Alabama Football: 5 potential breakout stars for 2017

Year after year Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide don’t rebuild, they reload. Here are five Alabama football players poised for a breakout season in 2017.

In what shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that follows college football, the Alabama Crimson Tide enter the season atop the AP Top 25 preseason poll. As usual Bama lost several key players to the NFL draft.

This year the Tide have a lot of younger players stepping into roles previously filled by NFL caliber talent. It will be important for these players to adjust quickly to their new responsibilities.

Alabama has several players that are now upperclassmen who will be looked upon for leadership and game changing plays. Typically there is a drop in talent level when star players move to the next level, but Alabama is not your typical team in many regards. The drop off is not as steep with the Tide and they are robotic in their consistency year to year.

Unlike a lot of teams, Alabama didn’t schedule a cupcake for their first game. They face off against Florida State who enters the season ranked third in the country. Here are five players that are set up to have a breakout season for the Crimson Tide.