Former QB breaks down Alabama offense ahead of 2023 season

With eight days until the 2023 season kicks off, there are still questions around Alabama’s offense. The Crimson Tide lost six starters from last year’s squad, including quarterback Bryce Young, and the battle to replace the former Heisman Trophy winner is still ongoing.

Former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy has been in the players’ shoes before, taking over the starting job in 2009 and leading the Tide to a national championship that season. McElroy is now an ESPN analyst, one that will be part of the network’s Saturday Night Primetime broadcasts with Sean McDonough and Molly McGrath, and also hosts the Always College Football podcast and McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning on WJOX-FM.

BamaOnLine caught up with McElroy this week to get his thoughts on the quarterback position, new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and the rest of Alabama’s offense.

BamaOnLine: What have you seen from and like about this offensive line unit?

Greg McElroy: “I just love how they’re built. Obviously, they’re big, and it doesn’t take a football analyst to make that assessment. But I do think even though they’re big, they don’t give up a lot of athleticism. Sometimes if you get too big, you get a little bit lumbering, and I don’t feel like they sacrificed one for the other, so that’s really encouraging. I think that the offensive line group as a whole has really taken ownership, knowing that they’re gonna be – whereas in recent years it’s been the running back position or the wide receivers or the quarterback or whatever the circumstances may be. But the offensive line, I think, is really going to be featured, and I think that they have really embraced that challenge that has been issued throughout the offseason.”

BOL: How do you think the depth at running back can help the offense this fall?

McElroy: “I think people don’t know about Jam Miller, and they’re gonna find out. That’s one thing. And I think the other backs are also excellent. I think they have three really, really, really good backs that would start at most places. I think it’s gonna be interesting to see exactly how the rotation looks. Because I think most people know Roydell (Williams) and Jase (McClellan). I don’t think a lot of people know about Jam yet, but I think they’re gonna find out pretty quickly that he can do a lot of different things and can be really, really for them. So really optimistic about what he might add to the position group as a whole.

“I think running backs – I played with a couple of great ones. We’ve seen some great ones come through. But the running back is only as good as the offensive line. I mean, there’s only one Barry Sanders, who could dance his way out of a jam in a way that nobody could quite totally comprehend. It’s just incredible what he was able to do in Detroit. But I haven’t seen a whole lot like that. Usually, there’s not a lot of running backs that are gonna create their own shot, but I do think that there’s a lot of running backs that get better with opportunities. I think Derrick Henry had some of that. I think Trent Richardson had some of that. I think Mark Ingram had some of that, where the more touches they got, the better they got. And I think they’re gonna be given a lot of opportunities to kind of get hot throughout the game plan and ultimately make a huge impact on the outcome of every game.”

BOL: Do you think tight end is a position that can take a step forward this year?

McElroy: “I think (CJ) Dippre is a pro. He practices well. I think he understands he came to Alabama for business reasons. The guy came here to be a well-rounded, versatile tight end option, and that is obviously massive. So real optimistic about what he might be. I just think he’s really well-rounded, and that has me really encouraged. I also think that when I look at where Amari Niblack fits in, I think you could make a case that he’s as tough a matchup as there is on the entire Alabama offense. Now it’s about going out and doing it, but if you just survey – I know that there’s good wide receivers and I know they feel good about that group collectively, but which guy is the toughest cover? I mean, of all the weapons, Niblack might be the guy. So that’s something worth noting.

“And then I just think Robbie Ouzts is a better pass catcher than people realize. Now, I don’t see him as a guy that’s gonna catch 50 passes for 60. I don’t think that’s likely. But I think he can get you 20 catches for 350 off play action. I could see him being a bit of a factor there. I could see him being used as kind of a tendency breaker in the red zone, like that wouldn’t surprise me. I think he kind of gets typecast as a certain specific skill set, but I think he’s capable of maybe a little more. So I think their tight end group is pretty good relative to where it’s been in recent years at times.”

BOL: If the drops aren’t an issue, what is the potential of this receiving corps?

McElroy: “First thing on the drops, they’re not exclusive to Tuscaloosa. They’re everywhere. It’s like an epidemic in college football camp. I mean, SC is dealing with drops. Georgia’s dealing with drops. Everybody is kind of dealing with them because drops are a concentration thing and it’s been a billion degrees. Obviously, you never wanna see them, but that’s not something I’m gonna put a ton of stock into. I’m just not, not at this point. I know how hard that position is. I know it’s hard to play receiver when it’s 106 outside and 125 on the field. It’s hard. I don’t care what anyone says. It’s also hard to play quarterback, too, because your hand’s sweaty and it’s hard. It’s just difficult. So I think it is a concentration, and I don’t think it’s exclusive to one place.

“I really don’t know what the pecking order is going to be, I really don’t. I think they all are capable. I think they all have a little different skill set. Some guys may be a little faster than others, maybe some guy is a little better in the slot than the others. But I think they’re a pretty versatile group collectively, and all the guys can do a few different things. So I’m pretty excited about the versatility of the group. I really don’t know – if you were to put gun to head who’s gonna be the No. 1 wide receiver, I’d say Jermaine Burton, but I can’t say that with a ton of confidence, you know what I mean? I really can’t. I wish I could, I just can’t.

“I think they’re kind of waiting for that to play itself out because they’ve been rolling quarterbacks so much, I think it’s hard to develop chemistry. You have a bunch of different guys that have different velocities and different touch on the ball and different rotations. I think it’s been hard for maybe the receivers a little bit to develop some type of continuity with whatever guy is gonna ultimately end up starting at quarterback and playing at quarterback. And by the way, they might continue to rotate quarterbacks, too, right? You don’t know exactly how it’s all going to unfold, but I do think that the receiver group will be collectively improved from where they were a year ago.”

BOL: What are your overall thoughts on the guys competing at quarterback?

McElroy: “I think that a lot of it is gonna come down to just having confidence. I think they’re going against a defense that’s really good. I think they’re going against a secondary, in particular, that’s really good. And so much about playing quarterback is just about being confident in your own skill set and believing in yourself that you can make any throw, regardless of what’s asked of you, knowing that you can go through the progressions. The only way you can really do that is by playing. I remember when I was starting for the first time, not that it was easy when you stepped onto the field as a starting quarterback, because the first half of my first game against Virginia Tech was really one that I would like to forget in many ways.

“But the game slows down considerably when you actually have a game plan and you’ve game planned for a specific look and you’ve game planned for a specific coverage and you have a play that’s built to beat that coverage on that down and distance on that part of the field. So I just remember the game actually being a little easier than the practices were. And I remember getting a lot of confidence those first few weeks of the season just because I was playing against coverages that we had practiced to beat, whereas in camp, they’re not scripting to win. They’re scripting to evaluate really more than anything else. So I think it’s gonna be a fluid situation.

“I think the quarterbacks will all get an opportunity at some point or another. Whether it’s against Middle Tennessee or against another team down the road, the quarterbacks will get a look. But I also don’t know if there’s been enough done at this point to alter the status quo. So if I were to guess – and this isn’t really based on inside information, it’s just based on what I anticipate – I would think that (Jalen) Milroe and (Ty) Simpson will probably both get some looks in the Middle Tennessee game. I think (Tyler) Buchner could get some looks in that game. Obviously, the score in the game situationally, that will make a difference, as well. But I think they’re all gonna get plenty of looks, and I think it’ll go into the season.

“I think Milroe will get the first crack at it, but we’ve thought that. That’s not really breaking news, that’s to be expected. But I think it’s gonna be a situation that’s continually evaluated and will probably be evaluated all year long. I mean, if a guy’s playing winning football then he’ll stay in the game and he’ll be the starter. If he’s not playing winning football then they’ll give way to the next guy. But that’s no different than any other position. It’s no different than any other team.”

BOL: What wrinkles do you expect to see from a Tommy Rees-led offense?

McElroy: “I think Tommy’s really creative. I think at Notre Dame, he played to his strengths. He had a really good offensive line. He had a powerful running back. And last year, not that their quarterback was a liability by any stretch – I mean, Drew Pyne was fine – but he wasn’t gonna be a guy that was gonna take over the game. So he kind of – I don’t know wanna say coached around him but maybe a little bit. But I think Tommy does a really good job of assessing strengths and weaknesses.

“And having played the position, knowing that they’re in a hotly contested quarterback battle, I think it’s gonna be helpful to have an OC that played the position and that can relate and has been in those shoes and understands what that guy is going through. And if the guy has the look one day where he’s dialed in then Tommy will probably put a little more on that quarterback’s shoulders. If the guy looks a little rattled, he’ll probably take a little off his shoulders.

“So I think his philosophy is always gonna start from the inside out. I think it’s gonna start from the offensive line, who’s gonna be featured. The run game is gonna be featured. Try to give the quarterback the most manageable situations as humanly possible, not have a lot of negative plays on first and second down and then try to keep it third and reasonable on a down-in, down-out basis. I think that’s the big key. He’ll take his shots, for sure. But I think most of what he does is gonna be try to absolutely maul you and hopefully catch the secondary napping and get some good looks at one-on-ones down the field.”

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