Alabama football: 5 areas where the Crimson Tide will be better … and worse in 2023

Alabama football has lived above the fray for seemingly forever, whether it has been led by that stoic gentleman with the houndstooth hat, that fiery West Virginian or mostly anyone in between. The Crimson Tide program has become iconic through the decades for its ability to adjust year to year, persevere and press on, and those 4- and 5-star studs who perennially show up at Bryant-Denny’s doorstep every fall don’t hurt, either.

But T-Town’s football factory isn’t run by robots. It’s filled with human beings who make mistakes, shed tears and, yeah, lose big games. The Tide win a whole lot of games every season, but they don’t win them all, even if they’re almost expected to. And right now their legendary head coach, the perfectionist from coal miner’s country, is taking major heat because national championship No. 7 hasn’t arrived yet and the rival school to the east has captured the past 2 crowns.

Suddenly, the glory years of Nick Saban’s dynasty aren’t so glorious anymore.

Suddenly, Alabama football isn’t living so large anymore, above the fray, free of turbulence.

There is anxiety and restlessness, and the whispers are growing ever louder about no longer being able to plug the leaks from season to season.

And that’s what this is all really about. Because every year, no matter how the previous season ended, there are new holes to either fill or risk the consequences. Strengths the season before become weaknesses the following fall, and weaknesses turn into strengths, too. It works both ways, and it creates urgency, especially in August 2023 when Alabama is trying to replace 2 legends while remaining championship relevant.

This is the challenge that Saban faces. Alabama wasn’t quite good enough to slip into the Playoff last season, losing 2 gut wrenching regular-season games to Tennessee and LSU. It couldn’t recover last fall, and now it’s trying to pick up the pieces with a different cast of characters who will make some areas of the team better and some worse. That’s just how it goes, every season at every program, Alabama included.

So we’ll dive into those newfound strengths — and weaknesses — and pick out 5 areas the Tide will be better and 5 where they will be worse in 2023:

5 areas the Crimson Tide will be better

1. Time of possession

This is simple, logical mathematics. And it’s also a referendum on the new pecking order of the Alabama offense. You take a dynamo like Bryce Young out, with the quick-strike ability he possessed with his right arm and both legs, and you replace him with someone, whoever it is, who won’t be able to will his team downfield nearly as quickly. That QB equation, combined with the stunning array of talent in the Tide running backs room, would seem to indicate that Bama is heading into a fall with a more methodical offense that will be capable of chewing up large chunks of the clock.

So in 2023, Alabama fans will likely have to trade the Young Highlight Reel for an offense that’s more adept at keeping the ball away from the opposition for long stretches of time. And that tradeoff can still be a winning formula, just a different winning formula than what the locals have gotten used to over the previous few seasons. Scoring not quite as quickly doesn’t mean Bama won’t be able to score enough to win. It just means the horses in the Tide’s stacked backfield stable will be the focus instead of the quarterback, and more time of possession will also mean Bama’s defense will be resting more and will be infinitely fresher when it does hit the field. It might not be particularly sexy, but it can be a solid path to a lot of happy Saturdays this season.

2. The deep passing game

While the overall performance at the quarterback position will likely take a hit (spoiler alert, read below), a key facet of the Tide’s murky QB situation stands to get better — at least a little better. If (or when) defenses decide that stacking the line to contain Bama’s fierce running attack is the best way to go in 2023, whoever the starting quarterback is should get the benefit of a lot of 1-on-1 coverage on the outside. There might even be a safety hunting the line of scrimmage on occasion this fall, and even if the quarterback isn’t Young, you can bet that Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson or Tyler Buchner will have the ability to toss a few home run balls against coverages designed to stop the run.

The longest reception by a Tide player last season was 65 yards, and it wasn’t even made by a receiver — it was made by star-to-be running back Jase McClellan. And the 2nd-longest reception was 60 yards, made by another running back, Jahmyr Gibbs. That’s a pretty telling sign that Alabama’s passing game didn’t quite stretch the field in 2022. Ironically, the whole key to unlocking the deep passing game in ’23 lies with the running backs, led by McClellan. If the heralded stable of backs can punish defenses enough, then you should see a flurry of completions longer than 65 yards.

3. Placekicking in the clutch

This is going to be a vital feather in the Crimson Tide’s cap in 2023, because a less explosive passing game (on paper) and a more plodding offense would seem to lend toward the kicker being a lot more intregal to putting points on the board. Having Will Reichard back in T-Town for 1 more go-around means that Alabama is going to have 1 of the best kickers in school history waiting on the sideline until he’s called on for the biggest moments of the season. It’s like a baseball team that knows it has an elite closer and just needs to be in position to win when he’s really needed.

Reichard looked as good as gone after the Tide beat Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Eve. He was heading to the Senior Bowl and would presumably get drafted in the spring. It was a great run for the kid from Hoover, but Saban was finally going to have to turn the kicker’s job over to someone else, like highly touted freshman Conor Talty. Then Reichard reversed course, had a change of heart and decided to come back to the place and program he loves so much. The 2023 Crimson Tide will love having him back, and they’ll love him even more when he does something like boot the game-winning field goal to topple LSU at Bryant-Denny in early November. Not that Talty wouldn’t have been OK as a freshman — and Talty will surely have his time — but Reichard should be as or more dependable than he has been throughout his already legendary Tide career.

4. Tight end production

Cameron Latu had a nice career at Alabama, so much so that the San Francisco 49ers grabbed him in the 3rd round of this year’s NFL Draft. But the truth is that Latu might’ve gone even higher had his production not dipped last fall, mostly because he was battling a knee injury literally from the start of fall camp. Latu was never truly a factor, finishing with 30 catches and just 4 touchdowns, a dropoff from the 8 TDs he scored in 2021.

Enter CJ Dippre from the transfer portal. The import from Maryland caught the same number of passes (30) as Latu did in 2022, but logic would tell you that Dippre will benefit greatly from being at a program with a much larger array of weapons, where defenses aren’t so focused on him. His opportunities should also increase in an offense with a new quarterback looking for a security blanket, which tight ends often are. Saban was already raving early in fall camp about Dippre’s maturity, experience, size, hands, pass-catching ability and blocking, which is a pretty good place to start your Tide career.

5. Doubt fuels success

Sometimes, often times, it takes a wakeup call to get you moving — a wakeup call like the 1 Georgia has provided for Alabama the past few seasons. Saban has had to watch as 1 of his disciples, Kirby Smart, has led the rival Bulldogs to back-to-back national titles. Impatient and spoiled Tide fans are growing restless as the whispers have turned to screams about Bama’s (and Saban’s) time on top coming to an end.

It can be a lot to deal with, but it also can be a turning point for a program that’s desperate to regain the college football throne. We’re not necessarily saying the Tide will win the national championship in 2023, but all the naysayers, all the doubt, will turn out to be a blessing.

5 areas the Crimson Tide will be worse

1. The quarterback position, of course

OK, maybe the hysteria over the uncertainty of the quarterback position has been slightly exaggerated. The 2 major preseason polls have placed Bama right back in its usual top-5 perch, with the Tide sitting at 3rd in the Coaches’ Poll and 4th in the AP Poll. That means those in the know think that whoever wins the 3-man quarterback derby this month will be at least adequate enough not to screw up Alabama’s annual pursuit of a national championship. It doesn’t, however, mean that whoever emerges out of the trio of Milroe, Simpson and Buchner will magically be up to the lofty standard that Young set in 2021 and 2022.

Young’s successor — or successors, presuming more than 1 guy gets a shot at this thing throughout the season — will try really hard, and we think he will have his moments, because these are still 3 really talented quarterbacks who just happen to be following a legend. But, yeah, there’s going to be a dropoff, whether it’s a big one or a modest one. If it’s the latter, then those preseason polls might just be right on the money. If it’s the former, then the Crimson Tide could make the wrong kind of history by missing the Playoff 2 years in a row for the 1st time. Whatever transpires at the most important position on the field this fall, keep in mind that it’s not supposed to be easy moving on from a quarterback like Young. But also realize that predicting a drop in production there doesn’t necessarily mean the position won’t be in capable hands.

2. Yards per rush

With (on paper) 1 of the best running back rooms in the country, headlined by Maxwell Award candidate McClellan, you might think this 1 belongs in the “better batch.” You’ve also got senior Roydell Williams, who like McClellan is itching to explode this fall; a sophomore on the rise in Jam Miller; and 2 freshmen in Justice Haynes and Richard Young who have been hyped as potential stars. All that backfield weaponry is great and all, and it will likely help the Tide survive the transition at quarterback. But that huge QB question mark will also mean that defenses, the speedy defenses of the SEC, will likely be stacking the line of scrimmage to shut down the running game while taking their chances that whoever the quarterback is can’t beat them.

So while Alabama might have its most potent collective running attack in years, its collective yards-per-carry average is likely to take a little hit from the robust 5.6 average in 2022, if only because those defenses are going to have their antennas up. Right now, as we sit here in August, knowing what you know about the Tide offense, wouldn’t this be the logical thought? This doesn’t mean the Bama backs won’t be brilliant, as many expect, and it doesn’t mean they won’t break a handful of long runs over the course of the season. It just means that over the course of 3 months, there will be a whole lot of shorter runs because there just won’t be a whole lot of room on many plays. What it also means is that this being in the “worse batch” is 1 giant compliment to the Crimson Tide running backs room.

3. Smoothness on the sideline

Maybe we’re reaching a little here. After all, this is Kevin Steele’s 3rd stint at Bama, with all of them coming under Saban. But only Steele’s 1st stint in T-Town came as the defensive coordinator, and that was for 1 whole season, way back in Saban’s 1st season in 2007 (in 2008, Steele was co-defensive coordinator with a guy named Kirby Smart). So even though Saban and Steele have a lot of experience working together, it has been a while since Steele carried so much responsibility under Saban. In Steele’s 2nd Bama stint in 2013 and ’14, he was the director of player personnel and the linebackers coach. The familiarity factor will be there, for sure, but you’d have to think there will be a little adjustment period after 5 years with Pete Golding.

Steele will likely be the easy part of the new coordinator equation. Because with new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, you have a real wild-card situation. Don’t for a minute think this means that Rees won’t be successful, at least eventually. It’s just that Saban and Rees come from different college football worlds, and you would think Year 1 together is going to bring a major adjustment — and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just the likely reality. Throw in a new quarterback who isn’t Young, and it just makes things that much murkier. On the bright side, Steele and Rees were both hired in early February, so they’ve experienced Saban’s offseason routine through the spring and summer.

4. The pass protection

Javion Cohen plays for the Miami Hurricanes now. Tyler Steen was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles, and Emil Ekiyor Jr. was scooped up as an undrafted free agent by the Indianapolis Colts. The talented offensive line trio are far away from T-Town now, and that’s 3 starters whom the Tide will have to replace while they also try to replace Young, who plays for the Carolina Panthers now.

Yes, stalwarts JC Latham and Seth McLaughlin are back, and, yes, freshmen Kadyn Proctor and Elijah Pritchett have enormous potential. But losing all that experience and the reality that Young’s quick feet won’t be back there to escape when the pocket does break down likely means the pass protection will suffer at least a little in 2023.

5. Experience at safety

Alabama lost a ton of savvy at the safety position, with DeMarcco Hellams, Jordan Battle and Brian Branch departing and taking all that experience with them. So yeah, the Tide are sort of starting over at a most important position (think center field in baseball). While 5-star stud Caleb Downs could be great pretty quickly at free safety, right now he’s just a freshman with 0 snaps under his belt. And while UAB transfer Jaylen Key is poised to fill the void at strong safety, right now he’s got 0 snaps under his belt in the SEC.

That means, for now, the position is a work in progress, even if the ceiling is extremely high.

Cory Nightingale

Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.