Ja'Corey Brooks provides update on wide receiver room as training camp begins

All eyes are on the Alabama quarterbacks, but there’s also pressure on the wide receivers to perform this year. Last season was the first time since 2017 a Crimson Tide receiver failed to reach 1,000 yards, and they’ll look to bounce back in 2023.

Ja’Corey Brooks is a big piece of that puzzle after ranking second on the roster with 674 receiving yards a year ago, just three behind Jermaine Burton. Both are back this year, as is Kobe Prentice. Most of the receivers are young, though, and don’t have as much experience in the Alabama program as Brooks, who’s in his fourth year in Tuscaloosa.

That said, he likes what he saw throughout the offseason as training camp began.

“We have a great group of guys once again,” Brooks said. “This whole summer, we’ve been working hard, developing our skillsets on and off the field. Mostly on the field right now since, you know, fall camp. Tryin to get a lot better with the plays, getting more reps with the quarterbacks — all quarterbacks. We’ve been doing a great job.”

The Alabama offense was a key topic of discussion last year and that’s the case again this season. Tommy Rees is now at the controls after Bill O’Brien left to return to the NFL. The quarterback competition is also still ongoing, as Brooks alluded, and that plays a big role in how productive the wide receivers are.

“My biggest concern at receiver is the quarterback getting them the ball. I like the group as a whole because they were so young last year. But they’re still young this year and it’s the same guys. … Four of the top six guys are still young and inexperienced,” BamaOnLine’s Jimmy Stein told Clint Lamb on On3 Roundtable. “That just shows how diaper young they were a year ago when we were almost entirely dependent on Brooks and Burton. … It’s going to be better [in 2023].

“Now, how much better? I’m not sure. To me, it’s a big step in the right direction. Will it be one of the best wide receiver groups in the country? I don’t know that. It seems like a bit much for me, but I do think that it’s going to be improved.”

Still, Brooks said one of the keys to developing the receiver position is simply sticking to the basics. That was a focal point after the A-Day spring game and that will also be the case into camp with the season opener just a few weeks away.