There are many impact players that got Alabama football its ninth 11-win season in a row. There are also those that have underperformed.
This season hasn’t lived up to the high expectations for the Alabama Crimson Tide and their fans. They finished the season with an 11-2 record and a huge 35-16 win over the Michigan Wolverines in the 2020 Citrus Bowl. They were, however, hoping for the College Football Playoff chase.
Amid the highs and lows of the season, many players performed well and even outperformed expectations. There were also a few players that did not play as big as their role would indicate.
Here are studs that made an impact on Alabama’s 11-win season and some duds that will be remarked for their lack of sufficient production.
Stud: Devonta Smith, WR
The Tide were expecting to have a high-power passing offense with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa loaded with talented receivers. The biggest surprise was which receiver was going to be the biggest contributor. Devonta led the Tide’s third-ranked passing offense in receiving yards (1,256) and touchdowns (14) on 68 receptions (second-most on the team).
His huge spike in production with the Tide’s offense is due to Smith playing the outside receiver and Jerry Jeudy switching as the slot receiver. This allowed Smith to be comfortable with the Tide’s offense as a deep receiver and for Jeudy to be a short-ranged to the mid-range receiver. His best performance when he accounted for 11 receptions for 274 yards and five touchdowns in the 59-31 win over the Ole Miss Rebels.
Smith has a big choice ahead of him entering the offseason. He can either leave early for the 2020 NFL Draft or return for his senior year as the No. 1 receiver again. This productive season has given multiple first rounds outlooks in the late first round.