The majority of Alabama’s “Rydeouts” have ridden off into the sunset.
The Crimson Tide lost its three top receivers from last year, as Jermaine Burton left for the NFL while Isaiah Bond and Amari Niblack transferred to Texas. The Tide also saw Malik Benson make way for Florida State and Ja’Corey Brooks leave for Louisville. Meanwhile, Jalen Hale suffered a season-ending knee injury in March.
In total, Alabama will need to replace 74.4% of its receiving production from an offense that ranked 70th last year, averaging 220.4 yards per game through the air. Fortunately for the Tide, it has plenty of talent to fill the void.
While Alabama doesn’t feature an established star in its receiving corps, it returns a pair of breakout candidates in juniors Kendrick Law and Kobe Prentice. The Tide also made a few key additions to the position group, snatching Washington transfer Germie Bernard from the portal while reeling in five-star freshman Ryan Williams. Junior Emmanuel Henderson and redshirt freshman Cole Adams might also be players to watch in what should be a deep unit this fall.
That collection of weapons has Jalin Milroe feeling optimistic. During a Monday morning appearance on Tide 100.9, the starting quarterback spoke glowingly of his targets heading into Alabama’s preseason camp.
"One thing I can say is we’re going to be very explosive on offense, and we have a lot of guys in that room that are very talented,” Milroe said. “And I truly believe that we have more talent this year than we did last year.”
Milroe credited the receiving corps for its camaraderie, stating that the receivers have leaned on each other and shown great communication this offseason. Much of the unit's positive momentum has been orchestrated by first-year receiver coach JaMarcus Shephard, who followed Kalen DeBoer from Washington this offseason.
“You’ve got to start with the leadership,” Milroe said. “Coach Shephard, the receivers coach. He’s awesome, very awesome. The attention to detail, pushing excellence from the guys and ultimately not accepting mediocrity is very important, and no matter your age, how long you’ve been in the program, no matter what you can be held accountable and that’s hailed from our leader in Coach Shephard.”
Heading into camp, Bernard, Law and Prentice are projected to be Alabama’s starting trio. However, Williams has generated plenty of buzz since joining the team this summer. The 17-year-old reclassified to join the Tide a year early after becoming the first repeat winner of the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s Mr. Football Award.
Last season, Williams caught 71 passes for 1,320 yards and 19 touchdowns while also rushing for 269 yards. While it might take some time for him to translate those numbers to the college level, Milroe says the five-star talent is already ahead of the curve for most incoming freshmen.
“I can say this about Ryan Williams, he’s prepared, he’s ready to go,” Milroe said. ‘He’s a guy that came in the summertime. The mentality of the guy is very important beyond anything it’s how he approaches the game. Very confident player, very fast. He is appreciated by all the guys on the team.
“We just love the constant growth from him just in this short period of time, and you’ve got to look at and acknowledge that this guy just graduated early, and this is a kid in a sense but he came in with a great mindset, very passionate. He has goals set for himself and that’s what we see from him. It’s awesome to see and be around him because he’s a special kid and he’s going to be a key resource for us this year.”
Alabama will open its preseason camp Wednesday. The Tide will hold 20 preseason practices leading up to game week for its season opener against Western Kentucky on Aug. 31.
