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

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Alabama football's visit to the White House has a date. The Crimson Tide won its 17th national championship in January and, in following tradition, will travel to the White House on April 10, press secretary Sarah Sanders announced on Thursday.

Alabama won its fifth national title in nine seasons with a 26-23 overtime victory over Georgia on Jan. 8. Freshman quarterback Tua Tagovailoa orchestrated a second-half comeback and completed a 41-yard touchdown pass to receiver DeVonta Smith on 2nd and 26 to win the game.

The Tide will take a break from its spring practice schedule to travel to Washington D.C. UA will hold its ninth and 10th spring practices on April 9 and 11. Its A-Day Game is set for April 21.

This will be Alabama's first visit to the White House during Donald Trump's tenure inside the Oval Office. The team's last four trips to the nation's capital came with Barack Obama in office.

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WHO'S LEAVING?

Anthony Averett, Levi Wallace, Tony Brown

Alabama’s secondary took the biggest hit in terms of attrition this offseason. Four seniors and two juniors are no longer in Tuscaloosa -- in other words, the Tide’s entire nickel secondary -- and three of those players were cornerbacks. Averett and Wallace were UA’s left and right corners in 2017, while Brown joined the fray at Star in dime situations.

Averett started his last 28 games in a crimson helmet, providing consistency on the right side of the formation, and Wallace was one of the top stories in all of college football a season ago by completing his journey from walk-on to starter at Alabama. Brown, a former 5-star recruit, found a role on defense and was a weekly star on special teams coverage.

Minkah Fitzpatrick could also be added to the departing corners list because of his ability to play all six positions in the defensive backfield and time spent at Star in nickel last season.

A lot of experience left Alabama’s defensive back room, but a few players return that either saw the field as reserves or filled in when one of the six starters dealt with injuries last year.

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WHO'S COMING IN?

4-star Saivion Smith, 5-star Patrick Surtain Jr., 4-star Jalyn Armour-Davis, 4-star Josh Jobe, 3-star Eddie Smith

After not signing one in 2017, cornerback was a top priority for Alabama in the 2018 recruiting cycle. And Nick Saban went out and signed five of them, including the top junior college corner prospect (Saivion Smith) and the nation’s No. 1 senior (Surtain Jr.).

That duo is sure to start their careers at cornerback, and while Armour-Davis, Jobe and Smith certainly could, too, the probability of one of them moving to safety is a strong one, considering Alabama did not add a true safety to its top-10 2018 signing class.

But one year after adding zero corners, the Tide now has a plethora of young talent at the position.

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PREVIOUS OFFSEASON OUTLOOKS

Quarterback

Running back

Wide receiver

Tight end

Offensive tackle

Guard, center

Defensive Line

Outside linebacker

Inside linebacker

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WHO'S LEAVING?

Minkah Fitzpatrick, Ronnie Harrison, Hootie Jones

Throughout the 2017 regular season, Fitzpatrick, Harrison and Jones started in the Alabama secondary. Fitzpatrick, a unanimous All-American, started at safety in base, Star in nickel and Money in dime, flexing his versatility to play all six defensive back positions.

Harrison tied Rashaan Evans for the team lead with 74 tackles as a starting safety in all three defensive formations, while Jones replaced Fitzpatrick at safety in nickel and dime packages before his college career ended with a knee injury late in the Iron Bowl.

All three, especially Fitzpatrick, will be missed as veteran presences on the field and within the locker room. But some of the candidates to replace them saw meaningful snaps in 2017.

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WHO'S COMING BACK?

Redshirt juniors Deionte Thompson and Keaton Anderson, Redshirt juniors Deionte Thompson and Keaton Anderson, sophomores Xavier McKinney and Daniel Wright, redshirt freshman Kyriq McDonald

When Jones sustained a knee injury in the regular-season finale at Auburn, it was Thompson that filled in for the injured senior in the Tide’s pair of College Football Playoff games. Prior to that, he was a reserve known for hard hits and a special teams contributor.

McKinney and Wright both saw the field in their first seasons at Alabama, immediately seeing minutes on special teams. Wright quickly made a name for himself by compiling several big hits on kickoff coverage. The pair of true freshmen also worked with the first-team defense at times with McKinney at safety and Wright at Money in the Tide’s dime package.

Making the move to safety, Anderson has performed well as Alabama’s punt protector and should continue to fill that role moving forward while providing defensive back depth. McDonald was the third safety UA signed in 2017, and he redshirted a season ago.

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WHO COULD STEP UP?

Thompson is an obvious choice here. The soon-to-be redshirt junior replaced Jones after the Iron Bowl and an argument can be made that Thompson outplayed the outgoing senior. But that leaves the safety spot opposite him open for a youngster to claim.

After playing as true freshmen, both McKinney and Wright should lead the competition for the other safety spot, beginning on Day 1 of spring practice Tuesday, March 20. A possible safety trio could be Thompson and McKinney at free and strong and Wright at Money. But as we have seen in the secondary, anything can happen, including freshman starters.

Whether one of the incoming newcomers starts their career at safety or another player makes a position switch this offseason remains to be seen, however, entering spring ball.

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

Projected spring depth chart:

Kicker: Redshirt freshman Joseph Bulovas

Punter: Freshman Skyler DeLong

Kick returners: Junior running back Josh Jacobs, senior wide receiver Xavian Marks

Punt returner: Junior cornerback Trevon Diggs

Departed: Kicker Andy Pappanastos, punter JK Scott

New arrivals: DeLong

Due to arrive in the fall: Graduate transfer kicker Austin Jones.

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Alabama right tackle Matt Womack recently sustained a broken a bone in his foot, BamaOnLine has learned, and is expected to miss all of the team’s spring practices, which begin today.

The injury occurred during a workout, and he will have surgery on his injured foot this week.

Womack, a redshirt junior, earned the starting job at right tackle last season following strong spring and preseason camps and was part of an offensive line that was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award. He started all 14 of Alabama’s games, including the team’s two playoff contests.

The Hernando, Miss., native was named the SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week and Tide coaches recognized him as an offensive player of the week for his efforts against Fresno State.

With Womack’s injury, sophomore Jedrick Wills will likely work with the first-team O-line.

UA begins its spring football practice schedule today (Tuesday, March 20) at 3:30 p.m. CT. Head coach Nick Saban will address reporters following the conclusion of the first of 15 practices.

Alabama’s annual A-Day Game will take place Saturday, April 21, at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

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