Henderson’s 2019 Predictions
Over the course of the the spring I'll provide some 2019 predictions.
Part Six: These True freshmen will get playing time in 2019
As we continue my 2019 prediction series, today I am going to highlight five true freshmen that I feel will get major playing time this coming season. As you know, Alabama has another incredible freshmen class coming in and out of their 85 man roster, 38 are freshmen. Yes, 45% of the roster will be players with limited playing experience. With that said, the freshmen at Alabama are like no other freshmen in the Nation.
By the numbers, Alabama signed 27 prospects from the Class of 2019, out of those 27 prospects, 15 were early enrollees, and from the Class of 2018, Alabama red-shirted 11 freshmen, which gives the Crimson Tide an incredible amount of youth. When we look at the projected Depth Chart compiled on BamaInsider.com, most of the positions, especially on offense are penciled in with returning starters, but on defense and special teams, there is an opportunity for a true freshman to battle for significant playing time instantly.
We’ll start at the middle backer position. As you know, Mack Wilson left after his junior season to enter the NFL Draft and going into spring ball, the WILL inside linebacker position is up for grabs. Incoming Four-star linebacker Shane Lee out of Baltimore, Maryland is listed at 6-foot-0, 246 pounds and was rated as the top rated player from Maryland from the Class of 2019. Lee moves exceptionally well for his size, has a nose for the football, and is known to deliver that pulsating blow to running backs or receivers crossing the middle of the field. Lee played at St. Francis High School, the same high school as Alabama outside linebacker Eyabi Anoma.
Staying on defense, another true freshman that could make a bid for plenty of playing time this season is Rivals.com Five-star Antonio Alfano. Alfano is one of Alabama’s most prized incoming freshmen and is listed at 6-foot-4, 290 pounds out of New Jersey. Alfano has that alpha mentality, has already put on 17 pounds since his arrival at Alabama and with his build, strength, and overall athleticism, you could see Alfano playing as a defensive end this season or even as a defensive tackle. Alfano dominated the Army All-American game and I’m thinking Alfano paired up with new defensive line coach Brian Baker could be a match made in heaven.
Switching to special teams, are the kicking woes finally over for the Crimson Tide? All eyes will be on Hoover, Alabama native Will Reichard. While Joseph Bulovas returns for his redshirt sophomore season, Bulovas struggled many times last season not only from a field goal aspect, but he also missed several PATS. Reichard comes into Alabama as the nation’s top kicker and was ranked as the top combination kicker/punter by Kohl’s Kicking Camps. The starting position for the kicker and even punter is open at Alabama going into the spring season.
Now moving to the offense, Alabama signed two Five-stars out of the IMG Academy in Running Back Trey Sanders and offensive tackle Evan Neal. Let’s start with Sanders. The chances of Sanders starting at Alabama right off the bat are slim to none. Sanders will arrive in Tuscaloosa in May and with Najee Harris and Brian Robinson returning, the running back starting positions are spoken for. With that said, Alabama used a three-back attack in 2018 with three running backs rushing for over 500-yards. From the looks of it, Sanders looks too good to keep off the field in year one, but he has to prove it in August.
6-foot-7, 360 pound Evan Neal is already enrolled at Alabama and from early footage provided by the University of Alabama, Neal looks like an absolute beast and a lineman that carries his size incredibly well. Expecting Neal to see significant time in 2019 is a bit of a gamble because the Crimson Tide has good experience returning at the tackle position. Right now, our depth chart reads Alex Leatherwood at the left tackle and Jedrick Wills at right tackle, and Neal listed as the number two tackle behind Wills.
Part Five: No defense will be able to contain Alabama's receivers
Alabama returns receivers Henry Ruggs III, Jerry Jeudy, DeVonta Smith, and Jaylen Waddle who combined for 201 receptions for 3,597-yards with 38 touchdowns during the 2018 season.
Moving forward with my predictions series for the 2019 season, we highlight Alabama’s incredible returning group of receivers. In the past under Nick Saban, Alabama has had one key target split out wide doing most of the work. From Julio Jones who caught for 2,653-yards with 15 touchdowns from 2008-2010, to Amari Cooper who caught for 3,463-yards with 31 touchdowns from 2012-14, to Calvin Ridley who caught for 2,781-yards with 19 touchdowns from 2015-2017.
Last season, we saw Alabama take their passing game under quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to new heights and he distributed the football like no other quarterback in Alabama history. There was not one key target, there was simply too many receivers for defenses to deal with. In total, five receivers caught for over 500-yards and two receivers had double-digit touchdown catches. The bad news for opposing defenses this year: The four most dynamic receivers in college football return with a Heisman favorite at quarterback.
Jerry Jeudy returns for his junior year and he is coming off a season where he hauled in 1,315-yards with 14 touchdowns earning the Biletnikoff Award at seasons end. Jeudy has it all, a combination of speed, incredible route running ability, moves after the catch, and has that circus catch attribute.
Henry Ruggs III also returns for his junior year and he’s been a touchdown machine during his first two years at Alabama. His freshman season he hauled in six touchdowns and last year as a sophomore he caught 11 touchdowns and finished with 46 receptions for 741-yards. Ruggs III has an incredible top end speed, during a game last year against Missouri he was clocked out at 25 MPH.
The third member of this explosive group is another junior in DeVonta Smith. Smith caught for 42 receptions last season for 693-yards and six touchdowns. Smith who caught the game-winning touchdown in the 2018 national title game against Georgia is a very precise route runner with excellent hands.
Jaylen Waddle who was a Five-star coming into to Alabama had a sensational freshman season collecting 45 receptions for 848-yards with 7 touchdowns. Waddle had a per catch average of 18.8-yards, which was second on the team after Jerry Jeudy who had an average of 19.3-yards per catch. Waddle is an electrifying player when he has the football and also returned punts for the Crimson Tide last season where he returned 16 punts for 233-yards with one touchdown.
This is without a doubt the most dynamic group of receivers returning for the 2019 season in college football and new Alabama receivers coach Holmon Wiggins has to be like a kid in a candy store with the number of weapons he has to work with. The pressure on Wiggins will be replacing the talent at the receiver position for years to come. Additional names on the roster at the receiver position include Tyrell Shavers, at 6-foot-6, 216 pounds, while Shavers played in all 15-games last season, he did not record a single reception. Chadarius Townsend who is a RS-sophomore played in 12 games but did not record any stats in 2018, Xavier Williams at 6-foot-1 and 182 pounds played in just one game last season, Slade Bolden aka the former Louisiana Gatorade player of the year also played in just one game last season, and new to the receivers room is Four-star John Metchie out of Heightstown, New Jersey.
In closing, Alabama might not have a single senior in the receiver room, but the wealth of game experience returning combined for 201 receptions for 3,597-yards with 38 touchdowns last season, college football defenses beware.
Career numbers at Alabama
Julio Jones caught for 2,653-yards with 15 touchdowns from 2008-10
Amari Cooper caught for 3,463-yards and 31 touchdowns from 2012-14
Calvin Ridley caught for 2,781-yards with 19 touchdowns from 2015-2017
Jerry Jeudy already caught for 1,579-yards 16 touchdowns from 2017-18
2018 season
Jeudy caught for 68 receptions for 1,315 with 14 touchdowns
Henry Ruggs caught for 46 for 741 with 11 touchdowns
DeVonta Smith caught for 42 receptions for 693yards with 6 touchdowns
Jayen Waddle caught for 45 receptions for 848-yards with 7 touchdowns
Part Four: The year of the sophomore linebacker?
The Crimson Tide lose Mack Wilson at inside linebacker who declared early for the NFL draft as well as Christian Miller at the outside linebacker position. Wilson recorded 65 tackles during the 2018 season, Miller in his senior year recorded 34 tackles and finished with 8.0 sacks. Going into spring ball for the 2019 season, Alabama returns a total of 16 linebackers, seven inside backers, and nine outside linebackers.
When we look at the eligibility chart (which is by the way updated at BamaInsider.com) we see that Alabama will have just two seniors at linebacker, three junior linebackers, five linebackers will be sophomores, two of those freshmen will be red-shirt freshmen, and four will be true freshmen.
When you ask Nick Saban about the depth chart, there is no depth chart of penciled in starters, but for readers and viewers sake haha, we have produced our own depth chart based off returning starters and the linebacker position reads like this:
Terrell Lewis who missed the 2018 season with an ACL at the SAM position, at the JACK position, which is another pass rushing position is Anfernee Jennings who will be a senior, at the MIKE position and the signal caller for the defense will likely be Dylan Moses who led the team in tackles last year with 86, and at the WILL position, we’ll have a position battle between Ale Kaho, Markail Benton, and incoming Four-star Shane Lee.
Sophomore Watch
Now, this part of my series is called the year of the sophomore linebacker and here is why you have Kaho competing for the WILL position. Kaho at 6-foot-1, 218 pounds played special teams last season recording 11 tackles and played in every single game as a true freshman. Kaho has a unique blend of speed and athleticism which should allow him to be an effective inside linebacker against both the run and against the pass.
Battling with Kaho for the WILL starting position going into is red-shirt sophomore Markail Benton at 6-foot-2, 231 pounds. Benton is a very physical linebacker out of Phenix City, Alabama who earned a spot in the middle backer rotation last season recording 14 tackles. You also have Jaylen Moody at 6-foot-2, 242 pounds who played in 14 games last season, and while he played mostly on special teams, Moody could be a sleeper rising prospect to watch for this season and for years to come at the inside linebacker position.
Two sophomores returning at the outside linebacker position are Chris Allen and Eyabi Anoma. Allen at 6-foot-4, 242-pounds actually moved to work with the inside linebackers before suffering a season-ending knee injury and we are eager to see if he is working with the outside linebackers or inside linebackers during spring ball. Anoma at 6-foot-5, 245 pounds has the athleticism and size to be the future of the pass rush at Alabama and earned SEC All-freshman honors last season recorded nine tackles in 11 games.
As you know, Anoma entered the NCAA transfer portal for one-day this year, but Nick Saban was able to talk with him and get him to exit the transfer portal which was obviously a huge win for the Crimson Tide.
Two red-shirt freshmen entering the 2019 season are Cameron Latu and Jarez Parks. Latu at 6-foot-5, 246 pounds should really provide depth at the outside linebacker position as he moves extremely well and is a name you really need to know this season. Parks at 6-foot-4, 251 pounds is another very athletic edge rusher that should get on the field this season.
Part Three: Raekwon Davis finally has a monster year at Alabama
Alabama returns what could be the most dominating defensive end in college football in 6-foot-7, 315 pound Raekwon Davis. It’s surprising that Davis is back for his senior year considering most college football experts expected him to have a monster junior season then declare for the NFL Draft. Last year was an underachieving season for Davis, to say the least as he recorded 24 solo tackles which was 10th on the team and recording just 1.5 sacks.
Before the Orange Bowl this past season we caught up with Craig Kuligowski, the former defensive line coach at Alabama to get his thoughts on Davis.
“Raekwon Davis has been a guy that, going into the preseason everybody knew about him, he draws a lot of blockers, he does a great job of being physical, setting edges, knocking people back and even though his numbers are not quite as good as last year, he’s played better than last year.”
Since Davis has arrived in Tuscaloosa, he has played in 31 games recording 129 tackles and 11.0 sacks, in 2017 during his sophomore season, he recorded 8.5 sacks and 10.0 tackles for loss. Davis even recorded an interception as a sophomore during the national championship game against Georgia which he displayed his athleticism returning the pick 19-yards.
When we look at the defensive grade outs provided by Pro-Football Focus over the last two seasons, we see that in 2018 Davis had a pass rushing grade of just 68.5, his grade against the run was an impressive 90.4, his tackle grade was a 69.5, he put pressure on the quarterback 29 times, and overall his defensive grade was an 81.9 which was sixth on the team.
If we compare these numbers to his sophomore season, his pass rush grade is 62.7, his grade against the run was a 61.3, his tackle grade was a 75.9, and he had 19 quarterback pressures, so the numbers back up what Kuligowski said about Davis, he did actually play better grade wise year over year.
With that said, it felt at times that he was not as imposing of a player that he could be and that contributed to Davis returning for his senior season instead of heading for the NFL Draft. The reason I feel that Davis has his “monster” season in 2019 is because of the instant impact new defensive line coach Brian Baker will have in coaching up Davis.
Baker is a 19-year NFL coaching veteran that most recently comes from Mississippi State where he turned the Bulldog’s defense into a defensive masterpiece. In 2017, the Bulldogs had multiple defensive linemen named first-team All-SEC for the first time in school history and in 2018, the Bulldogs won the SEC Defensive Linemen of the Week award five out of 13 times. Mississippi State also finished the 2018 season ranked number one in the nation in total defense.
Baker’s past coaching experience should help Davis transform into a 1st round NFL Draft pick by the season’s end. In the past, Baker has coached DeMarcus Ware, Julius Peppers, Leonard little, and many additional defensive players that were eventually named to the pro-bowl. Most recently, Baker transformed Montez Sweat, into a pass rusher machine having recorded 12 sacks during the 2018 season and is now projected as a 1st round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.
Part Two: Najee Harris and Brian Robinson will be college football’s best one-two punch
In my opinion, when you ask which college football program is the present day “Running Back U”, I still think Alabama Crimson Tide. While Alabama went more towards the spread in 2018, the lineage of great college football running backs runs deep under Nick Saban. Past names like: Derrick Henry who won the Heisman in 2015 rushing for 2,219-yards with 28 touchdowns , to Kenyan Drake who ran for a total of 2,000-yards from 2013-15, to TJ Yeldon who ran for a total of 3,322-yards from 2012-14, to Eddie Lacy who ran for 1,996 between 2011 and 2012, to Trent Richardson who ran for 3,130 between 2009-11, to past Heisman winner Mark Ingram who ran for 3,261-yards between 2008-10.
In more recent years you have Bo Scarbrough who ran for 1,512-yards between 2015-17 to Damien Harris who ran for 3,070-yards between 2015-2018 to Joshua Jacobs who amassed just 1,491-yards from 2016-18 but is projected as a 1st round NFL Draft pick.
And if you think that the running back position at Alabama has lost talent or is less of a priority for this coming season or for years to come, you’re dead wrong, because this season Alabama will have the most dangerous one-two punch at running back in college football.
6-foot-2, 230 pound Najee Harris and 6-foot-1, 220 pound Brian Robinson are next in line at Alabama to take over as the primary running backs, each has the size, strength, speed, and playmaking ability to effectively control the tempo of the game and create that home-run type play when you need it most.
Harris has already played plenty during his first two seasons at Alabama rushing for 1,153-yards with seven touchdowns of 118-attempts. Harris also had a rushing grade from Pro-Football Focus of 91.8 which was the highest on the team, impressive considering Harris was sharing carries with Damien Harris and Joshua Jacobs who graded out 84.4 and 85.2 respectively.
As for Brian Robinson, the Tuscaloosa native rushed for 437-yards off 87 carries in his first two seasons at Alabama, but fans have not seen what Robinson is truly capable of. Robinson was regarded as the fastest running back on the team last year and his physical body type makes him a very tough back to bring down in open space. Currently, Robinson is averaging 5.0-yards per carry, but with his total carries expected to double in 2019, you have to think he is another player to put on your breakout player watch list for this season.
And behind Najee Harris and Brian Robinson who will each be juniors this season, you have Rivals.com Four-star Jerome Ford who red-shirted in 2018, and the two new additions to the Class of 2019 at the position are Five-star Trey Sanders and Four-star Keilan Robinson.
Lastly, Alabama hired Charles Huff to coach the running backs. Huff who most recently coached the running backs at Mississippi State, coached with the Penn State Nittany Lions from 2013-17 where he coached and help to develop NFL 1st round draft pick, Saquon Barkley. The two major takeaways from adding Huff are: If he helped to develop Barkley imagine what he can do with the current running backs on the roster and two, Huff is from the Maryland area, so he’s a key component keeping the DMV pipeline open.
Part One: Improved Secondary Play
Despite losing projected 1st round NFL draft pick Deionte Thompson at safety and corner Saivion Smith who will also enter the NFL Draft, the Crimson Tide return plenty of experience in the secondary. Patrick Surtain II who started last season as a freshman at corner returns for his sophomore season and senior Trevon Diggs returns after missing a good portion of the 2018 season with a foot injury. Senior Shyheim Carter returns at the Star position, as does safety Xavier McKinney who was the Orange Bowl Defensive MVP against Oklahoma.
Alabama’s defensive pass coverage grade really dropped towards the later part of the season. With the help of Pro-Football Focus, the data reads that the Crimson Tide graded out 57.1 against Oklahoma and 58.6 against Clemson in the national title game. Alabama’s season average grade out in coverage was 91.2, which was among the highest in the nation. What contributed to such low grades in the two most important games of the season?
Poor play at the corner position brought the team coverage grade down to put it nicely. Surtain II had a season grade out at corner of 76.5, but against Oklahoma, he had a very tough time matching up with Sooner receiver Ceedee Lamb who hauled in six receptions for 88-yards against Surtain II and one touchdown, Surtain's grade against Oklahoma was 48.4. Saivion Smith recorded a coverage grade of just 38.1 against Clemson.
So why do I think Alabama will be improved in 2019 in the secondary?
I’ll likely mention this a few times in my prediction series, but it was clear that Nick Saban put a strong emphasis on acquiring seasoned defensive-minded assistant coaches to the 2019 staff. The addition of former Tennessee safety and special teams coach Charles Kelly is a big upgrade to Alabama. Kelly was also the defensive coordinator at Florida State from 2014-17 and during his five total seasons in Tallahassee, Fla., he coached 12 eventual NFL Draft picks, including an impressive nine first-round selections.
Now, the Crimson Tide will have Kelly working with the safeties and Karl Scott working with the defensive backs, and Saban still eyeing the secondary gives Alabama three coaches working with the secondary in an age of the college football spread. Saban also added Vinnie Sunseri to the support staff who should also contribute to the film room.
The question mark for me and I'm sure you as well is: who will replace Deionte Thompson? Those are some big shoes to fill. All eyes will be on Jared Mayden during spring ball. It is very obvious that Surtain II is only going to get better, looking back on last season, he really stepped up as a true freshman. Trevon Diggs was showing good improvement at the corner position early last year before being injured, I think he has to be on your breakout year watch list entering 2019. The returning experience in the secondary combined with the knowledge of Charles Kelly will really improve this unit in 2019.
Returning Secondary Player and their Pro-Football Focus Coverage Grade
Shyheim Carter - Star - 87.3
Xavier McKinney - Safety - 80.9
Trevon Diggs - Corner - 77.1
Patrick Surtain II - Corner - 76.5
Josh Jobe - Corner - 75.2
Jared Mayden - Safety - 70.1
All feedback welcomed
Over the course of the the spring I'll provide some 2019 predictions.
Part Six: These True freshmen will get playing time in 2019
As we continue my 2019 prediction series, today I am going to highlight five true freshmen that I feel will get major playing time this coming season. As you know, Alabama has another incredible freshmen class coming in and out of their 85 man roster, 38 are freshmen. Yes, 45% of the roster will be players with limited playing experience. With that said, the freshmen at Alabama are like no other freshmen in the Nation.
By the numbers, Alabama signed 27 prospects from the Class of 2019, out of those 27 prospects, 15 were early enrollees, and from the Class of 2018, Alabama red-shirted 11 freshmen, which gives the Crimson Tide an incredible amount of youth. When we look at the projected Depth Chart compiled on BamaInsider.com, most of the positions, especially on offense are penciled in with returning starters, but on defense and special teams, there is an opportunity for a true freshman to battle for significant playing time instantly.
We’ll start at the middle backer position. As you know, Mack Wilson left after his junior season to enter the NFL Draft and going into spring ball, the WILL inside linebacker position is up for grabs. Incoming Four-star linebacker Shane Lee out of Baltimore, Maryland is listed at 6-foot-0, 246 pounds and was rated as the top rated player from Maryland from the Class of 2019. Lee moves exceptionally well for his size, has a nose for the football, and is known to deliver that pulsating blow to running backs or receivers crossing the middle of the field. Lee played at St. Francis High School, the same high school as Alabama outside linebacker Eyabi Anoma.
Staying on defense, another true freshman that could make a bid for plenty of playing time this season is Rivals.com Five-star Antonio Alfano. Alfano is one of Alabama’s most prized incoming freshmen and is listed at 6-foot-4, 290 pounds out of New Jersey. Alfano has that alpha mentality, has already put on 17 pounds since his arrival at Alabama and with his build, strength, and overall athleticism, you could see Alfano playing as a defensive end this season or even as a defensive tackle. Alfano dominated the Army All-American game and I’m thinking Alfano paired up with new defensive line coach Brian Baker could be a match made in heaven.
Switching to special teams, are the kicking woes finally over for the Crimson Tide? All eyes will be on Hoover, Alabama native Will Reichard. While Joseph Bulovas returns for his redshirt sophomore season, Bulovas struggled many times last season not only from a field goal aspect, but he also missed several PATS. Reichard comes into Alabama as the nation’s top kicker and was ranked as the top combination kicker/punter by Kohl’s Kicking Camps. The starting position for the kicker and even punter is open at Alabama going into the spring season.
Now moving to the offense, Alabama signed two Five-stars out of the IMG Academy in Running Back Trey Sanders and offensive tackle Evan Neal. Let’s start with Sanders. The chances of Sanders starting at Alabama right off the bat are slim to none. Sanders will arrive in Tuscaloosa in May and with Najee Harris and Brian Robinson returning, the running back starting positions are spoken for. With that said, Alabama used a three-back attack in 2018 with three running backs rushing for over 500-yards. From the looks of it, Sanders looks too good to keep off the field in year one, but he has to prove it in August.
6-foot-7, 360 pound Evan Neal is already enrolled at Alabama and from early footage provided by the University of Alabama, Neal looks like an absolute beast and a lineman that carries his size incredibly well. Expecting Neal to see significant time in 2019 is a bit of a gamble because the Crimson Tide has good experience returning at the tackle position. Right now, our depth chart reads Alex Leatherwood at the left tackle and Jedrick Wills at right tackle, and Neal listed as the number two tackle behind Wills.
Part Five: No defense will be able to contain Alabama's receivers
Alabama returns receivers Henry Ruggs III, Jerry Jeudy, DeVonta Smith, and Jaylen Waddle who combined for 201 receptions for 3,597-yards with 38 touchdowns during the 2018 season.
Moving forward with my predictions series for the 2019 season, we highlight Alabama’s incredible returning group of receivers. In the past under Nick Saban, Alabama has had one key target split out wide doing most of the work. From Julio Jones who caught for 2,653-yards with 15 touchdowns from 2008-2010, to Amari Cooper who caught for 3,463-yards with 31 touchdowns from 2012-14, to Calvin Ridley who caught for 2,781-yards with 19 touchdowns from 2015-2017.
Last season, we saw Alabama take their passing game under quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to new heights and he distributed the football like no other quarterback in Alabama history. There was not one key target, there was simply too many receivers for defenses to deal with. In total, five receivers caught for over 500-yards and two receivers had double-digit touchdown catches. The bad news for opposing defenses this year: The four most dynamic receivers in college football return with a Heisman favorite at quarterback.
Jerry Jeudy returns for his junior year and he is coming off a season where he hauled in 1,315-yards with 14 touchdowns earning the Biletnikoff Award at seasons end. Jeudy has it all, a combination of speed, incredible route running ability, moves after the catch, and has that circus catch attribute.
Henry Ruggs III also returns for his junior year and he’s been a touchdown machine during his first two years at Alabama. His freshman season he hauled in six touchdowns and last year as a sophomore he caught 11 touchdowns and finished with 46 receptions for 741-yards. Ruggs III has an incredible top end speed, during a game last year against Missouri he was clocked out at 25 MPH.
The third member of this explosive group is another junior in DeVonta Smith. Smith caught for 42 receptions last season for 693-yards and six touchdowns. Smith who caught the game-winning touchdown in the 2018 national title game against Georgia is a very precise route runner with excellent hands.
Jaylen Waddle who was a Five-star coming into to Alabama had a sensational freshman season collecting 45 receptions for 848-yards with 7 touchdowns. Waddle had a per catch average of 18.8-yards, which was second on the team after Jerry Jeudy who had an average of 19.3-yards per catch. Waddle is an electrifying player when he has the football and also returned punts for the Crimson Tide last season where he returned 16 punts for 233-yards with one touchdown.
This is without a doubt the most dynamic group of receivers returning for the 2019 season in college football and new Alabama receivers coach Holmon Wiggins has to be like a kid in a candy store with the number of weapons he has to work with. The pressure on Wiggins will be replacing the talent at the receiver position for years to come. Additional names on the roster at the receiver position include Tyrell Shavers, at 6-foot-6, 216 pounds, while Shavers played in all 15-games last season, he did not record a single reception. Chadarius Townsend who is a RS-sophomore played in 12 games but did not record any stats in 2018, Xavier Williams at 6-foot-1 and 182 pounds played in just one game last season, Slade Bolden aka the former Louisiana Gatorade player of the year also played in just one game last season, and new to the receivers room is Four-star John Metchie out of Heightstown, New Jersey.
In closing, Alabama might not have a single senior in the receiver room, but the wealth of game experience returning combined for 201 receptions for 3,597-yards with 38 touchdowns last season, college football defenses beware.
Career numbers at Alabama
Julio Jones caught for 2,653-yards with 15 touchdowns from 2008-10
Amari Cooper caught for 3,463-yards and 31 touchdowns from 2012-14
Calvin Ridley caught for 2,781-yards with 19 touchdowns from 2015-2017
Jerry Jeudy already caught for 1,579-yards 16 touchdowns from 2017-18
2018 season
Jeudy caught for 68 receptions for 1,315 with 14 touchdowns
Henry Ruggs caught for 46 for 741 with 11 touchdowns
DeVonta Smith caught for 42 receptions for 693yards with 6 touchdowns
Jayen Waddle caught for 45 receptions for 848-yards with 7 touchdowns
Part Four: The year of the sophomore linebacker?
The Crimson Tide lose Mack Wilson at inside linebacker who declared early for the NFL draft as well as Christian Miller at the outside linebacker position. Wilson recorded 65 tackles during the 2018 season, Miller in his senior year recorded 34 tackles and finished with 8.0 sacks. Going into spring ball for the 2019 season, Alabama returns a total of 16 linebackers, seven inside backers, and nine outside linebackers.
When we look at the eligibility chart (which is by the way updated at BamaInsider.com) we see that Alabama will have just two seniors at linebacker, three junior linebackers, five linebackers will be sophomores, two of those freshmen will be red-shirt freshmen, and four will be true freshmen.
When you ask Nick Saban about the depth chart, there is no depth chart of penciled in starters, but for readers and viewers sake haha, we have produced our own depth chart based off returning starters and the linebacker position reads like this:
Terrell Lewis who missed the 2018 season with an ACL at the SAM position, at the JACK position, which is another pass rushing position is Anfernee Jennings who will be a senior, at the MIKE position and the signal caller for the defense will likely be Dylan Moses who led the team in tackles last year with 86, and at the WILL position, we’ll have a position battle between Ale Kaho, Markail Benton, and incoming Four-star Shane Lee.
Sophomore Watch
Now, this part of my series is called the year of the sophomore linebacker and here is why you have Kaho competing for the WILL position. Kaho at 6-foot-1, 218 pounds played special teams last season recording 11 tackles and played in every single game as a true freshman. Kaho has a unique blend of speed and athleticism which should allow him to be an effective inside linebacker against both the run and against the pass.
Battling with Kaho for the WILL starting position going into is red-shirt sophomore Markail Benton at 6-foot-2, 231 pounds. Benton is a very physical linebacker out of Phenix City, Alabama who earned a spot in the middle backer rotation last season recording 14 tackles. You also have Jaylen Moody at 6-foot-2, 242 pounds who played in 14 games last season, and while he played mostly on special teams, Moody could be a sleeper rising prospect to watch for this season and for years to come at the inside linebacker position.
Two sophomores returning at the outside linebacker position are Chris Allen and Eyabi Anoma. Allen at 6-foot-4, 242-pounds actually moved to work with the inside linebackers before suffering a season-ending knee injury and we are eager to see if he is working with the outside linebackers or inside linebackers during spring ball. Anoma at 6-foot-5, 245 pounds has the athleticism and size to be the future of the pass rush at Alabama and earned SEC All-freshman honors last season recorded nine tackles in 11 games.
As you know, Anoma entered the NCAA transfer portal for one-day this year, but Nick Saban was able to talk with him and get him to exit the transfer portal which was obviously a huge win for the Crimson Tide.
Two red-shirt freshmen entering the 2019 season are Cameron Latu and Jarez Parks. Latu at 6-foot-5, 246 pounds should really provide depth at the outside linebacker position as he moves extremely well and is a name you really need to know this season. Parks at 6-foot-4, 251 pounds is another very athletic edge rusher that should get on the field this season.
Part Three: Raekwon Davis finally has a monster year at Alabama
Alabama returns what could be the most dominating defensive end in college football in 6-foot-7, 315 pound Raekwon Davis. It’s surprising that Davis is back for his senior year considering most college football experts expected him to have a monster junior season then declare for the NFL Draft. Last year was an underachieving season for Davis, to say the least as he recorded 24 solo tackles which was 10th on the team and recording just 1.5 sacks.
Before the Orange Bowl this past season we caught up with Craig Kuligowski, the former defensive line coach at Alabama to get his thoughts on Davis.
“Raekwon Davis has been a guy that, going into the preseason everybody knew about him, he draws a lot of blockers, he does a great job of being physical, setting edges, knocking people back and even though his numbers are not quite as good as last year, he’s played better than last year.”
Since Davis has arrived in Tuscaloosa, he has played in 31 games recording 129 tackles and 11.0 sacks, in 2017 during his sophomore season, he recorded 8.5 sacks and 10.0 tackles for loss. Davis even recorded an interception as a sophomore during the national championship game against Georgia which he displayed his athleticism returning the pick 19-yards.
When we look at the defensive grade outs provided by Pro-Football Focus over the last two seasons, we see that in 2018 Davis had a pass rushing grade of just 68.5, his grade against the run was an impressive 90.4, his tackle grade was a 69.5, he put pressure on the quarterback 29 times, and overall his defensive grade was an 81.9 which was sixth on the team.
If we compare these numbers to his sophomore season, his pass rush grade is 62.7, his grade against the run was a 61.3, his tackle grade was a 75.9, and he had 19 quarterback pressures, so the numbers back up what Kuligowski said about Davis, he did actually play better grade wise year over year.
With that said, it felt at times that he was not as imposing of a player that he could be and that contributed to Davis returning for his senior season instead of heading for the NFL Draft. The reason I feel that Davis has his “monster” season in 2019 is because of the instant impact new defensive line coach Brian Baker will have in coaching up Davis.
Baker is a 19-year NFL coaching veteran that most recently comes from Mississippi State where he turned the Bulldog’s defense into a defensive masterpiece. In 2017, the Bulldogs had multiple defensive linemen named first-team All-SEC for the first time in school history and in 2018, the Bulldogs won the SEC Defensive Linemen of the Week award five out of 13 times. Mississippi State also finished the 2018 season ranked number one in the nation in total defense.
Baker’s past coaching experience should help Davis transform into a 1st round NFL Draft pick by the season’s end. In the past, Baker has coached DeMarcus Ware, Julius Peppers, Leonard little, and many additional defensive players that were eventually named to the pro-bowl. Most recently, Baker transformed Montez Sweat, into a pass rusher machine having recorded 12 sacks during the 2018 season and is now projected as a 1st round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.
Part Two: Najee Harris and Brian Robinson will be college football’s best one-two punch
In my opinion, when you ask which college football program is the present day “Running Back U”, I still think Alabama Crimson Tide. While Alabama went more towards the spread in 2018, the lineage of great college football running backs runs deep under Nick Saban. Past names like: Derrick Henry who won the Heisman in 2015 rushing for 2,219-yards with 28 touchdowns , to Kenyan Drake who ran for a total of 2,000-yards from 2013-15, to TJ Yeldon who ran for a total of 3,322-yards from 2012-14, to Eddie Lacy who ran for 1,996 between 2011 and 2012, to Trent Richardson who ran for 3,130 between 2009-11, to past Heisman winner Mark Ingram who ran for 3,261-yards between 2008-10.
In more recent years you have Bo Scarbrough who ran for 1,512-yards between 2015-17 to Damien Harris who ran for 3,070-yards between 2015-2018 to Joshua Jacobs who amassed just 1,491-yards from 2016-18 but is projected as a 1st round NFL Draft pick.
And if you think that the running back position at Alabama has lost talent or is less of a priority for this coming season or for years to come, you’re dead wrong, because this season Alabama will have the most dangerous one-two punch at running back in college football.
6-foot-2, 230 pound Najee Harris and 6-foot-1, 220 pound Brian Robinson are next in line at Alabama to take over as the primary running backs, each has the size, strength, speed, and playmaking ability to effectively control the tempo of the game and create that home-run type play when you need it most.
Harris has already played plenty during his first two seasons at Alabama rushing for 1,153-yards with seven touchdowns of 118-attempts. Harris also had a rushing grade from Pro-Football Focus of 91.8 which was the highest on the team, impressive considering Harris was sharing carries with Damien Harris and Joshua Jacobs who graded out 84.4 and 85.2 respectively.
As for Brian Robinson, the Tuscaloosa native rushed for 437-yards off 87 carries in his first two seasons at Alabama, but fans have not seen what Robinson is truly capable of. Robinson was regarded as the fastest running back on the team last year and his physical body type makes him a very tough back to bring down in open space. Currently, Robinson is averaging 5.0-yards per carry, but with his total carries expected to double in 2019, you have to think he is another player to put on your breakout player watch list for this season.
And behind Najee Harris and Brian Robinson who will each be juniors this season, you have Rivals.com Four-star Jerome Ford who red-shirted in 2018, and the two new additions to the Class of 2019 at the position are Five-star Trey Sanders and Four-star Keilan Robinson.
Lastly, Alabama hired Charles Huff to coach the running backs. Huff who most recently coached the running backs at Mississippi State, coached with the Penn State Nittany Lions from 2013-17 where he coached and help to develop NFL 1st round draft pick, Saquon Barkley. The two major takeaways from adding Huff are: If he helped to develop Barkley imagine what he can do with the current running backs on the roster and two, Huff is from the Maryland area, so he’s a key component keeping the DMV pipeline open.
Part One: Improved Secondary Play
Despite losing projected 1st round NFL draft pick Deionte Thompson at safety and corner Saivion Smith who will also enter the NFL Draft, the Crimson Tide return plenty of experience in the secondary. Patrick Surtain II who started last season as a freshman at corner returns for his sophomore season and senior Trevon Diggs returns after missing a good portion of the 2018 season with a foot injury. Senior Shyheim Carter returns at the Star position, as does safety Xavier McKinney who was the Orange Bowl Defensive MVP against Oklahoma.
Alabama’s defensive pass coverage grade really dropped towards the later part of the season. With the help of Pro-Football Focus, the data reads that the Crimson Tide graded out 57.1 against Oklahoma and 58.6 against Clemson in the national title game. Alabama’s season average grade out in coverage was 91.2, which was among the highest in the nation. What contributed to such low grades in the two most important games of the season?
Poor play at the corner position brought the team coverage grade down to put it nicely. Surtain II had a season grade out at corner of 76.5, but against Oklahoma, he had a very tough time matching up with Sooner receiver Ceedee Lamb who hauled in six receptions for 88-yards against Surtain II and one touchdown, Surtain's grade against Oklahoma was 48.4. Saivion Smith recorded a coverage grade of just 38.1 against Clemson.
So why do I think Alabama will be improved in 2019 in the secondary?
I’ll likely mention this a few times in my prediction series, but it was clear that Nick Saban put a strong emphasis on acquiring seasoned defensive-minded assistant coaches to the 2019 staff. The addition of former Tennessee safety and special teams coach Charles Kelly is a big upgrade to Alabama. Kelly was also the defensive coordinator at Florida State from 2014-17 and during his five total seasons in Tallahassee, Fla., he coached 12 eventual NFL Draft picks, including an impressive nine first-round selections.
Now, the Crimson Tide will have Kelly working with the safeties and Karl Scott working with the defensive backs, and Saban still eyeing the secondary gives Alabama three coaches working with the secondary in an age of the college football spread. Saban also added Vinnie Sunseri to the support staff who should also contribute to the film room.
The question mark for me and I'm sure you as well is: who will replace Deionte Thompson? Those are some big shoes to fill. All eyes will be on Jared Mayden during spring ball. It is very obvious that Surtain II is only going to get better, looking back on last season, he really stepped up as a true freshman. Trevon Diggs was showing good improvement at the corner position early last year before being injured, I think he has to be on your breakout year watch list entering 2019. The returning experience in the secondary combined with the knowledge of Charles Kelly will really improve this unit in 2019.
Returning Secondary Player and their Pro-Football Focus Coverage Grade
Shyheim Carter - Star - 87.3
Xavier McKinney - Safety - 80.9
Trevon Diggs - Corner - 77.1
Patrick Surtain II - Corner - 76.5
Josh Jobe - Corner - 75.2
Jared Mayden - Safety - 70.1
All feedback welcomed
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