Alabama Football: Thoughts on the upcoming season

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

What is the expectation for Alabama football?

Alabama football‘s season is still a few months away, but the main facets of the year are set in stone. There may be a few transfers that impact the upcoming college football season, but predictions now won’t be different than predictions in early August.

With that in mind, here are some preliminary thoughts on the upcoming season for Alabama football.

Biggest Strength: Pass Rush

Alabama lost Chris Allen, but both starters from last season will be back. Will Anderson should be a Heisman candidate, and Dallas Turner was one of the most underrated players on the team last year. Alabama adds depth in 2022, and opposing offensive lines should be concerned.

Biggest Weakness: Offensive Line

This is a repeat of last year’s biggest weakness. The offensive line put a ceiling on an otherwise elite offense, and the spring game did not provide Alabama football fans with much confidence. Alabama has to replace Evan Neal, one of the best left tackles in recent memory, and the right tackle position was essentially vacant last year.

Alabama added players from the transfer portal, but the unit won’t be fixed by one or two

X Factor: Tyler Harrell

You could say that any of Alabama football’s transfers are X factors, but I’ll take the speed of Harrell. He lacked production at Louisville, but he took the top off of the defense. With a quarterback capable of making plays with his arm, his speed will be utilized. Harrell will replace Jameson Williams and likely have around 1000 receiving yards.

Toughest Home Opponent: Texas A&M

The Aggies beat Alabama football last year, but the Tide will host them in 2022. This is one of the best teams in the country on paper, and they should upgrade the quarterback position. We’ll see if this turns into a successful season for Texas A&M, but this will be one of the biggest games in college football.

Toughest Road Opponent: Texas

Quinn Ewers will be a Heisman candidate, and Texas has a revamped roster with Steve Sarkisian.

All things considered, this should be a great season for Alabama football. If the offensive line improves, the roster will be stacked once again.