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It's just a week away from players reporting for fall camp. Finally there will be something for Alabama fans to talk about other than recruiting, reaching the scholarship cap, and other random speculation.
Saban, par for the course, will only be allowing reporters to view warm-ups for the most part. Granted there is only so much that can be gleaned from that but as time goes on it will give us some idea of group pairings.
There is also the information that leaks out from players and high school coaches that for one reason or another get invited to practice.
Slowly, as the information does get to us, we will finally have answers to some of the questions that have been speculated on since the end of spring practice.
These are the five that I feel are the most important to Alabama's success this season.
5. Who's Going To Be The Backup QB?
Headed into spring practice there were varying opinions on who would take the lead for the starting position. Some thought McElroy would win based on experience within the system while others thought it was Star Jackson's time to shine. Walk-on Thomas Darrah, the message board phenom, had already been granted the job by some.
McElroy easily won the starting role. Behind him though there were big time questions. Poor showings by Jackson and Darrah in practices and scrimmages left Bama fans wondering who would be there to back up the starter, should he go down in the fall?
Jackson is still young. He has the physical abilities to get the job done and is a bright kid. He seems to be struggling with defensive reads and picking up parts of the offense, which of course leads to confidence issues.
Given time, and that's no given in the rough and tumble SEC, he can still develop into a solid SEC quarterback.
Probably the worst thing that could happen to him this season would be for injuries to force him into a starting role.
Darrah has a very strong arm and, with it, a gunslinger-type mentality. There is more to playing quarterback in the SEC than just a strong arm: Some of the SEC's best ever at the position haven't been blessed with cannon's for arms.
Danny Weurffel for example, made up for a relatively weak arm with a great sense of touch and timing in Spurrier's "Fun and Gun" offense. Bama fans will remember Gary Hollingsworth who started at quarterback for the Tide in 89 and 90. He had a fantastic season in 89, in Coach Homer Smith's West Coast offense despite a fairly average arm.
AJ McCarron appears to have a shot at winning the back up slot during fall camp. No it's not ever ideal to have to depend on a true freshman at quarterback in the SEC, even as a backup. However, reports are he's looked great in summer passing drills.
McCarron has a great arm and above average athleticism and intelligence. If he can pick up the offense during two a days the newcomer might win the backup spot outright.
4. Who Steps Up At Safety For The Departed Rashad Johnson?
I think there is little disputing the overall effect Johnson had on the Tide's defense, both from the point of making sure everyone was in position on each play to how well he played the position.
His replacement this year won't have the added pressure of Johnson's defensive captain role. The Defensive Captain role will fall to linebacker Rolando McClain leaving whoever replaces Johnson only having to worry about maintaining a high level of play.
Saban likes to use a lot of cover 1 which leaves a free safety playing centerfield. From there he can read the field in front of him and play sideline to sideline. Johnson was very effective at this last season.
Robby Green really seemed to grab hold of the job late in the spring. Many were surprised as they thought sophomore Mark Barron would step up and take the role.
Barron is undeniably the best physical package Alabama has at the safety position. That makes what Green did in the spring that much more impressive. He didn't accomplish what he did due to poor play by Barron, but because of his own strong play.
The battle for the position will likely not be settled till midway through fall camp. Though Bama will lack experience at the position it will have more overall talent there than it's had in awhile.
3. Who Steps Up At Receiver Opposite Julio?
There will be lots who think that this is the biggest question headed into fall camp, and they might be right: It's definitely important considering how much pressure it would take off Julio as well as the new starter at quarterback.
The target could come from one of a group of returning players. Mike McCoy, Marquis Maze, Darius Hanks, and Earl Alexander all have the tools but for one reason or another have yet to have that breakout season.
McCoy started opposite Julio last year but was unable to mount much of a receiving threat. He has the physical attributes to be a good one but has struggled to get open at times. With a strong group of incoming freshman receivers McCoy may be hard pressed to hold on to his starting role.
Marquis Maze matches strong speed with outstanding athleticism. He showed in the spring game the effect he was capable of having, not only in the passing game, but also on reverses. He is capable of lining up outside but is most effective in the slot.
His one shortcoming has been inconsistency.
He will make a fantastic catch on one play, then drop a catchable pass on the next one. If he can develop consistent hands he could be the perfect match to Jones in the passing game.
Hanks showed brief flashes towards the end of last season of developing into a dependable possession type receiver. With another year of maturity it's possible he could be the missing piece of the puzzle in the passing game.
Earl Alexander is a large receiver with good hands. Unfortunately he's been injured most of his Alabama career. If he can stay healthy he would provide a big, physical target opposite Jones.
With Michael Bowman, Kevin Norwood, and Kenny Bell joining the passing attack this fall it's possible one of them could earn the job.
Bowman is a large, physical, athletic type receiver with soft hands. He seems the perfect fit to step into McCoys role opposite Jones if not this year, then next.
Norwood can play either on the outside, or in the slot. He has above average hands and speed.
Bell has blazing speed and is more than capable of stretching the field. He may need a redshirt season to get physically ready for SEC play.
One other receiver, Kendall Kelly, is recovering from off season surgery and likely won't enroll till winter semester.
2. Who's Going To Provide A Pass Rush?
Possibly the biggest shortcoming of last years Tide defense was it's lack of pass rush. In Alabama's defensive scheme most of it's pass rush should be generated by it's defensive ends and it's jack linebacker position.
2008 Jack linebacker Brandon Fanney, who has since transferred, was strong against the run but failed to generate little in the form of a pass rush. Alabama must find a replacement in 2009 that can produce more pressure on the quarterback.
Most speculation has D'onta Hightower moving over to fill the role. Hightower saw action at Jack during January's Sugar Bowl loss to Utah. If Hightower does make the move, who fills his spot?
Can true freshman Nico Johnson step up and fill Hightower's role in the middle?
Sophomore Courtney Upshaw may also get a shot at replacing Fanney. Even if he can't take the starting role, he will likely provide quality depth at the position.
True freshman Ed Stinson was recruited to play the Jack linebacker position. Whether or not he picks up the defensive scheme in time, remains to be seen. Stinson has the size and speed to be dominating either as a linebacker or with a hand on the ground.
1. How Does The Offensive Line Shake Out?
The spring ended with a lineup of Carpenter, Johnson, Vlachos, Boswell, and Davis going left to right. Barring injury or suspension they will likely line up that way on the opening offensive play against Virginia Tech.
The Tide has a strong group of offensive lineman enrolling this fall. Part of that class is giant offensive tackle DJ Fluker. Fluker will likely back up Carpenter at left tackle giving Alabama a giant one, two punch to protect their quarterback's back side.
This is the deepest the Tide has been on the offensive line in a decade. There are talented backups at every spot though some of it is inexperienced.
By the time the Tide reaches SEC play, they should be seasoned enough to help lead Alabama through the remainder of a tough schedule.
Once players report and practices get underway Tide coaches will begin to look for answers to these questions and others. The answers they come up with will determine whether Alabama will be capable of defending it's SEC West title and more importantly, win it's first SEC Title in a decade.
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One thing we've learned from this year's Big Ten Football Media Days is that the coaches are concerned with the image of their conference.
ESPN's Adam Rittenberg, whose covering the meetings, wrote "The Big Ten has become a national pinata in recent year." He continues, "Everyone is taking a swing at a league that's struggled in BCS bowls and marquee non-conference matchups."
When referring to the Big Ten's 1-6 record in bowls last season, Ohio State's Jim Tressel said "I don't know if anyone in this conference has an inferiority complex but it's something we take very very seriously."
Minnesota's coach Tim Brewster and Illinois' Ron Zook suggested the conference schedule games into early December with the hope this would help them get ready for bowl games.
It's no secret Joe Paterno feels the same way. He has been very open about possibly expanding to twelve teams with the hopes that a conference championship game would keep the teams participating sharp.
The conference has not done well in BCS bowl games in the last few seasons.
The conference that the Big Ten and everyone else is constantly chasing is the SEC. They've won the last three BCS Championships and have just signed a lucrative 15-year $2.25 billion television deal with ESPN.
The television contract doesn't scare the Big Ten as much as much as it does other conferences. Clemson's coach Dabo Swinney said "I would like to believe that SEC's television contract won't make for a competitive disadvantage in college sports." Clemson is in the ACC.
The Big Ten isn't too worried at this time because they still make a huge amount of money. Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin and Penn State rank no. 2,4, 5 and 6 in the nation in revenues earned.
So what about the image that the Big Ten has recognized as "needing improvement?" What's the best way to win some National Championships over schools like Florida and LSU?
Will a conference championship game accomplish this goal?
The problem for the Big Ten, ACC and Big East especially is that the performance of the SEC, and the reason they've pulled away from every conference with the possible exception of the Big 12, has to do with a desire to win—to "Win at all costs."
The SEC doesn't mess around. They believe in the value of winning National Championships and have showed they're willing to pay the price.
In a 2007 listing of NCAA coaches salaries LSU's Les Miles, Alabama's Nick Saban, Florida's Urban Meyer, Arkansas' Bobby Petrino, Auburn's former coach Tommy Tuberville, Goergia's Mark Richt, and Tennessee's Phip Fulmer were all reported to be in the top 15 in the nation.
This is just one indication that the SEC is serious about winning football games. Where they really pay the price and have been linked to an "ends justifies the means" philosophy has to do with the amount of NCAA violations this conference has committed.
It's pretty clear that the NCAA has put SEC teams on probation more than any other conference. The Big 12, a conference that has challenged the SEC in the rankings in the last couple of years, is probably the second worst offender.
Alabama has just been asked to forfeit 21 games because of a text book scandal and it's the fourth time in the last 14 years they've been penalized by the NCAA.
I'm not saying that the Big Ten or Big East is totally clean but you have to look extremely hard to find any one of their teams that have committed the type of serious violations that teams in the SEC have been associated with.
Of course the ACC has it's offenders. FSU is going through a terrible investigation where it's likely that Coach Bobby Bowden will have to forfeit wins because of a widespread scandal at the school.
Miami was a huge offender in the late 90's and was harshly penalized by the NCAA.
What about Notre Dame, a program that has been held in high regard for all the players they graduate? They got hit in 1999 for two years probation for what the NCAA called "serious."
It's just that when it comes to NCAA violations and probation, the SEC has taken it a step further than everyone. Besides Vanderbilt, every team in the SEC has been put on probation for serious violations.
This is the type of thing that just doesn't happen with Big Ten Football.
Michigan State had some serious problems in the 90's. Nick Saban, who is currently linked to Alabama's violations was the Michigan State coach from 95-99. It's not clear if he had anything to do with the problems at Michigan State.
Wisconsin was hit with a five year probation in the 90's and in 2004 Illinois was placed on a one year probation because a booster maid a payment to a prospect.
That's about it for the Big Ten.
Arkansas was on a three year probation that ended in 2001, Mississippi State was placed on a four probation in 2004 where they were banned from post season play and Kentucky was hit with a serious three year probation in 2002 which involved a bowl ban.
Florida went through a two year probation in the 80's and was banned from post season games on live tv, Steve Spurrier inherited a three year probation that Lou Holtz' South Carolina program received and LSU was hit with a one year probation in 1986.
Auburn was placed under a two year probation for the "play for pay" scandal that was associated with the Pat Dye period and it's been mentioned by Dave Link, of the Knoxville News Sentinel, that Tennessee's Lane Kiffin is already in trouble for recruiting violations. Kiffin hasn't coach a game yet.
Georgia was placed on probation in 1985, four years after a prior probation in 1981.
It's not just the probations. The Atlanta Journal Constitution released a report in 2008 where they listed Florida as the school that lowered academic standards for football players the most of the the 54 public institutions of the FBS schools.
John Clay, of the Lexington Herald Leader, is one of many writers who points to 24 arrests under the watch of Urban Meyer.
Is there a correlation here? Is there a tie-in between successful college football teams and a high number of NCAA violations?
Oklahoma's no saint. They suffered a two year TV ban in 1973, another two year TV ban in 1988 and were cited for four major violations in July of 2007.
Oklahoma and Florida—the teams that played in the National Championship last year.
So what can the Big Ten do to improve their winning percentage in big non-conference games?
A lot of analysts keep talking about the lack of speed in the conference. Others agree with Paterno and claim they need a championship game to tune up their top team for the BCS bowl.
I don't think that anything will help until all the schools in the FBS are playing on an equal field.
Schools aren't going to police themselves and the NCAA is already sticking its nose in just about everybody's face so what's the answer?
I don't know the answer but I do know that the Big Ten football programs should be admired for their record of playing, for the most part, by the rules.
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Crimson Tide Coach Nick Saban has spent a lot of time this offseason preaching to his team about finishing strong.
Hopefully his recruiting staff has been paying attention.
With 18 commitments, counting two resigns from last year, the Tide at most has 10 spots left with the new limit of 28 signee's in the SEC. It's entirely possible they may only sign 25 this fall. If that is the case, that would only leave seven more spots open.
The following is a list of the current highly ranked guys on the Tide. As long as the Tide fills its needs, everything else is gravy so to speak. The Tide's current commitments (position wise) are as follows:
- QB—Phillip Sims
- RB—Corey Grant and Jalston Fowler
- TE—Brian Vogler
- OL—Jawuan James, Austin Sheppard, and Chad Lindsey
- WR—Blake Sims, Ronald Carswell, and Keiwone Malone
- DL—Wilson Love and Craig Sanders
- LB—None
- CB—Demarcus Milliner, Deion Blue
- Safety—Jarrick Williams and Nick Perry
- Kicker—Jay Williams and Cade Foster
Saban has done a great job of "finishing" since arriving at the Capstone, so there is no reason to expect this year to be any different.
WR, Keenan Allen: 6'3" 195 lbs.
Allen has played both offense and defense at Northern Guilford High School in Greensboro, NC. With offers from almost every major school in the country, Allen has whittled his list down too just two schools.
Alabama and Oregon will battle for Allen's signature. A decision is expected soon, as Allen wants to commit before the start of his senior season. The Tide is recruiting him as a wide receiver. At a recent Alabama camp, he showed soft hands, while working at wideout.
Many Alabama fans assumed he was being recruited as a safety. With the Tide already taking two highly rated safeties in Jarrick Williams and Nick Perry, it free's Allen up for the Tide to take advantage of his speed and athleticism on the offensive side of things.
CB, John Fulton: 6'1" 180 lbs.
Cornerbacks seem to be at a premium in Titletown these days. Nick Saban has made it a focus to bring in a number of highly ranked corners in this year's class.
Alabama already has two corner's committed and is likely looking to add at least two more. Saban seems to favor having a number of athletic and speedy corners in helping defend the spread offense.
Fulton is considered the fifth best cornerback in the country by Rivals. He has the excellent speed and quick hips required to play corner in the SEC.
Fulton currently has South Carolina in the lead for his services after a visit to the Gamecocks. Alabama and Georgia are still battling for his signature as well and there is time to make up ground as Fulton has decided to wait until December to announce his decision. The Tide currently considers him a priority for one of their final spots. Fulton will be an early enrolee wherever he ends up.
OT, Damien Robinson: 6'7" 330 lbs. or OT, James Stone: 6'5" 297 lbs.
With the Tide likely to take only one more at the tackle spot, both Robinson and Stone are prime candidates to take that spot. Robinson hales from Olive Branch Mississippi, while Stone is from the Country Music Capitol of Nashville, Tennessee.
Robinson plans to take his time with his recruitment, allowing him to visit as many of his top schools as possible. The Tide is believed to be either at/or near the top of his list.
Stone will wait until his senior season is finished before making any decisions. He wants see how the season develops. His finalists are: Alabama, Auburn, Notre Dame, and Tennessee.
TE, Harrison Jones: 6'4" 230 lbs.
Jones is the brother of Alabama offensive lineman Barrett Jones. He has his three finalists down to: Alabama, Oklahoma, and North Carolina. He plans to make one last visit to his three finalist schools before the summer is over.
The Tide's other tight end commitment, Brian Vogler, is more of a traditional tight end, while Jones is more of the H-back type.
Jones plans on having a decision before the end of August.
WR, Vincent Sanders 6'3" 182 lbs. or WR, Victor Beasley 6'5" 213 lbs. or WR, Demarco Cobbs 6'1" 198 lbs.
Sanders seems content to play the recruiting game right now. While he appears to favor Alabama, I wouldn't be surprised to see him wait until it's too late. He will visit Alabama unofficially on August 1.
Beasley is an athletic freak. Once thought to commit before school starts, Beasely now says he will take his time, before making a decision. Alabama's biggest competition is Auburn, though the Tigers seem to trail by quite a bit right now.
Tulsa, Oklahoma native Demarco Cobbs has a strong interest in the Tide. He seems intent on going out of state. There is a lot of competition for Cobbs with Florida, LSU, Tennessee, and Georgia among the Tide's biggest worries.
With Malone, Blake Sims, Carswell, and possibly Keenan Allen, the Tide is likely only to take one more at the receiver spot. There is a chance they could take two more depending on how things develop.
LB, CJ Mosely 6'2" 212 lbs.
This Theodore, Alabama star has stayed quiet for the most part this recruiting season. It's thought the Tide hold an advantage over Auburn, even though the Tigers hosted him on his most recent campus visit. Mosely has excellent speed, but will likely play on the inside at the next level.
LB, Ladarius Owens 6'2" 225 lb's.
Owens has big time family connections to Auburn. His uncle was the first African-American to ever play football for the Tigers, so Owen's grew up a big fan of the Tigers. After a recent visit to an Alabama camp, Owens returned home and set a date for his announcement, only to delay it just four days before the scheduled announcement.
It's widely considered good news for the Tide the longer he delays his decision. If Auburn continues their struggles this season and the Tide plays the way it's capable, Owen's may decide he'd rather play for a team battling for championships, than one trying to rebuild with an unproven coach.
There are other candidates with offers that could be allowed to commit as well as some that could develop after finishing their high school careers with a strong senior season.
The Tide's coaching staff is well on its way to a great class. All they have to do now is follow what the head man has been been preaching over and over this offseason.
Finish Strong!
