As the old saying goes, blink and you’ll miss it. Just as suddenly as Kalen DeBoer took over the reins of the Alabama football program from the retired Nick Saban, DeBoer’s first season as head coach was in the books.

The 2024 campaign had its ups and downs, but the team finished short of where it wanted to be and ended up finishing 9-4, with a ReliaQuest Bowl loss to Michigan closing the book on a season with plenty of moments but also its share of setbacks.

Spring practice for the 2025 season officially begins Monday. It will, in keeping with tradition, culminate with the A-Day event on April 12, which itself will be modified from previous iterations. Like any new season, the upcoming fall slate will have its antecedent questions, some of which can be found below.

Life in the post-Jalen Milroe era will be a reality for this season’s team. Milroe decided after last season to enter the NFL Draft, leaving behind a quarterback competition which will play out throughout the remainder of this offseason and determine who helps lead the offense from here forward.

There are three primary candidates: Ty Simpson, Austin Mack and true freshman Keelon Russell. This group has plenty in the way of talent. What it lacks is experience. Of these three players, Simpson has the most, including the infamous 2023 game against USF where he relieved Tyler Buchner. Mack, who followed DeBoer from Washington, played in one game last season as a redshirt freshman and threw a touchdown pass.

Russell could be seen as a wild card. A blue-chip prospect in every sense of the word, the former five-star recruit has all the potential in the world. Where his chances to be the starter are concerned, the question lies in whether he can beat out not one, but two college players who have put in time on this stage.

DeBoer (an offensive-minded coach) made an offseason splash when he reunited with Ryan Grubb, whom he was with at Fresno State and Washington before the latter abruptly decided to join the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks weeks into DeBoer’s Alabama tenure. Grubb will now be the Crimson Tide offensive coordinator.

It was a longer road to get there than perhaps many expected, but there is a lot at play here. The offensive line, for starters, must replace Tyler Booker. The backfield lost Justice Haynes to the transfer portal. Also present is that quarterback battle and how Grubb’s return will impact it.

A number of further items can additionally be impacted. For example, who will complement Ryan Williams and Germie Bernard at the wide receiver position? To an extent, certain things also go back to the above query as well as Grubb, whose hiring is pivotal to the direction of the offense.

The Alabama defense got a big jolt with the return of linebacker Deontae Lawson, who was injured in the Oklahoma game and missed the remainder of the season. His talent matters, but the Crimson Tide will also not have linebacker Jihaad Campbell, who also moved on to the NFL Draft, and the program lost one of its most experienced players on either side of the ball in defensive back Malachi Moore to the same.

The linebacking corps did add Colorado transfer Nikhai Hill-Green, a former second-team member of the All-Big 12 team. That is one direction Alabama can look in regard to potential difference-makers on defense.

Lawson is the lone returning captain from last fall. He’ll be a leader on this year’s squad. Defensive back Keon Sabb, who was hurt against Tennessee last October (and missed every game thereafter) is another massive returner. Brayson Hubbard more than acquitted himself in Sabb’s stead, emerging as an instrumental player down the stretch. The defensive backfield should be in good shape, and the line is bolstered by returners like James Smith and LT Overton.

On the whole, the defense in 2024 was a positive. Defensive coordinator Kane Wommack, hired away from South Alabama (where he had been the head coach), implemented a new ‘Swarm’ system, and with a year adjusting to that now under its belt, the unit is in a position to be one that affects games in a major way.