This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/alabama as Why Alabama's 2025 Captains are a Good Sign for Crimson Tide: Just a Minute.

Jones starred at wide receiver for the Crimson Tide from 2008-10, winning a national championship in the middle of those three years and helping launch the Nick Saban dynasty. But before that, he became almost a validation stamp on Saban’s program, letting the world know that the veteran coach was building something special in Tuscaloosa.

Jordan Renaud is a prime example of a player who has answered that call. Per SI.com, both defensive coordinator Kane Wommack and fellow defensive lineman Tim Keenan III have praised Renaud's growth and physical play. Keenan, a veteran leader on the defense, specifically highlighted Renaud's maturity and physical strength.

As the Crimson Tide secondary rotated positioning drills with the inside linebackers, true freshman Dijon Lee lined up with the first-team defense with Domani Jackson on the other side. Zabien Brown, the sophomore cornerback who started next to Jackson in 2024, was seen lining up at the husky nickel back spot.

Houston Mallette handed out free food for move-in day, and the news that the Alabama Crimson Tide has an "Official Biscuit" heading into the season.

Not to mention, it's hard to be the new Alabama if you can’t beat the new Alabama coach or the old Alabama assistant who’s tried to turn Georgia into the new Alabama.

Running back group, uh, it's *** broad question. Um, seen *** lot. Uh, Daniel Hill has done *** good job providing *** lot of protection, and, uh, I think he's gotten *** lot, *** lot better at that as far as with his eyes.

Each time Mark Ingram touched the ball for Alabama football, he ran with a purpose. He ran for his family. He ran carrying the dreams and aspirations of his teammates and the Crimson Tide program as a whole. He ran to be the best. "I wanted to be the best ...

The Alabama Crimson Tide have three of the biggest "freaks" in college football this year. It comes courtesy of Bruce Feldman's "freaks" list on The Athletic.

The 2024 season was VanDeMark's first at Alabama, with the offensive lineman appearing in all 13 games for the Crimson Tide. VanDeMark started two games a year ago, one at left-and-right guard.

LT Overton is the perfect example. The bandit defensive end led Alabama with 32 hurries in 2024 per Pro Football Focus, 21 more than any other player on the roster, and near the top of the SEC leaderboard. Those 32 hurries turned into three tackles-for-loss and two sacks.

It feels like the Alabama Crimson Tide have been recruiting 2027 Alabaster (Al.) Thompson quarterback Trent Seaborn forever, having originally offered him during his freshman year. Since then, both head coach Nick Saban and Kalen DeBoer have valued him tremendously.