Question: The All-Saban Alabama Team

Harold Howard

Suspended
Jan 9, 2013
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I've been a frequent visitor to tidefans for years and I thought it was time to get involved. With the dust beginning to settle on the season, it feels like the right time to debate this question (which I don't think has been posted before)…

Who would you include in an All-Saban team from his time at Alabama?

For the D I've just done it as the 3-4 base D, although I'd welcome any suggestions for the best Money or Star etc. Wanted to just make it 11 on each side (hence no slot receiver etc)

After the latest season it's getting harder and harder to pick, but here goes…

QB - AJ McCarron (This one isn't really up for debate anymore)

RB - Trent Richardson (Ridiculous to leave the Heisman winner off the first team, but I would put him behind the runner Richardson was in the 2nd NC winning squad). Ingram would be my backup, just ahead of Lacy (partly due to Lacy's problems with health)

HB - Brad Smelley

WR - Julio Jones

WR - Amari Cooper (Tough to leave off Maze, but Cooper is just phenomenal. Everything he does is so smooth. I think he becomes the greatest WR of the modern era by the end of his career.)

TE - Michael Williams

LT - Andre Smith (To be honest I'd probably rather have Cyrus, but I guess I wanted to not make it simply the 2012 line! Plus Andre in his prime - and when his mind was engaged - was well ahead of the talent that was on the roster in Saban's early days. I fully expect Cyrus to be the only choice by the end of next year)

LG - Chance Warmack (I hate to leave off a leader like Mike Johnson, but Warmack is just too dominant for there to be any debate)

C - William Vlachos (This is really just the way I've chosen to do it for organization, and I think B Jones was better, but Vlachos was Center for 2 NC wins so he deserves to be included. Very difficult to leave off Antoine Caldwell too)

RG - Barrett Jones (Placed him here because it was a toss up between Vlachos and Steen... gotta make good use of his versatility!)

RT - DJ Fluker

* The fact that I can leave off Carpenter, Cyrus K, Steen, Caldwell and Mike Johnson shows how unbelievably good our O-Line has been since Saban got here.


Defence

DE's - Wallace Gilberry and Marcel Dareus (So much for the argument about no pass rush from the DE position)

NG - Terrance Cody (Love Jesse W, it's another toss up, just think that as a pure NG Cody was slightly better, although obviously Williams can do so much more)

Jack - Courtney Upshaw

Sam - Jerrell Harris (Maybe a strange choice, but by the end of his career I think he was playing at a very high level. Reamer was more consistent for longer though. Dickson played well this year, although I'm not sure he was playing purely Sam?)

Will - Dont'a Hightower

Mike - Rolando McClain (Mosley will probably change this by the time he's finished, but I loved the combination of Hightower and McClain together. Although McClain's subsequent career is making it harder for me to remember the good days)

CB - Dre Kirkpatrick and Dee Milliner (Love Arenas and Jackson, but I think these two are the best corners that we've had. Certainly on the boundary anyway, I guess Arenas would be the Star in my team)

Safety - I always get mixed up about FS and SS… so I'll just pick Mark Barron and Rashad Johnson. Those two together would look good to me. Robert Lester has been solid, and obviously was better for longer than Johnson, but I think he plateaued at Alabama a little bit. The way Clinton-Dix played in the NC game makes me think that these picks might change next year though.

K - Leigh Tiffin (His senior year made up for everything)

P - Cody Mandell (He's getting better and better)

P/KR - Javier Arenas (I hate to leave Maze off the team, but Arenas was a special returner)


Long debut post! What are you guys thoughts?
 

bamamc1

Hall of Fame
Oct 24, 2011
5,401
3,898
187
Haleyville, AL
I've been a frequent visitor to tidefans for years and I thought it was time to get involved. With the dust beginning to settle on the season, it feels like the right time to debate this question (which I don't think has been posted before)…

Who would you include in an All-Saban team from his time at Alabama?

For the D I've just done it as the 3-4 base D, although I'd welcome any suggestions for the best Money or Star etc. Wanted to just make it 11 on each side (hence no slot receiver etc)

After the latest season it's getting harder and harder to pick, but here goes…

QB - AJ McCarron (This one isn't really up for debate anymore)

RB - Trent Richardson (Ridiculous to leave the Heisman winner off the first team, but I would put him behind the runner Richardson was in the 2nd NC winning squad). Ingram would be my backup, just ahead of Lacy (partly due to Lacy's problems with health)

HB - Brad Smelley

WR - Julio Jones

WR - Amari Cooper (Tough to leave off Maze, but Cooper is just phenomenal. Everything he does is so smooth. I think he becomes the greatest WR of the modern era by the end of his career.)

TE - Michael Williams

LT - Andre Smith (To be honest I'd probably rather have Cyrus, but I guess I wanted to not make it simply the 2012 line! Plus Andre in his prime - and when his mind was engaged - was well ahead of the talent that was on the roster in Saban's early days. I fully expect Cyrus to be the only choice by the end of next year)

LG - Chance Warmack (I hate to leave off a leader like Mike Johnson, but Warmack is just too dominant for there to be any debate)

C - William Vlachos (This is really just the way I've chosen to do it for organization, and I think B Jones was better, but Vlachos was Center for 2 NC wins so he deserves to be included. Very difficult to leave off Antoine Caldwell too)

RG - Barrett Jones (Placed him here because it was a toss up between Vlachos and Steen... gotta make good use of his versatility!)

RT - DJ Fluker

* The fact that I can leave off Carpenter, Cyrus K, Steen, Caldwell and Mike Johnson shows how unbelievably good our O-Line has been since Saban got here.


Defence

DE's - Wallace Gilberry and Marcel Dareus (So much for the argument about no pass rush from the DE position)

NG - Terrance Cody (Love Jesse W, it's another toss up, just think that as a pure NG Cody was slightly better, although obviously Williams can do so much more)

Jack - Courtney Upshaw

Sam - Jerrell Harris (Maybe a strange choice, but by the end of his career I think he was playing at a very high level. Reamer was more consistent for longer though. Dickson played well this year, although I'm not sure he was playing purely Sam?)

Will - Dont'a Hightower

Mike - Rolando McClain (Mosley will probably change this by the time he's finished, but I loved the combination of Hightower and McClain together. Although McClain's subsequent career is making it harder for me to remember the good days)

CB - Dre Kirkpatrick and Dee Milliner (Love Arenas and Jackson, but I think these two are the best corners that we've had. Certainly on the boundary anyway, I guess Arenas would be the Star in my team)

Safety - I always get mixed up about FS and SS… so I'll just pick Mark Barron and Rashad Johnson. Those two together would look good to me. Robert Lester has been solid, and obviously was better for longer than Johnson, but I think he plateaued at Alabama a little bit. The way Clinton-Dix played in the NC game makes me think that these picks might change next year though.

K - Leigh Tiffin (His senior year made up for everything)

P - Cody Mandell (He's getting better and better)

P/KR - Javier Arenas (I hate to leave Maze off the team, but Arenas was a special returner)


Long debut post! What are you guys thoughts?
Pretty good bunch right there and would be hard to beat. Of course the All Saban 2nd team would be strong as well. RTR
 

CajunCrimson

Moderator (FB,BB) and Vinyl Enthusiast
Staff member
Mar 13, 2001
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I think Shelley may have surpassed Leigh -- but we'll reanalyze after this year.

One of our players that I think just never got much "props" was Peek at TE -- I sure wish we had had him for 4 years.....great hands for a big guy

Great list and welcome!
 

Rolltide_PA

1st Team
Jul 31, 2011
918
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real nice list and welcome to the forum

i'll go lester over rashad simply because of how many games he played and started the last 3 years. Ha Ha and Collins will have a say about this in a few years though

TE i guess it has to be Williams although I think we all expect OJ Howard to take over that position for at least the next 3 years

Harris is a tough one. He played some great ball last year but started his career slower than expected. I thought he was really the unsung hero of last year's team

I'd say Cooper has another year before he can eclipse Maze. I don't believe Maze missed a game in his final 3 years and was so pivotal on returns to giving us great field position last year

I think you have to put Jones at center and Steen at RG. When it's all said and done Steen could start as many as 39 starts for the Tide (he's got 25 already).

Agree with Smith over Cyrus but if CyKo can stay healthy through the 2013 season he's real close to Andre

No doubt Arenas over Maze for returner but I've got high hopes that Robert Foster eclipses them both. We'll see...
 

mrusso

1st Team
Apr 17, 2006
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What's most impressive about this list is that you could do a completely different second list and still have a championship caliber team.
 

Harold Howard

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Jan 9, 2013
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What's most impressive about this list is that you could do a completely different second list and still have a championship caliber team.
That's exactly what I thought when I was doing it. It's really incredible to think about how many players have already had historically good careers during Coach Saban's tenure.
 

WMack4Bama

Administrator
Staff member
Nov 7, 2008
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Awesome idea! Here's my 2 cents..with my 1st and 2nd string guys

QB - AJ McCarron - G. McElroy
RB - T. Richardson - G. Coffee
RB - M. Ingram - T. Yeldon
TE/HB - Travis McCall - Holla McGhee (I forget his real name)
WR - J. Jones - DJ Hall
WR - A. Cooper - Keith Brown
LT - Andre Smith - C.Kouandjio
LG - Chance Warmack - Barrett Jones
C - Barrett Jones - W. Vlachos
RG - Marlon Davis - A. Caldwell
RT - DJ Fluker - Mike Johnson
DE - Lorenzo Washington - Damien Square
DE - Marcel Dareus - B. Deadrick
DT - Terrance Cody - N. Gentry
LB - Eryk Anders - C. Upshaw
LB - Rolando McClain - N. Johnson
LB - Dont'a Hightower - C. Mosley
CB - Kareem Jackson - D. Kirkpatrick
CB - Dee Milliner - M. Johnson
CB - Javier Arenas - Javier Arenas (twice on purpose. No one has played that Star position better)
SS - Mark Barron - J. Woodall
FS - Rashad Johnson - R. Lester

PR/KR - Javier Arenas - Julio Jones
K - L. Tiffin - J. Shelley
P - PJ Fitzgerald - The current guy. Forgot his name
 
Last edited:

TIDE-HSV

Senior Administrator
Staff member
Oct 13, 1999
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A couple of years ago, Saban remarked that AJ was the best QB he'd ever recruited. I had my doubts when I first heard that...
 

Harold Howard

Suspended
Jan 9, 2013
17
0
0
Nothing like a pop on the butt to get him on his way, huh?

At St. Paul's he was a really good QB. Glad he was able to grow in the system and blossom.
I've been excited about his potential since we started to recruit him. But he's got a chance to do something that I don't think anyone thought was possible. It's incredible.

If the O-Line can rebuild/reload then it's going to be fun watching him throw it around next year.
 

Harold Howard

Suspended
Jan 9, 2013
17
0
0
I don't think I could put Vlachos above Caldwell. Caldwell was a consensus All-American,
I know what you mean. I think if I was picking a team that was going on the field, I'd go with Caldwell because he was the better talent. I just kind of like Vlachos for his scrappy play, and when comparing their careers I went for the guy with the rings. But I can see why you'd go for Caldwell. The O-Line is probably the hardest position group to pick, there's no way you can avoid leaving off either 1st team All-Americans or guys with multiple championships.

Imagine how tough this question will be once Saban retires!
 

CaptainTide

Scout Team
Apr 16, 2011
164
0
0
Mobile, AL
I think Shelley may have surpassed Leigh -- but we'll reanalyze after this year.
Shelley has certainly been an amazing player, but remember he only does the shorter kicks. Perfect on extra points is really hard to do, though, so I give him props for that. But I think if we're going by performance/stats and not just eyeball thoughts, Leigh Tiffin is the better kicker you'd want on your team, since he did short & long kicks and was really good at both.

I don't think I could really make up a team roster right now, but I agree mostly with the original post's.
 

GreatDanish

Hall of Fame
Nov 22, 2005
6,079
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TN
I made a list, and it was almost identical to Mack's. Only differences were that I had Mosley over Hightower (largely because Hightower's first year back from injury was a down year), Deaderick over Washington, and Upshaw over Anders.
 

Harold Howard

Suspended
Jan 9, 2013
17
0
0
I made a list, and it was almost identical to Mack's. Only differences were that I had Mosley over Hightower (largely because Hightower's first year back from injury was a down year), Deaderick over Washington, and Upshaw over Anders.
Did Washington not have to play NG in Saban's first year? I remember him really struggling in that role. Could be wrong though.
 

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