5 questions that will determine Alabama football’s fate in 2025

Alabama football is optimistic about the 2025 football season, and there are definitely legit reasons why it should be.

On the other hand, there are still some things for the Tide to be concerned about with uncertainty surrounding multiple important factors. There are obvious places where Alabama is unproven, and this is where it is easy to find reasons to be concerned.

Here is a look five questions that will determine Alabama football’s fate in 2025:

Will Ty Simpson prove he was worth the wait?

Ty Simpon has been named the Crimson Tide’s starting quarterback. The former five-star has gracefully waited for his opportunity and went out and earned the job when he got his shot. Simpson has shown command of the offense and protected the football while making plays inside and outside of the pocket throughout fall camp. Will this momentum carry over to the football season?

Alabama does not need Simpson to be an elite quarterback. If he can protect the football, distribute it to his weapons outside at wide receiver and be great in game-deciding moments, the Crimson Tide should be National Championship contenders.

Can the Tide’s defense be as good as projected?

Alabama football’s defense returns experience and production to all three levels. This is a unit that continued to get better as the 2024 football season progressed under their defensive coordinator Kane Wommack. If this unit lives up to the hype it has garnered during the offseason, they should be one of the best in college football. A great defense continues to be a welcome asset as offenses continue to be very explosive.

Who replaces production Jam Miller was expected to have early in the season?

Jam Miller will be sidelined for an undetermined amount of time after going down with an upper-body injury during Alabama’s latest scrimmage.

Daniel Hill, Dre Washington and Richard Young were competing for carries behind Miller before he got injured. This trio is expected to fill in for Miller while he is sidelined. Them being productive as a unit would definitely take some of the pressure off of Ty Simpson during his first few games as a starting quarterback.

Will Conor Talty be a reliable kicker in first season as starter?

Talty is expected to make his first start as the Crimson Tide’s kicker after handling all kickoff duties during the 2024 season.

Kalen DeBoer shared Talty has missed some kicks in Bryant-Denny Stadium during scrimmages in fall camp, while he has been more reliable in practices.

“Just keep getting work in the stadium,” DeBoer said about what Talty needs to keep doing to improve. “He missed a couple today, so from a field goal standpoint, the ones further out, probably 38 to 44, somewhere in there. Between a couple of those, so, got to keep getting him to work. I wasn’t disappointed that he didn’t hit them all because he’s done a nice job in our practices, and we’ve been working that every day with him being new and that whole unit being new. So, we got to keep working.”

Talty told reporters he feels confident during the Crimson Tide’s media day.

Alabama fans know all too well what comes with uncertainty at the kicker position. While Graham Nicholson did not get many opportunities to make kicks in 2024, this is likely not be the case in the upcoming season.

Can Kalen DeBoer get Tide to show up every week?

Alabama football was inconsistent last season and honestly failed to show up in its losses to Vanderbilt and Oklahoma.

This is something DeBoer knows the Crimson Tide can not do this fall. They must be up and ready to go every game if they want to compete for a championship. This initiative has prompted DeBoer to put an emphasis on moments during fall camp.

“DeBoer had a meeting with us, I think, two days ago, about moments, and it was those little things that you don’t think matter throughout the game, you look back in the fourth quarter, you’re down by two, by three. You down by seven, whatever, and it’s those little moments that add up,” Alabama cornerback, Domani Jackson told reporters at Alabama’s Media Day. “And that’s one thing we took into consideration this offseason. We have to do every little thing right, and if one person messes up, that’s a touchdown or that’s a fumble.”