RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Write Alabama off.
Seriously.
Talk about what the Crimson Tide lost. Talk about the youth. Talk about the quarterback battle. Talk about the players who left for the NFL. Talk about the transfer portal. Talk about how difficult the SEC is going to be. Talk about Georgia, Ohio State, Texas, Oregon and every other team receiving more preseason hype.
I’ve heard it. I’ve read it. And quite frankly, I’m tired of hearing about all the reasons Alabama supposedly can’t win a national championship. Because I think this Alabama football team is capable of doing exactly that.
Am I guaranteeing Alabama will win the national championship? Of course not.
College football doesn’t work that way. Too many things have to go right. You have to stay healthy. You have to survive an SEC schedule. You have to win close games. You have to develop throughout the season. And in the expanded College Football Playoff era, you have to survive an even longer road to a championship.
But there is a massive difference between saying Alabama will win the national championship and saying Alabama has a roster capable of winning one.
And I absolutely believe Alabama does. Maybe I’m more optimistic than some people. Fine.
I’m excited about this football team. Really excited.
Yes, Alabama is going to be young in some important places. There are going to be players asked to take on significantly larger roles. There will probably be some growing pains. There will probably be moments early in the season when young players look like exactly what they are: young players. But somewhere along the way, college football fans started treating youth like it automatically means a lack of talent.
Have you looked at the young talent Alabama has accumulated? This isn't a roster filled with players Alabama settled for. This is Alabama.
The Crimson Tide roster is still filled with elite recruits, blue-chip prospects and players who could eventually be playing on Sundays. Alabama's official 2026 roster reflects a combination of veteran players and a huge collection of young talent that Kalen DeBoer and his staff now have an opportunity to develop.
And young talent eventually becomes experienced talent. Sometimes it happens faster than people expect. That is one of the things that makes this team so intriguing to me. There are going to be guys we aren't talking about enough right now who become household names by November.
There always are. And Alabama isn't starting completely over, either.
That's another part of this conversation that gets lost.
When people discuss Alabama's youth, sometimes they make it sound like Kalen DeBoer is walking into the season with 22 freshmen starting.
He isn't.
There are experienced players returning. There are players who have been inside this program, understand the expectations and know what SEC football looks like. There are players who have been through difficult games and difficult moments. And maybe most importantly, there are players who have been in DeBoer's system.
That matters.
Look at the quarterback competition alone.
Austin Mack is entering his fourth year in this offensive system. Keelon Russell is entering his second. DeBoer himself has talked about how dramatically both quarterbacks have grown in their understanding of the offense, defensive structures and how to attack them.
People look at Alabama and see a quarterback question. I look at Alabama and see two extremely talented quarterbacks competing for one job.
That's not a weakness. That's a luxury. One of them is going to win the job because he earned it. And whoever doesn't win it gives Alabama something incredibly valuable in modern college football: legitimate quarterback depth.
The same thing applies throughout this roster.
Daniel Hill is back in a talented running back room that also includes AK Dear, Kevin Riley and an exciting group of younger players. Alabama has Ryan Coleman-Williams at receiver alongside a mixture of veteran and young talent.
There are questions. Absolutely. But find me a team in college football that doesn't have questions in August.
They all do.
Some teams just have their questions discussed differently.
When Alabama has uncertainty, it becomes a national storyline. When another program has uncertainty, we're told about its potential.
Well, Alabama has potential too. A ridiculous amount of it. And I think people are forgetting something else about Kalen DeBoer. The man can coach football.
I know that shouldn't be a controversial statement, but apparently it has become one in some corners of the Alabama fan base. DeBoer has spent his entire tenure in Tuscaloosa being compared to the greatest college football coach of all time.
That's an impossible standard.
Nick Saban didn't simply win at Alabama. He created expectations that completely changed the way people view this program. Eventually, winning 11 games wasn't impressive. Winning the SEC wasn't surprising. Making the College Football Playoff was expected.
National championships became the measuring stick. And now every Alabama team is judged against the absolute best teams of the greatest dynasty college football has ever seen.
That's not particularly fair. But here's the funny thing. I think this Alabama team might be good enough to make some serious noise anyway.
One of the reasons I'm so excited is because this is beginning to feel more and more like DeBoer's Alabama.
His players. His system. His staff. His culture.
Ryan Grubb is running the offense. Kane Wommack is running the defense. Bryan Ellis is working with the quarterbacks. DeBoer has had time to recruit players who fit what he wants to do and develop players already inside the program.
There should be more continuity. There should be more comfort. There should be more understanding of what is expected. And there should be more ownership from the players.
That do...
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