Alabama Football: Grading Tide’s depth by position before season starts
By Dakota Cox
How strong is Alabama football’s depth?
Above all else in 2020, depth will be the key to success. Between potential COVID-19 quarantines, injuries after a limited training camp, and the grueling nature of an SEC-only schedule, Alabama football will be leaning into the depth chart at some point this year.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the Crimson Tide’s depth at each position. There is always talk about how Alabama’s second-string players could beat an average team, and that might be the case at some positions. However, other positions have limited experience to start with.
Let’s start with the offensive side of the football at two key positions. Both have entrenched starters, and interesting upside behind them.
Quarterback: A
Having a legitimate quarterback competition usually means one of two things. You either have two players who are good enough to start, or you have no good options and have to find the best case scenario. For Alabama football, the former is true. Bryce Young is the backup, but he is good enough to start as a true freshman for almost any team in the country. If something happens to Mac Jones, the Tide are in safe hands.
Running Back: A+
Alabama football always has a stable at running back, and 2020 is no different. Najee Harris has the talent to be the workhorse, but Trey Sanders is the future of the position. Outside of that one-two punch, Brian Robinson Jr. shows veteran leadership. There is also Keilan Robinson, one of the fastest players on the team. Going four-deep is crazy, but that’s where Alabama currently stands.