{"id":14660,"date":"2023-08-25T13:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-25T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=14660"},"modified":"2023-08-25T13:30:00","modified_gmt":"2023-08-25T18:30:00","slug":"former-qb-breaks-down-alabama-offense-ahead-of-2023-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/former-qb-breaks-down-alabama-offense-ahead-of-2023-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Former QB breaks down Alabama offense ahead of 2023 season"},"content":{"rendered":"

With eight days until the 2023 season kicks off, there are still questions around Alabama\u2019s offense. The Crimson Tide lost six starters from last year\u2019s squad, including quarterback Bryce Young<\/a><\/strong>, and the battle to replace the former Heisman Trophy winner is still ongoing.<\/p>\n

Former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy<\/a><\/strong> has been in the players\u2019 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\u2019s Saturday Night Primetime<\/em> broadcasts with Sean McDonough and Molly McGrath, and also hosts the Always College Football<\/a><\/em> podcast and McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning on WJOX-FM.<\/p>\n

BamaOnLine caught up with McElroy this week to get his thoughts on the quarterback position, new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees<\/a><\/strong> and the rest of Alabama\u2019s offense.<\/p>\n

BamaOnLine:<\/strong> What have you seen from and like about this offensive line unit?<\/p>\n

Greg McElroy:<\/strong> \u201cI just love how they\u2019re built. Obviously, they\u2019re big, and it doesn\u2019t take a football analyst to make that assessment. But I do think even though they\u2019re big, they don\u2019t give up a lot of athleticism. Sometimes if you get too big, you get a little bit lumbering, and I don\u2019t feel like they sacrificed one for the other, so that\u2019s really encouraging. I think that the offensive line group as a whole has really taken ownership, knowing that they\u2019re gonna be \u2013 whereas in recent years it\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

BOL:<\/strong> How do you think the depth at running back can help the offense this fall?<\/p>\n

McElroy:<\/strong> \u201cI think people don\u2019t know about Jam Miller<\/a><\/strong>, and they\u2019re gonna find out. That\u2019s 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\u2019s gonna be interesting to see exactly how the rotation looks. Because I think most people know Roydell (Williams)<\/a><\/strong> and Jase (McClellan)<\/a><\/strong>. I don\u2019t think a lot of people know about Jam yet, but I think they\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think running backs \u2013 I played with a couple of great ones. We\u2019ve seen some great ones come through. But the running back is only as good as the offensive line. I mean, there\u2019s only one Barry Sanders<\/strong>, who could dance his way out of a jam in a way that nobody could quite totally comprehend. It\u2019s just incredible what he was able to do in Detroit. But I haven\u2019t seen a whole lot like that. Usually, there\u2019s not a lot of running backs that are gonna create their own shot, but I do think that there\u2019s a lot of running backs that get better with opportunities. I think Derrick Henry<\/a><\/strong> had some of that. I think Trent Richardson<\/a><\/strong> had some of that. I think Mark Ingram<\/a><\/strong> had some of that, where the more touches they got, the better they got. And I think they\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

BOL:<\/strong> Do you think tight end is a position that can take a step forward this year?<\/p>\n

McElroy:<\/strong> \u201cI think (CJ) Dippre<\/a><\/strong> 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\u2019s really well-rounded, and that has me really encouraged. I also think that when I look at where Amari Niblack<\/a><\/strong> fits in, I think you could make a case that he\u2019s as tough a matchup as there is on the entire Alabama offense. Now it\u2019s about going out and doing it, but if you just survey \u2013 I know that there\u2019s 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\u2019s something worth noting. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then I just think Robbie Ouzts<\/a><\/strong> is a better pass catcher than people realize. Now, I don\u2019t see him as a guy that\u2019s gonna catch 50 passes for 60. I don\u2019t think that\u2019s 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\u2019t surprise me. I think he kind of gets typecast as a certain specific skill set, but I think he\u2019s capable of maybe a little more. So I think their tight end group is pretty good relative to where it\u2019s been in recent years at times.\u201d<\/p>\n

BOL:<\/strong> If the drops aren\u2019t an issue, what is the potential of this receiving corps?<\/p>\n

McElroy:<\/strong> \u201cFirst thing on the drops, they\u2019re not exclusive to Tuscaloosa. They\u2019re everywhere. It\u2019s like an epidemic in college football camp. I mean, SC is dealing with drops. Georgia\u2019s dealing with drops. Everybody is kind of dealing with them because drops are a concentration thing and it\u2019s been a billion degrees. Obviously, you never wanna see them, but that\u2019s not something I\u2019m gonna put a ton of stock into. I\u2019m just not, not at this point. I know how hard that position is. I know it\u2019s hard to play receiver when it\u2019s 106 outside and 125 on the field. It\u2019s hard. I don\u2019t care what anyone says. It\u2019s also hard to play quarterback, too, because your hand\u2019s sweaty and it\u2019s hard. It\u2019s just difficult. So I think it is a concentration, and I don\u2019t think it\u2019s exclusive to one place.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really don\u2019t know what the pecking order is going to be, I really don\u2019t. 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\u2019re a pretty versatile group collectively, and all the guys can do a few different things. So I\u2019m pretty excited about the versatility of the group. I really don\u2019t know \u2013 if you were to put gun to head who\u2019s gonna be the No. 1 wide receiver, I\u2019d say Jermaine Burton<\/a><\/strong>, but I can\u2019t say that with a ton of confidence, you know what I mean? I really can\u2019t. I wish I could, I just can\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they\u2019re kind of waiting for that to play itself out because they\u2019ve been rolling quarterbacks so much, I think it\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019t know exactly how it\u2019s all going to unfold, but I do think that the receiver group will be collectively improved from where they were a year ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

BOL:<\/strong> What are your overall thoughts on the guys competing at quarterback?<\/p>\n

McElroy:<\/strong> \u201cI think that a lot of it is gonna come down to just having confidence. I think they\u2019re going against a defense that\u2019s really good. I think they\u2019re going against a secondary, in particular, that\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the game slows down considerably when you actually have a game plan and you\u2019ve game planned for a specific look and you\u2019ve game planned for a specific coverage and you have a play that\u2019s 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\u2019re not scripting to win. They\u2019re scripting to evaluate really more than anything else. So I think it\u2019s gonna be a fluid situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the quarterbacks will all get an opportunity at some point or another. Whether it\u2019s against Middle Tennessee or against another team down the road, the quarterbacks will get a look. But I also don\u2019t know if there\u2019s been enough done at this point to alter the status quo. So if I were to guess \u2013 and this isn\u2019t really based on inside information, it\u2019s just based on what I anticipate \u2013 I would think that (Jalen) Milroe<\/a><\/strong> and (Ty) Simpson<\/a><\/strong> will probably both get some looks in the Middle Tennessee game. I think (Tyler) Buchner<\/a><\/strong> 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\u2019re all gonna get plenty of looks, and I think it\u2019ll go into the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Milroe will get the first crack at it, but we\u2019ve thought that. That\u2019s not really breaking news, that\u2019s to be expected. But I think it\u2019s gonna be a situation that\u2019s continually evaluated and will probably be evaluated all year long. I mean, if a guy\u2019s playing winning football then he\u2019ll stay in the game and he\u2019ll be the starter. If he\u2019s not playing winning football then they\u2019ll give way to the next guy. But that\u2019s no different than any other position. It\u2019s no different than any other team.\u201d<\/p>\n

BOL:<\/strong> What wrinkles do you expect to see from a Tommy Rees<\/a><\/strong>-led offense?<\/p>\n

McElroy:<\/strong> \u201cI think Tommy\u2019s 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 \u2013 I mean, Drew Pyne<\/a><\/strong> was fine \u2013 but he wasn\u2019t gonna be a guy that was gonna take over the game. So he kind of \u2013 I don\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd having played the position, knowing that they\u2019re in a hotly contested quarterback battle, I think it\u2019s 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\u2019s dialed in then Tommy will probably put a little more on that quarterback\u2019s shoulders. If the guy looks a little rattled, he\u2019ll probably take a little off his shoulders.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I think his philosophy is always gonna start from the inside out. I think it\u2019s gonna start from the offensive line, who\u2019s 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\u2019s the big key. He\u2019ll 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post Former QB breaks down Alabama offense ahead of 2023 season<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With eight days until the 2023 season kicks off, there are still questions around Alabama\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14660\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}