Alabama's elite secondary anchors DeBoer's pivotal third season
Alabama went 11-4 (7-1 SEC) in Kalen DeBoer's second season, returning to the SEC Championship Game and winning a College Football Playoff game for the first time since 2021 with a 34-24 first-round victory over Oklahoma. The year was bookended by ugly results, though, a 17-31 opening loss at Florida State and a 3-38 Rose Bowl beating from eventual national champion Indiana that looked nothing like a program used to setting the standard. The Tide finished ninth in the final polls, and that lopsided gap with the national champion sets the tone entering the fall.
The offseason answer was commitment: Alabama rewarded DeBoer with a new deal worth $87,500,000 through 2033 rather than second-guess the miserable ending. This is Year Three of the post-Saban era, and the turnover has been dramatic. Only six players remain who ever suited up for Nick Saban, so the level of achievement now rests entirely on the shoulders of the 20-8 DeBoer, who starts the season outside the preseason Top 10 for the first time since 2008.
Offense
For the second straight year, Alabama will start a quarterback with no prior starting experience, this time replacing Ty Simpson, who delivered 3,567 yards, 28 touchdowns and just five interceptions. The competition pits 6-6 fourth-year junior Austin Mack against five-star redshirt freshman Keelon Russell. Mack's three years in offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb's system give him the edge, and he was efficient in limited work, completing 75 percent for 228 yards and two scores. Russell cannot be ruled out after a more impressive spring scrimmage and 143 yards on 73 percent passing in his brief look.
Ryan Coleman-Williams is the most experienced returning offensive player and will be leaned on more than ever. Now a junior wearing a new number, the former Ryan Williams has 97 catches over two years, including a first-team All-SEC true freshman campaign of 865 yards at 18.0 per grab. He is chasing a fresh start after a rocky sophomore season marred by one of the nation's highest drop rates. Lotzeir Brooks is ready for more following a 32-catch, 441-yard debut at 13.8 per reception. Portal addition Noah Rogers, formerly at Ohio State and NC State, is dealing with a spring knee injury that will cost him at least part of the regular season, opening snaps for Derek Meadows, freshman Cederian Morgan and Rico Scott. Sophomore Kaleb Edwards returns at tight end after 150 receiving yards.
This is where the season may be decided. Alabama averaged just 3.4 yards per carry in 2025, its third-worst mark since 1970, and lost its top two backs. The committee is fronted by bruising junior Daniel Hill, who ran for 284 yards at 3.8 a pop, with Kevin Riley (224 yards) and change-of-pace redshirt freshman AK Dear (140 yards at 7.4) in the mix. Big hopes ride on five-star freshman EJ Crowell, though his spring was limited by injury. Restoring some physicality on the ground is the stated emphasis, because until it comes, opponents can play two-high looks and dare Alabama to run.
The line remains the biggest concern. Alabama lost Kadyn Proctor and Parker Brailsford to the NFL and six offensive linemen in all, gutting a group that already underachieved. Sophomore Michael Carroll, a five-star signee, is the only returner with significant experience and anchors the interior. The Tide dipped heavily into the portal for reinforcements, adding Cal Poly center Racin Delgatty and Mississippi State tackle Jayvin James to fill holes, while redshirt freshman Jackson Lloyd is penciled in at left tackle. This unit gelling in fall camp is essential to everything the offense wants to do.
Defense
Four of the top defensive linemen departed to the NFL or the portal, prompting DeBoer to go shopping for bigger bodies after the front was overpowered in the Rose Bowl. The headline additions are USC's Devan Thompkins (6-5, 298), who projects to start at the Bandit end spot and can slide inside, and Oregon nose guard Terrance Green (6-5, 319), with Mississippi State's Kedrick Bingley-Jones also on board. South Carolina transfer Desmond Umeozulu, a 6-6, 253-pound senior, arrives on the edge after posting 30 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss with the Gamecocks. The centerpiece is Yhonzae Pierre, the outside linebacker whose decision to return for a fourth season was a major boost. A former five-star who broke out with eight sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles, he profiles as a potential first-round pick and gives the restocked front a proven pass-rush anchor.
Inside is the thinnest spot on the roster after Alabama lost three key linebackers. Virginia Tech transfer Caleb Woodson is relied upon to steady it, bringing 152 tackles over his last three seasons of college play. Beyond him, the Tide are counting on a group of youngsters, including touted freshman Xavier Griffin, to grow up quickly against the SEC schedule.
The secondary is the clear strength of this team and rates among the nation's best. Zabien Brown is a potential first-round pick in 2027, a five-star out of Mater Dei who has looked ready-made for the next level since he arrived. He picked off three passes last fall and delivered two enormous plays, a 99-yard pick-six against Tennessee and a 50-yard pick-six in the playoff win over Oklahoma. Paired with rangy sophomore Dijon Lee (34 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, five pass breakups, two interceptions), the corners have a chance to be the best starting duo in the conference. At safety, the experience is rare for this roster: fifth-year senior Keon Sabb (54 tackles) and fourth-year senior Bray Hubbard, a fourth-team All-American who racked up 79 tackles, four interceptions and six pass breakups, both return for their final seasons. Junior Zavier Mincey adds depth behind them after 38 tackles across his last two years.
Kicking woes proved costly a year ago. Conor Talty connected on just 16 of 23 field goals and stayed for a fourth season, but he faces real competition from Marshall transfer Lorcan Quinn, who was strong in the spring and hit 21 of 26 attempts at his previous stop. The punting job is open between redshirt freshman Alex Asparuhov and North Alabama transfer Adam Watford. In the return game, Brooks handles kickoffs and Coleman-Williams fields punts.
Overview and Prediction
The schedule offers a runway. Alabama opens with East Carolina, travels to Kentucky, then hosts Florida State on September 19 with a chance to exorcise the demons of last year's opener before facing South Carolina and a trip to Mississippi State. A 5-0 start is very much on the table before a three-game gauntlet of Georgia, a trip to Tennessee and Texas A&M defines the Tide's national standing. Trips to LSU and Vanderbilt and the Iron Bowl against Auburn close things out. The overall slate rates as one of the tougher tests in the country.
Our read lands Alabama in the top 15 nationally and among the upper handful of SEC contenders, the preseason consensus for a team this talented on the back end. The verdict is straightforward: this secondary is good enough to carry a defense, and Pierre gives the front a genuine finisher. But the make-or-break sits on the other side of the ball. If the rebuilt offensive line comes together, the run game climbs back toward respectability and either Mack or Russell settles the quarterback question, Alabama is a playoff team again. Fail to fix the trenches and the ceiling drops to another good-not-great year, the exact outcome the fan base is no longer willing to accept.