Sure, we may be in the midst of March Madness, but there’s still got to be some room for spring football in there, somewhere. Alabama will be playing a “modified” version of a spring game on April 12th for A-Day this year, and, unfortunately, it won’t be televised for the first time in almost two decades. Thanks for everything, Transfer Portal, you’ve even ruined the spring.
After something of a middling season for the Alabama offense in 2024, they’ll be looking to regroup with a new offensive coordinator, new QB, and new identity in 2025. Notably, Coach DeBoer made the comment that a lot of the QB runs from last season will get divided up into a more “tailback-centric” offense with more play-action.
Music to our ears, coach. Just make sure OC Ryan Grubb knows that after being 4th-last in the NFL in rushing attempts last season.
In any case, there’s a lot of newness in the entire offensive unit, and there are plenty of intriguing storylines and position battles to watch this spring to see who might be working their way towards becoming the mainstays on the field this fall. Without further preamble, let’s go take a look at each position group.
Quarterbacks
Returning Starters: None
Returning Depth: Ty Simpson, Austin Mack
New Players: Keelon Russell
As always, the QB intrigue will rule the storylines around the team. Will it be the veteran backup with impressive running ability in Ty Simpson, the 6’6” west coast transfer with a big arm in Austin Mack, or the 5-star All-Everything freshman?
Who’s really to say, and the winner of this battle will be the biggest variable in determining the identity and results of the season.
For the spring, expect Ty Simpson to be QB1, with Mack and Russell competing for the #2 spot. If either really shows out in the spring, they’ll likely be given the shot to compete against Simpson in the summer/fall camps.
Running Backs
Returning Starters: Jam Miller
Returning Depth: Richard Young, Daniel Hill, Kevin Riley
New Players: Dre Washington, AK Dear
Jam Miller returns for a senior season after a somewhat disappointing first year as a starter. Of course, Alabama struggled to even call running plays for actual running backs for much of the season, so there’s hope to be had that a more coherent rushing scheme could lead to a big boost in production for him.
Past that, Richard Young was the #3 back for Alabama last season and flashed quite a few nice runs, so he’s expected to be the clear #2 behind Miller.
The mountainous Daniel Hill and the shifty Kevin Riley will be competing with the small school transfer senior, Dre Washington, for the #3 role, but unless any of them really stand out, it seems like this year will mostly be the Miller/Young show.
Tight Ends
Returning Starters: Josh Cuevas (sort of)
Returning Depth: Danny Lewis, Jay Lindsey
New Players: Marshall Pritchett, Peter Knudson
With Danny Lewis out for the spring with injury and freshman Kaleb Edwards not enrolling until summer, the tight end position group is severely short on depth. Josh Cuevas was the #3 tight end for the Tide last season, but was the Tide’s 4th leading receiver last year, so he’s expected to be the leader of the group. Lewis should be the other starting TE based on his 4 years as a backup, but considering he’s missing the spring, the door is wide open for one of the other players below.
Jay Lindsey redshirted last year, but is a big body. Marshall Pritchett enters as a highly regarded pass catcher from high school, and Peter Knudson is a walk-on transfer from Weber State that the staff seems to have identified as a guy who could be a legitimate part of the depth.
Wide Receivers
Returning Starters: Germie Bernard, Ryan Williams
Returning Contributors: Jalen Hale, Cole Adams
Returning Depth: Rico Scott, Bubba Hampton
New Players: Isaiah Horton, Jaylen Mbakwe, Lotzeir Brooks, Derek Meadows
This is Alabama’s most stacked position group. Bernard and Williams return as the Tide’s two best players on offense in 2024, and now they bring another year of experience with an OC known for creating volume passing games.
Then there’s Jalen Hale and Cole Adams returning from injury. Hale was a part-time starter for the Tide as a freshman for the Tide in 2023 before missing all of last season with an injury. Meanwhile, Adams was carving out a role and getting quite a bit of playing time last season before missing the second half of the year. Both are starting-caliber pass catchers.
On the new side of things, Isaiah Horton was a huge transfer portal win, as the big-bodied veteran brings 56 catches for 616 yards from his 2024 season at Miami to the group, and is expected to be the third starter alongside Bernard and Williams.
Oh, and don’t forget Jaylen Mbakwe, the former top-10 prospect with olympic-level track speed who played defensive back as a freshman last year and is now going to be a WR.
Essentially, there’s a whole lot of great players here and not enough starting spots to go around. At best guess, the top three will be Bernard, Williams, and Horton, and they’ll be backed up by a rotating 2nd team of Hale, Adams, and Mbakwe.
Offensive Line
Returning Starters: Kadyn Proctor, Parker Brailsford, Jaeden Roberts, Geno VanDeMark
Returning Contributors: Wilkin Formby
Returning Depth: Olaus Alinen, Roq Montgomery, Joseph Ionata, William Sanders, Casey Poe
New Players: Kam Dewberry, Arkel Anugwom, Michael Carroll, Mal Waldrep, Micah DeBose
With Proctor out for the spring, there will be plenty of opportunity to see others play at left tackle. Still, he’s pretty well entrenched as the starting left tackle, and Parker Brailsford will be the center. Past that, there’s a lot of uncertainty.
Jaeden Roberts and Geno VanDeMark alternated starting at right guard all last season. Will that continue, or will one move to left guard? Kam Dewberry also is a former starter at left guard for Texas A&M, so he’ll also be gunning for that job. Then there’s freshman Michael Carroll, who many have projected to be a starter in his first year.
At right tackle, Wilkin Formby will get the first crack at the job, but he struggled at times last season, so don’t be surprised if there is competition. Ball State transfer Arkel Anugwom brings elite athleticism and some collegiate experience, but freshmen Michael Caroll and Jackson Lloyd are both 5-star prospects who could be in the mix. ? If I HAD to take a guess at a two-deep depth chart (assuming Proctor is back), it would look like this:
LT: Kadyn Proctor, Arkel Anugwom
LG: Geno VanDeMark, Kam Dewberry, Olaus Alinen
C: Parker Brailsford, Geno VanDeMark
RG: Jaeden Roberts, Michael Carroll
RT: Wilkin Formby, Casey Poe
While QB is obviously going to be the position most focused on, the shuffling at left guard is another huge position battle, and the battles for the #2 TE, #3-6 WRs, #2 RB, and possible starting right tackle should all draw up the interest of any self-respecting hardcore fans. Who knows, you might even get to see something on April 12th if you’re in Tuscaloosa.
Poll
Who winds up the starting left guard for Alabama for game 1 in the fall?
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41%
Geno VanDeMark
(83 votes)
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16%
Michael Carroll
(33 votes)
200 votes total
Vote Now
