Alabama football fans are not accustomed to any component of the Crimson Tide’s football machine needing a rebuild. Since 2009, the recruiting wizardry of Nick Saban has allowed the team to reload in the offseason. That is not true for the 2018 Alabama football secondary.
Saban’s defensive plans in recent seasons rely more on nickel and dime defenses than the base 3-4. The sets require five or six secondary players. As a result, the dime defense includes six ‘starters’ that last season were Minkah Fitzpatrick, Anthony Averett, Levi Wallace, Ronnie Harrison, Tony Brown and Hootie Jones. None of them return for 2018.