Alabama Football Opponents: Thumbnail reviews of Spring Games

(Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
(Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

Every 2023 Alabama Football opponent has played their spring game, except LSU and Kentucky. The Wildcats did not have a spring game due to turf replacement at Kroger Field. Like Alabama, LSU is scheduled to do a spring showcase on Apr. 22. Due to a short-handed roster this spring, LSU considered not having a spring game and Brian Kelly has not announced his modified format for Saturday.

Seven spring games are reviewed below. Not included is any information about Middle Tennessee, South Florida, or Chattanooga. The teams are listed in the order of the Alabama Football schedule.

Alabama Football 2023 Opponents

Texas Longhorns – From Burnt Orange Nation, the Longhorns showcased two quarterbacks, running backs and receivers, though the result was a low-scoring game (21-10). It appears multiple running backs can make up for the loss of Bijan Robinson. Texas may or may not have a QB battle, but based on Saturday the battle is between Quinn Ewers and Maalik Murphy – and not Arch Manning. After the game, Steve Sarkisian basically said QB1 for the Horns is Ewers.

Ole Miss Rebels – Alabama fans will notice there was not much defense in Oxford. The teams played with thud tackling and apparently, there was not much of it, as the final score was 53-52. Lane Kiffin’s chosen format may have favored the offense, but the total of 700-plus passing yards suggests the Rebels have a long way to go defensively. Of course, Kiffin will continue to make Portal additions.

Mississippi State Bulldogs – The Bulldogs unveiled some of Kevin Barbay’s offense. State fans liked what they saw with Barbay offering a different style to Mike Leach’s ‘Dink and Dunk’. Will Rogers made a least one 50-plus-yard, pass completion.

Texas A&M Aggies – Jimbo Fisher chose a traditional game format, that ended with a 33-19 score. There was an oddity. Due to stadium renovations, the field was less than 100 yards. It appears Conner Weigman has not locked down the starting QB job. He and Max Johnson passed for over 500 yards on 77 passes. Johnson had two of the pair’s three interceptions. The Aggies’ rush defense stood out as solid.

Arkansas Razorbacks – As Saturday Down South reported, Arkansas will attempt to dominate opponents physically in 2023. Sam Pittman prefers ‘old-school’ football and he has an Offensive Coordinator in Dan Enos that has the same preference. There are SEC teams the Hogs can probably manhandle, but that being enough against top opponents is unlikely.

Tennessee Vols – Spring in Knoxville is a tale with two plots. One is, in the minds of Tennesee fans, the wonder of Josh Heupel’s offense. It is believed the offense is too explosive to ever be held in check. The other plot is Heupel may not have a QB to run it. Joe Milton was not the Vols’ best QB in the spring game. That could open the door for the $8M true freshman, Nico Iamaleava. Iamaleava may become a superstar, but a true freshman, winning big in the SEC is no guarantee.

Auburn Tigers – Auburn showcased strong running backs on a miserable day on the Plains. The offensive line might be slightly improved. But as Hugh Freeze said not too carefully after the game, the Tigers need quarterback and wide receiver help from the Transfer Portal.

While the SEC prohibits late Portal entries from immediately playing for another SEC team, SEC post-spring rosters will have many changes.