Alabama Football: Crimson Tide headed into uncharted waters

Nick Saban is heading into uncharted waters as the Alabama football defensive roster could potentially start five true freshmen against Southern Miss and beyond.

Are we serious about uncharted waters and Nick Saban? In terms of his Alabama football tenure, we absolutely are. Crimson Tide fans will not know until Saturday morning but it is possible Nick Saban will choose to start as many as five true freshmen against Southern Miss.

Given the situational and rotational nature of Saban’s complicated defenses, it will be hard to define if the exact number is five. In the Tide’s new base defense, the nickel, the lineup will almost surely be D.J. Dale at nose, Justin Eboigbe at defensive end (replacing the injured LaBryan Ray), Shane Lee at Mike linebacker and Jordan Battle at safety. A fifth  true freshman could start in the nickel if Christian Harris holds on to his starting Will linebacker role.

Four true freshmen have never started in a Nick Saban, Alabama football defense. It is beyond unprecedented. Possibly starting five is almost beyond belief. Add in the rotation probabilities and the next three guys to rotate in on the defensive line are likely to be a redshirt sophomore (Mathis), a redshirt freshman (Wynn) and (Byron Young) another true freshman. In the second half, after Christian Barmore sits out a half for targeting, another redshirt freshman will be included in the rotation.

Why is the defensive front so thin? The reasons are clear – injuries and recruiting misses in 2017 and 2018 classes.

Nick Saban made an honest assessment after the South Carolina game. The Crimson Tide defense does not have enough players to play 86 plays every week.

Check out this Monday tweet from Chris Lowe showing Saban knew months ago his defensive roster could not sustain many serious injuries.

Dylan Moses, Josh McMillon and now probably LaBryan Ray – all out, at least for the regular season. Moses and McMillon will not return at any point this season.

For any Alabama football fans choosing the ‘next man up’ response, don’t. It loosely applies but fails in the details of roster realities. Dylan Moses is irreplaceable. Ray will be very difficult to replace if he is indeed out for a significant amount of time.

The good news may come from an unlikely place. The offensive schemes of Steve Sarkisian. As last season showed, outscoring every opponent, even with an explosive offense is not always enough. If the 2019 Crimson Tide defense is destined to be good, but not great, ball control becomes an option.

Sark’s offense is so nuanced it can be both explosive and ball control. With both the greatest passer in the game and the best four wideouts, the Crimson Tide is perfect for a West Coast, RPO hyrid that gets most of its time-crunching yardage through the air.

The above link does not include any current Crimson Tide players. That will change after one or more current Alabama football careers end.