The long offseason is drawing to a close, and Alabama will hit the practice field next week to start fall camp and the preparations for Kalen DeBoer's third season in Tuscaloosa.
For the first time in a long time, the Crimson Tide is flying under the radar heading into the season. They've almost been an afterthought in the SEC Championship and College Football Playoff discussions this offseason.
Alabama was picked to finish sixth in the SEC by the media at last week's SEC Media Days, which should be added motivation for a "prove it" season from DeBoer and his team.
As fall camp gets rolling, the coaching staff will be sorting through numerous position battles. Let's take a look at each one with some thoughts on where things stand and how they might ultimately play out.
The key position battles to watch for Alabama in fall camp
Quarterback
We'll start with the obvious one. All eyes will be on Austin Mack and Keelon Russell as both jockey for position in the QB battle. Mack entered the offseason as the slight favorite due to his edge in experience and the fact that he was the QB who came off the bench for the Crimson Tide in the Rose Bowl to replace an injured Ty Simpson. But Keelon Russell's eye-opening spring, culminating in a lights-out showing during the A-Day scrimmage, made him the favorite, at least publicly.
Privately, DeBoer has been a lot more mum about the battle. He hasn't given a clear edge to either signal-caller, and it feels completely wide open as practice gets ready to ramp back up. Alabama fans have made it pretty clear that they prefer Russell - so has Nick Saban - but the coaching staff does not appear anywhere close to being ready to name a starter.
Running Back
Daniel Hill will almost certainly open the season as the starter, but the competition for carries behind the rising junior running back is wide open. Alabama has two other returning runners from last season in junior Kevin Riley and sophomore AK Dear, and they'll be looking to hold off talented freshmen EJ Crowell and Trae'shawn Brown.
There's also App State transfer Khalifa Keith, but he figures to be on the roster purely for depth. At some point, and it might take some time into the season, most expect Crowell to break through and seize control of the room.
WR3
Ryan Coleman Williams and Lotzeir Brooks are going to be starters this season. But that No. 3 spot in the pecking order is up for grabs at the moment, in large part due to the injury NC State transfer Noah Rogers suffered in the A-Day scrimmage. DeBoer mentioned that he was ahead of schedule, but he's still expected to miss the start of the season.
Junior Rico Scott has the edge in experience, but he's felt like a bit of an afterthought and hasn't generated the same level of buzz as sophomore Derek Meadows or freshman Cederian Morgan. Meadows and Morgan are big-bodied receivers who will certainly have a role on the team, and I think the WR3 spot will come down to one of them while Rogers is on the mend.
Offensive Line
More so than even the quarterback battle, the offensive line may represent Alabama's most important position battles in fall camp. It certainly appears on the surface that three or even four starters are already spoken for, but that's subject to change when practice picks back up.
Michael Carroll is locked in for sure at either RG or RT. Jackson Lloyd appears to have the left tackle spot on lock, too. Cal Poly transfer Racin Delgatty has seemed like the obvious guy at center since he stepped on campus. And then the coaching staff is clearly high on junior Will Sanders, who was submitted for preseason All-SEC consideration at SEC Media Days.
That could mean that there's only one legitimate battle left, and that's on the right side. Mississippi State transfer Jayvin James is the favorite at right tackle, but if he's not getting the job done, that could open the door for Alabama to kick Carroll back to tackle and then insert either Ole Miss transfer Ethan Fields or Texas transfer Nick Brooks into the starting spot at RG.
Rising sophomore Mal Waldrep is a wildcard at RG, too. He's a player the coaching staff really likes.
Defensive Line
Ultimately, who starts on the defensive line doesn't matter. There will be plenty of snaps to go around, and Alabama has more quality depth up front, at least on paper, than they've had for several years. There are quite a few guys who will be competing to be part of the rotation.
Alabama added three experienced transfers in USC's Devan Thompkins, Oregon's Terrance Green, and Mississippi State's Kedrick Bingley-Jones. They also return London Simmons, who was a revelation as a freshman a year ago. Then there's the return of Jeremiah Beaman, who tore his ACL and missed all of last season after positioning himself as a key contributor.
Guys like Edric Hill, Steve Bolo Mboumoua, Fatutoa Henry, and Isaia Faga are all fighting for spots in the rotation, and that's before you get to a talented freshman class that includes Nolan Wilson and Jamarion Matthews.
Linebacker
Virginia Tech transfer Caleb Woodson has one of the starting spots at LB locked up, but there's a lot of competition for the other spot. Rising junior QB Reese figures to be the favorite, and he's earned praise from his current teammates as well as legendary Tide LB Reuben Foster this offseason.
Junior Cayden Jones and sophomore Luke Metz will be competing, too, and 5-star freshman Xavier Griffin could be a factor as well, as he splits time on and off-ball.
There's also the possibility of Bray Hubbard sliding down to LB in some packages as well in order to get talented sophomore Ivan Taylor onto the field on the backend.
Kicker and Punter
Alabama has to be better on special teams in 2026. There's competition at both kicker and punter that will be one of the more underrated storylines of fall camp.
At kicker, senior Conor Talty is back after an up-and-down season as the Crimson Tide's starter last year. DeBoer brought in competition by adding Marshall transfer Lorcan Quinn to the room to push Talty.
At punter, Alabama has sophomore Alex Asparuhov trying to hold off North Alabama transfer Adam Watford. The Tide ranked among the worst in the SEC a season ago in NET punting average.
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