Spring practices have wrapped up across the country, with 79 days until the start of the 2025 college football season.
After a disappointing 9-4 campaign last season, the Crimson Tide is well-positioned to make its first appearance in the expanded playoff field after missing the cut last December.
Here’s where The Crimson White writers ranked Alabama and the rest of the field after spring practices.
TexasWhile the main attraction is redshirt sophomore quarterback Arch Manning, the Longhorns will look to display their depth and talent on all sides of the ball this season.
“The talent on the Longhorns roster is formidable, especially on offense, with dynamic weapons such as wide receiver Ryan Wingo and DeAndre Moore Jr. available for Manning,” Contributing Writer Fisher Isbell said.
The main downside for Texas is that it comes into 2025 ranked 103rd in returning production, bringing back only 45% of last year’s overall production.
The good news for Longhorn fans is that returning production statistics do not consider talent or experience. More than 70 players took snaps for head coach Steve Sarkisian’s team last year, meaning that there is a lot of experience from last year’s depth.
“I do believe that if the season were to start today, Texas would win the national title,” Isbell said.
Penn StateWith top-40 returning production and a potential first round pick at quarterback in Drew Allar, Penn State is a championship contender.
The questions that surrounded this team heading into the offseason were how head coach James Franklin would address the vacant defensive coordinator position and if the team would upgrade at wide-receiver.
The defensive coordinator role was filled by Ohio State play-caller Jim Knowles, while receiver was addressed by adding multiple wideouts in the transfer portal, including one of the top-ranked players, Trebor Pena.
Ohio StateThe defending national champions will drop to No. 3 due to a lack of unproven tallent. While we still expect the Buckeyes to be elite, this program will have to prove that it has the roster to repeat as champs.
Its 101st ranked returning production and losing team lost both coordinators are both reasons for the team’s predicted drop in ranking.
Fortunately, the cupboard isn’t bare for the Buckeyes in 2025, key additions in the portal and a No. 4 ranked incoming recruiting class make this squad capable of reloading rather than rebuilding.
“They just lost too many guys at the line of scrimmage for me to trust them to be as good as they were last year,” Contributing Writer Adam Harris said.
ClemsonClemson has been the buzz of the spring across the college football landscape, with some, including CFB analyst Josh Pate, calling the Tigers the No. 1 ranked team in the country post-Spring.
Head coach Dabo Swinney’s squad is the best positioned in the country based upon returning production at 81%, good for best in all of FBS. This returning talent includes junior quarterback Cade Klubnik who threw for 36 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions in 2024. He also boasts the second best odds to win the Heisman Trophy, according to Fanduel.
Swinney has been criticized in this new era of the transfer portal due to his resistance to take in many players out of the portal, but the returning production gives reason to believe that this year’s team has the tools to bring home a title.
AlabamaThere is a lot to be excited about for Alabama fans this fall. From sophomore Ryan Williams headlining what should be one of the best receiving corps in the country, to flashy returning talent and freshmen on the defensive side of the ball, this is a team that could very well be in the national title conversation throughout the season.
The big question with this team is what can be expected from the quarterback position.
“I believe that Alabama has a national championship-level ceiling, but the Crimson Tide’s success will depend on the production it gets from its quarterback corps,” Isbell said.
While the quarterback competition is ongoing, it appears as though redshirt junior Ty Simpson will most likely get the nod when the team hits the field in August. His pocket-passer skillset may fit well into DeBoer and new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb’s scheme.
“If Ty Simpson can prove to be capable, this may just be the best team in the country,” Assistant Sports Editor Elijah Burks said.
Alabama will kick off its 2025 quest for national championship No. 19 on August 30 at Florida State at 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC.
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