Nick Saban wasn't expecting Maurice Smith to transfer.
The senior defensive back was Alabama's first-team nickel back during the Tide's spring game in April and was the favorite to win the starting nickel back job entering fall camp. So, according to a source, Saban was surprised when Smith asked to be released from his scholarship earlier this month.
Alabama was already thinner depth-wise at safety following the departure of sophomore Shawn Burgess-Becker. Losing Smith makes the Tide even thinner. It also leaves Alabama dependent on some inexperienced defensive backs to play roles they may not have played with Smith on the team.
When the Tide was in its nickel defense during the spring game, which was most of the time, Marlon Humphrey and Minkah Fitzpatrick were the two outside cornerbacks. Smith was the nickel, playing inside, covering slot receivers and tight ends, blitzing, defending the run and taking care of the other responsibilities that come along with being Alabama's nickel back.
With Smith gone, the Tide may have to move Fitzpatrick inside to play nickel back when it goes into its nickel and dime defenses.
The reason: Alabama looks for its nickel back to have both cornerback and safety characteristics. You need to be able to cover, ideally have decent size, have to hold up against the run, need to be an aggressive outside blitzer and have to understand and be able to play zone coverage.
There are limited options on the roster with Smith gone, especially with junior cornerback Tony Brown, the second-team nickel back during the spring game, facing a suspension that would sideline him for part of the season.
Either way, the Tide is now going to be reliant on a currently inexperienced defensive back to play when it goes into its nickel defense.
If Fitzpatrick moves inside, someone like redshirt junior cornerback Anthony Averett will step in to play outside.
While Averett is arguably the fastest player on Alabama's team, he played strictly on special teams last season.
If Fitzpatrick stays outside, the nickel back will be someone else with no game experience on defense, at least if Brown ends up being suspended.
The top remaining cornerbacks on the roster aside from Humphrey, Fitzpatrick, Averett and Brown are redshirt freshman Kendall Sheffield, four true freshmen and walk-on Levi Wallace.
The top safeties behind starters Eddie Jackson and Ronnie Harrison are redshirt freshman Deionte Thompson and junior Hootie Jones. Neither is a fit to play nickel back.
This isn't to say that Alabama is in trouble in the secondary. A true freshman, Fitzpatrick, stepped in and played the nickel back spot at a high level last year and was named to the SEC All-Freshman team. What's undeniable, though, is that the secondary is more of a question mark than it was a month ago.