Alabama Roster Rankings: Isaiah Horton gives Tide's wide receiver room the best trio of starters since the Rydeouts

Alabama starts fall camp on Wednesday, and the focus has already shifted towards the season opener against Florida State on Aug. 30. So, we continue on with our summer roster rankings where we take a look at almost every player individually.

The only ones who won't be included in the rankings are those three summer enrollees (Chuck McDonald, Kaleb Edwards and London Simmons) and freshman punter Alex Asparuhov, who was out the entire spring due to injury. That brings the total number to 78 players while the first rankings included just 59 players (freshmen and JUCO weren't included).

Previous roster rankings: Nos. 74-78, Nos. 70-73, Nos. 66-69; Nos. 62-65; Nos. 58-61; Nos. 54-57; Nos. 50-53; Nos. 46-49; Nos. 42-45; Nos. 38-41; Nos. 34-37; Nos. 30-33; Nos. 26-29; Nos. 22-25; Nos. 18-21

No. 17 - RB Jam Miller

Previous ranking: No. 11 (-6)

Miller's trending towards being Alabama's top running back for a second consecutive season. Last year, he split time with Justice Haynes, who's now transferred to Michigan, but guys such as Richard Young, Daniel Hill and possibly Dre'lyn Washington could still to cut into his workload.

If you can believe it, Alabama hasn't fielded a 1,000-yard rusher since Brian Robinson Jr. went for 1,343 yards in 2021. I don't see that changing in 2025 either, as this feels more like a committee approach with Miller leading an intriguing, but unproven stable of runners.

The good news is the run game will mostly be funneled through more of a traditional lens with the running backs rather than having a volume runner at the quarterback position like Jalen Milroe. Hopefully, that development will allow Miller and company to get into more of a rhythm on game days.

Miller hasn't been very successful between the tackles, but he's a good outside runner who can be effective in the passing game, whether that be as a receiver out of the backfield or in pass protection. Expect a steady performance from the rising senior with a chance for a little more.

Projected role in 2025: Starting RB

No. 16 - WR Isaiah Horton

Previous ranking: No. 17 (+1)

Nikhai Hill-Green was Alabama's highest-rated addition from the transfer portal, but Horton might've been the most important. Why? Because he brings an element to the offense that was previously lacking in Kalen DeBoer's first season. Of course, that element is size with experience.

Yes, Caleb Odom was on last year's roster as a 6-foot-5, 227-pound pass-catcher, but he was only a true freshman with no experience coming in. In other words, he just wasn't ready to assume any sort of significant role despite getting 145 snaps because Alabama was desperate for size at the position.

Fast forward to this year, and not only has Alabama added future size to the room in Derek Meadows (a 2025 freshman) and current five-star commitment Cederian Morgan (a 2026 freshman), but it also added Horton, a 6-4, 209-pound redshirt junior who transferred in from Miami.

In three seasons for the Hurricanes, he played 835 snaps with six starts, 101 targets, 71 catches, 797 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Obviously, a huge chunk of that came in 2024 with Horton acting as Miami's third or fourth receiver, depending on how you look at it. He has the ability to win contested catches downfield, but he brings even more to the table, especially over the middle of the field on in-breaking routes.

Alabama's wide receiver room is deep. Like, really deep. But the top is where it starts with Ryan Williams, Germie Bernard and Horton. I wouldn't be surprised if those three gave the Crimson Tide its best trio of starters since the Rydeouts from 2017-19. Not saying they'll be as good as that group, but in 2021, they only had two game-breakers in Jameson Williams and John Metchie III.

Projected role in 2025: Starting X-WR

No. 15 - LB Deontae Lawson

Previous ranking: No. 20 (+5)

Back in the pre-spring roster rankings, I had Lawson ranked at No. 20, mostly because I wasn't sure of his status for 2025. Now that we know he's planning to participate in fall camp and could be available for Week 1, I decided to move him up five spots. If we were guaranteed previous form, he'd easily be in the top 10 and maybe even the top 5.

Lawson was one of the best off-ball linebackers in college football prior to his injury. And considering Alabama also had Jihaad Campbell, the argument could be made that Bama fielded the ILB best duo in the country. Not only is he talented, he's also the field general of the defense.

He's got a great football IQ. Sure, there are limitations to his size and range, especially after dropping substantial weight (239 to 228). And you do see him have the occasional issue with run fits, but overall, he's exactly what you want in a linebacker who's willing to trigger downhill with some authority and sift through traffic.

I really hope Lawson is able to recapture his previous form. Alabama has insurance with Justin Jefferson (my No. 18 player) and Nikhai Hill-Green (No. 20) both on this roster, but Lawson is a different caliber of player and would allow the defense to maintain experienced depth and rotation.

Projected role for 2025: Starting MIKE LB