Go ahead.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 doesn’t guarantee anything. But it matters.
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I also think being doubted might be one of the best things that could happen to this team. Alabama spent more than a decade being the team everyone circled.
The team everyone wanted to beat. The team everyone expected to win. Now? There are people perfectly comfortable putting Alabama behind a long list of national championship contenders.
One prominent preseason ranking recently had Alabama outside its top 10, behind Ohio State, Georgia, Texas, Indiana, Notre Dame, Oregon, Miami and Ole Miss.
Good. Let them.
Let people talk about everyone else. Let people wonder whether Alabama is still Alabama. Let people question DeBoer. Let people question the quarterbacks. Let people focus on the players who aren’t here anymore.
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Meanwhile, Alabama can go to work.
Because championships aren’t won in preseason rankings. They’re not won on social media. They’re not won by whoever receives the most hype in August. They’re won by teams that improve. That’s probably the biggest reason I believe Alabama has a legitimate chance.
The Alabama team we see in Week 1 doesn’t have to be the Alabama team we see in November. In fact, it probably won’t be. With this much young talent, Alabama’s ceiling could continue rising throughout the season.
A freshman who looks hesitant in September could be playing like a future first-round pick by November.
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A first-year starter could become a leader. An inexperienced position group could become a strength. A quarterback could take ownership of the offense. That’s development. And that’s why I’m far more interested in Alabama’s ceiling than I am in its preseason question marks.
The ceiling is enormous.
Does Alabama need things to go right? Obviously.
The offensive line has to play well. The quarterback has to settle into the job. The running game needs to be effective. Young players have to mature quickly. The defense has to create problems. Alabama has to avoid devastating injuries.
That’s football.
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But when I look at the pieces, I don’t see a rebuilding program.
I see a contender. Maybe not the preseason favorite. Maybe not the trendy pick. Maybe not the team everyone on television is ready to crown before September. A contender nonetheless. And maybe that’s exactly where Alabama needs to be right now.
There is something different about chasing instead of being chased. There is something dangerous about an Alabama team filled with talented players who keep hearing about everybody else. There is something dangerous about a coaching staff with something to prove. There is something dangerous about young players who don’t know they’re supposedly supposed to wait their turn. And there is something really dangerous about combining all of that with the kind of talent Alabama still has.
That’s why I’m excited. Not cautiously interested. Not “let’s wait and see.”
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Excited.
I want to see Austin Mack and Keelon Russell battle for the quarterback job. I want to see which young receiver explodes onto the scene. I want to see what this running back room becomes. I want to see which freshman makes us collectively say, “Oh… THAT’S why everyone was so excited about him.” I want to see what Kane Wommack does with this defense. I want to see what Ryan Grubb does with this offense. And most of all, I want to see what this football team looks like once it develops an identity of its own.
Because that’s what Alabama needs. This team doesn’t need to be Nick Saban’s Alabama.
It doesn’t need to recreate 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017 or 2020.
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This team needs to become the 2026 Alabama Crimson Tide.
Let them create their own identity. Let the quarterbacks compete. Let the young guys grow up. Let the veterans lead. Let DeBoer coach. And let’s see what happens.
Maybe Alabama doesn’t win it all. That’s possible.
There are several really good football teams capable of winning the national championship this season.
But if you’re asking me whether Alabama belongs in that conversation? Absolutely.
If you’re asking me whether this roster has enough talent to make a College Football Playoff run? Absolutely.
And if you’re asking me whether I believe Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama Crimson Tide is capable of standing on that stage at the end of the season holding the national championship trophy? I do. I really do.
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Call me optimistic. Call me a homer. Tell me Alabama is too young. Tell me there are too many questions. Tell me another program has a more experienced roster. That’s fine.
I’ve watched enough college football to know that the team everyone crowns in August isn’t always the team celebrating in January. Sometimes the most dangerous team is the one still figuring out exactly how good it can be. And I don’t think we know how good this Alabama team can be yet.
That’s the exciting part. There is talent everywhere. There is competition everywhere. There is young talent waiting for an opportunity. There are veterans ready to lead. There is a coaching staff with plenty to prove. And there is an Alabama program that, despite everything people keep saying about its demise, is still Alabama.
So write them off. Please.
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Keep talking about everyone else. Keep telling Alabama what it can’t do. Because I have a feeling this team might have a whole lot to say about that before this season is over.
I’m excited about Alabama football. I’m excited about this roster. I’m excited about the future under Kalen DeBoer.
And yes, I’ll say it before the season even begins: I think this Alabama football team is capable of winning a national championship.
Now let’s play some football.
Roll Tide.
