, the only question I have is at return man. Even if they’re just adequate, overall the special teams will prove to be a big asset for this team and if the returners catch fire, then the entire special teams program can be the game changer they need to be in a close game.

Overall Team Assessment –

With a great offense, defense and special teams, it’s easy to see why Alabama is the early choice to be the national champion. With a very complimentary schedule this season and the apparent lack of another killer team like Alabama on the college football horizon this season, this could be just the second undefeated national championship of the Nick Saban era as hard as that is to believe.

This won’t be because this is one of the best teams ever, but the favorable schedule combined with the fact that no one else in the SEC seems poised to take on Alabama in any serious kind of way and the other conference champions are either in rebuilding mode or simply not on Alabama’s level right now.

If Jalen Hurts masters his throwing ability to match where he is running the ball and cool headiness, this could be a cakewalk season for the Tide. The defense won’t have to be better than previous Alabama defenses and the special teams won’t have to save the day. This offense is so ridiculously talent laden that they can just blow out almost any opponent they’ll face if Hurts does indeed become the passing threat all the coaches think he can be.

If so, look for a close game for Alabama to be just a 17 point win and a regular game to be won by 28 or more. Yes, that’s how good I think this team can be.

Larry has been published in almost every media outlet for college sports and now primarily writes here for Touchdown Alabama. Follow Larry on Twitter for inside thoughts and game time comments at https://twitter.com/LBSportswriter

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