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Alabama football doesn't enter 2023 on its familiar perch as preseason No. 1 after losing quarterback Bryce Young and pass-rusher Will Anderson to the NFL, two of the most productive and decorated players in program history. But just because the Crimson Tide come in behind fellow perennial powers Georgia, Michigan and Ohio State in preseason rankings hardly means expectations of a national championship have changed in Tuscaloosa.
Maybe the biggest reason why? What's expected to be an absolutely dominant Alabama defense, a unit star pass-rusher Dallas Turner believes has “no limits” as the 2023 campaign fast approaches.
“Defense has no limits to it this year,” the junior said on Thursday, per Stacey Blackwood of Roll Tide Wire. “From what I’ve seen every day at practice, the type of work we’re putting in, the unity as one, the togetherness we’re starting to have, the bond on and off the field. There’s no limit to how the defense can be good this year.”
Anderson, taken by the Houston Texans at No. 3 overall, was one of a whopping six Crimson Tide defenders selected in the 2023 NFL Draft. Alabama football has never rebuilt during Nick Saban's historic tenure on the sidelines, though, especially on defense. The Tide simply reload following their annual exodus of stars to the next level, and it's certainly no different this season.
Turner, a preseason Second Team All-American, figures to fill the massive void left by Anderson as Alabama's most dangerous pass-rusher. Defensive back Kool-Aid McKinstry was named a First Team preseason All-American, leading an ever-talented array of Alabama defenders on the back line that also includes Malachi Moore and Earl Little II.
The fourth-ranked Crimson Tide open 2023 on Saturday, September 2nd against Middle Tennessee.
