![]() ![]() The powerful Derrick Henry and the lightning-quick Kenyan Drake will spell Yeldon throughout the season.Īnd at wide receiver, Amari Cooper is the star of a unit that could go four and five deep with elite talent.Ī quick look at the defensive lineup for Alabama shows that the Crimson Tide should be much improved in the pass-rushing department. Yeldon leads an extremely capable and diverse running back group. Otherwise, Alabama is as loaded as it has ever been at skill positions. Brown, Jackson and Taylor will battle for that starting spot during the first week of game practice. Alphonse Taylor has been the primary option there with Leon Brown and JUCO transfer Dominick Jackson nursing minor injuries. The offensive line is pretty much set except for right guard. And Saban has offered no real judgement either way on either guy, except to say that Sims is playing a bit faster because of his familiarity in the offense. Neither Blake Sims nor Jake Coker separated himself from the other, so this battle will likely continue well into the season. If you were looking for answers at quarterback before the season, you were sorely disappointed. "Systematically, Lane does that with the players he coaches and with the entire offense, which I think is really, really important.” Some people have a tremendous amount of knowledge, but you have to be able to articulate it to the players in a way they can understand it, and it’s simple for them to go out and execute it. ![]() I think he does a really good job in terms of-you know, it’s not just about knowledge. ![]() “The direction we want to go, the identity we want to have, and emphasizing some of the intangible things-the fundamentals-we needed to improve on. “Lane has done a really good job since he’s been here providing good leadership for the whole offense,” Saban said. Quite possibly the two biggest storylines on the team are on offense: Kiffin and the quarterbacks.įor Kiffin, it’s about making small changes that put Alabama’s best players in a position to succeed, something that may have been lacking under former offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier. Update: Above is the official depth chart provided by coach Nick Saban. Michael Nyeswander/Kurt Freitag/Corey McCarron Possibly the biggest surprise piece of news from the college football offseason was Saban and Alabama hiring the former Tennessee and USC coach to be the Crimson Tide’s offensive coordinator. ![]() Those four are back with the position groups they coached in 2007. And while Kirby Smart has been on staff for Saban’s entire time at Alabama, he’s now working with the secondary. Thompson returned for the 2012 season and this year will work with the outside linebackers. Bo Davis was hired back from Texas to once again coach the defensive line. Kevin Steele returned to Tuscaloosa in 2013 as director of player personnel and this year will be back on the field coaching inside linebackers like he did from 2007-08. There is very much a getting-the-band-back-together feel for the 2014 coaching staff, especially on the defensive side of the ball, where it's a near mirror image of the 2007 staff that built the foundation for coach Nick Saban and Alabama’s run through college football. Inside Linebackers Coach/Special Assistant to Head Coach Newcomers to watch include freshman running back Justice Haynes and safety Caleb Downs as well as junior college transfer receiver Malik Benson.Tight Ends Coach/Special Teams Coordinator How the reps are split between quarterbacks Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson is of the highest interest heading into the game with the duo competing to replace Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young. "It means if we have certain guys at certain positions, we can manipulate them around to get reps for those guys by playing more of the game because we split the squads up that way, then that’s the way we do it." "We split up the squads in A-Day so we get maximum reps for most of the players, which does not really mean the entire first team is on one team and the entire first team is on the other team," Saban said Thursday. But each group is not absolute, according to Saban. Sure, the overall first-team offense will be facing the first-team defense and the same holds true for the second group of each. Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban made clear not to read entirely into who's with which team, though. Alabama football is participating in A-Day on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium as the wrap up to spring practices. ![]()
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