23 for '23: What is Alabama's weakness heading into the season?

When it comes to projecting Alabama’s success this fall, it’s anyone’s guess. There’s still plenty to figure out before the Crimson Tide opens its season against Middle Tennessee State on Sept. 2 inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. To help pass the time until then, TideIllustrated’s Tony Tsoukalas and James Benedetto will delve into 23 questions concerning the 2023 season.

After discussing Alabama’s strengths on Thursday, we continue the series by predicting what the Tide’s biggest weaknesses will be this fall.

Despite growing fears that Alabama’s dynasty is in its dying days, the Crimson Tide will still enter the coming season as a national title contender. According to Caesars Sportsbook, the Tide has the second-best title odds at +550, trailing only two-time defending champion Georgia at +220.

Alabama loses its best players on both sides of the ball in Bryce Young and Will Anderson Jr. but should still have a roster capable of going toe-to-toe with any team in the nation. That is if it can iron out a few key positions this fall.

There’s an adage in football that if you have two quarterbacks, you really have none. What about teams that have three? Or in Alabama’s case, how about five?

Alabama’s quarterback room is cramped as the Crimson Tide is currently carrying five scholarship passers. Redshirt sophomore Jalen Milroe and redshirt freshman Ty Simpson return to the unit, while Alabama added Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner following spring camp. The Tide also welcomed in a pair of true freshmen in Eli Holstein and Dylan Lonergan over the winter.

That’s a lot of mouths to feed this fall as Nick Saban and first-year offensive coordinator Tommy Rees look to name Young’s successor behind center.

“I think we’ll have to get well-organized in terms of how we distribute the reps,” Saban said during an appearance at his charity golf tournament in Vestavia Hills, Alabama on Tuesday. “But it’s good to have competition on your team, and hopefully, competition will make everybody better.”

While Alabama won’t have to worry about its depth behind center, the quarterback position will continue to be a concern until one of the passers separates himself from the pack.

Milroe, Simpson and Buchner all have the talent to lead the Tide’s offense — especially with the weapons they’ll have at their disposal. However, each of the three starting candidates comes with a potentially fatal flaw.

Milroe needs to improve his consistency as a passer, while Simpson still hasn’t proved he can perform on the biggest stage. Meanwhile, Buchner’s six touchdowns compared to eight interceptions over 13 career games leave major concerns about his decision-making behind center.

Alabama is hopeful one of those three will figure things out this fall. Who knows, maybe they all do, and this becomes one of the Tide’s biggest strengths. However, at the moment, uncertainty at the quarterback position is the only thing I can see getting in the way of a playoff run.

While all eyes will be trained on the battle for Alabama's offensive signal-caller, the Tide's most glaring weakness is its lack of a defensive leader at inside linebacker. The Crimson Tide will need to replace two starters, Henry To’oTo’o and Jaylen Moody, who had a combined eight years of college football experience. While Moody finally got his chance to start after three seasons on special teams, To’oTo’o was a bonafide starter at Tennessee and Alabama. In his two-year tenure, the Sacramento, California native tallied more than 200 total tackles along with 16 stops for loss while manning the team’s Mike linebacker duties.

Alabama brings back Deontae Lawson, who started in four games when Moody went down with an injury last season. However, outside of the redshirt sophomore, the unit doesn't return much experience. Junior Kendrick Blackshire, sophomore Jihaad Campbell and redshirt freshman Shawn Murphy have all shown promise but are extremely unproven regarding game reps.

With the unit’s inexperience, Alabama brought in Georgia transfer Trezmen Marshall and junior college transfer Justin Jefferson. While the duo has played in a combined 44 games, both will need time to adjust to a new defensive playbook and all of the wrinkles that go with a Saban defense.

There’s no question Alabama has plenty of talent at the inside linebacker position, but the lack of experience doesn’t bode well for a synchronized unit.