Alabama football will have some big holes to fill next season, and members of the Crimson Tide’s 2023 recruiting class will have opportunities to help fill those slots.
The Tide could possibly lose key contributors on both sides of the football at the end of the year. Those departures will open up the door for some of Alabama’s incoming freshmen to come in and make immediate impacts. The Tide’s defense will be heavily hit by those departures.
Jordan Battle, DeMarcco Hellams, Eli Ricks, Byron Young, Justin Eboigbe, Will Anderson, Henry To’oto’o, Jaylen Moody and Brian Branch may not be in Tuscaloosa next season. Alabama’s offense will also have its fair share of departures with Byrce Young, Jahmyr Gibbs, Emil Ekiyor and Tyler Steen possibly moving on.
Alabama currently has commitments from 23 2023 prospects. Some of those pledges are projected to be in the mix to make some noise in their first year in Tuscaloosa.
Caleb Downs, Alabama’s five-star defensive back commit, is one of the nation’s top safety prospects. His ability to be a playmaker on the backend has many feeling he could come in and take advantage of Alabama possibly losing its two starting safeties in Hellams and Battle. Fellow five-star defensive back, Tony Mitchell will also look to take advantage of this opportunity alongside Brayson Hubbard.