Cover1Key

Help me understand the “no defense” perspective. I do not understand it. The defense allowed just 296ypg while playing a 15 game schedule vs 8 ranked opponents including UGA twice and OU twice plus 16-0 National Champs Indiana.

The only team to surrender fewer yards in the SEC was OU. That’s the fewest yards allowed since 2019 by a Bama defense.

Last year, they finished #9 in scoring defense nationally. The defense carried this team to a 7-1 SEC record and a trip to Atlanta. I don’t know what people expect. Last year was the fewest points allowed per game (17.9) by Bama since the 2017 defense.

Also, look how deficient the talent level was beginning in 2024. They replaced the entire Secondary. Is all of this based solely off the Indiana game?

What about forcing the 4th most turnovers in the country while allowing 17.9ppg in 2024 with only ONE NFL Draft pick in the first 4 rounds? Then proceeded to finish 2nd in the conference in total defense in 2025???

Bama has lost exactly TWICE under CKD when the offense produced 21 points:
Vandy 40-35 i(2024)
OU 23-21 (2015)

Bama has allowed 30 points just 4 times in the 27 games in CKD’s tenure so far. That is while playing the cumulative #4 SOS during that time frame. For context, from 2020-2021, Bama allowed 40 points 5 times.

I don’t know what people expect. If I had known Bama would finish #9 in the country in scoring defense while forcing the 4th most turnovers in 2024, then surrender the second fewest yards in the SEC in 2025, then I would’ve
been ecstatic.
Especially considering the weakest roster Bama has had since 2007 that was in need of a total rebuild. Also while transitioning to a brand new scheme while being under an offensive-minded HC.


Bama’s defense has surrender fewer points and (slightly) less yards than Georgia (plus 7 more takeaways) over the past two seasons. How come Georgia’s defense is viewed as dominant yet Bama’s is perceived so poorly by their own fanbase despite out-performing them (and also beating them 2 out of 3 times they have played).

This coming season will be the best group CKW has fielded.. They need to finish top 10 in both scoring defense
and total defense in the same season (top 5 in takeaways again would be nice too), to get the respect t they deserve from fans imo. .I think they will do it.

Spot on.

If you look at the roster CKD inherited in 2024, it’s astonishing that the talent level had fallen so far. There was ZERO 1st/2nd round talent on the roster outside on Booker and Proctor.

Specifically, the skill positions were in shambles…a 17 year old Ryan Williams and transfer Bernard were the best they had at WR (both brought in by CKD).
CNS always had multiple NFL caliber RB’s on the roster, but all that was left was Jam and Haynes. TE was also a transfer (Cuevas). Most of all, the run of Tua/Mac/Bryce had come to an end to say the least….

Same defensively, not a single difference-maker in the Front-6 (7). Jihad Cambell was the only NFL talent out of all the DL, Edge and LB position groups.
Players like Justin Jefferson, Lawson (unfortunately bc of the knee injury) and having to bring in a transfers (Hill-Green) to play significant roles would’ve been unthinkable from 2008-2023.

The Secondary was in shambles as well after losing talents like Terrion Arnold, Mckinstry, both Safeties and then of course Downs transferred. They had to play Freshman Z Brown and D Jackson as 1st year players at both CB positions. Same at both Safety positions.

It’s amazing the defense finished #9 in scoring defense in 2024 with that group imo.

NIL/Portal effects. along with his age (to a lesser degree imo) led to this situation and decline under CNS. He was never going to allow himself to be held hostage by his own players and potential future recruits.

CKD has done a very impressive job bringing NFL caliber talent into the program. Most everyone (rival and Bama fans alike) expected a significant further decline in recruiting under CKD.

Now, two years later, the QB room is stocked with Russell/Mack/Thomalia and a CNS (prime years) caliber RB in Crowell, and Dear has a lot of potential as well.
The WR position could be one of the better groups around between Brooks/Meadows/Morgan and then potentially adding Sale and Sabb this year.
He has rebuilt the future core of the OL as well with Michael Carroll, Waldrep, Jackson Lyod, Sanders, Doughty, Cooley and it looks like they are making LT a top priority in this class (Hiller).
Having to start players like Pritchett, Formby, Dewberry, anc Geno Vandermark would have been unfathomable at any point under CNS. He always had 2-3 NFL caliber talents on the OL year after year.

Also, the defensive talents like Dijon Lee, Jordan Edmonds, Jireh Edwards, Xavier Griffin, Justin Hill, London Simmons, etc are the type of players the roster use to possess year in and year out up until 2024.

Looking back on it in hindsight, I don’t think even Bama fans realized CKD was inheriting a roster in 2024 that required a total overhaul/rebuild and the talent level had taken a complete nose-dive despite the media assuming CKD was inheriting a CNS roster on par with those of the past.

How do you know who the starter is going to be for “every major contender in 2026”?

If you do, then I certainly salute you for doing that much homework.

Also, wouldn’t it be too early to tell for a majority of programs , being that Spring practice is months away?

You included the Semifinals earlier in this thread. I responded by inquiring if you considered Trinidad Chambliss starting one season at (Div-2) Ferris State as having starting experience. You replied that “yes” you did.

Imo, it’s absurd to believe a QB with starting experience at lower levels
(D-2/D-3/Juco/NAIA), is more advantageous compared to a kid who learns the offense and matures in the system as an underclassman at an elite FBS program.

I fail to comprehend your (emphatic) belief/certainty that any program with a first year starter at QB will never win a Title. The fact that you are basing such a blanket statement based solely off the results of the past TWO seasons alone is premature to say the least imo

I also fail to comprehend how having to win 1 additional Playoff game (with a Bye) compared to the former 4-team Playoff format (which also took place during the NIL/Portal Era) is such a Herculean task compared to just three seasons ago.

I think you would have a difficult time trying to convince anyone that follows football that even Trevor Lawrence/Deshaun Watson/Cam Newton/ Tebow/ Bryce Young type talents stand no chance of doing what Will Howard was capable of bc of this new era that’s been around for all of 2 seasons.

There is no possible way that you can honestly believe that Ohio State would have failed to win it all last year if Trevor Lawrence had been their QB (as a first year starter) instead of Will Howard.

Do you truly honestly believe that?

Again, I’m not trying to disparage you, and I hope it doesn’t come across that way….Im generally intrigued that you are able to draw such certainties from just two seasons of data to draw from.

This is a follow-up question to your response concerning Trinidad Chambliss …..and if that same standard would apply to Alabama:
- If Mack had spent a season as a starting QB at the Division-2, Juco or NAIA level (same as Chambliss did at Ferris State), as opposed to choosing to spend his first season at Washington….would that be sufficient to qualify for your pre-requisite amount of experience necessary to lead Alabama to the Semi-finals?

Also, how are you defining “1st year starter”?
I ask, bc Chambliss (QB-Ole Miss) was a brand new starter/1st year starter for Ole Miss, a semi-final round team.

So, are you considering his time at Division-2 school Ferris State to sufficiently call him a “returning starter”?

If so, I assure (I coached at the D-2 level) that ANY type of consistent practice reps/scrimmage/Team periods in practice vs an SEC defense will prepare any player exponentially more-so than playing D-2 football.

Again, I personally believe (not meant to criticize you), that drawing hardline conclusions from just 2 seasons into this new Playoff format is premature.

Also, as stated earlier, we could use these same 2 seasons to “prove” that no SEC team will ever win (or play) for a National Championship ever again.

I appreciate the kind words.

I wish it were possible for discussions here to not (inevitably) devolve into pettiness and personal criticisms of others due to contrasting viewpoints.

I’ve coached football for a living at upper levels for my entire life, but I would never think to disparage an individual simply bc their opinions concerning aspects of Alabama football were different than that of my own. It’s just a bad environment for me mentally, and not how I like to enjoy talking ball.

I believe they are going to close this thread (I appreciate it very much) and I can go back to strictly being a lurker again.

However, I did want put this out there as my final thoughts on CKD and direction of the program through my eyes…

In hindsight, I do not think fans ever fully appreciated just how poor the 2024 Bama roster was that CKD inherited his first season at Alabama.

Looking back on it, CKD was entering into a major rebuild when he took this job, which was far from the perspective the media and fans had of the situation imo.

The 2023 team was absolutely loaded with 1st rounders all over the defense (5 total (and also future 1st rounders in Downs and Trey Amos).

Recruiting had been declining drastically in multiple position groups, especially along both LOS, skill players and at LB.

Take a look at what CKD truly inherited, despite the media and rival fans claiming he “inherited a “Ferrari”….

QB: Milroe:
- worst starting QB of the CNS era imo. He cost the 2023 team a berth in the National Championship, and in 2024, he cost Bama a trip to Atlanta in CKD’s first season as well as the Playoffs).
Far cry from the Tua/Mac/BY days to say the least.

RB:
Jam Miller/Haynes…easily the weakest RB duo in almost two decades (only to be surpassed a year later by the 2025 duo).
Far cry from the “Saban RB Rooms” that made finding guys like Josh Jacobs playing time difficult.

WR:
Washington’s #4 leading WR from the year prior that transferred in, and a 17 year old RW were the top targets ….
Far cry from the Ruggs/Waddle/Jeudy/Devonte Smith, Jamo/Metchie WR rooms


OLine:
Proctor and Booker were their only two NFL talents in that entire group, and Proctor was still a baby at that stage.

DL:
Keenan and Overton were the only two with a shot at being drafted by
Day 2 (highly unlikely) in the NFL Draft in the entire position group.

Beaman and Faga were the only signees here in CNS’s final class (as another example of the how far the talent had collapsed compared to what has been the standard and norm since CNS arrived at Alabama.



LB:
- Lawson and Cambell were a solid duo but with zero depth behind either. Obviously losing Lawson to a major knee injury during the season was crippling.
Again, the lack of recruiting and failure to no longer bring in the caliber of LB’s they did from 2008-2021 was vey apparent.

DB:
Freshman Z Brown and transfer D Jackson were both 1st year players having to try and replace two 1st rounders in McKinstry and Arnold from the year prior. With Caleb Downs’ departure, as well as another future 1st rounder Trey Amos, the Safety position was just as bleak

It’s both remarkable and depressing to look up the Bama rosters from 2018-2022, and compare them to the 2024 edition.


The fact that if Milroe had not done everything humanly possible to give away the UT game in Knoxville (should’ve had the game put away at halftime), and as a result, Bama would’ve been in Atlanta for the SECCG in BOTH of CKD’s first two seasons as well as the Playoffs.

For the defense to finish top-10 nationally with that roster (especially after where they were at the conclusion of the Vandy game) is nothing short of a minor miracle…..that entire defense was brand new in every facet (players/coachess/scheme), yet surrendered just (17.8 ppg), which was the fewest points Bama allowed since the 2017 defense, while also forcing the 5th most turnovers on the country.

I believe that when you inspect the 2024 roster in hindsight (and even this year to a slightly lesser extent), I think it becomes apparent that CKD was actually entering into a rebuild as opposed to the perception the media had of Bama’s roster talent heading into 2024.

I believe the talent level is just now starting to get back to where it needs to be to compete for championships. If the defense and Russell are what I suspect them to be then many fans here (apparently) will be in for a pleasant surprise.

Either way, by the end of next season, the roster will be at its highest level since the 2021 season, which is right around the time NIL began eating away at the roster. CKD and especially Courtney Morgan deserve a lot of credit for building it back.

This is why I only lurked here for several years even as a coach at lower levels (Division 2) before returning to HS to coach my son, bc I knew any eval like I made for X Griffin would be hammered for sunshine pumping and delusion despite doing it for a living (D-1AA was the highest level I served as a position coach), but the recruiting eval process is the same at all levels.

I knew posting here was against my better judgement. I’ve offered my insights from the two guys still in the building (off field/“shadow staffers”) and tried to explain the evolution of the defense, specifically the reason for the change in recruiting philosophy on the DLine and the reason for CKW evolving to a 3-4 Under Front and getting away from his 4-2-5 (Even/Over) that he was willing (and able) to evolve.

I thoroughly believe we will see the best version of CKD this upcoming season, but I knew I went out on a limb with my K. Russell eval/comp, but you are f***ing wrong on X. Griffin.
The guy is as good as any LB I’ve seen (full game film) in the past 5 recruiting cycles. Time will tell which of us was “delusional”. Rant over.
I’m out.

Who have I discussed beyond X. Griffin and K. Russell?

I stand by my assessment of both. Also, evaluators comp’d them to Jihad Cambell and Jayden Daniels, so they must have also lost their mental faculties as well I assume?

How is it so far off-base that I’m bordering on “delusional” for thinking Griffin is good enough to rank amongst the top10 LBs of the CNS Era when his time at the capstone is over?

What if I had made these same remarks about Bryce Young heading into his Sophomore season and CJ Mosely as a 1st year starter?

Would that have “bordered on delusion”?

I know he will be 18 when the season begins