The 2022 Alabama Crimson Tide football team (variously "Alabama", "Bama", or "The Tide") represented the University of Alabama in the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This was the Crimson Tide's 128th overall season, 89th as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and 31st within the SEC Western Division. They played their home games at Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They were led by their head coach Nick Saban in his 16th season.
Offseason
Departures
Team departures Over the course of the off-season, Alabama lost 37 total players. 8 players graduated, 6 declared for the 2022 NFL Draft, while the other 23 entered the transfer portal. 2022 Alabama offseason departures Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes Christian Harris #8 LB 6′ 2″ 232 Junior Baton Rouge, LA Declared for 2022 NFL Draft Slade Bolden #18 WR 5′ 11″ 191 Junior West Monroe, LA Declared for 2022 NFL Draft Jalyn Armour-Davis #5 DB 6′ 1″ 182 Junior Mobile, AL Declared for 2022 NFL Draft Evan Neal #73 OL 6′ 7″ 350 Junior Okeechobee, FL Declared for 2022 NFL Draft Jameson Williams #1 WR 6′ 2″ 189 Junior St. Louis, MO Declared for 2022 NFL Draft John Metchie III #8 WR 6′ 0″ 195 Junior Brampton, Canada Declared for 2022 NFL Draft Christopher Allen #4 LB 6′ 4″ 242 Senior Baton Rouge, LA Graduated/Declared for 2022 NFL Draft Josh Jobe #28 CB 6′ 1″ 194 Senior Miami, FL Graduated/Declared for 2022 NFL Draft Phidarian Mathis #48 DL 6′ 4″ 312 Senior Wisner, LA Graduated/Declared for 2022 NFL Draft Chris Owens #79 OL 6′ 3" 305 Grad Student Arlington, TX Graduated LaBryan Ray #18 DL 6′ 5″ 285 Senior Madison, AL Graduated Brian Robinson Jr. #4 RB 6′ 1″ 225 Grad Student Tuscaloosa, AL Graduated/Declared for 2022 NFL Draft Major Tennison #88 TE 6′ 5″ 252 Senior Flint, TX Graduated Daniel Wright #3 DB 6′ 1″ 195 Senior Fort Lauderdale, FL Graduated
Outgoing transfers Twenty-three players elected to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal during or after the 2021 season.
NameNo.Pos.HeightWeightHometownYearNew school Xavier Williams #3 WR 6′ 1″ 190 Hollywood, FL Junior Transferred to Utah State Javon Baker #5 WR 6′ 1″ 183 Atlanta, GA Sophomore Transferred to UCF Paul Tyson #17 QB 6′ 5″ 228 Trussville, AL Sophomore Transferred to Arizona State Stone Hollenbach #19 QB 6′ 3″ 208 Catawissa, PA Sophomore Transferred to Western Michigan Jahleel Billingsley #19 TE 6′ 4″ 230 Chicago, IL Junior Transferred to Texas Kaine Williams #20 DB 6′ 2″ 203 Marrero, LA Freshman Transferred to Nebraska Drew Sanders #20 LB 6′ 5″ 244 Denton, TX Sophomore Transferred to Arkansas Brylan Lanier #21 DB 6′ 1″ 170 Tuscaloosa, AL Freshman Transferred to Indiana Camar Wheaton #25 RB 5′ 11″ 190 Garland, TX Freshman Transferred to SMU Marcus Banks #26 DB 6′ 0″ 180 Houston, TX Junior Transferred to Mississippi State Kyle Edwards #27 RB 6′ 2″ 209 Destrehan, LA Freshman Transferred to SE Louisiana King Mwikuta #30 LB 6′ 5″ 238 West Point, GA Junior Transferred to Arkansas State DJ Rias #30 WR 5′ 9″ 186 Phenix City, AL Freshman Transferred to Samford Jackson Bratton #33 LB 6′ 3″ 225 Muscle Shoals, AL Sophomore Transferred to UAB Shane Lee #35 LB 6′ 0″ 246 Burtonsville, MD Junior Transferred to USC Donovan Hardin #67 OL 6′ 3″ 285 Dublin, OH Sophomore Transferred to LIU Pierce Quick #72 OL 6′ 5″ 280 Trussville, AL Sophomore Transferred to Georgia Tech Tommy Brown #75 OL 6′ 7″ 320 Santa Ana, CA Junior Transferred to Colorado Dayne Shor #75 OL 6′ 6″ 295 Alpharetta, GA Freshman Transferred to UConn Agiye Hall #84 WR 6′ 3″ 195 Valrico, FL Freshman Transferred to Texas Caden Clark #87 TE 6′ 4″ 258 Akron, OH Freshman Transferred to Akron Kyle Mann #89 DL 6′ 0″ 270 Powder Springs, GA Sophomore Transferred to Alabama A&M Stephon Wynn Jr. #90 DL 6′ 4″ 311 Anderson, SC Junior Transferred to Nebraska Keelan Cox #97 DL 6′ 5″ 240 Missouri City, TX Sophomore Transferred to Wyoming Note: Players with a dash in the new school column didn't land on a new team for the 2022 season.
Acquisitions
Incoming transfers
Over the off-season, Alabama added 6 players from the transfer portal. According to 247 Sports, Alabama had the 6th ranked transfer class in the country. The first transfer was running back Jahmyr Gibbs. Gibbs transferred from Georgia Tech. On the offensive side, Alabama also added Georgia wide receiver Jermaine Burton, Louisville wide receiver Tyler Harrell and Vanderbilt offensive lineman Tyler Steen. However, Alabama only took 1 defensive transfer in LSU defensive back Elias Ricks.
NameNo.Pos.HeightWeightYearHometownPre. school Jahmyr Gibbs #1 RB 5′ 11″ 200 Sophomore Dalton, GA Georgia Tech Jermaine Burton #3 WR 6′ 0″ 200 Sophomore Calabasas, CA Georgia Elias Ricks #7 CB 6′ 2″ 196 Sophomore Rancho Cucamonga, CA LSU Tyler Harrell #8 WR 6′ 0″ 197 Junior Miami, FL Louisville Joseph Narcisse II #33 DB 6′ 1″ 190 Junior Miami, FL Alabama A&M Tyler Steen #54 OL 6′ 5″ 315 Senior Miami, FL Vanderbilt
2022 recruiting class
Alabama signed 26 players in the class of 2022. The Crimson Tide' recruiting class ranks 2nd in the 247Sports and Rivals rankings. Nineteen signees were ranked in the ESPN 300 top prospect list. Alabama also signed walk-ons during national signing period.
*= 247Sports Composite rating; ratings are out of 1.00. (five stars= 1.00–.98, four stars= .97–.90, three stars= .80–.89, two stars= .79–.70, no stars= <70) †= Despite being rated as a four and five star recruit by ESPN, On3.com, Rivals.com and 247Sports.com, Alexander received a five star 247Sports Composite rating. Δ= Left the Alabama program following signing but prior to the 2022 season.
2022 overall class rankings
ESPN #3 #3 3 21 1 0 0 0 On3 Recruits #2 #2 4 19 2 0 0 0 Rivals #1 #1 4 17 3 0 0 0 247 Sports #2 #2 4 18 3 0 0 0
Walk-ons Name Pos. Height Weight Hometown High school Peyton Fox TE 6′ 2″ 225 Birmingham, AL Briarwood Christian School Jack Standeffer DB 5′ 10″ 160 Tuscaloosa, AL Tuscaloosa Academy Cade Ott Carruth QB 6′ 1″ 195 Trussville, AL Hewitt-Trussville High School JD Baird LB 5′ 8″ 180 Tuscaloosa, AL American Christian Academy Amanni Stewart QB 6′ 2″ 205 Bowie, MD Charles Herbert Flowers High School Zeb Vickery QB 6′ 2″ 195 Flomaton, AL Flomaton High School Rodney Johnson DB 5′ 11″ 160 Gadsden, AL Gadsden City High School Michael Lorino III RB 5′ 9″ 185 Birmingham, AL Mountain Brook High School Logan Mooney DB 5′ 11″ 175 Stevensville, MI Lake Shore High School Jay Loper Jr. WR 5′ 11″ 180 Daphne, AL Bayside Academy Mekeil Stewart WR 5′ 10″ 180 Miami, FL Deerfield Beach High School Marcus Early Jr. DB 5′ 11″ 180 Warner Robins, GA Peach County High School Deshawn Samples WR 5′ 9″ 160 Richland, WA Hanford High School Josh Austin DB 6′ 2″ 190 Pinson, AL Clay-Chalkville High School Ty Roper DB 5′ 8″ 189 Foley, AL Foley High School Chase Davis DB 6′ 1″ 182 Tuscaloosa, AL Paul W. Bryant High School Prince Butler DB 6′ 1″ 200 Alexandria, VA Hayfield High School Jax Porter TE 6′ 6″ 232 Dallas, TX IMG Academy Alex Rozier SN 6′ 4″ 220 Hattiesburg, MS Oak Grove High School Vito Perri LB 5′ 11″ 178 Alpharetta, GA Alpharetta High School Wilder Hines OL 6′ 2″ 240 Birmingham, AL Mountain Brook High School Braxton Wetzler OL 6′ 0″ 260 Mountain Brook, AL Mountain Brook High School Tristan Walker DL 6′ 1″ 280 Madison, AL James Clemens High School Nick Serpa P 6′ 4″ 215 Foothill Ranch, CA Trabuco Hills High School Caleb McDougle DB 5′ 11″ 205 Muscle Shoals, AL Muscle Shoals High School Steven Harvey Jr. WR 5′ 9″ 155 Opelika, AL Tuscaloosa Academy Miles Kitselman TE 6′ 5″ 250 Lyndon, KS Lyndon High School/Hutchinson CC
NFL draft
Several Crimson Tide players have declared for the 2022 NFL draft thus far. Wide receivers Slade Bolden, John Metchie III and Jameson Williams, running back Brian Robinson, offensive lineman Evan Neal, defensive lineman Phidarian Mathis, defensive backs Josh Jobe and Jalyn Armour-Davis and linebackers Chris Allen and Christian Harris. They all entered their names into the draft pool. Due to COVID-19, the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility to all college athletes, and all could have returned for another year at Alabama.
Evan Neal OT New York Giants 1 7 Jameson Williams WR Detroit Lions 1 12 John Metchie III WR Houston Texans 2 44 Phidarian Mathis DT Washington Commanders 2 47 Christian Harris LB Houston Texans 3 75 Brian Robinson Jr. RB Washington Commanders 3 98 Jalyn Armour-Davis CB Baltimore Ravens 4 119
Returning starters
Offense
Player Class Position Bryce Young Junior Quarterback Javion Cohen Junior Offensive Line Emil Ekiyor Jr. RS Senior Offensive Line Seth McLaughlin Junior Offensive Line Cameron Latu RS Senior Tight EndReference:
Defense Player Class Position D. J. Dale Senior Defensive Line Byron Young Senior Defensive Line Will Anderson Jr. Junior Linebacker Henry To'oTo'o Senior Linebacker Dallas Turner Sophomore Linebacker Kool-Aid McKinstry Sophomore Cornerback Jordan Battle Senior Defensive Back DeMarcco Hellams Senior Defensive Back Malachi Moore Junior Defensive Back Brian Branch Junior Defensive Back Reference:
Special teams
Player Class Position Will Reichard Senior Kicker James Burnip Sophomore PunterReference:
† Indicates player was a starter in 2021 but missed all of 2022 due to injury.
Preseason
Spring game
The Crimson Tide are scheduled to hold spring practices in March and April 2022 with the Alabama football spring game, "A-Day" to take place in Tuscaloosa, AL on April 16, 2022.
Award watch lists Listed in the order that they were released
Lott Trophy Will Anderson Jr.LBJr. Jordan BattleDBSr.Henry To'oTo'oLBDodd Trophy Nick Saban HC —Maxwell AwardBryce YoungQBJr.Will Anderson Jr.LBDavey O'Brien AwardBryce YoungQB Biletnikoff AwardJermaine BurtonWR John Mackey AwardCameron LatuTERS Sr. Butkus AwardHenry To'oTo'oLBSr.Jaylen MoodyRS Sr.Jim Thorpe AwardJordan BattleDBSr.Bronko Nagurski Trophy Elias Ricks Jr.Jordan BattleSr.Will Anderson Jr.LBJr.Henry To'oto'oSr.Outland TrophyEmil Ekiyor Jr.OLRS Sr. Justin EboigbeDTSr.Lou Groza AwardWill Reichard PKPaul Hornung AwardJahmyr GibbsRBJr. Wuerffel TrophyJordan BattleDBSr.Walter Camp AwardBryce Young QBJr.Eli RicksCBWill Anderson Jr.LBBednarik AwardHenry To'oto'oSr.Jordan Battle CB Will Anderson Jr.LBJr.Rotary Lombardi AwardHenry To'oto'oSr.Will Anderson Jr.Jr.Earl Campbell Tyler Rose AwardJase McClellan RB Polynesian College Football Player Of The Year AwardCameron LatuTERS Sr.Henry To'oto'oLBSr.Manning AwardBryce Young QBJr. Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award
SEC media days The 2022 SEC Media days were held on July 18–21, 2022 at College Football Hall of Fame and The Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta, GA with Nick Saban (HC), Bryce Young (QB), Jordan Battle (DL) and Will Anderson Jr. (LB). The Preseason Polls were released July 22, 2022. Each team had their head coach available to talk to the media at the event. Coverage of the event was televised on SEC Network and ESPN.
Media poll (West Division) 1 Alabama 177 2 Texas A&M 3 3 Arkansas 1 4 Ole Miss 5 LSU 6 Mississippi State 7 Auburn
Media poll (SEC Championship) 1 Alabama 158 2 Georgia 18 3 South Carolina 3
Preseason All-SEC
Media First Team
Position Player Class Team OffenseQBBryce YoungJunior AlabamaRBJahmyr GibbsJunior AlabamaWRJermaine BurtonJunior AlabamaOL Emil Ekiyor Jr.RS Senior Alabama DefenseLBWill Anderson Jr.Junior AlabamaHenry To'oTo'oSenior AlabamaDBJordan BattleSenior AlabamaElias RicksJunior Alabama Special teamsPKWill ReichardSenior AlabamaRBJahmyr GibbsJunior Alabama
Second Team
Position Player Class Team OffenseTECameron LatuRS Senior AlabamaOLJavion CohenJunior Alabama DefenseDLD. J. DaleSenior AlabamaLBDallas TurnerSophomore Alabama
Third Team
Position Player Class Team OffenseOLTyler SteenGS Alabama Kendall Randolph Alabama DefenseDLJustin EboigbeSenior Alabama DBKool-Aid McKinstrySophomore Alabama Malachi MooreJunior Alabama Special teamsWRJoJo EarleSophomore Alabama Source:
Coaches
First Team