Alabama football returns Saturday for its 2023 season opener against Middle Tennessee State. The long offseason is at a merciful end.

The Crimson Tide are set to face the Blue Raiders at 6:30 p.m., in a game that will be aired on the SEC Network. Before that, here’s 10 questions about Alabama that will need to be answered during the 2023 season.

How will the quarterback group shake out?

Jalen Milroe will reportedly get the start on Saturday, but then what? Saban has said he wants to play multiple signal-callers against the Blue Raiders, and he’ll make a change at the position if need be.

If Milroe plays well, it stands to reason that he’d keep the job as the most experienced quarterback in the room. However, by the time the Iron Bowl rolls around, it wouldn’t be surprising to see any of the group, including Ty Simpson, Tyler Buchner and Dylan Lonergan, in the starting role.

Will the Tide have less penalties?

Last year, penalties were a huge issue for Alabama. The problem cost the Tide in key games, including its losses to LSU (nine penalties) and Tennessee (17).

Having that many will cost UA again. Saban has said the team is working on the problem, with punishments for practice penalties, but whether the issue is fixed will be seen soon.

“Every day, we track every penalty, and if anyone (gets) more than one penalty, their whole group is affected in some way,” Saban said. “And I point out the fact that this guy got more than one penalty today. So, we’ll see if it works. But, heaven knows that’s something that we have paid great attention to.”

Can Alabama get revenge?

Last year’s Alabama team finished outside of the SEC championship game and the College Football Playoff pictures. That happened due to two road losses against LSU and Tennessee.

Both of those losses came by razor-thin margins. This year, both games are back in Tuscaloosa.

LSU is raring to go under Brian Kelly, with fans expecting a return to the SEC title game. Tennessee has something going under Josh Heupel with his powerful offense and the most program momentum it has had since the Philip Fulmer era.

Whether Alabama can defend Bryant-Denny Stadium against those teams will be a major story of the 2023 campaign.

Will the youngsters be ready on the offensive line?

The left tackle position in particular is going to be young this season for Alabama. Redshirt freshman Elijah Pritchett and true freshman Kadyn Proctor are battling it out for the spot.

In Alabama fashion, both of them were highly rated recruits coming out of high school. However, this is the SEC and starting that young is difficult.

With questions at quarterback and Saban wanting to run the ball better, plus Tommy Rees trying to put his own flair on the Alabama system, the young linemen assimilating quickly will be key.

How deep are the Tide?

After Alabama’s first scrimmage, Saban expressed concern over the depth on his offensive and defensive lines. He said the Crimson Tide had six to seven players on each who he felt were ready to contribute in a meaningful way.

That’s not enough to make it through an SEC season. Alabama needs some others to step up.

There’s plenty of candidates, as the Crimson Tide have continued to recruit well. But they’ll need some players to show they belong up front.

Can the receivers eliminate drops?

This one was a gripe of fans throughout last season. It seemed like the receiving core just couldn’t perform the most important function of its job at times.

According to Saban, the 2023 group is looking better on that front. They’ll have to be for the Crimson Tide to return to its national title-winning ways.

“We’re going to continue to work on that,” Saban said. “But I think they’ve made improvement. I think we’ve made improvement in the passing game. I think we’re more consistent in what we’re doing and I think we’re more confident. I think that’s helpful for the quarterbacks as well as the confidence of the receivers.”

Will Alabama run the ball better?

It wasn’t that Alabama was bad at running the ball last season. After all, Jahmyr Gibbs did do well enough to go in the first round of the NFL Draft.

It’s just that Saban and new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees would like to do it better. Without Gibbs, the Crimson Tide could see several running backs contribute, including Jase McClellan, Roydell Williams and Jam Miller.

“Having an offensive coordinator that has that run-first mentality, that believes that we’re going to pass the ball as a compliment to the run, that’s very reassuring to an offensive line, especially ours,” offensive guard Tyler Booker said. “We want to make people quit this year, and there’s no better way to do that then running the ball.”

Will Kevin Steele improve the defense?

One of the criticisms from afar of Alabama’s defense under Pete Golding last year was that it at times seemed overly complicated. Now, Golding is off to Ole Miss for the same job.

In his place is Kevin Steele, who was previously Saban’s first defensive coordinator when he came to Tuscaloosa in 2007. Steele is known for defenses that take advantage of the high level talent places like Alabama can recruit.

Saban has noted the the defensive coordinators have more trouble implementing their own flair into the Alabama system due to his increased involvement on that side of the ball. What Steele does with the group will be interesting to watch.

How much will Tommy Rees change the offense?

Can Alabama avoid game-losing mistakes?

At the start of camp, one of Saban’s major points of emphasis was having players think play-by-play. He hoped that would fix some key plays at the end of games where mental lapses cost the Crimson Tide wins.

To illustrate his point, he showed his team film from the ending parts of games, some Tide wins, along with some losses.

“You got to do it every play,” Saban said on the first day of preseason camp. “You know, when you look back on the season, like I showed the guys a film yesterday of, ‘OK, here are some good plays we made in crunch time and won close games and here are some plays we really messed up in crunch time and it hurt us in close games. So what are you going to learn from that?’ But you’ve got to be able to execute and you’ve got to be able to play your best when your best is needed.”

Can the Crimson Tide return to the College Football Playoff?

Saban makes it very clear that the isn’t results-oriented. He and his players focus on the process, and things like SEC and national titles come as a natural by-product.

But fans care. Alabama hasn’t won a national title since 2020, which in Tuscaloosa during the Saban era is a long gap. In the meantime, Georgia has become the reigning national power led by former UA defensive coordinator Kirby Smart.

This year will be telling as to Alabama’s place in the college football landscape. But even with Georgia cemented as the two-time national champions, it seems unwise to ever count out Saban.