On3 Roundtable: Breaking down Alabama's wide receiving corps

Alabama‘s struggles at the wide receiver position were well documented during the 2022 season. Most of that group remains, but now they’re more mature and almost all of them have at least one year in the Crimson Tide’s system.

Those top players are Ja’Corey Brooks, Jermaine Burton and Malik Benson, along with the three sophomores, Kobe Prentice, Isaiah Bond and Kendrick Law.

BamaOnLine’s Clint Lamb and Jimmy Stein joined the On3 Roundtable to discuss who they believe why this group, most of which were in Tuscaloosa last season, failed to achieve the accolades that typical Crimson Tide wide receiving corps reach on a yearly basis.

“There are six or seven guys that you’re going to see in every order of every game — guys that will be in the regular rotation. When you look at who those six or seven are and look at the youth in that group — it really helps you understand why things didn’t go so great last year,” Stein told Lamb. “…Four of those six are in their first or second year playing college football. They’re still young.

“The only two veterans in that group are Ja’Corey Brooks and Jermaine Burton — both of whom have eligibility to return next season. They’re not exactly fifth and sixth-year seniors, but they’re the veterans.”

Burton and Brooks, Bryce Young‘s No. 1 and No. 2 wideouts from a year ago, combined for 79 receptions for 1,351 yards and 15 touchdowns for Alabama last season. The former true freshman trio of Prentice, Bond and Law combined for 56 receptions, 665 yards and three touchdowns.

Other than Burton and Brooks, Prentice was the only other wide receiver to log more than 30 receptions in 2022.

“This group was insanely young one year ago. I think ultimately, that was the biggest issue. Now, they’re not so young. Now, they’ve all played,” Stein said.

Of course, the real real question in Tuscaloosa this offseason has been finding out who is going to replace their Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback? We know that it’s between dual-threat QB Jalen Milroe, former five-star recruit Ty Simpson and Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner, but we likely won’t know for sure until the week leading up to the Crimson Tide’s first game of the season.

Our questions will be answered once Alabama’s 2023 campaign kicks off on Sept. 3 against Middle Tennessee State, though their first real test comes the following week when they host Quinn Ewers and the soon-to-be SEC-bound Texas Longhorns.