Other teams may offer more, but Alabama enters this year with some level of variance. If everything fires on all cylinders, the Crimson Tide can get back to the College Football Playoff and possibly play for a national title. If it hits the fan, Alabama could miss out on the 12-team field for the second time in three years under Kalen DeBoer. It is all about two key components of the offense coming together.
In Adam Rittenberg's latest for ESPN.com, he had the Crimson Tide ranked No. 10 in college football's future power rankings through the 2027 season. His formula has several parts to it, including the quarterback situation and the overall outlook of the offensive line. While he praised the quarterback room quite a bit in his blurb about Alabama, Rittenberg shares familiar concerns about the front five.
Rittenberg put an emphasis on veteran assistant Adrian Klemm to make up for Alabama losing talent.
"The offensive line is under the microscope after the Tide finished 123rd in rushing last fall. Veteran assistant Adrian Klemm takes over a group that returns starter Michael Carroll but will look very different, as redshirt freshman Jackson Lloyd takes over the left tackle spot for NFL first-round draft pick Kadyn Proctor, while transfers Jayvin James (Mississippi State) and Racin Delgatty (Cal Poly) enter the lineup with junior eligibility. Klemm's room is filled with non-seniors."
However, Rittenberg did explain why Alabama did not feel it had to address quarterback in the portal.
"After Ty Simpson moved on to the NFL, Alabama did not add a transfer, instead letting redshirt freshman Keelon Russell and redshirt junior Austin Mack compete for the job. Russell, the nation's No. 2 recruit in 2025, is the favorite, but Mack made a strong push early this spring. Alabama also signed SC Next 300 quarterback Jett Thomalla and has commitments from Elijah Haven, a top-10 recruit in 2027, and Trent Seaborn."
As you can see, the quarterback room, headlined by Keelon Russell and Austin Mack, has the potential to take a reconfigured Alabama team to the promised land. Conversely, Klemm will have to work diligently to see how the pieces fit up front. If both position groups come together, Alabama will be a force. If one or the other does not live up to standard, it could be a frustrating season for the offense.
The good news is the run-pass option will be part of the ground game from the quarterback position.
Kalen DeBoer cannot let the offensive line stifle promising quarterbacks
As DeBoer continues to put his stamp on the Crimson Tide, push will come to shove in a big way over on offense. For as great as the quarterback play could be with either Russell or Mack running point, Alabama cannot afford to have another down year rushing the football. The offensive line was middle of the pack, at-best, a year ago. Now, the unit that struggled last fall will have to be totally reworked.
If we were to look at this from an operations management perspective, quarterback play may be a constraint, but the offensive line is Alabama's bottleneck. An improvement to the quarterback room could improve some aspects of the team, but an improvement to the offensive line would be an improvement to the entire operation. DeBoer will need to put his focus into Klemm's unit this season.
The good news for him is he has Ryan Grubb back for another year as his offensive coordinator. Together, they did great things at Washington and made great strides last year after spending 2024 apart. In short, DeBoer can trust Grubb to get the most out of the quarterback room, well, because he has to... If DeBoer wants to take full ownership of this team, he must empower Klemm in a major way.
Read more: Paul Finebaum sees right through Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama QB smokescreen
Ultimately, DeBoer has to realize that any slight improvement to the offensive line is an improvement to the entire team, whereas improved quarterback play will only go so far. In time, the big, bad bottleneck plaguing the Alabama offense could go away, and another one will replace it. If DeBoer wants to win his way with his kind of guys, then he needs to make sure that his system runs smoothly.
For now, elephant in the room has been revealed, as the offensive line remains Alabama's bottleneck.
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