The Alabama Crimson Tide has a serious weakness in returning offensive production. According to Bill Connelly's calculation, Alabama is No. 119 among FBS teams in returning offensive production. The only returning offensive starters are Michael Carroll and Ryan Coleman-Williams. Lotzeir Brooks played a lot last season, but with only a couple of exceptions, Brooks was a rotation player rather than a starter.
Turnover in starters creates urgency for Alabama's offensive coaches to settle in on new starters. There are indications that at eight positions, starting competition is settled. Players will still be competing for starting roles during Fall Camp scrimmages on Thursday, Aug. 13, and Thursday, Aug. 20, but at eight positions, the competitions are mostly settled.
Alabama 12-Personnel Offensive Starters
It is assumed that with Kalen DeBoer and Ryan Grubb focused on curing the Crimson Tide's rushing ills from last season, two tight end sets will be frequent. Bama Hammer's John Mitchell has pointed out that even 13-personnel looks should not be a surprise.
Short of some unexpected scrimmage surprises, the nine guys listed below will fill eight starter positions for the Crimson Tide offense.
- Left Tackle - Sophomore Jackson Lloyd
- Center - Cal-Poly transfer Racin Delgatty - Some Alabama fans worry about Delgatty holding up to SEC defensive linemen, but at 6'3", 307 lbs, he is not undersized
- Right Guard - Michael Carroll
- Two Tight Ends - Oklahoma State transfer Josh Ford will give the Crimson Tide a run-blocking boost. The other tight end slot is expected to be a rotation of Kaleb Edwards and Danny Lewis Jr.
- Wide Receiver - Ryan Coleman-Williams
- Wide Receiver - Lotzeir Brooks
- Running Back - Daniel Hill - three or four running backs will rotate, but Hill is RB1
Three to-be-determined offensive starters will be (mostly) decided during camp scrimmages. The Alabama staff does not want to rotate on the offensive line, so hopefully the left guard and right tackle slots will not be unsettled in September. The Crimson Tide will have a quarterback starter named in August, but competition could continue well into the early games.
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