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Brett McMurphy explains why he ranks Alabama No. 3 in preseason
Expect the Crimson Tide to take a step back in 2019, national analyst Brett McMurphy says.
247sports.com
If Nick Saban is looking for any motivational serum this offseason he can use as motivation for spring practice following Alabama's loss to Clemson in the national championship game, it looks like he may have found it.
College football analyst Brett McMurphy is the only media member nationally who doesn't believe Alabama is the nation's first or second-best team entering the 2019 season. He recently penned the Crimson Tide No. 3 behind Clemson and Georgia, a hot take that has generated major heat and needing an explanation.
Alabama returns the bulk of its talent off an offense that shattered several program records last season, anchored by Heisman finalist Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback.
"Look, I’m not predicting Alabama goes 7-5 or 6-6, I just feel they’ve had a number of key losses and eventually I think it’s going to catch up with Alabama,” McMurphy said in a recent interview for Stadium. “They lost seven players that left early for the NFL Draft, a program-high. They’ll have 11 at the NFL Combine, more than anybody in the country. As far as the coaching staff, Nick Saban has to replace seven assistant coaches. Last year, he had to replace six assistant coaches. This will be the third consecutive year Alabama has to replace its offensive and defensive coordinator.
"And their last two games on the field against Oklahoma and Clemson, they allowed more than 30 points. That’s the first time since 2013 Alabama allowed more than 30 pints in two consecutive games. It think Alabama is going to regress slightly, again, it’s not like they’re falling out of my Top 10 or Top 15, but I do think Clemson is clearly a better team and I think Georgia has a stronger team coming back. They know how close they came to beating Alabama the last two years. I give Georgia the slight edge over Alabama for the No. 2 spot."
Since when has personnel losses defensively been noticeably detrimental to Alabama's title hopes the following season? The standard for success in college football, Saban has posted four consecutive seasons of at least 13 victories and has finished outside of the Top 4 only once in the past eight years.
And still, there's outspoken doubters every spring when it comes to projecting where the Crimson Tide may fall at the end of the upcoming season. Less than two weeks shy of clinching 2019's national recruiting crown with America's top-ranked class, any depth questions Alabama heading into spring practice should be solved by the time the Crimson Tide open the season vs. Duke in Atlanta six months from now.
The defensive line will undergo major changes after the exit of Quinnen Williams and Isaiah Buggs and the departures of Mack Wilson and Deionte Thompson in the back seven has raised eyebrows on who may step up in those spots. But if this program has proven anything under Saban's watch it is the ability to absorb personnel changes and still compete at a dominant level.
Alabama will be hungry to avenge its disappointing finish and placing the Crimson Tide at No. 3 in a preseason ranking is awfully bold given this team's track record of success.
