Alabama Football: An early look at 2021 position battles

These battles will determine the Alabama football depth chart

We have seen plenty of stars leave the Alabama football program over the years, and this season will be no different. Alabama is losing arguably its seven best players on offense, and multiple starters are heading to the NFL on defense. Saban is used to this, but he will still have to replace some talented players.

The starting roster will be determined in the coming months over spring workouts and training camp. We might not know the true starters until Alabama trots onto the field against Miami in Atlanta. Still, here are the top position battles that we need to be keeping an eye on.

CB2

Thankfully, only one member of the 2020 secondary is heading to the NFL. Unfortunately, that member was the best defensive back in college football. Alabama will have to replace Surtain, which might be the toughest challenge of next year’s defense.

Marcus Banks will be competing for this role, but we could see some other players slide in. Jalyn Armour-Davis might play either corner or safety, but he has the talent to start. Alabama will also see GQ McKinstry join the team, and he was a highly-touted recruit. Whoever wins this job will see plenty of work across from Josh Jobe.

The starting offensive line

This is too complex to boil down to one position. Alabama is losing three starters on offense, but they still return great depth. They also bring in the best offensive line class I have ever seen. Five recruits could compete for starting roles on quality teams, but there is a chance that none of them start this season.

Evan Neal will almost definitely shift to left tackle. Emil Ekiyor will start at right or left guard. Chris Owens will start. Outside of that, we don’t know what to expect. Will Chris Owens play guard or tackle? Can Pierce Quick crack the starting lineup at guard? What about Javion Cohen or Tommy Brown? All of this is without mentioning the Brockermeyer twins or JC Latham.