Next Year's returning players

CrimsonEyeshade · Dec 10, 2014

Agreed.

Football, even in the SEC, is becoming a scorer's game. And for the second year in a row, our season hinges on an unproven quarterback. Do you believe in miracles? We'd better.

B1GTide said:
Concerns are obvious, but few. Replacing your safeties is a huge problem. They are critical to the success of a Saban/Smart defense. But replacing your QB and 3 starters on your o-line is going to be even harder. Sims eased the burden of an average run blocking o-line this year with his ability to scramble. His legs kept defenses honest.

I understand that Barnett has a similar ability to make things happen with his legs, but will he be ready to play as a true freshman? If not, you will need better o-line play than you got this year.

theballguy · Dec 10, 2014

skrayper77 said:
Not including potential signees, here's where we stand for next year (based on certain players assumed to go to the draft early). Starters marked with * / Significant playing time (almost partial starters) marked with #

**OFFENSE**
QB - Coker / Bateman / Cornwell
RB - Henry# / Drake# / Jones / Tenpenny
HB/FB - Freitag / McCarron
WR - Stewart# / Sims / Black / Foster / Falkins
TE - Howard# / Ball / Flournoy-Smith / Greene
OT - Robinson* / Hill / Jackson
OG - Taylor / Bozeman / Pierschbacher / Luatua
C - Kelly* / Bozeman / Casher

Seniors leaving:
Sims (QB)*, Vogler (TE)*, White (WR)*, Kouandjio (OG)*, Brown (OG)*, Shepherd (OG)*, Fowler (HB/FB)*, Jones (WR)

Probable declaring early (with level of certainty of departure):
Cooper (WR)* - 100%
Yeldon (RB)* - 75%

Total returning starters - 2 (Kelly, Robinson)
Total returning heavily used backups - 4 (Stewart, Howard, Henry, Drake)

**DEFENSE**
DE - Allen*, Reed*, Pettway#, Tomlinson#, Liner#, Hand#
NT - Robinson*, Lake
SLB - Devall*, Anderson, Lee
MLB - Foster#, Hamilton
WLB - Ragland*, Foster#, Jones
JACK - Anderson, Williams
DB - Jackson*, Jones*, Brown, Smith, Sylve#
FS - Smith#, Washington
SS - Jones
STAR - Smith, Smith#

Seniors Leaving:
DePriest (MLB)*, Dickson (JACK)*, Perry (FS)*, Williams (STAR)*

Departing early:
Collins (SS)* - 100%

Total Returning Starters - 7 (Allen, Reed, Robinson, Devall, Ragland, Jackson, Jones)
Total returning heavily used backups - 7 (Pettway, Tomlinson, Liner, Hand, Foster, Sylve, Smith)

Special Teams:
P - Scott*, Morris
K - Griffith*, Scott, Raborn
LS - Mazza*
H - Bateman*, Morris
PR - Jones (Cyrus)
KR - Jones (Cyrus), Stewart

Seniors Leaving:
Jones (Christion)

Departing Early:
Collins - 100%

Total Returning Starters - 4 (Scott, Griffith, Mazza, Bateman)

Finding snap counts was hard, so a lot of the heavily used backups was more by memory. Feel free to correct any incorrect assumptions on playing time.

I think we lose 3 early to the draft (Yeldon, Cooper, and Collins) - of those three, I really think Yeldon is the only one with a slim chance of coming back.
I think Kelly stays, though if he gets a high enough draft rating he could leave as well.

The OL will be rebuilding next year. Lots of talent, but not a lot of experience. Of course, that's nothing new for us - we came into this year with only 37 combined starts along the offensive line, or tied for 108th among all FBS programs. (Data can be found here - I moved it to a spreadsheet for easier sorting)

Depth chart was located here

Could this possibly be a combo of our 2012 offense and maybe (fingers-crossed) our 2011 defense???

very raw of course but still the potential is there

bamaslammer · Dec 10, 2014

Offensively:

my biggest concern is WR where we lose incalculable experience. The guys who remain have talent but it's just going to take time. I don't see another "Cooper" on this roster either.

Fowler: he's gone and we have nobody remotely like him

Defensively:

Safety obviously. It's scary enough that I think we may need to look at moving Brown to safety because I just don't know if we have enough talent back there. Geno Smith appears to be an improving player and Washington got a good bit of playing time this year but how many times did Collins bail us out this year?

DL: If Reed stays for his senior year this line will be sick. IF he leaves we would really need Hand to improve rapidly. I'm hoping Reed stays because I think he has 1st or 2nd round potential with another year.

LB: I feel ok if Reuben Foster can have a bounce back year. We really need this guy to be a starter next year and his neck injuries may prevent that, but if he can do like Ragland did this year AND Ragland does not go pro our LB corps can be better than this year. If that all happens our front 7 could really bail us out with the safety issues.

JustNeedMe81 · Dec 10, 2014

I dont know. Coker has showed lot of talents, and no way we'll see two highly recuits QBs on the field this year.. but they will battle it it for no. 2 in the fall. Coker has showed us that he has figured out the offense, and what's interesting is Kiffin is going to change the offense tailored to Coker's strength... just like he did with Blake's.... The OL should be stronger and better next year, and I wouldn't worry so much about Safety because I think we'll see two options... See Geno Smith/ Eddie Jackson move to Safety or Hootie Jones takes over... I've herad lot of good things about him this year... The only thing we should be concerned is the offense.. will the offense "click" with coker?

CrimsonEyeshade said:
Agreed.

Football, even in the SEC, is becoming a scorer's game. And for the second year in a row, our season hinges on an unproven quarterback. Do you believe in miracles? We'd better.

JustNeedMe81 · Dec 10, 2014

Good points.

Two things: T Brown is probably going to stay at CB. I mentioned Eddie Jackson or Geno Smith moving back there. Maybe Slyve. They will definitely move folks around in the spring.

Greene- Might replace Fowler in his spot. He has the size, can catch and he is used to blocking.
Foster... I don't know... He keeps having those issues with neck, which leads to believe that his career may be cut short.. but we do have few guys that can step up and play.... What we need to hope is Ragland dont leave... Dude figured it out three games into the season and has been balling since then. I wouldn't be suprised to see him calling plays in playoff with depriest.

bamaslammer said:
Offensively:

my biggest concern is WR where we lose incalculable experience. The guys who remain have talent but it's just going to take time. I don't see another "Cooper" on this roster either.

Fowler: he's gone and we have nobody remotely like him

Defensively:

Safety obviously. It's scary enough that I think we may need to look at moving Brown to safety because I just don't know if we have enough talent back there. Geno Smith appears to be an improving player and Washington got a good bit of playing time this year but how many times did Collins bail us out this year?

DL: If Reed stays for his senior year this line will be sick. IF he leaves we would really need Hand to improve rapidly. I'm hoping Reed stays because I think he has 1st or 2nd round potential with another year.

LB: I feel ok if Reuben Foster can have a bounce back year. We really need this guy to be a starter next year and his neck injuries may prevent that, but if he can do like Ragland did this year AND Ragland does not go pro our LB corps can be better than this year. If that all happens our front 7 could really bail us out with the safety issues.

gtgilbert · Dec 10, 2014

don't forget Taylor at OG. He played quite a bit, although maybe not all that well. Maybe the light will come on after the experience gained like it did for AK, who shocked me this year with how well he played after last season.

deltatider said:
I feel good about the O-line next. We're set at LT and C, which are the two most important positions. Bozeman, Hill, and Jackson have gotten meaningful snaps this year which will payoff next year. I Didn't realize we were so thin at safety. This is the first year in a while where we didn't get a true freshman some meaningful snaps. In years past you could tell who was being groomed to be the next star. We shall see....

CRMSNtide · Dec 10, 2014

The offense-
A lot of new players in the mix, it will be interesting because so many talented guys have been waiting for their turn, the WR corps will be young, but a lot of ability.
As long as Coker gets the mental side down and works hard this off season, i think he will be the guy, his upside is good if he makes progress.

The defense-
The front 7 should be a monster, Robinson and Allen will be in their 3rd seasons, Williams could make a great Jack and guys like Hand, Evans and Miller providing young talent.

CB looks strong too, Jones will be a Sr., Brown and Jackson will mature and Humphrey is a 5* that could be in the mix after red shirting this year.

twofbyc · Dec 10, 2014

There are some freshmen in the upcoming class that may see early playing time - not like this hasn't happened lately. It's a necessity when so many juniors leave.

CrimsonEyeshade · Dec 10, 2014

I hope you're right, but I believe Jake has not had enough meaningful snaps to prove anything more than what we already know: He's got great potential, but can he really see the field?

Practice will help, but the Great Intangible necessary for all effective quarterbacks remains to be seen.

JustNeedMe81 said:
I dont know. Coker has showed lot of talents, and no way we'll see two highly recuits QBs on the field this year.. but they will battle it it for no. 2 in the fall. Coker has showed us that he has figured out the offense, and what's interesting is Kiffin is going to change the offense tailored to Coker's strength... just like he did with Blake's.... The OL should be stronger and better next year, and I wouldn't worry so much about Safety because I think we'll see two options... See Geno Smith/ Eddie Jackson move to Safety or Hootie Jones takes over... I've herad lot of good things about him this year... The only thing we should be concerned is the offense.. will the offense "click" with coker?

Snuffy Smith · Dec 10, 2014

JustNeedMe81 said:
Let's think about the early enrolls that will be here next month.... Blake Barnett, Desherrius Flowers, Ronnie Harrison, Brandon Kennedy, Calvin Ridley, Deionte Thompson, Dallas Warmack... Bo Scarbough.... Yikes!

Glad to see Bo Scarborough's name in that list. I agree with other posters on here that think we probably see some transfer attrition at the running back position. I mentioned to my son the other day about whether or not he thought Yeldon would leave early. His response was - We really NEED him to. He was not being disrespectful to TJ, just the reality of having that many good players at the same position.

JustNeedMe81 · Dec 10, 2014

He played in five games this year. First game to West Carolina, he has improved a LOT! Last game he played, he looked very comfortable, and he knew the offense better than he did in the first game. His deep ball and his timing with receivers were better. HE can see the field well. Only thing difference between Blake and Jacob is that Jacob go through his reads well and throws to different receivers, while Blake make the plays happen with his feet and find a way to get ball to cooper. The new Freshman QB are the future, and I don't think they will get starting job... but look for one to emerge out of the spring as no. 2 and get some meaningful snaps in clean up games this fall to gain experiences.

CrimsonEyeshade said:
I hope you're right, but I don't believe Jake has not had enough meaningful snaps to prove anything more than what we already know: He's got great potential, but can he really see the field?

Practice will help, but the Great Intangible necessary for all effective quarterbacks remains to be seen.

crimsonaudio · Dec 10, 2014

At this point, especially after this season, I don't even worry about it.

day-day · Dec 11, 2014

This thread is missing two things:
1--We still have games to focus on this season. Until this season is finished there should be no discussions on the future.
2--Henry will be moved to LB next season

I mentioned earlier how I think the offensive line may be a big concern but read some other posts with more concern about the safety positions. I think that the OL is in good shape personnel wise but don't know how well it will function as a unit.

Does Bama lose at least one safety at the end of every season? Seems like these spots are always coming open.

Coker looked so much better when he played agains WCU. I think the QB spot will be okay next season if Coker starts or if someone else proves better.

I originally expected Scarbrough be be a running back and still do. When I saw him in one the all-star games I was thinking he will be someone to get the ball too frequently so maybe slot reciever or RB? I could see using him as a receiver including plays when he is handed the ball. Is he eligible for the NFL draft after his sophomore year (3 years out of high school)? I haven't kept up with NFL rules on this.

Moro Creek · Dec 11, 2014

Bo Scarbrough could be an All American at safety if they were to move him over to defense.

JustNeedMe81 · Dec 11, 2014

That's another option. In the other thread, i mentioned marlon Humphrey as Safety...

Moro Creek said:
Bo Scarbrough could be an All American at safety if they were to move him over to defense.

Snuffy Smith · Dec 11, 2014

JustNeedMe81 said:
That's another option. In the other thread, i mentioned marlon Humphrey as Safety...

The only issue I could see with MH at safety would be size. He has the height at 6'1" but not the bulk @ 186. I am sure S&C (or SC) will put on a few pounds but I think it depends on his commitment to track and the hurdles. I can't see him keeping that at 210+ which is where it seems Saban likes his safeties to be (Collins is actually listed at 222)

JustNeedMe81 · Dec 11, 2014

I think that's why he redshirted this year to gain weight... I saw him at SEC championship after the game on tv, he has put on quite few pounds... He looks the Safety part. If I can take picture, I'll post it on here tonight.

Snuffy Smith said:
The only issue I could see with MH at safety would be size. He has the height at 6'1" but not the bulk @ 186. I am sure S&C (or SC) will put on a few pounds but I think it depends on his commitment to track and the hurdles. I can't see him keeping that at 210+ which is where it seems Saban likes his safeties to be (Collins is actually listed at 222)

Snuffy Smith · Dec 11, 2014

It would be nice to have some more options there with Collins, Perry and Williams all gone.

JustNeedMe81 · Dec 11, 2014

I agree. That's why i was thinking geno Smith, Marlon Humprhrey, Bo Scarbough seems like the options at Safety....

Snuffy Smith said:
It would be nice to have some more options there with Collins, Perry and Williams all gone.

ron70 · Dec 11, 2014

yes the talent is there but team chemistry so important to championship level teams must be built. Couple tough games early

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