Alabama football may again have the nation’s best team in 2018. Every pre-season poll (except one) has ranked the Tide at No. 1. The optimism for Alabama football is not misguided. The thought of the 2018 team not making the CFB Playoff is almost implausible.
There is a flip side to this rosy perspective. Alabama football returns only three starters on defense. A few more players started one or two games but only three defenders started six or more. In fact, the only returning ‘full-season’ starters are Isaiah Buggs with 13 starts and Anfernee Jennings with 11 starts.