Alabama Football: 3 fixes to make for the 2020 season

2. Alabama football must fix offensive identity

The Alabama offense lost some key pieces to the NFL draft. More specifically, those pieces defined what Alabama was offensively in the last three seasons. No more Tua Tagovailoa, Jerry Jeudy or Henry Ruggs III. Where does that leave the Alabama offense?

First, Nick Saban and offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian need to decide what they want to do at quarterback. Do they go with veteran Mac Jones? He’s been in the system for three years and understands what Sark and the offensive staff want to do.

He does have a ceiling, however. Five-star quarterback Bryce Young is a big-time player, but he did not have the benefit of spring ball. He’ll have a learning curve. There is a good chance he will become the starter eventually.

No matter which quarterback they go with, expect Najee Harris to get a lot of touches. His 51 carries in the last two games of the season is an indicator of what this season holds in store for Harris.

Getting Harris touches makes since. This season he is the best player on their offense and he’ll have the benefit of running behind an experienced offensive line. Harris is a capable receiver out of the backfield as well.

DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle return at receiver, but they are not as dynamic as Jeudy and Ruggs — Smith did lead the Crimson Tide in receiving yards and touchdowns last season. Most importantly, they do not have a quarterback like Tua.

Although they won’t revert to the Derrick Henry era of Alabama, they could run the ball more this season than they have in a while. They have elite pieces on offense, but not like they did last year.

They just need to figure out what it is all going to look like.