It is generally accepted that it takes big games by quarterbacks to beat top teams. Alabama Football will be considered a top team in 2025. To reach its full potential for success, the Alabama defense must address one issue from last season. The offensive schemes used by Vandy and Oklahoma caused problems for Kane Wommack's defense. Alabama did not lose to the Sooners because of defense, but Jackson Arnold rushing for 131 yards contributed to the loss.
While last season's liability must not continue, too much focus on a QB running game can stretch the Crimson Tide thin in pass coverage. Kane Wommack must find the right mix of scheme against some true dual-threat quarterbacks.
Conventional wisdom is that the SEC's best quarterbacks for 2025 are: not in ranked order, Arch Manning, DJ Lagway, Garret Nussmeier, LaNorris Sellers, and John Mateer. Alabama will not play against the first two in the regular season. Among the three that Kane Wommack's defense will have to battle is LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier, recently selected as a Second Team Preseason All-American by the AP.
Nussmeier is a Heisman contender who passed for over 4,000 yards last season. Playing in the friendly confines of Tiger Stadium last November, Nussmeier was no threat to the Alabama defense. He passed for 239 yards on 42 attempts, producing one touchdown pass and two interceptions. He made no impact running the football and finished the game with a 55.5 Quarterback Rating. There is no reason to expect that Nussmeier will suddenly become a Crimson Tide killer in Bryant-Denny this fall.
Dangerous Opposing QBs for Alabama Football
The two guys left to discuss have the potential to cause the Alabama Crimson Tide plenty of trouble. Last October, Alabama survived against South Carolina to win 27-25. It took a late interception by Domani Jackson for the Crimson Tide to hold on to the win. At that point in his college career, LaNorris Sellers was a work in progress. As a freshman, Sellers attempted only four passes. Last season, Sellers did not produce consistent numbers. He improved during the season. In a late November away game against Clemson, Sellers passed for 164 yards and ran for 166 yards. The Gamecocks won 17-14. That is the kind of performance Sellers is capable of having against Alabama in Colombia on Oct. 25.
The other most challenging threat to Alabama is Oklahoma's transfer QB, John Mateer. At Washington State last season, Mateer passed for 3,139 yards and ran for 826 yards. His touchdown pass-to-interception ratio was 29-to-7. Mateer is not learning a new offense at Oklahoma. His Offensive Coordinator, Ben Arbuckle, also made a move to Norman. Mateer is stepping up in a class against SEC defenders, but he has the skills to give the Sooners an explosive offense. OU also added transfer running back Jadyn Ott. The Sooners had bad injury luck at wide receiver last season. A healthy Deion Burks, along with Nic Anderson, should fit well with Mateer.
Manning, Nussmeier and Lagway will continue to warrant national attention, but for Alabama, the most dangerous QB threats are LaNorris Sellers and John Mateer.
Note: Player stats provided by Sports Reference and rolltide.com