SEC Media Days is set to get underway on Monday, but we're also continuing on with our summer roster rankings for the Alabama Crimson Tide where we break down each player individually.

The only ones who won't be included are the three summer enrollees (Chuck McDonald, Kaleb Edwards and London Simmons) and freshman punter Alex Asparuhov, who was out this spring due to injury. That brings the total number to 78.

Previous roster rankings: Nos. 74-78, Nos. 70-73, Nos. 66-69; Nos. 62-65

No. 61 – OL Roq Montgomery

Previous ranking: No. 37 (-16)

After playing just five snaps in two games as a true freshman in 2023, Montgomery jumped to 98 snaps in six games in 2024. That was good for eighth-most amongst the offensive linemen and fifth-most amongst the interior guys: Tyler Booker (778), Parker Brailsford (775), Jaeden Roberts (502) and Geno VanDeMark (409). Considering some of the other guys who were competing for spot snaps (such as Olaus Alinen, Poe and others), that's not bad for a former three-star recruit.

I had him higher on my pre-spring list though, as he checked in at No. 37 out of the 59 players who were ranked at the time. And out of those 59 original players, he's dropped a whopping 16 spots (second-biggest fall). It's not that Montgomery did anything that caused his ranking to drop this spring; it's moreso about what others did to climb. He's a guard-center option who doesn't seem to be in a position to get significant action in 2025.

Jo Ionata seems to be the third-team center (behind Brailsford and VanDeMark), and others such as Will Sanders seem to have passed him at guard too. Roberts is certain to start at right guard while VanDeMark and Texas A&M transfer Kam Dewberry are battling it out at left guard. It's also possible that a guy like Alinen could be ahead of him at guard too despite Alinen playing left tackle in the spring. Don't get me wrong, he's still a valuable member of the interior depth, but I had to drop him a bit based on what transpired this spring. We'll see if that sticks in the fall.

Projected role in 2025: Depth IOL/ST

No. 60 – DB Kam Howard

Previous ranking: No. 52 (+0)

Considering Alabama added Howard during the late portal window last year and after Kalen DeBoer's arrival, I thought the former Charlotte transfer was a quality get. He had played 347 snaps as a true freshman for the 49ers and while he seemed a little lean at 189 pounds, he had some pop to his game and brought excellent open-field tackling that I thought would translate well to special teams.

Instead, Howard was limited to just four games in 2024 while earning a redshirt. The good news? That's allowed him time to get acclimated to playing in the SEC without having to waste a year of eligibility. Now he'll be a redshirt sophomore with more size (listed at 195 pounds right now) and some playing experience (both as a reserve and as a starter) on the college level.

I believe Alabama will have one of the top safety tandems in college football with Bray Hubbard and Keon Sabb, and I also love what Zay Mincey brings as a third option there. Throw in four-star, top-100 freshman Ivan Taylor being a strong candidate for early playing time after an impressive spring debut, and I’m currently projecting Howard as S5. He did show noticeable improvement in the spring though, so I like where he's trending. Howard will likely be a key contributor on special teams will providing depth at safety. I don't know how much you'll see him on defense though outside of mop-up duty.

Projected role in 2025: Depth SS/ST

No. 59 – TE Brody Dalton

Previous ranking: N/A

By the time spring came to a close, the only healthy scholarship tight end on the roster was redshirt freshman Jay Lindsey. Granted, all of the injuries are expected to be resolved by the time the season opener against Florida State rolls around, but those injuries did remind the coaching staff how quickly these positions can become depleted.

Danny Lewis is expected to be the "starting" Y-option for Alabama's offense (with Josh Cuevas manning the H role), but the hope was to at least see how he was progressing while serving in that role throughout the spring. With that plan falling through, there was at least some level of uncertainty as far as who would replace the blocking element that CJ Dippre and Robbie Ouzts brought to the table in 2024. The solution? Bringing in transfers Brody Dalton (Troy) and Jack Sammarco (West Virginia) during the spring portal window.

Sammarco is more of a long term play, but Dalton now has close to 1,000 career snaps (901) and 12 career starts under his belt, even if that time has come at a lower level of football. How quickly will he make the transition from the Sun Belt to the SEC? We'll see, but at 6-foot-5, 251 pounds with solid tape and a blocking background, he's an experienced insurance option if Lewis somehow struggles in his new role atop the depth chart.

At the very least, Dalton should provide rotational snaps and is likely to be TE3 in an offense that is known for rotating at least three players at the position. That makes him a valuable, much-needed addition to Alabama's roster post-spring.

Projected role in 2025: Rotational Y-TE/ST

No. 58 – EDGE Noah Carter

Previous ranking: No. 53 (+2)

Carter is a guy I liked a lot coming out of high school, and I know the coaching staff did too. I mostly worried about his weight though, as On3 only had him listed at 220 pounds — which looked about right given his high school tape. But by the time Alabama's roster was updated with Carter included, he was listed at 6-foot-4, 242 pounds. That was already longer and bigger than redshirt freshman edge Yhonzae Pierre, who was listed at 6-3, 239 on last year’s roster.

He only gained another pound (243 now) since then, but he's also filled out some when you compare how he looked in the spring to his freshman season. Mostly won with speed off the edge in high school, so while he has gotten bigger, I'm sure he's continued to require time in the strength and conditioning program to make him a more complete edge player. The bottom line… this is a twitched up former top-85 recruit, and he's playing a position that could use more juice to get after opposing quarterbacks.

Qua Russaw seems locked into the top Wolf spot, and Jah-Marien Latham making the move to the position further muddies the water for Carter and others. At the beginning of last year, we saw three guys getting reps when everyone was healthy (Russaw, Que Robinson and Keanu Koht). That expanded to Yhonzae Pierre, Latham and even off-ball linebacker Jihaad Campbell once the injuries and departures started to mount, but three seems like a safe number again in 2025. If that's Russaw, Latham and Pierre, that leaves mop-up duty for Carter and freshman Justin Hill, who I think is talented enough to also push for playing time this season.

Projected role in 2025: Depth Wolf/ST