While we are all just biding time before the start of spring practice in a month, it's never too early to think about the 2026 season, even when it feels like an eternity away.
Alabama will field a pretty young team in 2026, and based on what the Tide lost, Kalen DeBoer will have to hope for some under-the-radar players to step up and grow into large roles on next season's team to provide the type of quality depth you need to be a serious threat in the national title race.
And make no mistake, that remains the expectation in Tuscaloosa. The 35-point Rose Bowl loss didn't change that fact.
(This does not include incoming freshmen or transfers - only players who were on the 2025 team)
3 breakout candidates for Alabama from 2025 roster holdovers
1. RB AK Dear
All the talk this offseason has centered around 5-star incoming freshman RB EJ Crowell, who finished the 2026 recruiting cycle as the No. 1 running back in the country. There's good reason for that: Crowell is the real deal and will be an immediate factor in the Crimson Tide's RB room and could ultimately become the starter much sooner than you might think.
But don't forget about rising sophomore AK Dear, who was the No. 2 RB in the 2025 recruiting class in his own right. He appeared in five games as a freshman, rushing for 140 yards and three touchdowns on 19 attempts.
Dear wasn't quite ready for the spotlight as a true freshman, but he'll have an opportunity to crack the RB rotation alongside Crowell and returning redshirt sophomores Daniel Hill and Kevin Riley.
2. DL Jeremiah Beaman
Jeremiah Beaman's impressive body transformation was the talk of the offseason a year ago, and the then-redshirt freshman was going to be a major contributor on the defensive line. He entered the 2025 season as the backup nose tackle behind Tim Keenan.
With Keenan out with an injury in the season-opener, Beaman earned the start at nose against Florida State. Unfortunately, Beaman suffered a season-ending injury in practice prior to the Crimson Tide's Week 2 matchup against UL Monroe.
Alabama made some intriguing additions to the defensive line this offseason, most notably in Big Ten transfers Devan Thompkins (USC) and Terrance Green (Oregon), but Beaman will remain a big part of the Crimson Tide's plans.
He'll compete for a starting role, and in the very least, provide quality depth to the defensive interior.
3. WR Derek Meadows
As a true freshman, Derek Meadows appeared to be working his way up the depth chart and positioning himself for a role on the offense prior to suffering a nasty concussion in the Crimson Tide's win over Missouri.
Meadows ultimately didn't register a stat as a freshman, but he has intriguing physical tools and appears to be mostly being forgotten about when prognosticators are projecting depth charts and snap outlooks for the Tide's WR room.
After Ryan Williams and Lotzeir Brooks, there will be a lot of competition for playing time at WR, and Meadows figures to be right in the thick of it with NC State transfer Noah Rogers, returning redshirt sophomore Rico Scott, and incoming freshman Cederian Morgan.