Alabama 2021 Football Preview

2020 Recap

Alabama missed the College Football Playoff in 2019 and was dead-set on righting that wrong in 2020. The Crimson Tide showed their offensive firepower early and often, particularly in a 52 – 24 win over Texas A&M. The offense was phenomenal the next week in a 63 – 48 win over Mississippi. Mac Jones and company had the firepower, but the defense had some work to do.

The defense showed the needed improvement, holding Georgia to 24 points the next week in a 41 – 24 win. Alabama ran off five straight dominating wins to close the regular season, never allowing 20 points in a game and scoring at least 40 in each themselves. The undefeated Crimson Tide won a shootout against Florida in the SEC Championship Game and earned a spot in the 2020 College Football Playoff.

Alabama rolled into the playoff with momentum and dominated throughout. They beat Notre Dame comfortably in the Rose Bowl and then pulled away late in the first half to put away Ohio State in the National Championship Game. The Crimson Tide proved they were still the cream of the crop in college football and will look to reload and repeat in 2021.

2020 Leaders

Projected Starters

Reasons For Optimism

Alabama Doesn’t Rebuild, They Reload

During the Nick Saban era Alabama has separated itself from the rest of college football due to their ability to recruit at an elite level and reload the roster when big stars leave. Alabama consistently adds the best talent to the program through recruiting and has a stable of talented options at each position. When one group of big stars moves on, Nick Saban has their replacements ready and waiting to make an impact. The 2020 championship team lost several key players to the NFL, but there is no reason to think Alabama will not have adequate replacements ready. Alabama has former top recruits like Bryce Young ready to step into bigger roles and also added big transfers like Henry To’o To’o from Tennessee to fill in key gaps. Crimson Tide fans have no reason to doubt that their team will be ready to compete for a title again in 2021, because that’s the standard at Alabama every year.

A Talented Front Seven

Alabama has plenty of talent in their front seven that will provide a strong foundation for the defense. On the defensive line, Phidarian Mathis played very well in 2020 and will be one of the leaders up front in 2021. He is joined by the very talented LaBryan Ray who has been held back by injuries but could be a star if he can stay on the field. Will Allen will play on the edge and as a true freshman proved he could be a high end pass rusher. Alabama was already returning one of the top linebackers in the country in Christian Harris, but they also added Henry To’o To’o to build a dangerous tandem at the position. Beyond the big stars, there is depth and young talent waiting to make a mark, making this one of the best and deepest front sevens in college football.

Stars in the Secondary

To build on that strong foundation the front seven provides, the Alabama defense also has proven stars in the secondary to form what could be a great defense. Malachi Moore plays the star position, and excelled as a true freshman in 2020. Moore made it a habit to make big plays in every facet of the game and will be counted on to be even better this season. Josh Jobe was good playing across from Patrick Surtain and will now be the top outside cornerback for the Crimson Tide. At safety, Jordan Battle is a versatile player who does many things well for the defense. While replacing Patrick Surtain will not be easy, Alabama has the horses in the secondary to ease that transition to the next star cornerback.

Causes For Concern

Replacing Offensive Talent

While Alabama has shown a unique ability to reload, they did lose a ton of offensive talent from the 2020 team. Mac Jones, Najee Harris, DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle and Alex Leatherwood were all first round picks in this past NFL Draft. Landon Dickerson was drafted in the second round and Deonte Brown went in the fifth. That is five first round draft picks and seven total players selected on the offensive side of the ball. Alabama has recruited talented players to replace them, but it may take time for the new stars on offense to establish themselves and develop chemistry. The defense will be good enough to win most games, but the emergence of new stars on offense will be key to making another championship run.

Replacing Key Offensive Coaches

In addition to replacing several stars on the offensive side of the ball, Alabama will also need to replace a few key coaches on that side of the ball as well. The biggest loss was offensive coordinator, Steve Sarkisian taking the head coach job at Texas. He was a brilliant play caller at Alabama and helped create an offensive scheme that was nearly unstoppable the past two seasons. Sarkisian took offensive line coach, Kyle Flood and tight ends coach, Jeff Banks with him to Texas. Running backs coach Charles Huff also moved on to become the head coach at Marshall, meaning 80 percent of the offensive coaching staff from 2020 is gone. The offense averaged 48.5 points per game in 2020, the most in the country by a power five team. With Sarkisian and several key offensive assistants gone, Alabama will not have the continuity on the staff they enjoyed from 2019 to 2020 and it remains to be seen how much that will impact the offense.

2021 Schedule

Top 25 Players

2021 Projection

Alabama opens the season with a neutral site game against an improving Miami team. Despite the progress Miami has made over the past year, Alabama should still be a comfortable favorite in this game. The schedule features tough road tests against Florida and Texas A&M in week 3 and 6, but both opponents are also breaking in new quarterbacks in 2021 and may not be able to take advantage of Alabama’s inexperience. The Crimson Tide play Mississippi and LSU at home this year and should be able to handle both teams despite the offensive weapons both possess. The season finishes with an Iron Bowl match-up at Auburn. The Tigers have a new head coach and will hope to start the Bryan Harsin era with a big win over their rival, but it will be tough for Auburn to match-up talent wise right away. Alabama has challenges to overcome in 2021 and a few tough road games to navigate, but they are likely to get to at least eleven wins and play in the SEC Championship game for a chance to defend their title in the 2021 playoff.