South Bound & Down
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Alabama football: evaluating 2019 replacements

By Damon Bair

SANTA CLARA, CA - JANUARY 07: Tua Tagovailoa #13 of the Alabama Crimson Tide during warm ups against the Clemson Tigers in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Levi's Stadium on January 7, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - JANUARY 07: Tua Tagovailoa #13 of the Alabama Crimson Tide during warm ups against the Clemson Tigers in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Levi's Stadium on January 7, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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TUSCALOOSA, AL – NOVEMBER 10: LaBryan Ray #89 and Raekwon Davis #99 of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts after a defensive stop against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Bryant-Denny Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
TUSCALOOSA, AL – NOVEMBER 10: LaBryan Ray #89 and Raekwon Davis #99 of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts after a defensive stop against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Bryant-Denny Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Offensive Line/Defensive Line

Offensive Line

Losing: Ross Pierschbacher, Jonah Williams, and Lester Cotton Sr.

Returning Starters: Alex Leatherwood, Jedrick Wills Jr., and Deonte Brown

Returning Back-Ups: Scott Lashley, Chris Owens, Josh Casher, Elliot Baker, and Emil Ekiyor Jr.

New Faces: Three of the top ten offensive tackles in ESPN’s 2019 recruiting class are committed to Alabama (Evan Neal and Pierce Quick and Amari Knight) along with the number three ranked center in the class (Darrian Dalcourt). Expect those four to compete for the two open positions for the Alabama football offensive line.

Defensive Line

Losing: Quinnen Williams and Isaiah Buggs

Returning: Raekwon Davis, LaBryan Ray, and Phidarian Mathis

New Faces: Alabama football’s biggest deficiency in 2018 was the depth at defensive line. The Tide is turning to eight defensive line commits (nearly a third of their 2019 recruiting class) to help fill that void. Antonio Alfano – The number one defensive tackle in ESPN’s 2019 recruiting class,  will look to fill the hole up front on the Alabama defense.

Analysis

Arguably the weakest parts of the Alabama football offense and defense, the lineman. Although the Tide defense had the top interior lineman in the country in 2018 in Quinnen Williams, the defensive front struggled with getting any pressure on the quarterback down the stretch of the season, and lacked depth at the position. Of the current 28 commits for Alabama football in 2019, eight are defensive lineman.

On the flip side, the Alabama football offensive line returns three starters. That leaves two spots available up for grabs for a returner or a true freshman looking to be the next potential Alabama offensive lineman to start three years and declare early for the NFL Draft.

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