Many were shocked when they took a look at Alabama’s depth chart for their first game against the Duke Blue Devils and saw that three true freshmen were listed as starters.
DJ Dale, Christian Harris and Will Reichard all cracked the Tide’s starting lineup. Harris will line up beside senior linebacker, Dylan Moses, at the will linebacker position. Dale will provide pressure from the defensive tackle slot and Reichard will serve as the Tide’s kicker.
Reichard, Harris and Dale are not the only true freshmen expected to play a substantial amount of playing time this season. Eight other Alabama freshman made Alabama’s two-deep depth chart.
Starting and playing true freshman are trends, that are not new to the world of college football. During the 2017 National Championship game-winning play, which has been cemented in the history of college football as “2nd and 26”, a total of five freshmen were on the field for Alabama.
A huge reason why the Tide and the rest of the college football world are comfortable enough to play freshman is the fact football prospects are ready to play earlier than ever with the changes high school coaches have made to make their game as similar to college football as possible. Especially, at the quarterback position.
For example, both of Alabama’s true freshman quarterbacks, Paul Tyson and Taulia Tagovailoa, threw the ball more than 650 times for 6,500 yards during their last two seasons of high school football. Tyson had 69 passing touchdowns in his career and Tagovailoa had 71.
As a result, high school wide receivers, tight ends, running backs and defensive players have to adjust to the level high school quarterbacks play at. Harris and Dale have benefited from this trend and look ready to go as Saban said he fells Harris will help them in the long run.
“We felt like after two scrimmages, he gave us the best chance in the long term,” Saban said.
There is no doubt this move by Saban will play a role on the recruiting trail.
There is almost no stronger pitch than early playing time in today’s college football landscape. Most highly rated recruits are the alpha dogs on their teams and are usually the best player in their region or state. They do not want to sit a couple of years, which is why several Alabama players have come out and said they contemplated transferring at one time.
Alabama’s 2019 class is set to make its impact on Saturday, Aug. 31 and it is no secret Alabama’s targets will have their eyes on how Alabama uses their freshmen players in their first game.
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Justin Smith is a Scouting/Recruiting analyst for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via @Jdsmith31Smith
