I attended spring practice at Alabama last Friday & Saturday for the annual coach's clinic so I'll give some insight into what they have for next year.
Defensive Line
Bama is looking very solid along the front line. Lorenzo Washington and Luther Davis appear to be the starters right now at end. Both are tall,big, and physical. They play the run really well, but Davis is a little better at getting behind the line and making plays. All-American Terence Cody has probably dropped 10-15 lbs. and is moving very well. With 6 months to condition before the season he could very well be down to 340 by the first game. He has great lateral movement for a big man, but I still don't see him participating very much during passing downs. He can't bull rush the center quickly enough to collapse the pocket. Still, he is likely the best 2-gap DT in the country and if he stays healthy he'll be nearly impossible to run the ball against.
Linebacker
The starting linebacker corp is flat out sick. McClain and Hightower inside are headhunters. McClain was making plays everywhere and Hightower is probably the biggest hitter on the team. Hightower especially is an imposing individual. He looked like Brock Lesner out on the practice field. He's about 6'5 250 of solid muscle with legs like telephone poles. He's very loose for a guy his size and they had him at rush end several times throughout practice. They rotated several guys in and out at OLB, but there were several good options for them. Jerrell Harris, Corey Reamer, and Courtney Upshaw all have different skill sets so I imagine they'll swap them based on the situation. All three are solid and had their moments both days. Depth is the only real concern here. Besides the first 5 or 6, there's a huge dropoff to a bunch of slow white guys and walk-ons. There's a talented freshman class coming in that will need to be prepared to play immediately. As far as the starters go, this should be one of the best LB units in college football.
Secondary
The secondary is solid but not as impressive as the front seven. Kareem Jackson is a good cover corner and Arenas has some of the best hip movement I've seen. His only liability is his size, but the coaches found a way to work around it last year. The safety Woodall was really active, but seemed to lack alot of top end speed. He plays physical and should be solidified at his spot all year. The other safety spot was a rotation with all the players having their strengths and weaknesses. Sharieff doesn't have the body of a safety and Barron got confused on the coverages several times. BJ Scott was easily the best athlete of the group, but it was obvious he lacked experience at the position. Still, the starting three are solid players and should be just as effective as they were last season. I especially expect big things from Kareem Jackson.
Offensive Line
There's going to be a noticable dropoff from last season's group as far as I could tell. They will likely be bigger and might be as effective at run-blocking, but pass blocking was difficult for them. The replacement for Andre Smith was James Carpenter who was pretty solid and definitely the biggest lineman on the team. Vlachos is scrappy as hell at center and should be a serviceable replacement for Caldwell. For whatever reason, the OL coach Pendry can't teach these guys to pass block. Most looked stiff and slow on their feet when dropping back out their stance. Teams with quick and agile DL are going to cause problems for Alabama which is terrible considering their breaking in a new QB. There are supposed to be changes on the OL throughout the offseason, but I came away underwhelmed with their performance as a whole. They look the part and appeared to have a pissed off attitude about them but it didn't seem to help them in pass blocking at all.
Receivers/Tight Ends
I went in thinking that this would be a liability, but was actually pleasantly surprised. To get it out of the way, Julio Jones is just a damn freak of nature. He's bigger than half of the linebackers on the team. He never lets the ball get into his body and runs extremely clean routes. CB's can't matchup with his size and safeties can't catch him. He's going to be hell for opposing DC's to plan for. Besides him, Earl Alexander appeared to be the best bet to start on the other side. He's long and lean and has good hands. He's had injury problems so that's not really a safe bet. Maze is quick and will see alot of action. Hanks can make some plays, but his size is going to be a problem for him. Colin Peek is a good passcatching TE and the two other backups weren't much of a dropoff. This receiveing corp is going to definitely be upgraded from last year.
Running Backs
Good solid corp with lots of depth. Upchurch is, IMO, the best of the bunch. He's the most athletic of the bunch and by far the best pass blocker which unfortunately will be needed. Ingram will split time and will be about the same as last year. Grant is athletic and should be good as a third back. There's alot of utility with the unit overall. They all have various skill sets and if blended properly should be very effective.
Quarterback
Ugh is about all I can say. Star Jackson will not be the starter and likely won't be 2nd string. He was way too inconsistent throwing into double coverage many times and throwing post corners when he was supposed to throw skinny posts. It was obvious he was frustrating the receivers and one of them called him out on it in the middle of practice. It's disappointing because he has better arm strength and athleticsm than any of the others. McElroy is fairly inconsistent in his own right. He can make a beautiful throw and then a headscratcher on the next play. I'm afraid his statline from yesterday's scrimmage of 4TD's and 2 INT's will be the norm for him. Even when he had time to throw, he made some poor decisions.
Given their relatively easy schedule, I think Alabama should win at least 9-10 games. There is really not alot of difference between this year's squad and last year's except for a downgrade at OL and an upgrade on defensive experience. I think they'll matchup well with teams that will be relying on heavily on offense like LSU and Ole Miss. The opener with VT should be an all out war. There's no reason why Alabama shouldn't finish in the top 5 in every defensive statistical category. How far the team can go will likely depend on how they can balance the strength of the defense with the play of the quarterback. I see alot of turnovers from the QB spot which will put the defense in tight situations. Alabama will surely struggle against teams that play the pass well and rush the quarterback.
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