The 2025 offense at Alabama is going to be everything that was expected last season when the Washington offensive staff came to Tuscaloosa with Kalen DeBoer. Things on the offensive side of the ball didn't go nearly as smoothly as most expected, and a lot of that starts with Ryan Grubb deciding to stay in Washington and be the offensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks. I don't think anyone knew how much Nick Sheridan's replacing him as the offensive coordinator may have had an effect on last year's team. Going from a TE coach to the OC is a big jump, and we saw that many times during games when no needed adjustments were made.
There is also the quarterback situation last season that has been talked about continuously. Obviously, Jalen Milroe gave the team the best option to win with speed and mobility, but his lack of improvement hurt the offense moving the ball in many key situations. Some of it seems to be on him, but at the same time, I am not sure if he was always put in the best situation to win with some of the play calling. There was a lot of frustration with both the running game as well as Milroe constantly looking for Ryan Williams.
The year prior to last season, we saw the Washington Huskies make the National Championship game and saw a prolific passing offense led by current Falcons quarterback Michael Penix. Of course, there might not be a QB in Tuscaloosa as good as Penix was during his two years in Seattle, but the likes of Ty Simpson, Keelon Russell, and Austin Mack fit more of that prototype, which may make play calling easier for Grubb and staff this year.
Some of the issues with the passing game may have been that some of the receivers in Tuscaloosa just weren't as good as they were expected to be. Not being disrespectful, but maybe Kobe Prentice or Kendrick Law just weren't those guys.
Maybe that is why we saw Milroe force the ball so much to Williams, because there wasn't much trust with Prentice, Law, and others who are no longer part of the program in 2025. Ryan Williams more than lived up to the hype during the 2024 season, and Germie Bernard became the most dependable target for Milroe last season. I am excited to see what Miami transfer Isaiah Horton brings to the offense, as well as a healthy Cole Adams and Jalen Hale.
There was a lot of frustration with the lack of running game from the actual running backs, and I think some of that has to do with Milroe's running abilities. Also, some of the lack of running falls on the offensive line, which wasn't nearly as good as expected.
The right side of the offensive line was abysmal, and many times there wasn't the needed push from the line to give the stable of RBs the opportunity to be great. There was a lot of talent last year amongst the RBs, and despite Justice Haynes transferring to Michigan, the room is as good, if not better, this year. It will be important for the offensive line to control the line of scrimmage so Grubb feels confident sticking to the run in key moments in the game. I don't think there was a confidence in the line to establish the line of scrimmage, which was the reason why Jalen was the number one option running the ball, as well as why we got away from the running game altogether at times.
I don't buy that this coaching staff doesn't want to run the ball, as we saw Dillon Johson run for over 1,100 yards, and many games got over 20 touches in DeBoer's final season at Washington. There is more than enough talent in the Alabama running back room to find the success Johnson did during the 2023 season with the likes of Jam Miller, Richard Young, Dre Washington, AK Dear, etc. There is no reason why the running game can't be successful and consistent throughout the season, but it starts with the offensive line getting after it and having pride, making this offensive line what Alabama is known for along the line through most of Nick Saban's tenure.
There was a lot of excitement from inside the program with how the offense looked during spring practice, and I am confident we will see the greatness that was lacking a good amount of last season.