Alabama Football: 5 position groups to watch this spring
Although Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide were not able to claim a national championship this past season, the 2021 team still accomplished quite a bit.
The Tide won the SEC Championship and finished with an impressive 13-2 record and Bryce Young became the first Alabama quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy.
Now that the season has come to an end, let’s shift our focus to spring practice and which position groups Alabama fans should be watching when the Tide returns to practice in a couple of months.
Alabama wasn’t finished either. On Tuesday afternoon talented Georgia Tech running back transfer Jahmyr Gibbs announced that he was taking his talents to Tuscaloosa too.
Brian Robinson Jr. is the only back that we know for certain will not return to Alabama in 2022.
With that being said, the 2022 running back room for the Tide is flat-out loaded with talent.
Here is what the depth chart could potentially look like heading into next season.
Wide receiver Slade Bolden is now training at running back according to coach Nick Saban!
The question has been in the back of the minds of the Alabama faithful ever since the news that Roydell Williams would be out for the season. Who will be the next emergency option at running back?
Thursday night on his weekly radio show “Hey Coach”, Nick Saban finally addressed the issue. Wide receiver Slade Bolden has been training at running back according to coach Saban.
Nick Saban said they have trained Slade Bolden to be a running back, as Alabama is down to only two healthy scholarship running backs.
The staff had already moved linebacker Demouy Kennedy and wide receiver, Christian Leary, to running back after the injuries to Jase McClellan and Camar Wheaton.
Now Slade Bolden has made the move and that is interesting for a couple of different reasons. The first is that Bolden is the starter in the slot for the Tide. Could we see a young wide receiver have a more prominent role at that position now? The second is that Bolden is probably more naturally gifted to run between the tackles than to create in the open space.
At any rate, the staff has had to get creative with all of the injuries at the running back position. Fortunately, Brian Robinson Jr. and Trey Sanders remain healthy and will likely be the two main backs in the rotation the remainder of the season.
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What Nick Saban said during his Monday press conference
Each Monday Alabama head coach Nick Saban speaks to the members of the media to give a quick recap of the previous week’s game and to also look ahead to the upcoming opponent.
Coach Saban had a lot to say in his brief time with the media. Here are a few of the quick hitters.
Saban mentioned that he was pleased with the execution this past Saturday from the team.
He mentioned that the atmosphere at Bryant-Denny has been great this season and it will need to be again against Arkansas.
Saban was very complimentary of Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman.
From an injury standpoint, Saban said that Roydell Williams is out with a knee injury that will require surgery. JoJo Earle is out for a week or two, but his injury will not require surgery.
On the current running back situation, Saban mentioned that you can’t really change the offense a lot. And that the coaching staff will probably look for an emergency option at the position.
On the progress of Trey Sanders, Saban said he did a good job when he got in the game against New Mexico State. And with the injuries, he now has a great opportunity.
Saban said that junior left tackle Evan Neal played very physical in last week’s game and that he has played well all year long.
These are just a few of the notes from Saban’s press conference. To see the press conference in its entirety, click here.
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3 superlatives from Alabama’s 59-3 stomping of New Mexico State
It wasn’t the most anticipated matchup of the season for the Tide, but Alabama handled their business defeating New Mexico State 59-3.
With the win, Alabama improves to 9-1 on the season and will play its final home game of the season next week against Arkansas.
Each week we usually look at what we learned from that week’s contest, this week I decided to change things up a little bit. This week let’s look at three superlatives from Alabama’s dominating win.
Alabama didn’t struggle in the first half against New Mexico State in the slightest, which was to be expected in this game between David and one of college football’s Goliaths.
After coming out and dominating in every facet of the game, the Crimson Tide went into the locker room at the half with a massive 49-3 lead. Everything went right for the Tide in the first half both offensively and defensively.
After a Bryce Young fumble on Alabama’s first possession of the second half, the Crimson Tide removed most of their starters to get reserves some playing time about midway through the third quarter.
Paul Tyson and Jalen Milroe each got playing time in the second half of the game.
Alabama put up a whopping 574 yards of total offense, gaining 330 of those through the air and 244 on the ground.
Crimson Tide starting quarterback Bryce Young finished the game 21-23 with 270 yards and five touchdowns. He set the Alabama program record, which he set himself a few weeks ago, in completion percentage.
Brian Robinson led a regiment of Alabama rushers with 99 yards on nine carries with two touchdowns on the day. Trey Sanders provided relief for Robinson with 66 yards on 12 carries, punching it in for six once.
Jameson Williams led all Tide receivers with 158 yards on six catches, catching three touchdown tosses on the day.
Defensively the Tide allowed just 138 yards of total offense. NMSU QBs went 19-31 for 129 yards. On the ground, NMSU gained just nine yards on 27 attempts.
Alabama will enter a conference game against Arkansas next Saturday at 9-1.
RTW will provide injury updates to RB Roydell Williams and DB DeMarrco Hellams when they become available.
Nick Saban, with the win, became the winningest active head coach in college football with 265.
Stay tuned to Roll Tide Wire for all the latest on the Crimson Tide!
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5 keys to victory for Alabama as they face off against the LSU Tigers.
No. 2 Alabama is set to host the LSU Tigers this Saturday night in Tuscaloosa. With the dismissal of Ed Orgeron looming, the matchup doesn’t have quite the amount of anticipation as in seasons past.
Even with the lack of national exposure, this is a significant matchup within the western division of the SEC.
Let’s take a look at five keys to victory for Alabama as they face off against the Bayou Bengals as well as the remainder of its regular-season schedule.
Here is a closer look at Alabama’s offensive stats as the Tide head into the BYE week.
Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide currently sit ranked at No. 3 with a 7-1 overall record and a 4-1 record in the SEC.
Now that the Tide has entered into its BYE week, I thought it was a good time to take a closer look at some of the team and individual stats on both sides of the football.
Today we look at the offensive side of the ball. Let’s get right to it!
Alabama got back to its dominating ways on Saturday night against Mississippi State, let’s see how the Tide grade out this week!
Saturday night in Starkville was a sight for sore eyes as the Crimson Tide put on its best performance of the season. Even though the Tide came into the contest ranked fifth, the season wasn’t really going as expected. As we all know, the Tide is always chasing perfection.
After taking a loss to the Texas A&M Aggies in the previous week, the Tide came back with vengeance, defeating the Bulldogs 49-9.
Each week we grade all three phases of the game for the Crimson Tide, let’s see how they did this week!
Offense: A+
Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports Bryce Young
This was by far the most complete performance of the season by the Alabama offense. The Tide passed for nearly 350 yards and added almost another 200 on the ground. The balanced attacked kept the Mississippi State defense on heels for most of the contest, especially in the second half.
Bryce Young looked like a veteran quarterback out there, completing 20 of his 28 passing attempts for 348 yards and four touchdowns.
Brian Robinson Jr. wore down the Bulldog defense for a tough 73 yards on 19 carries. Robinson bullied his way for two rushing touchdowns, but also added a 51-yard touchdown reception, showing off his versatility. Roydell Williams was able to take advantage of a wore out Mississippi State defense in the second half rushing for 78 yards on 11 carries.
Collectively, the wide receiver group played its best game of the season on Saturday night. John Metchie III went off for 117 yards on seven catches and a touchdown. Jameson Williams once again showed off his elite speed on 75-yard touchdown reception to open the second half. The surprise of the night was sophomore Traeshon Holden. Holden reeled in three catches for 70 yards and one touchdown.
Upfront it was yet another average day for the offensive line. The line was not bad by any stretch, but it is clearly not one of the strengths of the team. Through seven games it is safe to say the offensive line is what it is.
Defense: A+
Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
The defensive performance for the Tide was nearly textbook for the modern age of college football. The bend but don’t break philosophy was executed almost perfectly.
The Alabama defense gave up 299 yards of total offense to the Bulldogs but did not surrender a single touchdown. Will Rogers threw the ball a total of 55 times in the contest for 300 yards but was also picked off three different times.
The Tide smothered the ground game of Mississippi State, holding the Bulldogs to minus one-yard rushing in the contest. Now, Alabama did sack Rogers several times throughout the contests, and Rogers finished with minus 41 yards rushing.
Will Anderson Jr. completed wrecked the Mississippi State offensive line on Saturday night with four sacks. He was simply unblockable. As a team, Alabama sacked Rogers a total of seven times.
In the backend, the secondary played as well as one could hope. Jordan Battle had what was probably the best performance of his Tide career. The junior safety picked off Rogers on two separate occasions, returning one for a touchdown in the first half.
Let’s see if the Tide defense can play with the same intensity moving forward!
Special Teams: A-
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
One of the quiet stars of Alabama’s victory over Mississippi State was punter James Burnip. While his net punting average was not fantastic, he did pen the Bulldog offense inside the 20 on two different occasions.
Placekicker Will Reichard continues to be a consistent force for the Tide, connecting on all seven of his point-after attempts.
Jameson Williams averaged 32.5 yards per kick return with a long of 45.
Overall: A+
Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
The Crimson Tide put together its most complete game of the 2021 season on Saturday night. The only area that you could point to that wasn’t dominant was the offensive line which continues to be a work in progress. Otherwise, the Tide completely dominated the Bulldogs and restored hope among the Tide faithful.
Stay tuned to Roll Tide Wire as we offer continuous coverage on the Alabama Crimson Tide!
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What we learned from Alabama’s emphatic win over Mississippi State
The question all week leading up to Alabama’s matchup with Mississippi State was how the Tide would respond following last week’s loss to Texas A&M. To say Alabama answered the bell would be an understatement.
Alabama just completely dominated the Bulldogs 49-9 in Starkville. In a game in which the Tide never trailed, it reminded the Alabama faithful of what this team can and should be. The offense was balanced and the defense forced turnovers and did not allow a single touchdown.
Each week we look at a few of the things we learned from the Tide’s performance, let’s see what we learned this week!
