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Alabama Football: Starter experience may or may not be an issue for the Tide

By Ronald Evans

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 08: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts to a play during the first quarter against the Georgia Bulldogs in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 8, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 08: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts to a play during the first quarter against the Georgia Bulldogs in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 8, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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An overabundance of youth and inexperience might deter some teams but Alabama football is expected to overcome both and repeat as champions.

Roughly 100 days out from the start of the 2018 college football season is too early for national championship predictions, even for Alabama football. The trend of lots of graduate transfers means not all rosters are set yet.

Alabama football might still add a player before fall camp. Actually, the Tide could add two players due to recent transfer announcements by Brandon Kennedy and Dallas Warmack.

Alabama football will go into 2018 as one of the least experienced teams in the FBS, based on returning starters. In addition, the Tide will be young in 2018, though with early NFL Draft entries being common annually, the Tide rarely has a senior-laden squad.

There is no standard to define returning starters. Is Deionte Thompson considered a returning starter based on two Playoff game starts? Mike Huguenin of Gridiron Sports measures returning starters as only those players who started seven games in the previous season. We concur with Huguenin and therefore we don’t count Deionte Thompson or Dylan Moses as returning starters.

Based on that measurement, Alabama football will have the fewest numbers of returning starters in the SEC next season. If Jalen starts at QB, the Tide will return nine starters, seven on offense and two on defense. Raekwon Davis was close to making the list but he only started six games. So depending on the QB decision, the Tide returns either eight or nine starters from last season.

The rest of the SEC

  • LSU returns 10 starters, five on each side of the ball
  • Tennessee returns 11, four on offense and seven on defense
  • Vanderbilt returns 11, seven on offense and four on defense
  • Ole Miss returns 12, eight on offense and four on defense
  • Auburn returns 12, six on each side of the ball
  • South Carolina returns 12, seven on offense and five on defense
  • Arkansas returns 13, six on offense and seven on defense
  • Georgia returns 13, eight on offense and five on defense
  • Texas A&M returns 14, seven on each side of the ball
  • Kentucky returns 15, seven on offense and eight on defense
  • Missouri returns 16, nine on offense and seven on defense
  • Florida returns 16, ten on offense and six on defense
  • Mississippi State returns 17, nine on offense and eight on defense

Youth is no longer a big liability in college football. Most players leave high school physically capable of playing as freshmen. Nick Saban has no aversion to playing, even starting freshmen, as long as they are the best at their position.

Experience is something different. There is no substitute for experience, particularly big-game experience. The 2018 Crimson Tide will be noticeably less experienced than recent Saban teams, especially on defense.

Can such an inexperienced team win a championship?

Early predictions acknowledge Alabama football lost many starters from 2017, but the Tide is expected to overcome the transition and repeat as national champion.

Si.com and Athlon predict the Crimson Tide will repeat as national champion. Check out below where other SEC teams are ranked.

Georgia: Athlon (3); SI (8)

Auburn: Athlon (7); SI (16)

Mississippi State: Athlon (14); SI (17)

Florida: Athlon (17)

Texas A&M: Athlon (25)

The best thing about inexperienced teams is the potential of rapid improvement during the season. By November, Alabama football will be a different team than it will be in September.

There will certainly be growing pains. An inexperienced secondary will be tested on the road against a potent Ole Miss passing attack. It will help having the Aggies and Missouri at home. When Alabama football travels to Baton Rouge in early November, it should be 8-0 and lack of experience will no longer be an issue.

Next: Tua's message was about sticking, not quitting

In case Alabama football fans are wondering, Clemson’s returning group is a mixed bag. The Tigers return eight on offense but must replace seven on defense.

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