Fall Camp is underway across the SEC, so it’s time to get some overreactions and observations in. Your team is healthy, the schedule is manageable and the amount of hope floating around the program is absolutely off the charts. Still, every team has some questions.
Here are three burning questions for every SEC team starting with Alabama.
1. Who will win the Quarterback battle?
It’s the biggest question of camp, hands down. Austin Mack and Keelon Russell are battling for the starting quarterback job. It feels like the majority of fans and media have been under the assumption that Russell will ultimately be the answer and be the first to take the field against East Carolina in Week 1. A lot of that is because of how well he played in the spring game when he threw for four touchdowns.
Don’t sleep on Austin Mack, though. Mack is infamous for coming to Alabama from Washington with DeBoer, and may have been one of the reasons Julian Sayin left for Ohio State. Regardless, both are immensely talented.
Russell comes with one of the best recruiting backgrounds imaginable. He is the highest ranked recruit in the history of the program, the entire history. Still, they are both neck and neck as fall camp begins and it feels like as of today, this is a battle that could see multiple quarterbacks get playing time into the first few games of the season. That may not be the case, but it is indicative of how close the battle truly is.
2. How will they rotate the running backs?
Daniel Hill is the incumbent starter in the backfield. He’s built like Derrick Henry, but struggled to get going at times last year behind a bad offensive line. Hill is built like a tank at 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds, but don’t expect him to get a Henry-like work load. There are a lot of incredibly talented position units on the field for Alabama this year. None may be as talented at the top as the running back room.
In addition to Hill, there are two elite former blue chip players vying for playing time. AK Dear and EJ Crowell are both uber talented. They’re home run hitters with breakaway speed, which is something Hill lacks. Can they pick up on all the other parts of the position that are needed to see the field, though?
Pass blocking, catching out of the backfield, and overall awareness on the field are going to be huge for them. That trio of backs could be one of the best in the SEC, and on paper it probably already is. But, they’ll need some help from the offensive line if they are going to improve from last year’s numbers that ranked 129th nationally in rushing yards per game.
3. How will the offensive line look and will it improve?
The offensive line was atrocious last year. There’s not really another way to put it. The run game was terrible, and there was no push up front. Alabama lost four starters off last year’s line, including a top 15 overall NFL Draft Pick. So, how does it improve this season? It might not. Still, they need to find answers if they’re going to get back on the right track this season.
One of those answers was firing offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic and hiring Adrian Klemm to replace him. There’s still talent on the offensive line thanks to some great recruiting still on the roster. Michael Carroll is the only returning starter and former four-star Jackson Lloyd will start at left tackle.
The biggest concern may be the unknown. With the transfer portal becoming more and more prominent in roster construction, it’s not crazy to say that players from lesser known schools will make an impact. Look at Trinidad Chambliss. But Alabama may be starting a center from Cal Poly this season, and at the very least that may be the most un-Alabama thing any of us have heard in the last 15 to 20 years.
