Alabama Football: Bold predictions for 2023 College Football season

Alabama football will begin its season in just a few months with a home game against Middle Tennessee. While Crimson Tide fans are excited about the return of college football, they anxiously await answers regarding a few pressing questions.

There is an ongoing, three-man quarterback competition and new offensive and defensive coordinators. How will this shape the 2023 Crimson Tide season?

While we here at Roll Tide don’t have access to the mind of head coach Nick Saban, we are able to make a few bold predictions as to what will happen this season.

Here’s what our staff boldly predicts will take place.

Stacey Blackwood projects the Crimson Tide bounces back after a one-point win in last year’s meeting between these two teams. Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers got injured early in the 2022 contest in Austin, Texas, and many believe the game would have gone in Texas’ favor had he been able to return. This time around, the game takes place in Tuscaloosa. It’ll be Week 2 and there’s a good chance the Tide will still be trying to find its footing. Blackwood believes Alabama will be able to get the job done and do so convincingly.

Brody Smoot believes true freshman safety Caleb Downs becomes the third Alabama player in history to win the Jim Thorpe Award, which recognizes the top defensive back in college football. The only other Crimson Tide players to win the award were Minkah Fitzpatrick in 2017 and Antonio Langham in 1993. Downs was a five-star prospect and the top-ranked safety in the country for the 2023 recruiting class.

Sam Murphy is a big fan of incoming running back, Justice Haynes. He is certainly a player to watch for Alabama in the 2023 season. The true freshman running back appears poised to earn a significant role in the Crimson Tide backfield. Senior Jase McClellan is expected to be the lead back with fellow senior Roydell Williams also projected to see playing time. It will come down to opportunity for Haynes. he certainly has the talent to make headlines and receive recognition, but will he see the field enough to outshine other freshmen in the SEC to earn the title of Freshman of the Year is the question.

A bold prediction of my own is that we see a similar situation to the 2018 quarterback competition between Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa. In that season, the battle between the two extended beyond the offseason and went into the start of the regular season. The three-man race between Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson and Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner is too close to call at the moment and I don’t see this ending anytime soon. This could impact some of the challenging games early in the schedule, like the matchups against Texas and Ole Miss.

Blackwood, like Smoot, is excited to see what true freshman safety Caleb Downs can do. In 2022, Mississippi State’s Emmanuel Forbes led the SEC in interceptions with six. For Alabama last season, Brian Branch had the most interceptions with only two.

Smoot’s bold prediction is a tall order for the Crimson Tide defense. Alabama finished the 2022 season with the No. 13 ranked defense in college football. The Tide parted ways with former defensive coordinator Pete Golding, who is now with Ole Miss in the same position. Nick Saban brought in an old friend and former Alabama defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, who brings with him years of experience. The talent on defense for the Crimson Tide runs deep and could definitely lead to an impressive season. Leading the country, however, will be no easy task.

Murphy believes incoming four-star prospect Malik Benson shines and receives national recognition. Alabama’s receiving corps is an area of concern heading into 2023. It lacks the star power Crimson Tide fans are used to, but Benson could change that. The Biletnikoff Award is given to the best pass-catcher in college football. If he earns it, Benson would be the fourth Alabama player to receive such recognition, the other three being Amari Cooper in 2014, Jerry Jeudy in 2018 and DeVonta Smith in 2020.

My final bold prediction is that the 31-year-old Tommy Rees won’t need any time to adjust as the new offensive coordinator of the Crimson Tide. Rees spent a few seasons as the Notre Dame quarterbacks coach and offensive play caller. Joining the Crimson Tide at a pivotal moment where there’s no clear starting quarterback and a questionable receiving unit, calls for Rees to step up his game and have a clear plan in place before the season gets underway. While many might expect him to take a few weeks to get settled in, I believe Rees knows what’s expected of him.