Alabama’s week one depth chart released

Alabama Football released its depth chart for its week one matchup with Western Kentucky on Saturday afternoon, and the first one of the Kalen DeBoer era included some interesting updates.

The two-deep on offense came out almost exactly as expected. Wilkin Formby looks like he will get the week one start at right tackle, but he is still listed as an “or” with Elijah Pritchett. This indicates that he hasn’t quite pulled away from Pritchett in what was the biggest fall camp position battle on the offense. 

Jam Miller and Justice Haynes share an “or” at the running back spot, which was to be expected. Both players will be too good to keep off the field in 2024 and will split carries as a result. 

All three of Bama’s junior wideouts, Germie Bernard, Kendrick Law, and Kobe Prentice received clear starting designations. Still, the general belief is that youngsters like Ryan Williams and Cole Adams are lurking and will hawk reps from the veterans. 

The defensive depth chart was a lot more interesting. Alabama’s deep defensive line shook out as anticipated, but redshirt freshman Qua Russaw earned an “or” at the Wolf position along with vets Quandarrius Robinson and Keanu Koht.

While Russaw may have the highest ceiling in this room, it was fair to expect that it would take him some time to out-compete the two older players at the position. It appears he has made an early fall camp push and could be on the field even earlier than expected as a pass rusher and edge setter for the Tide.

True freshman Justin Okoronkwo also got an “or” alongside redshirt sophomore Jeremiah Alexander at backup inside linebacker. This may just be because Alexander is nursing an injury. If Okoronkwo has truly caught him, however, it means the German product is progressing far faster than anyone could have anticipated.

In the secondary, the true freshmen are here to play, perhaps even more than expected. After battling with transfer DaShawn Jones throughout the fall, true freshman Zabien Brown appears to have won the starting job at cornerback for the time being.

Even fellow true frosh Zay Mincey earned an “or” with Jones on the second team. This depth chart makes it seem like Jones is trending down, but don’t be surprised if Alabama needs his experience at some point this season. 

Another true freshman defensive back is making a push in Phenix City product Red Morgan. Morgan received an “or” along with redshirt junior DeVonta Smith at the Husky spot. While this was a fascinating offseason competition, the general assumption was that Smith would win the job due to his experience. Clearly, Morgan is still in the hunt and will likely get plenty of first team reps. 

On special teams, Bama’s return man rotation is equally intriguing. While Kendrick Law will handle kickoff return duties as he did much of last season, redshirt freshman Cole Adams and true freshman Jaylen Mbakwe are listed as the punt returners. Opportunities will be available for one of these young players to make an impact on special teams.

Bama has a lot of depth across the board, and it’s finally time to see this roster in action! Roll Tide!