Alabama Football: No worries about Tide wide receiver group

Alabama football fans may choose to worry about the Crimson Tide’s wide receivers. Let’s not. Even though there is cause for concern, there are more reasons to be optimistic.

Those fans who are taking a wait-and-see attitude, rather than optimism, can point to a stunning lack of experience. By a wide margin, the top receiving producer on the Crimson Tide roster is a tight end; Cameron Latu. Latu has 26 receptions in his Alabama football career for 410 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.

Not counting the running backs, only five other Crimson Tide players have a career reception. Combined they have caught 50 passes for 598 yards and four touchdowns. They are listed below, but the stats should probably carry an asterisk. The large majority of their career production has come as Crimson Tide backups against weaker defenses.

• Traeshon Holden – Junior – Holden has played in 20 games and caught 21 passes for 239 yards and one touchdown.
• Ja’Corey Brooks – Sophomore – Brooks was one of the stars of last season’s Iron Bowl, making the touchdown catch that sent the game into overtime. His Crimson Tide career numbers are 15 receptions for 192 yards and two touchdowns.
• Jojo Earle – Sophomore – In his freshman season, Jojo Earle caught 12 passes for 148 yards and no touchdowns. He also returned 15 punts for 88 yards.
• Robbie Ouzts – Sophomore – As a freshman, Ouzts was used primarily on special teams and as a short-yardage blocker. As a recruit, his powerful blocking ability was most frequently mentioned, but he was also described as having good enough hands to be a solid pass receiver. In the 2021 season, he caught one pass for eight yards.

All four guys, especially, Brooks and Earle can produce more in 2022. Brooks is a likely starter and Earle could have a breakout season.

Alabama Football and Transfer Receivers

Two transfer additions at wide receiver are expected to put up big numbers in 2022. In two seasons with the Georgia Bulldogs, Jermaine Burton caught 53 passes for 901 yards and eight touchdowns. Last season his average gain per reception was 19.1 yards. On the Crimson Tide 2021 roster, only one player had a higher average; Jameson Williams at 19.9 yards.

Tyler Harrell’s three seasons at Louisville included only 14 games. Twelve of those games were last season when he caught 18 passes for 523 yards and six touchdowns. His per catch average was a whopping 29.1 yards. Harrell may or may not run a 4.2, as some Louisville fans have contended, but it is fair to say he has blazing speed.

With the five guys listed first in this post, plus Burton and Harrell, and a loaded freshman, wide receiver class, Alabama fans should feel confident last season’s 5,073 passing yards can be reached again.

There is another reason for great confidence in the Tide’s passing game. That reason is CFB’s best quarterback, Bryce Young.