Hugh Freeze doesn't sound scared of Alabama football's bully ball. Should he be? | Toppmeyer

Hugh Freeze spots a chink in the armor of his new Iron Bowl rival. Perhaps Nick Saban even sees it himself.

Alabama may aim to pivot back to more of a bully-ball brand now that its Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback is preparing for the NFL. But to reprise that style, well, you better have the bullies up front, guys who move defenders like Barrett Jones, Andre Smith, Ryan Kelly and others once did.

“Are they the same as they were then? Watching tape, I don’t know if they’re as good up front as they were then,” Freeze, Auburn’s new coach, said in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated. “They’re still really, really good.”

Careful there, Hugh. When you inherit a team that’s coming off back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1998-99, I don’t think you want to poke the bear – even if the bear might agree with your assessment.

Saban said earlier this month he likes the temperament and toughness of some of his offensive linemen, but he acknowledged Alabama requires “a little depth at that position.”

Even Derrick Henry benefits from several road graders paving his path. And it’s unlikely Alabama possesses a running back of Henry’s caliber, although five-star freshman tailback Justice Haynes garnered oodles of praise from the recruiting wonks throughout a monster career at Buford High School in Georgia.

Not only did Alabama lack a bell-cow bruiser in the backfield last season, it missed having an offensive line that could pulverize an opponent into submission. Young helped paper over the cracks.

In the past two seasons, Young threw 138 passes in the fourth quarter of a one-possession game, according to Rivals.com data analyst Brent Rollins. That's almost three times as many as Georgia's Stetson Bennett IV threw in those situations during those two years. Young became Alabama's magic man in moments of trouble. Now, he’s gone, and his heir isn’t apparent.

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Saban’s hire of offensive coordinator Tommy Rees points to a desire to get back to doing what Alabama did best at the peak of Saban’s dynastic tenure – win in the trenches. The question is whether the Crimson Tide has the personnel to achieve that.

Alabama’s three offensive linemen who earned first- or second-team All-SEC honors last season all departed.

JC Latham, Seth McLaughlin and Darrian Dalcourt are returning veterans who have played a lot of snaps. They'll be supplemented with youth.

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Redshirt freshman Elijah Pritchett may start at tackle, and expectations soar for sophomore Tyler Booker, a likely starter after he earned Freshman All-SEC honors and started the Sugar Bowl. Sophomore Terrence Ferguson may be called upon to increase his role. He’s played sparingly to this point.

And Alabama signed Kadyn Proctor, one of the top-rated offensive linemen in the country, as part of its ballyhooed signing class.

To borrow Freeze's words, this has the makings of a “still really, really good” line. But is it Alabama good or Alabama deep?

“I think we have some bigger, more physical players," Saban said. "I think they obviously don’t have as much experience, but I like the attitude."

The propensity of transfers has proven a challenge for Alabama’s depth. Players who may have once stayed in Alabama’s program as backups are now leaving for other opportunities.

Four Alabama offensive linemen transferred to other Power Five schools during the winter, with Javion Cohen ranking as the most notable loss, to Miami.

The Crimson Tide plucked starting tackle Tyler Steen out of the portal last spring, and it may need to pillage the portal when it reopens to new entries on April 15.

As for the linemen in the program, Latham said he wants opponents "to be scared of us.”

Freeze didn’t sound all that scared.

Should he be?

That’s a question you never had to ask when Alabama was the undisputed bully on the block.

Blake Toppmeyer is an SEC Columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Hugh Freeze not scared of Alabama football, Nick Saban. Should he be?