Alabama football doesn’t simply rebuild — it reloads. And these five players are poised to step up and break out for the Crimson Tide in 2020.
Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide are the cream of the crop when it comes to college football, even during the years they’re not considered the best overall team. This happens, in part, because they rarely beat themselves with mistakes, but more importantly, a handful of players always seem to emerge as the next group of stars. And 2020 will be no different.
Their departures from the 2019 roster have created some glaring holes — at quarterback, linebacker, and the wide receivers’ group thinning out — but it won’t take much maneuvering for Saban to find replacements. Tua Tagovailoa seemed like a once-in-a-generation quarterback for Alabama, considering all the titles they won under Saban with a “game manager.” That’s not to say the signal-callers who came before Tagovailoa weren’t good, but none were as talented nor took command of the offense like he did.
Tagovailoa was surrounded by plenty of NFL talent, too, evidenced by three of his offensive teammates attending the NFL Combine recently in Indianapolis: offensive lineman Jedrick Wills and wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III. All four could wind up being first round picks, but the cupboard isn’t bare back in Tuscaloosa.
A handful of Crimson Tide defenders joined them at the combine, but this has become a routine for Saban and his staff. They develop players and win a bunch of college games, send those players to the NFL, watch them get drafted (usually) in the first three rounds, then repeat the process. So who’s going to step up in 2020? We’ve got five Crimson Tide players primed for breakout campaigns this fall.