Greg McElroy explains what Alabama's offensive identity could look like under new OC Tommy Rees

The Alabama offense could see a new look in 2023 — in more ways than one. Bill O’Brien is back in the NFL and Tommy Rees has replaced him as offensive coordinator, meaning he’ll bring a new approach to the job.

Former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy offered a preview of what that could look like.

McElroy joined On3’s J.D. PicKell on The Hard Count Tuesday and talked about the changes within the Alabama offense. The quarterback competition between Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson is still ongoing, but McElroy said Rees’ offensive identity could determine even more about the Crimson Tide this season.

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“I think one thing that we need to first take into account, what is Alabama’s offense going to be? What do they want to be?” McElroy said. “That’s probably the trickiest part of the evaluation process is they’re breaking in a new offensive identity with Tommy Rees coming in from Notre Dame.

“I get the sense, just having been around Tommy and having gotten to know Tommy, he wants to step on your face with a hobnail boot. That’s who he is. He wants to run the ball downhill, he wants to have a team that practices and emphasizes being physical along the line of scrimmage. That’s who he is and that’s the way his Notre Dame team played.”

Inside the numbers: Tommy Rees’ offense at Notre Dame

The running game was a big part of Rees’ offense at Notre Dame last season. He worked under a defensive-minded coach in Marcus Freeman, and the Fighting Irish came out with a fairly balanced attack. Notre Dame passed for 2,692 yards and rushed for 2,458 yards under Rees’ watch. Of course, the Fighting Irish went through most of the year with backup Drew Pyne at quarterback after Tyler Buchner suffered an injury early in the year.

For comparison, Alabama rushed for 2,544 yards thanks in large part to a huge year from Jahmyr Gibbs, who led the Crimson Tide with 926 yards on the ground.

Quarterback development, though, was a big reason why Nick Saban brought in the 30-year-old Rees to replace O’Brien. In fact, through spring practice, McElroy told PicKell he’s already seen Milroe take big strides ahead of next week’s A-Day spring game, especially when it comes to turnovers.