Position Week: Analyzing Alabama WR depth chart for 2024 season
BamaOnLine will spend the next 10 weeks breaking down position groups on Alabama’s 2024 roster leading up to the start of preseason camp. We continue with the wide receiver room.
To continue WR week, we break down where things stand depth chart-wise for the Crimson Tide wideouts. Note: This is based on our projections and not Alabama’s actual depth chart.
Top contenders
Germie Bernard, Kendrick Law, Kobe Prentice
Alabama has to replace its top two receivers, the three wideouts who led the team in starts and five overall pass-catchers from last year’s squad. Meanwhile, the Tide welcomed back six players at the position and added six more, including one transfer. That transfer is Bernard, who followed Kalen DeBoer and JaMarcus Shephard from Washington to Alabama and has a shot to be the Tide’s No. 1 receiver. In 2023, Bernard was UW’s No. 4 receiver but still caught 34 passes for 419 yards and two touchdowns – more than any UA returner.
“He’s just been a guy that has been waiting for his opportunity,” said DeBoer of Bernard on Tuesday evening. “He played a significant role on our team last year at Washington, and he’s ready for this moment. He had a great spring. He loves everything about the process, all the work that it takes to put into it to get to where you wanna be. He’s got big goals. It’s been really cool seeing him mesh, fit in with not just the receiving corps but the rest of the team.”
Outside of Bernard, the Tide welcomed back six receivers from last season’s team, and three of those players ended up among the top 10 in receiving within the 2023 offense. Two of them are Law and Prentice, who played in 13 games apiece. Prentice was fourth on the team in receiving yards, while Law was a do-it-all player for Alabama’s offense. That duo should once again be involved in the offensive game plan with what are likely to be increased roles. It is easy to say in mid-May that Bernard, Law and Prentice will be UA’s starting trio.
Dark horse candidates
Emmanuel Henderson, Cole Adams, Jaren Hamilton, Caleb Odom, Ryan Williams
Behind the top trio, Alabama doesn’t have much experience at the receiver position. Henderson is the next-oldest player, but his 2023 campaign was affected by injury, which saw him play only as a reserve. Meanwhile, Adams and Hamilton appeared in two games apiece as freshmen a year ago. But all of them have a prime opportunity for increased roles this fall. We caught a glimpse of Henderson and Adams’ potential in the spring game, where the duo combined for six receptions and 67 yards. Henderson and Hamilton also spent last week working with Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson in Tampa (more on that on BOL soon).
Henderson seems like a prime candidate to see more playing time, but there aren’t that many other experienced options beyond Bernard, Law and Prentice. Which is why a pair of freshmen are mentioned in this section. Odom made the move from tight end to wide receiver after he generated some buzz during bowl prep and gives Alabama a big body at the position. Williams was the highest-rated signee in the Tide’s 2024 recruiting class, even after reclassifying from the 2025 cycle. Some of the other newcomers could be included later, but Odom and Williams look like the most likely freshmen to push their older teammates.
Cinderella stories
Jalen Hale, Bubba Hampton, Amari Jefferson, Rico Scott
Hale suffered a significant knee injury during spring practice, which could sideline him for the full 2024 season – although DeBoer sounded optimistic that the sophomore might be able to play in the postseason should the Tide reach the 12-team College Football Playoff. Were it not for the setback, Hale would have been mentioned earlier in this Position Week feature. He played in 13 of Alabama’s games last year and finished seventh in receiving yards (148) on only five catches. The second-year player looked to be on his way to carving out a larger role prior to the injury, which left him in a bulky brace and using a walker on A-Day.
The other three players included in this section are all true freshmen, but they could all move up with strong summers and preseason camps. Hampton went through spring practice and earned praise from Nick Saban for being “kind of a dog” before the latter’s retirement. Jefferson and Scott were both On300 recruits but have simply not gone through a college practice yet. They are expected to come in and compete once they arrive on campus and are players the new coaches are excited about. But given the experience of some of the guys ahead of them, they could begin their careers on special teams and/or providing depth.
More Position Week articles
Four offseason questions for Alabama wide receivers
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