It took a touchdown throw on fourth-and-2 and a forced fumble on the final drive of the game, but Alabama is heading to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game and a rematch with Georgia. However, the Crimson Tide will likely be doing it without two of their most important veteran pieces on offense.
Starting tight end Josh Cuevas was out for the Iron Bowl and to start the week, Kalen Deboer clarified that he likely won’t be returning on Saturday. Jam Miller’s status is less certain, but there’s a real chance he is sidelined as well with an injury he suffered midway through the Iron Bowl.
Those losses will have a major impact on the rematch with the Bulldogs, whom Alabama beat in Athens back in Week 5. But that impact won’t be confined to just pass-catching or running the ball; it’ll be felt in an area that Kirby Smart will do everything possible to exploit.
With Josh Cuevas and Jam Miller out, Alabama’s pass protection could suffer
Though the transition from Nick Saban to Kalen DeBoer allowed some talent out the door, the cupboard is also going to be stocked in Tuscaloosa. Maybe that’s not the case at running back, because Alabama has struggled to get juice out of that position all year long, but those run game struggles appear to be multifaceted. Still, at running back and tight end, Alabama can give the snaps to former highly-rated recruits and young, talented players ready to prove themselves.
At tight end, 2025 four-star Kaleb Edwards has made the most of his opportunities, and at running back, Daniel Hill, Kevin Riley, and AK Dear have all battled for snaps this season. Both position groups will get their chance to shine, but it may not come with eye-popping numbers.
For a team that throws the ball as much as Alabama does with Ty Simpson, pass protection is vital. That’s not just the offensive line, either. Simpson has as much autonomy at the line of scrimmage to change the play and change protections as anyone in the sport, and those pass protection checks often include running backs and tight ends.
In the Iron Bowl, for as well as Miller ran the ball, he allowed two quarterback pressures on his eight pass blocking snaps, as Simpson was pressured on 40 percent of his dropbacks. Those aren’t massive shoes to fill, and Daniel Hill fared better, allowing one pressure on seven pass blocking snaps, but for the season, Miller, an experienced senior, has been the primary pass protector.
Without a run game to counter it, teams have been blitzing Alabama at a high clip all season. Auburn did, and in Week 5, Georgia did too. Though for Kirby Smart, that wasn’t an Alabama thing, it’s how his team has been forced to play all season with an underwhelming group of pass rushers.
High blitz-rate defenses force the offense to keep additional bodies in to protect. So, how Hill and Edwards hold up on those snaps will go a long way to determining the outcome in Atlanta.