Alabama Football: Tide will be fine at TE without Kedrick James

Even with Kedrick James entering the transfer portal, the Alabama football tight end roster is deeper than most Tide fans think.

When Alabama football added Kedrick James in the 2017 signing class, the Tide staff believed it had signed a potentially game-changing tight end. James was rated as the No. 12 tight end in the class and the No. 319 player overall. The Crimson Tide staff rated him much higher.

Coming out of high school, he had all the physical tools. At then, 6-foot-five and 248 pounds, it was clear James could easily carry 20 more pounds. He had good speed and soft hands. He was nearly the prototypical tight end.

Now James is looking at a new home for a football career that so far has amounted to little. In two seasons, he appeared in 10 Alabama football games, with limited stats. He was suspended for the CFB Playoff games last season and the suspension would have also caused him to miss the first four games of the 2019 campaign. He will carry that four-game suspension with him wherever he goes.

Crimson Tide fans have worried the 2019 tight end roster lacks depth and to a degree talent. Those worries will grow with James’ exit. The remaining roster is deeper than some fans realize.

There is plenty of athletic ability and pass-catching skill left with redshirt junior, Miller Forristall (6-foot-5, 242 pounds), redshirt sophomore, Major Tennison (6-foot-5, 248 pounds) and redshirt freshman, Cameron Latu (6-foot-5, 247 pounds.) The trio is expected to deliver blocking as well.

For more depth, there is incoming freshman, Jahleel Billingsley (6-foot-4, 228 pounds) and senior walk-on, Giles Amos (6-foot-4, 245 pounds.) Billingsley was recruited for his speed and good hands. He needs to add some weight and can be expected to accomplish that over the next few months. Amos was a somewhat pleasant surprise in the spring. In addition, the roster includes talented, redshirt freshman, Michael Parker. The only question with Parker comes from him playing at 6-foot-6 and according to the official roster, just 216 pounds.

The Crimson Tide will be at risk to further attrition from injury. The rosy potential for Latu and Billingsley is great, but a serious injury to Forristall or Tennison would be a tough blow. What about another position change? None of the wide receivers are big enough to play tight end. The only other options might be outside linebackers, Jarez Parks or Ben Davis.

Will the loss of James affect Steve Sarkisian’s plans? We cannot know how many two, tight end sets Sark intended to use. He can still use them. In some situations placing an offensive lineman at the slot works great with the running game.

Crimson Tide fans will ask if Kedrick James was nudged out. We don’t know. We do know Nick Saban demands completion of several milestones before a suspended player returns to his good graces. Some players fail to do the necessary work and a transfer becomes the only option.