<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2M4ryi_0w5H4eRl00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2M4ryi_0w5H4eRl00" width="1200" height="628" >Halfway through Alabama's season, only six more games are guaranteed.Of course, the Tide winning one more game will make it bowl eligible, and as many as four postseason games are still on the table. But after spring practices, summer workouts, fall camp and six games, time is running short for Alabama's defense to make its mark.It's not a stretch to say how Alabama's defense performs over its next three games -- at , vs.<a href="https://247sports.com/college/missouri/">Missouri</a> and at <a href="https://247sports.com/college/lsu/">LSU</a> -- will determine the outcome of its 2024 season. <a href="https://247sports.com/college/alabama/">Alabama</a> will prepare for its trip to Knoxville with a defense that ranks 55th in FBS in allowing 342.5 yards per game. In terms of national ranking, that would be Alabama's worst defense since 1998, when it finished <a href="http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/archive/fbs/1998team.pdf">59th in FBS</a> by allowing 369 yards per game.This 2024 defense has not yet faced college football's best offenses. Among the Tide's first six opponents, only <a href="https://247sports.com/college/georgia/">Georgia</a> ranks in the top 50 in total yards per game, and they're 28th. Otherwise, Alabama has faced <a href="https://247sports.com/college/western-kentucky/">Western Kentucky</a> (66th), South Florida (104th), <a href="https://247sports.com/college/wisconsin/">Wisconsin</a> (53rd), <a href="https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/">Vanderbilt</a> (96th) and <a href="https://247sports.com/college/south-carolina/">South Carolina</a> (92nd). The list of quarterbacks to play Alabama this season is T.J. Finley, <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/byrum-brown-46101561/">Byrum Brown</a>, <a href="https://247sports.com/player/braedyn-locke-46093750/">Braedyn Locke</a>, <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/carson-beck-46053141/">Carson Beck</a>, <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/diego-pavia-46080494/">Diego Pavia</a> and <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/lanorris-sellers-46115998/">LaNorris Sellers</a>. Only Beck is in the top 80 nationally in passing yards per game.Up next is Tennessee, which despite its recent offensive struggles ranks 9th nationally in yards per game (484.5). Missouri is 45th (434.0) and LSU is 25th (460.3). The next three starting quarterbacks on Alabama's schedule all rank in the top 75 nationally in passing yards per game, and LSU's <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/garrett-nussmeier-46054223/">Garrett Nussmeier</a> is 6th at 331.5.If Alabama wins its next three games, it could enjoy a more defense-friendly home stretch against <a href="https://247sports.com/college/mercer/">Mercer</a>, <a href="https://247sports.com/college/oklahoma/">Oklahoma</a> and Auburn. If Alabama loses one of its next three games, it will be sweating out the month of November. If it loses twice over the next three games, its playoff hopes will be effectively zero.For Alabama's current defense, the time is now -- because this group could look drastically different next season.But will it be better?Consider some of the personnel turnover that could take place:Defensive players who will exhaust eligibility: DL <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/jah-marien-latham-46059407/">Jah-Marien Latham</a>, DL <a href="https://247sports.com/player/tim-smith-46050501/">Tim Smith</a>, OLB <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/quandarrius-robinson-46047696/">Quandarrius Robinson</a>, LB <a href="https://247sports.com/player/justin-jefferson-46130846/">Justin Jefferson</a>, DB <a href="https://247sports.com/player/malachi-moore-46043064/">Malachi Moore</a>There will be plenty of lost starts and playing time among the group of players who are guaranteed to be gone after this season. That includes two defensive line starters in Latham and Smith, a rotational pass rusher in Robinson who leads the team with four sacks, a rotational inside linebacker in Jefferson and a starting safety in Moore.Other NFL draft-eligible players: DL <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/tim-keenan-46050260/">Tim Keenan</a>, DL <a href="https://247sports.com/player/lt-overton-46103456/">LT Overton</a>, LB <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/jihaad-campbell-46097320/">Jihaad Campbell</a>, LB <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/deontae-lawson-46053401/">Deontae Lawson</a>, S <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/keon-sabb-46081324/">Keon Sabb</a>, CB <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/domani-jackson-46057101/">Domani Jackson</a>, CB <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/dashawn-jones-46100403/">DaShawn Jones</a>, DL <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/damon-payne-46041148/">Damon Payne</a>, OLB <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/keanu-koht-46085419/">Keanu Koht</a>, DB <a href="https://247sports.com/player/devonta-smith-46084334/">DeVonta Smith</a>, LB <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/jeremiah-alexander-46058903/">Jeremiah Alexander</a>Multiple, if not several, players on this list could enter the draft. Speculation about Overton, a third-year player, has grown and he is currently ranked as the <a href="https://www.pff.com/draft/big-board?season=2025">No. 16 overall prospect</a> in the 2025 draft by Pro Football Focus. ESPN reported before the Georgia game that Campbell, a junior, was "<a href="https://www.espn.com/college-football/insider/story/_/id/41473632/alabama-georgia-game-breakdown-confidential-coaches">rising up boards</a> as a first-round possibility." Sabb, a third-year player, was non-committal about his future when asked by teammate Ryan Williams during <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xkEYb6yRFE">a recent podcast</a>. Keenan and Lawson both have a fifth-year available, but already put off the NFL draft once last offseason.Key first- and second-year players not yet eligible for NFL draft: DL <a href="https://247sports.com/player/james-smith-46099271/">James Smith</a>, DL <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/jordan-renaud-46098634/">Jordan Renaud</a>, OLB <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/qua-russaw-46102639/">Qua Russaw</a>, OLB <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/yhonzae-pierre-46114734/">Yhonzae Pierre</a>, ILB <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/justin-okoronkwo-46135117/">Justin Okoronkwo</a>, ILB <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/cayden-jones-46117929/">Cayden Jones</a>, CB <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/zabien-brown-46115706/">Zabien Brown</a>, CB <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/jaylen-mbakwe-46111973/">Jaylen Mbakwe</a>, CB <a href="https://247sports.com/player/zavier-mincey-46130479/">Zavier Mincey</a>, S <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/bray-hubbard-46129433/">Bray Hubbard</a>, S <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/red-morgan-46139062/">Red Morgan</a>, DB <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/king-mack-46113155/">King Mack</a>There are other first- and second-year players on the roster, but these are the ones who have seen the most playing time this season. Brown and Russaw are starters this season while Smith is the top defensive lineman off the bench. Renaud also saw early-game reps against South Carolina and flashed.Incoming 2025 freshmen: DL <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/london-simmons-46143987/">London Simmons</a> (three-star), OLB <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/justin-hill-46137078/">Justin Hill</a> (four-star), OLB <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/dawson-merritt-46143910/">Dawson Merritt</a> (four-star), ILB <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/darrell-johnson-46141298/">Darrell Johnson</a> (four-star), ILB <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/luke-metz-46144371/">Luke Metz</a> (three-star), ILB <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/abduall-sanders-jr-46133548/">Abduall Sanders Jr.</a> (three-star), CB <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/dijon-lee-46136898/">Dijon Lee</a> (five-star), CB <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/chuck-mcdonald-46133882/">Chuck McDonald</a> (four-star)Alabama already has three young cornerbacks that could return in 2024, so where Lee fits into that rotation as the top-rated defensive freshmen will be something to watch. Mincey, one of the current freshman corners, could be a candidate to move to safety.BOTTOM LINE:Upcoming NFL draft decisions by players like Keenan, Overton, Campbell, Lawson and Sabb in particular will go a long way in shaping Alabama's 2025 defense. Losing Keenan and Overton on top of Smith and Latham would make defensive line an urgent need in the transfer portal. Likewise for inside linebacker, where losing Lawson and Campbell on top of Jefferson would leave the Tide with minimal playing experience among its inside linebackers. Alabama's cornerback position remains well-stocked in terms of high-end high school talent, and the potential of that group seems the highest even with limited experience.And don't forget: the NCAA transfer portal opens for undergraduates on December 9. Last offseason, Alabama lost 14 scholarship defensive players to the transfer portal.</div></body>

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Alabama's defense, on pace for worst ranking since 1998, could look drastically different in 2025

Halfway through Alabama's season, only six more games are guaranteed. Of course, the Tide winning one more game will make it bowl eligible, and as many as four postseason games are still on the table. But after spring practices, summer workouts, fall camp and six games, time is running short for Alabama's defense to make its mark.

Alabama's defense, on pace for worst ranking since 1998, could look drastically different in 2025

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