Alabama’s offense seemed to be centered around quarterback Jalen Milroe and wide receiver Ryan Williams through the first seven games of the season. Week eight was a little different but in a good way.
In Alabama’s week eight win against Missouri, seven players caught passes and seven players had carries. In weeks prior, there seemed to be a lack of opportunities for several players in the offense. Hopefully, that is being fixed.
In order for Alabama’s offense to have sustained success, there must be an emphasis placed on getting the ball to more playmakers. Outside of Ryan Williams, wide receiver Germie Bernard has been targeted the most. He has stepped up in a big way in the last four weeks. Other than that, there has been minimal production from the supporting cast. That is mainly because they have received such ample opportunity thus far.
Several wide receivers that will need to develop an increased role in the offense are Kendrick Law, Emmanuel Henderson Jr., Caleb Odom, and Kobe Prentice. Each of them have been used sparingly and need to see more opportunities sooner rather than later. Another thing to factor in is the fact that several of Alabama’s skilled players could become upset with the lack of playing time and involvement in Alabama’s offense. As a result, they could enter the transfer portal after the season is over.
With NIL and the transfer portal constantly changing, it is important for the team to have depth and the personnel it needs to be successful year-in and year-out. As far as this season is concerned, there should not be any players that enter the transfer portal, but we have seen crazier things in the past. The lack of usage at wide receiver is a bit concerning, but there seems to be an emphasis being placed on getting more skilled players involved in the offense. That will need to be the case if the Crimson Tide want to continue to have success on the offensive side of the ball.