re: 2018-19 Roster/Depth Chart breakdowns and updates

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We're taking a look at each position group as Alabama prepares to open spring practice. The next part series looks at the receivers.

Everyone is busy talking about who'll be throwing the ball while glossing over the ones catching them. This group closed the season with momentum for the young receivers, though it's still a position that lost considerable talent and experience from 2017.

New receivers coach Josh Gattis will have a lot with which to work when practice begins this month.

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Outlook: Alabama essentially lost its entire starting lineup but replaces them with a group coming off breakout seasons. The rising sophomores of Jeudy, Ruggs and DeVonta Smith came in like a hockey second line in 2017. That helped build some chemistry on the field at the same time with Ridley, Sims and Foster moving on after last season.

Jeudy established himself as the biggest threat in this next wave. With Ridley leaving for the NFL, it appears Jeudy will be the next South Florida import to become the primary target. He does a little of it all with speed, route running and instincts.

Smith obviously created an instant legacy with the game-winning catch in the national title game. The Louisiana native also had the go-ahead score in the final minute of the comeback win at Mississippi State proving his ability to perform in the clutch.

And Ruggs had the streak of five straight catches going for touchdowns to open his career as the fastest receiver in the group.

It'll be interesting to see how quickly Waddle catches on when he arrives in the summer. The highly recruited receiver out of Texas is a natural slot receiver. Alabama's converted outside guys into the slot role in recent seasons so Waddle could be a valuable addition when August practice rolls around.

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Outlook: When Brian Daboll joined Alabama as the team's play-caller last offseason, his arrival signaled that the tight ends would wield more influence in the offense. After all, Daboll presided over that position group as an assistant with the New England Patriots.

But as it turned out, the Tide continued to channel its offense through its running backs and wide receivers. Tight ends contributed only 24 catches, 245 receiving yards and six touchdowns during the 2017 national championship season.

With Miller Forristall sidelined most of the season after tearing an anterior cruciate ligament in the team's third game, Hale Hentges and Irv Smith Jr. received the most playing time. Yet the bulk of their snaps were devoted to run-blocking.

It was yeoman's work -- the kind tight ends did all of the time before spread concepts changed the job description of the position. With Forristall, Smith and Hentges back, it will be interesting to see if their roles change now that Mike Locksley is calling plays.

Another factor that could affect how the tight ends are used in the passing game is the emergence of Tua Tagovailoa.

Compared to Jalen Hurts, Tagovailoa showed more of a propensity to deliver the ball in the middle of the field and in tight windows, which could lead to increased opportunities for Smith, Hentges and Co. After all, they play a position that requires them to navigate through heavy traffic.

Whoever wins the quarterback battle between Tagovailoa and Hurts will have the luxury of working with a tight end group that is deep, experienced and reliable.

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WHO'S LEAVING?

Bradley Bozeman, JC Hassenauer

A unanimous second-team All-American, Bozeman leaves a hole in the middle of Alabama’s offensive line. The departing center started 31 games in his time in Tuscaloosa, which ended with his teammates voting the Roanoke, Ala., native a team captain.

Also leaving town is Hassenauer, who filled in at left and right guard this past season, including in the national title game. So, position coach Brent Key will have to find new bodies to replace the veterans leaving the program. The good news for the Tide is Alabama has plenty of capable offensive linemen waiting in the wings for their opportunities at a starting spot.

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WHO COULD STEP UP?

Pierschbacher will have a place somewhere on the line. The Cedar Falls, Iowa, native has 42 career starts at left guard to his name. It’s just a matter of where he lines up on the first day of spring practice on March 20 that will impact the rest of the Alabama line.

If he’s healthy, Cotton should also assume his spot at right guard. But the Tuscaloosa native did not play in the national title game because of a knee injury. Should he still need time to recover -- UA doesn’t hurry injured players back onto the field in the spring -- then there could be a pair of new faces along the offensive line that shouldn’t experience changes on Day 1.

But players that have seen reps with the ones in the past -- Kennedy, Casher, Brown, etc. -- could be big factors and storylines this spring. With a ton of talent returning on offense, including both quarterbacks, the Tide has an opportunity to do something special on that side of the ball this fall. However, everyone knows success starts up front with the offensive line.

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We have reached the point on the calendar between the end of the college football season and the start of spring practices across the country. So, as football withdrawals reach their peak and spring ball inches ever closer, what better way to pass the time than with offseason outlooks on each position on Alabama’s roster for the 2018 season?

Today, we continue our Offseason Outlook series that highlights the state of each position group, breaking down the outgoing, returning and incoming players at each spot and attempt to predict which players will step into starting roles for the Crimson Tide this fall. Next up is the defensive line.

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WHO'S COMING BACK?

Redshirt senior Johnny Dwight, senior Isaiah Buggs, junior Raekwon Davis, redshirt sophomore Quinnen Williams, sophomore LaBryan Ray and redshirt freshman Phidarian Mathis

Davis and Buggs were mainstays along Alabama’s defensive front in 2017. In his first season in Tuscaloosa, Buggs started 13 games, while Davis put together a breakout year as a sophomore by leading the Crimson Tide in sacks with 8.5 in 14 games of action.

After redshirting in 2016, Williams saw his first action in an Alabama uniform and provided UA with quality depth. Ray and Dwight did the same at defensive end and tackle, respectively. After expecting to redshirt, Ray saw the field in six games before sustaining a broken foot. Dwight was another big body that showed he could fill a reserve role at nose tackle.

Mathis redshirted in 2017 but took strides behind the scenes as a first-year player.

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WHO COULD STEP UP?

Buggs and Davis should start at the defensive end spots, while players like Williams, Ray and Wynn provide depth behind them. As for defensive tackle, Dwight, Mathis and Barmore give Alabama a trio of options to work with following Payne’s departure.

That’s eight total defensive linemen for the 2018 season. Saban hinted at moving an outside linebacker to an end position, and clearly he would like to add another body for a round nine at the three spots. But for right now, UA enters spring ball with seven players -- Wynn enrolled early, and Barmore will arrive during the summer with the rest of the class.

It’s a thin group, but one that new position coach Craig Kuligowski will find a mixture of veterans, now-experienced youth and newcomers.

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We're taking a look at each position group as Alabama prepares to open spring practice. The sixth part of the series looks at the defensive line.

Projected spring depth chart:

Defensive end: Junior Raekwon Davis, sophomore LaBryan Ray

Nose tackle: Redshirt senior Johnny Dwight, redshirt freshman Phidarian Mathis

Defensive end: Senior Isaiah Buggs, redshirt sophomore Quinnen Williams

Departed: Da'Ron Payne, Da'Shawn Hand, Josh Frazier, Jamar King

New arrivals: Stephon Wynn.

Due to arrive in the fall: Christian Barmore.

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