Hello and Roll Tide!

The DeBoer era has officially begun in Tuscaloosa as the Tide defeated the Hilltopper of Western Kentucky 63-0. We learned a lot about the depth chart, defensive strategy, and had some stars show out on Saturday night. Today I will give you depth and injury notes, review week 1, preview the USF Bulls, and revisit the 2024 Season storylines.

Injury/Depth Notes:

· Kaydn Proctor injured his shoulder in warm-ups and is considered day-to-day

· Elijah Pritchett backed up Proctor at Left Tackle

· Qua Russaw started at Wolf

· Cole Adams switched to #7 and is returning punts

· Conor Talty is doing kickoff, while still the backup kicker

· Geno VanDeMark is the primary interior-line backup

Week 1 Review:

Offense: Right away the offense had a surprise when Kaydn Proctor did not take the field. Elijah Pritchett was quickly sent over to start at Left Tackle, though he’s been practicing at Right Tackle all fall. This, as well as a helmet audio issue, caused the Tide to stumble out of the gate with a 3-and-out. A quick interception by Keon Sabb led the offense back onto the field and it was full steam ahead from that point. Alabama’s offensive line dominated up front as the team rushed 47 times for 334 yards and 6 touchdowns. Justice Haynes led the backfield with 102 yards, most of which came on an 85 yard touchdown run. Milroe rushed for two scores as the line bullied the Hilltoppers in the run game. While the Tide only attempted 18 passes, pass protection was excellent. The only sack given up was during the first drive when headset comms were down. The passing game was efficient, gaining 266 yards and 3 touchdowns on only 12 completions. With so little pass attempts, the wide receivers made the most of their opportunities. The biggest Star of the game on offense was true freshman receiver Ryan “Hollywood” Williams. Hollywood caught two passes for 139 yards, reaching the end zone both times. When asked about his connection with Jalen Milroe, Williams said “I mean, 4 plus 2 does equal 6” and we saw that each time Jalen threw the ball his way. Kendrick Law showed explosiveness in his only reception Saturday as he beat the Hilltoppers secondary on a slant pass taking it 22 yards to the house. Several backups played the second half of the game as the offensive line continued to dominate the Western Kentucky defense. Notably, freshman running back Daniel Hill scored his first career touchdown for Crimson Tide!

Defense: Kane Wommack’s new 3-3-5 system was a big storyline going into Saturday night. His nickname for the formation “The Swarm” was in full effect all night. Qua Russaw, redshirt freshman out of Carver High School in Montgomery, was a surprise starter on the defense at Wolf. Qua was essential to containing the edge and stopping the run. His explosiveness was impressive as he blew up many attempts by the Hilltoppers to get the ball on the outside. On 3rd downs he was replaced by Que Robinson whose primary responsibility was to blitz. Que had the only sack for the Tide, and was very disruptive anytime the Hilltoppers decided to step back into the pocket. Joining Que on third down blitzes was Jihad Campbell. Campbell played a traditional Middle linebacker role on 1st and 2nd down, then moved over to the edge and rushed the quarterback on third. Replacing his middle role was Justin Jefferson. This blitz was on display many times throughout the game. Outside of the blitz, Jihad Campbell played amazing at the Sting linebacker position. Jihad led the team with 9 tackles as he appeared to be in the right position at all times. Fellow middle linebacker Deontae Lawson was in mid-season form as he also racked up 9 tackles. LT Overton and Jah-Marien Latham appear to be perfect fits for the Bandit role as they disrupted rushing attempts to the edge and pushed the pocket. As for the D-line, they did their jobs to a Tee and redshirt freshman James Smith really showed out. A top prospect a season ago, we expect him to make big strides this season and he showed us all of that potential Saturday night.

The second biggest storyline surrounding the defense was Who’s in the Secondary? Wommack kept us guessing all night long as the cornerbacks and safeties changed throughout each drive. The starting Corners were Domani Jackson and true freshman Zabien Brown. Domani took the most reps as a starter while Zabien Brown switched with Jalen Mbakwe and Zavier Mincey. Similarly, Red Morgan and Devonta Smith changed in and out at the Husky position. The back end of Malachi Moore and Keon Sabb seems to be locked up. Keon Sabb had two interceptions due to great positioning in the secondary. While Malachi only recorded 2 tackles, he was often in the right position in case a ball carrier made it past the front 7. Due to the blowout, most scholarship players rotated in and out, so this question remains: Who will be the true starters at the cornerback position? We should see similar substitutions during the USF game.

Special Teams: No surprises at the specialist positions as Lou Groza award winner Graham Nicholson is the starting kicker and Senior James Burnip is in charge of the punting duties. Graham did not attempt a field goal, but he was 7 for 7 on PATs. Backup Conor Talty made 2 as well, and appears to be in charge of kickoffs. James Burnip had 3 monstrous punts averaging 50.7 yards per attempt. We never like to see the punter come onto the field, but it is good to know that when we need to, he can flip the field for us. Cole Adams appears to be the lead punt returner, as the Redshirt Freshman returned 5 puts on Saturday.

Week 2 Storylines:

· Will Proctor play? / How will the offensive line matchup?: The Kaydn Proctor news broke as soon as the Tide took the field without him on Saturday night. His injury occurred in warm-ups and has only been presented to us as a “shoulder” injury. Alabama struggled mightily last season against USF giving up 5 sacks and 5 tackles for losses. Assuming there isn’t another monsoon, we should monitor how Alabama’s pass protection looks against a strong Group of 5 front.

· Jalen Revenge game: Last season Jalen Milroe was benched after the Texas loss and did not play against South Florida. He simply had to sit in the rain and watch as Tyler Buckner led failed drives. USF has confidence going into this game after their defensive line dominated a year ago, but they didn’t face off against Alabama’s best. Jalen may have a chip on his shoulder going into this matchup. USF gave up roughly 288 passing yards per game last season, so let’s see if Jalen takes advantage of this opportunity.

The South Florida Bulls:

Alabama is familiar with the Bulls as they faced off early last season in Tampa. The Bulls went 7-6 in 2023 capping the season off with a 45-0 win over Syracuse in the Boca Raton Bowl. Although their defense ranked 113th in the country, they have shown the ability to play above expectations as seen in their bowl game and against Alabama last season. Their offense was able to make up for the poor defensive play as they averaged 31.9 points per game (33rd nationally). They return their starting quarterback Byrum Brown who passed for 3,000 yards and rushed for 800 a year ago. His ability to scramble will put pressure on the Alabama linebackers and coaching staff in blitz packages. Their top receiver Sean Atkins returned to the Bulls and will be a good challenge for our young secondary.

2024 Storylines Revisited:

The Kalen DeBoer “Bump”: The offense only threw 18 passes against Western Kentucky, but many of them were big chunk plays. We will continue to monitor the progress as passing volume increases. Who’s in the Secondary?: As mentioned above, Wommack rotated cornerbacks all night long. The safeties starters look set with Malachi and Keon. If USF puts up a better fight than Western Kentucky, let’s monitor who is getting the most reps at the two corner spots and Husky

Crowded Receiver Room: The crowded receiver room left Bryant-Denny Stadium hungry on Saturday night only recording 12 receptions. It is worth noting the starters were Germie Bernard, Kenderick Law, and Kobe Prentice. Ryan Williams checked in soon after and played the most at the position. As volume goes up we should see how Jalen decides to dish out the ball

Jalen for Heisman: Jalen could not have done better in his limited playing time Saturday night. While at the helm, Alabama’s offense scored 7 touchdowns in the 10 drives where Jalen was at QB. He was responsible for throwing 3 and rushing 2 more. This was a week 1 “Cupcake” however Jalen was incredibly efficient and is in a great position to gain national attention. As always please reach out with any questions or comments you may have.