Alabama will enter the regular season as the defending national champions for the sixth time under coach Nick Saban, an achievement made even more remarkable by comparing to the number of seasons the Crimson Tide have entered as anything else: Without including his debut year, in 2007, the Tide have not been the defending champions only three times under Saban, in 2008, 2014 and 2019. The 2009 team won the first of three titles in four years, etching Alabama with Notre Dame (1946-47, 1949) and Nebraska (1994-95, 1997) as the only programs to do so during the modern era. The Tide would drop a combined four games from 2015-18, alternating titles in 2015 and 2017 with losses in the College Football Playoff National Championship, both times to Clemson. After a two-year hiatus from atop the Bowl Subdivision, last year’s team built a legitimate case for being ranked among the best in program history. In other words: Another national championship is an inevitability for Alabama, and maybe even sooner than you think. But there’s never been a repeat attempt as fascinating as this one. A new quarterback, new wide receivers, remade backfield and reconstructed offensive line will learn from two new high-profile coaching additions, both from the NFL. Alabama will move forward without last year’s Heisman Trophy winner. And the teammate who finished in third. And the other teammate who came in fifth. Ten returning starters may dot the depth chart, including the outline of a dominant front seven on defense, but the defining storyline of the Tide’s offseason is the distinct loss of star power — and while that’s familiar ground for a program that routinely sends players into the top rounds of the NFL draft, this reload is unmatched during the Saban era. Saturday’s spring game (1 p.m. ET, ESPN) provides the first glimpse at Alabama’s credentials. There’s no doubt the Tide will be a leading contender for the College Football Playoff and, despite these personnel losses, perhaps the No. 1 team in the preseason USA TODAY Coaches Poll. These factors will determine whether they repeat:For a five-star recruit compared favorably (if unimaginatively) to Russell Wilson, Kyler Murray and other recent college and NFL stars responsible for ushering in a newfound level of respect for quarterbacks without prototypical measurables, Bryce Young has been oddly underhyped since joining Alabama last winter. His under-the-national-radar move from backup to the Tide’s unquestioned starting quarterback can be partially attributed to Young’s recruitment: The Pasadena, California, product spent more than a year verbally committed to nearby Southern California before switching to Alabama, and West Coast prospects who commit to West Coast schools typically don’t receive the same level of attention as their peers in the Southeast.
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