Regardless of all the good that happened in 2022, Alabama’s inability to make the College Football Playoffs renders it a disappointment in the eyes of many Crimson Tide fans. Nick Saban looks to compete for another national title in 2023, but will need help from some key players.
ESPN’s Bill Connelly recently put together a top 25 ranking that recognizes college football players from all across the country, which are important to the College Football Playoffs race on a national level.
Alabama has a few players featured, including a full positional unit.
First, at No. 23 is outside linebacker Dallas Turner.
Dallas Turner (No. 23)
“The bar for star power is high in Tuscaloosa, and it looked like Turner was well on the way to clearing it as a true freshman. His 8.5 sacks (and seven sacks created for teammates) made him an almost unfair complement to Will Anderson Jr. But in 2022, both Anderson’s and Turner’s production fell as a mediocre-by-Bama-standards run defense kept opponents on schedule more and opposing quarterbacks made a lot quicker drops and quicker passes. Turner’s sack rate fell from 4.7% to 1.4%, his sack total from 8.5 to four (despite far more pass rush attempts), with four sacks created for others.”
Dallas Turner has some pretty big shoes to fill with Anderson gone. However, he’s certainly up for the challenge. Flashes of greatness were seen from Turner in 2022, but some mistakes were evident due to being so young and inexperienced. Alabama will lean on Turner heavily over the course of the 2023 season.