Alabama Football: 5 former players the Tide will miss most in 2019

5. Quinnen Williams

Most of this list consists of players with unproven replacements. Alabama will be fine at defensive tackle in 2019. However, this list would not be complete without Quinnen Williams.

Williams came out of nowhere last season to become one of the greatest defensive linemen in college football. He affected offenses in both the run and passing game. No one saw him turning into a superstar as a redshirt sophomore.

Because of his immediate success, Williams was drafted third overall. Going into last season, Alabama expected to hold onto him for at least another year. Now that he is gone, they will have to replace him with Stephon Wynn Jr. and freshman D.J. Dale. Both players show a ton of promise, but neither will likely be at Quinnen’s level.

I’m not sure when Alabama will get a defensive lineman as good as Quinnen Williams again. They have always had stars from Jonathan Allen to Da’Ron Payne, but Williams was on a different level. Although Alabama’s defensive line will be very good this year, fans will face the nostalgia that comes with losing a generational talent after only one season.

Alabama fans always miss former greats, but Quinnen Williams will hurt the most out of all of them.