Alabama Football: The best opposing players to test the Tide this season

The 2018 Alabama football schedule might be a tad weaker than normal but the Tide will face some of the nation’s best players in the regular season.

Based on the recent AP preseason list of All Americans, Alabama football will compete against six of the nation’s best players in the regular season. Using the All America list as a starting point, we have a list of 16 top players among regular season opponents.

Our list is broken down into the top eight opposing players the Tide will face. Eight more top players are included as honorable mentions. While it is tempting to throw in potential post-season players from Georgia and Clemson, the list is only from the 12 teams in the regular season schedule.

As a point of reference here is the AP projected All America players among the Crimson Tide opposition. On the first team are wide receiver A.J. Brown from Ole Miss, linebacker Devin White and cornerback Greedy Williams, both from LSU. Second team selections are offensive tackle Greg Little of Ole Miss and defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons from Mississippi State.

Alabama football has five players on the preseason All America list. First team Tide selections are Jonah Williams and Ross Piersbacher. Second team selections are Damien Harris, Raekwon Davis and Mack Wilson.

The Top Eight Players among Tide regular season opponents

• LSU – Greedy Williams is by far the best cornerback the Crimson Tide will face in 2018. Going past the regular season, the assessment of Williams as the best would not change. Devin White is a tough, physical linebacker. White led the SEC in tackles last season as a sophomore. Risking heresy, Alabama football fans calling White the best LB in the SEC would not be wrong.
• Mississippi State – The combination of Montez Sweat and Jeffery Simmons on the Bulldogs defensive line can be dominating. The SEC is loaded with top defensive linemen in 2018 and the MSU pair are two of the best.
• Ole Miss – The NCAA driven depletion of the Ole Miss roster has so far not diminished the offense. Wide receiver A.J. Brown is arguably the best in the nation. Brown is a great player but one of his wide receiver teammates is not far behind and is included in the honorable mention list below. Offensive tackle Greg Little is another top player, but unlike Jonah Williams, does not have much help around him.
• Texas A&M – Aggies’ running back Trayveon Williams does not as much attention as he deserves. One reason is the Kevin Sumlin offense put most of its focus on passing. Jimbo Fisher will run a more balanced offense, meaning more carries for Williams. Even in a lesser role, Trayveon rushed for almost 2,200 yards in two seasons. He is on the Doak Walker award watch list for the nation’s top running back.
• Missouri – There is no shortage of top quarterbacks in the SEC. Based upon past performance, Drew Lock is the best. He has a big arm and superb accuracy. Lock led the SEC and the FBS with 44 touchdown passes last season, an SEC record. Missouri returns its entire offensive line this season, giving Lock a chance to again run up big numbers. On a better team, he would be a legit Heisman candidate.

The best of the rest

At the top of the honorable mention list is a player Alabama football fans hate to acknowledge. Jarrett Stidham is a very good QB who also has an accurate, big arm. One reason he may not outshine Drew Lock is the weak link of Auburn’s offensive line.

D.K. Metcalf is so good, he would be the top receiver on many SEC teams. At Ole Miss, playing behind A.J. Brown makes him number two but not by much.

Arkansas State QB, Justice Hansen is better than Alabama football fans realize. The transfer from Oklahoma has thrown for over 6500 yards in two seasons.

Five more players deserve to be mentioned in the Honorable mention category. Two of them are Auburn defensive linemen, Derrick Brown and Dontavious Russell. The other three are Kingsley Keke, defensive end from TAMU, Albert Okwuegbunam, tight end from Missouri and Hjalte Froholdt, offensive linemen from Arkansas.

When the SEC top defensive linemen are added to those from other top programs, the 2019 NFL Draft first round may not have enough room for all of them. Some highly rated juniors might benefit from another year of CFB in 2019. Unfortunately for Alabama football fans, Raekwon Davis will not be one of those juniors.