Iron Bowl to test the depth of Alabama football

Alabama football was very fortunate to avoid the threat of injury for much of the 2024 season. For most of the year, Bama was one of the healthier teams in the SEC.

However, as the long college football season drags on, the Tide has certainly lost some key pieces. On an individual level, none have been as pivotal as the season-ending injuries to Tua Tagovailoa in 2019 or the knee injuries to Jameson Williams and John Metchie in 2021.

Still, the cumulative effect of these losses will place additional strain on the Crimson Tide, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.

Last week’s injury to inside linebacker and defensive signal caller Deontae Lawson may have been the most serious injury Alabama has suffered to date. One of the most experienced players on the unit, Lawson is second on the team with 76 tackles and 7.0 tackles for loss.

Fellow teammate Justin Jefferson will look to fill the void by joining Jihaad Campbell in the middle of the Bama defense. Jefferson is more than physically capable, but must prove he can replace Lawson’s leadership and communication skills.

This could also limit Kane Wommack’s ability to utilize Campbell, the most versatile chess piece on the entire Alabama defense. Campbell has gotten a lot of edge snaps this season, especially after the injury to Quandarrius Robinson.

Maybe the Tide can still move Campbell against Auburn, but it would likely have to provide a reserve in the form of linebacker Jeremiah Alexander or an even younger and less experienced player.

The injuries to these two veteran linebackers are really hurting Alabama’s front-7 rotations and limiting the Tide’s versatility on defense. Unproven players will need to step up if Bama wants to have a good defensive performance against Auburn.

In addition to Lawson and Robinson, safety Keon Sabb is out for the season. Luckily for the Tide, sophomore Bray Hubbard has already taken over and filled Sabb’s role admirably. Hubbard was a revelation on the back end of the Alabama defense and also relieved some of the stress that came with the loss of Malachi Moore before the start of the 2025 season.

On the offensive side of the ball, Alabama’s injuries were largely limited to the receiver room. Jalen Hale has been out since the spring, while slot receiver Cole Adams has been out since early November.

Bama’s top receivers, freshman Ryan Williams and junior Germie Bernard, made it through the season unscathed. The Tide has been looking for additional pass catchers to step up all year and hasn’t come up with much.

While the running backs and tight ends have done a good job of getting involved in the passing game, Alabama’s wide receiver room hasn’t produced much at all outside of Williams and Bernard. Veterans Kobe Prentice, Kendrick Law and Emmanuel Henderson will need to deliver reliable performances in the Iron Bowl.

Nearly every college football roster is depleted to some degree at this point in the season. In theory, Alabama should have as much depth as anyone in the country. It will take some big performances from its reserves to finish the year strongly.