2025 Alabama Fall Football Preview: Wide Receivers

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Alabama came into the 2024 season with the wide receiver position as a bit of a question mark and left it with a guy who’s now on the cover of the next NCAA video game. And he wasn’t even the team leader in receptions.

Alabama returns all of their production from a year ago, plus added a veteran transfer as one of the top portal entrants this cycle, plus added their customary influx of new recruits. It’s a position group that’s both top-heavy and deep, and that’s something that’s hard to come by in the modern

era of football. While the QB getting them the ball is still a bit of an unknown, having this group of pass catchers will make his job—whoever it is—much easier.

Departed

A few holdovers from Alabama’s 2023 squad were expected to be the starters in 2024, but found themselves edged out on the depth chart and subsequently transferred out. Kobe Prentice and Kendrick Law were rotational contributors for the Tide last year, but only combined for 19 catches for 236 yards. Beyond that, Caleb Odom and Emmanuel Henderson got a few catches, but all four transferred out at the end of the year due to falling positioning on the depth chart.

The Superstars

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#2 - Ryan Williams, Sophomore, 6’0” 178

Williams burst onto the scene early as a freshman last year with a couple of big plays in Alabama’s season opener, then vaulted himself to legendary status with a lead-changing touchdown late in the 4th quarter vs. Georgia that was arguably the Play of the Year in all of college football.

Williams led the team with 865 yards and 8 touchdowns last year, plus another 2 touchdowns on rushing plays. However, while he captivated college football for the first half of the season, his numbers dropped quite a bit near the end of the year. Some of that was a lack of passing volume overall as the Alabama offense turned into the Jalen Milroe rushing show, but some of it was also Williams hitting a slump as older players adjusted to his game.

Coming into year two, he’s considered to be one of the superstars of the sport, but he’ll have to make good on that potential by becoming a much more consistent player. And hey, he’s still only 18. No pressure.

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#5 - Germie Bernard, Sr, 6’1” 204

Bernard was a transfer in from Washington who followed Coach Kalen DeBoer. While he had played the #3 and #4 WR roles for the Huskies behind a group of veteran star receivers, Bernard had flashed quite a bit in Seattle. Upon moving to Alabama, he made good on the increased role in the offense and put up 794 yards, slightly edging out Ryan Williams in total catches with 50.

Bernard didn’t get the hype that Williams did, but as the season wore on, he was the go-to target for QB Jalen Milroe when the offense needed a play. Bernard did a little bit of everything—whether it was an acrobatic flip over the middle to catch a dig pass that went over his head, toe-tapping on the sidelines, or making a defender or two miss on nearly every catch to always get the first down. He’s a bigger receiver but has the speed and slipperiness of a punt return specialist and was pretty close to perfect with his catching rates last season. In other words, he’s one of the most underrated players on the team.

The Transfer

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#1 - Isaiah Horton, Redshirt Junior, 6’4” 208

Horton was the #3 receiver for the Hurricanes last year, but still put up an impressive 56 catches for 616 yards and 5 touchdowns. Though his 6’4” frame would indicate that he played as a boundary receiver, Horton actually did a lot of his damage in the slot for Miami, using his mesmerizingly smooth route-running and big frame to eviscerate defenses over the middle on drags and slants. It’s a unique skill set and one that should allow Ryan Williams and Germie Bernard to continue to work downfield while Horton becomes a chain-mover across the middle.

The Contenders for #4

#11 - Rico Scott, Redshirt Freshman, 6’0” 196

A fairly unheralded recruit a year ago, Rico Scott caught 5 passes for 60 yards in garbage time last year as he quietly worked his way up the depth chart. The talks about him started picking up in December as he got onto the field in crunch time in the game against Michigan, and he’s only seemed to get more and more praise as the spring and summer have gone on. While we haven’t seen much of him yet, it sounds more and more like he’s right at the top of the rotation and expected to be a big part of the team.

#7 - Cole Adams, Redshirt Sophomore, 5’10” 183

Adams is an interesting one, as he seemed to come out of nowhere early last season as a redshirt freshman and was getting legitimate playing time as he began supplanting Prentice and Law for the #3 receiver spot. He was also getting a look as the starting punt returner.

Unfortunately, a shoulder injury sidelined him before the season got very far along.

Adams is a good bit smaller than everyone else, which, considering Coach DeBoer’s penchant for tall wide receivers, may work against him. Still, he earned playing time early last year, so it’s hard to count him out.

#8 - Jalen Hale, Redshirt Sophomore, 6’1” 197

Jalen Hale was actually a starter for the Tide in 2023 as a true freshman. He flashed early in 2023 before disappearing later in the year. Still, many expected him to be at the top of the depth chart going into 2024, but a pre-season ACL tear made him miss the whole season. Now he’s a forgotten man among fans but could very well get right back in contention for legitimate playing time.

The Rest of the Depth

#3 - Jaylen Mbakwe, Sophomore, 5’11” 190

The uber-athletic former 5-star was a regular contributor for Alabama at cornerback last season but decided in December to switch sides of the ball to wide receiver. Mbakwe was always a bit of a project as a high school wildcat QB. Still, he showed a lot of promise on defense and is now starting over as basically a true freshman for a second year in a row.

He’s got elite athleticism, but it’s hard to see where he’s going to find space on the field this year.

#21 - Aeryn “Bubba” Hampton, Redshirt Freshman, 5’10” 195

Hampton spent most of his freshman year injured, so we never saw him in action. Still, he’s a guy that Nick Saban seemed especially excited about recruiting as someone with some “dog” in his attitude.

The Newcomers

#30 - Derek Meadows, Freshman, 6’5” 212

As a late addition to Alabama’s recruiting class, Meadows is a high-upside prospect out of Bishop Gorman High School in Nevada. With his 6’5” frame, he has an element to his game that no one else on the roster really has. He’s something of a project still as a guy with limited high school production... But you can’t teach size like that.

#17 -Lotzeir Brooks, Freshman, 5’9” 191

Brooks had an interesting recruitment last year. He set all kinds of state records with some eye-popping stats the last two years, and Alabama jumped on his recruitment early. On3 wound up ranking him a high 4-star prospect, while the rest of the recruiting services kept him in the 3-star territory. He’s got cartoon speed and can make crazy acrobatic catches, but the 5’9” seems to be something the rest of the recruiting services couldn’t get past. In any case, there was quite a bit of chatter in the spring that he was making a big impression.

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Predicted Depth Chart

X Receiver: Ryan Williams, Jalen Hale

Z Receiver: Germie Bernard, Rico Scott

Slot: Isaiah Horton, Cole Adams

Williams, Bernard, and Horton will be your main three receivers. However, I do expect that all three of Hale, Adams, and Scott will get some decent rotational playing time throughout the season. After that, I could see the occasional appearance from Mbakwe and Brooks, but ultimately, there are only so many snaps to go around.

The starting trio may be the best trio in the country, and the next three backups are all talented players in their own right. It’s an insanely deep room, and considering the head coach’s background and specialty are at WR, it’s not surprising at all. This should be considered the strength of the offense—and of the entire team.

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