Dangerous Alabama football weapon identified as 2024 star

Spring football is over. The transfer portal is closed. The calendar says June. Do you know what this means? College football is almost here. It's now been five months since Michigan beat Washington in the national championship game in Houston, and we've made it through the toughest part of the offseason. We're well past the halfway mark and now there's nothing but enthusiasm to get us to the finish line. We're less than three months away from the start of the college football season and Alabama football is ready. Crimson Tides fans can't wait to see their team take the field for the first time.

The 2024 college football season is shaping up to be one of the most exciting seasons in a long time, and that's because of all the changes coming to the game in 2024. Let's start with the expanded College Football Playoff.

It will be interesting to see how the first year of the new 12-team College Football Playoff plays out. The era of the four-team playoff is over, and having eight more teams participate will make a huge difference.

First of all, college football fans can breathe a little easier during the regular season. There's no worse feeling as a fan than seeing your team lose a huge game in the first few weeks of the season, before conference play even begins. In the era of the four-team playoff, that's as demoralizing as it gets. You know that one more loss is the nail in the coffin, and even with one loss (or in Florida State's case, zero), there's no guarantee you'll make it. Now, feeding five teams that go 10-2 should be pretty safe, and even some teams at 9-3 will probably be able to pull that off.

The other big change is more football and a longer season. The College Football Playoff Committee recently released the 2024 playoff schedule, and it's going to be an exciting month. Instead of three total playoff games played in the span of a week, we'll see 11 games spread out over a month. This is going to be a lot of fun.

Another major change in the world of college football this year will be new conferences. The Pac-12 disappeared as everyone except Oregon State and Washington State found a new home. USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington are now part of the Big Ten, Cal and Stanford have joined the ACC, and Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah are part of the Big 12.

The Big 12 lost two teams, however, as Oklahoma and Texas are transitioning to the SEC.

Overall, big changes are coming to college football and it should make for an exciting season. Things are going to be different, and not everyone is a fan of the new changes, but there will be more football and more good matchups. It's a plus.

A new era begins for Alabama football

A lot is changing in college football, and one of the biggest changes next season will be seeing the Alabama football team without Nick Saban. The legendary Crimson Tide head coach decided to call it a season after 2023, and Kalen DeBoer is now Alabama's head coach. DeBoer took Washington to the national title game last season before losing to Michigan, the same team that eliminated Saban and the Tide.

With a new head coach, everyone is curious how Alabama football will fare in 2024. Kalen DeBoer is in a great situation and he has all the tools to succeed, but will he be able to maintain the dynasty that Saban built? There are a lot of question marks, and this first season promises to be huge.

Alabama has a lot of good talent returning from last year's team, so DeBoer should have a good season in year one. First-year coaches sometimes get a pass, but that's not quite the case here. If the Crimson Tide has a bad season, rookies might start to think that they just won't be the same without Saban, and the dynasty could quickly fall. The first year is huge.

When a head coach leaves the program, there are bound to be departures in the transfer portal, and Alabama football has experienced that. In total, the Crimson Tide lost 40 players to the transfer portal, and they only signed 15. Alabama lost most of its top talent in the first portal window as only 10 of 40 players entered during the spring window. Even though Alabama lost a lot more than it won, it also brought in some good talent.

One of these transfers could become a very valuable piece of the Crimson Tide's puzzle next season. Here is a player who looks set for a breakout season in 2024.

Keon Sabb, DB

Keon Sabb is preparing for his first season with the Alabama football team, and it could be a big one. The last game the Crimson Tide played was actually against Sabb, who spent the first two years of his career with the Michigan football team. The Wolverines knocked Alabama out of the College Football Playoff and Sabb made a big play in the fourth quarter of the game.

Last season showed that Keon Sabb was poised for a breakout year. It was his first season playing for Michigan, and he had a solid year. He was behind other guys on the depth chart because the Wolveries defense was loaded, but he still racked up 28 total tackles, four passes defensed, 0.5 sacks, and two interceptions. One of them was a pick six.

Keon Sabb was expected to be a starter for Michigan this season, but he decided to enter the transfer portal after Jim Harbaugh left, and he is now on the Alabama football team.

The Crimson Tide are hoping to have another punishing defense this season, and Keon Sabb should be a key player for them. He showed last year that he is ready, and the 2024 season could very well be his breakout year.