Ready or not, it's time to flip the page from Alabama's embarrassing road performance in a two-touchdown loss to Florida State last season. The season pushes on, whether you want it to or not, and the Crimson Tide has a game this weekend.
Alabama will open its 2025 home schedule with UL Monroe coming to Tuscaloosa. It's a get-right game for the Tide ahead of more power four competition coming to Bryant-Denny a week from now.
UL Monroe should allow Alabama to work the kinks out before it gets a test against Wisconsin next week.
Predicting X-Factors for a game with a 37+ point spread seems a bit silly. Alabama shouldn't need "X-Factors" to handle its business this weekend. But I still want to highlight a few under-the-radar players who I think can make a significant impact this weekend and beyond.
3 players who could be X-Factors for Alabama this weekend against UL Monroe
S Zay Mincey
Sophomore safety Zay Mincey got on the field for 15 defensive snaps against Florida State. I'd expect that to be a lot more this weekend. Why? Because Mincey was listed on the depth chart as the backup to Bray Hubbard, whose effort was so consistently poor against the Seminoles that there's no way he should start this week.
In fact, there should be open competition for his spot immediately. The guy most likely to benefit, and perhaps take the job for good, is Mincey. The sophomore came to Alabama as a corner, but moved to safety late in the year in 2024. He started the ReliaQuest Bowl in place of an injured Malachi Moore and played well.
Reports from the offseason have been positive for Mincey, and he's a guy who would start for a lot of programs. Alabama just had talented and experienced players back in Keon Sabb and Bray Hubbard at safety. But with Hubbard's issues last week, this could be a major opportunity for Mincey.
RB Kevin Riley
Alabama's ground game didn't produce much that was noteworthy against Florida State, but a dominant opening drive points to the potential for a whole lot more.
After Alabama carried the ball 12 times for 55 yards as part of a 16-play opening drive that resulted in a touchdown, the Tide only ran the football 17 times for 32 yards the rest of the game.
Perhaps more surprisingly, the most effective RB was a guy who wasn't even listed on the depth chart ahead of the game. Redshirt freshman Kevin Riley produced the only carry by a RB that went for longer than seven yards. He ran the ball five times for 31 yards, showing wiggle and potential explosive play ability that has been missed.
Starting RB Jam Miller is expected to be sidelined until Alabama travels to Athens to face Georgia on September 27th. In that time, the Crimson Tide needs a difference maker in the backfield to emerge. That player might just be Riley.
WR Lotzeir Brooks
With Ryan Williams in concussion protocol, it's not yet known if the sophomore WR will be able to play on Saturday. The smart money is on Alabama holding him out - even if he's cleared in time for the game. If that happens, don't be surprised to see a bigger role for freshman Lotzeir Brooks.
One of the most interesting observations from Saturday's snap counts is that after Williams, Germie Bernard, Isaiah Horton, and Rico Scott, the receiver who played the most snaps was the freshman Brooks, and not Jalen Hale or Cole Adams.
Brooks had a terrific spring and was trending toward playing time this year. He suffered an injury during fall camp, which slowed his chances of moving up the depth chart. But it's clear after one game how much the coaching staff likes him.
Whether or not Williams plays, I would expect Brooks to get an even longer look this week against UL Monroe. He has a chance to be a game-breaker for an Alabama offense that needs to hit some explosive plays.