Among Alabama football fans there are concerns the Crimson Tide will be vulnerably thin in the Sugar Bowl. The Crimson Tide’s 11 scholarship players already in the Transfer Portal make the Tide’s Sugar Bowl roster a maximum number of 74 scholarship players.
Injured Crimson Tide players who will not dress out for the Sugar Bowl include three more scholarship players, Demouy Kennedy, Jaylen Moody and Justin Eboigbe. That deduction takes the available count down to 71.
So far there have been no announced opt-outs for the bowl game. The new normal in college football is many players, whose teams are in non-Playoff bowl games, and who intend a move to the NFL; decide to opt-out and not risk injury. Though rare, there are even opt-outs in CFB Playoff semi-final games.
Alabama football fans, worried about the Crimson Tide’s roster numbers against Kansas State, will not be able to count on final roster numbers for several more days. Almost 1,100 players had entered the Transfer Portal as of Wednesday night. Many more, as in thousands more, will join them in the next several weeks, or during the second transfer window in May.
More than a few more Alabama Crimson Tide players are expected to choose the transfer option.
A Serious Alabama Football Problem?
Short of a position group or two having a sudden rash of injuries, 60 or so scholarship players, plus walk-ons should be sufficient for the Sugar Bowl. The upside is some talented, backup players will benefit not just from the extra bowl practices, but by being moved into the rep rotation for second and first units.
A few weeks ago, I suggested Nick Saban should sit Bryce Young after a series or two against Austin Peay. Not that Young didn’t deserve to play, but because Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson needed more meaningful game reps. Apparently, the suggestion was a bad idea because Bryce saw lots of action against the Governors.
Maybe it makes more sense now. Young coming back for another college football season is unlikely to the point of impossibility. The same is true for Will Anderson Jr. Both of them have earned the right to play in the Sugar Bowl or not.
The stature of the Alabama football program would be dinged by a loss to Kansas State. But lesser-used players, being asked to do more in the Sugar Bowl, would make for a hungry Crimson Tide squad.
If the Sugar Bowl is mostly moving on and getting an early start on the 2023 season, some position group battles can start in New Orleans. The beyond-the-Sugar Bowl numbers situation will play out over months. Don’t be surprised if Crimson Tide Portal exits reach 20 or more.
