BAMANEWSBOT
Staff
A galaxy goes. A constellation comes. The universe remains the same.Brilliant stars have left Alabama, many to the NFL.
No Trent Richardson? No Mark Barron? No Dontāa Hightower?
No problem.
A few familiar faces are in different places.
On a football team built from the inside out, the offense now revolves around center Barrett Jones, formerly the Outland Trophy-winning left tackle. The defense now orbits around nose guard Jesse Williams, formerly a defensive end.
Coming off the 2011 national championship, the Crimson Tide is ranked No. 2 in both major polls because new names shouldnāt be confused with no names.
Twinkle, twinkle, Eddie Lacy. And T.J. Yeldon.
Shine on, Adrian Hubbard. And Trey DePriest.
With a gleam in his eye, veteran defensive end Damion Square took inventory of the rising stars and smiled.
āIt's kind of a talent overload, man,ā the fifth-year senior said. āThere's just so many guys that are great.
āYou go out there on the field for practice and you're like, 'Who is going to do this or who is going to do that? What guy is going to separate from the pack?' All of those guys come and they come and they practice well.ā
Entering a sixth season on a job for the first time in his career, coach Nick Saban has stockpiled four- and five-star players from recruiting classes ranked No. 1 in four of the past five years.
When Square started his Alabama career in 2008, he said it was clear who the first-team player was at each position.
āThe next guy was somewhat close, and then it was a drop-off. Now, we got eight guys at one spot that can just go. However you want to do it, they can get it done. I know as coaches it's pretty difficult to choose what guy is going to get the majority of reps, and that's why. It's great for us as a team to have that kind of depth.ā
How many starters on Alabamaās 2009 national championship team wouldnāt have a place on this 2012 team? Strong outside linebacker
Cory Reamer? Right tackle Drew Davis? Jack linebacker Eryk Anders?
Twinkle, twinkle, Xzavier Dickson. And Cyrus Kouandjio.
Shine on, Vinnie Sunseri. And Amari Cooper.
A new generation of stars is ready to join quarterback A.J. McCarron, guard Chance Warmack and D.J. Fluker and pick up where the Tide left off, routing LSU 21-0 in the BCS Championship Game.
A cast of newcomers is ready to blend with Nico Johnson and C.J. Mosley and Robert Lester and compete for a third national championship in the past four years.
āThe players we've got are dynamic,ā Square said. āThey're great guys, fast guys, guys that learn well, guys that want to be great right now. They're not really complacent.
āSome guys may come in and be complacent to redshirt or complacent to play. It may hurt them from getting better as individuals. But these guys listen to the leadership, they take what we're saying because they know we've been there before. A guy like me, twice, so they know that I know what it looks like. They get better after things I tell them they're doing wrong.ā
Twinkle, twinkle, Quinton Dial. And Brian Vogler.
Shine on, Deion Belue. And Christion Jones.
McCarron became the first sophomore to quarterback a team to a championship in the BCS era. Lacy averaged 7.1 yards per carry as a backup to Richardson, a Heisman Trophy finalist. Experts say the Tideās offense line is the best in college football.
Alabama led the nation last season in all major statistical categories.
How good can the 2012 defense be?
āWe can be great,ā said sophomore safety HaHa Clinton-Dix, once a five-star signee. āWe have reloaded.ā
Sunseri is an example. Heās a hard hitter who could replace Barron much the way the two-time All-American replaced All-American Rashad Johnson three years ago.
āWe always have a standard at Alabama,ā Sunseri said.
āWe want to be fast, strong, relentless. Stop the run, play everything right. We're definitely working hard trying to do everything the right way, how Coach Saban wants it.ā
No Trent Richardson? No Mark Barron? No Dontāa Hightower?
No problem.
A few familiar faces are in different places.
On a football team built from the inside out, the offense now revolves around center Barrett Jones, formerly the Outland Trophy-winning left tackle. The defense now orbits around nose guard Jesse Williams, formerly a defensive end.
Coming off the 2011 national championship, the Crimson Tide is ranked No. 2 in both major polls because new names shouldnāt be confused with no names.
Twinkle, twinkle, Eddie Lacy. And T.J. Yeldon.
Shine on, Adrian Hubbard. And Trey DePriest.
With a gleam in his eye, veteran defensive end Damion Square took inventory of the rising stars and smiled.
āIt's kind of a talent overload, man,ā the fifth-year senior said. āThere's just so many guys that are great.
āYou go out there on the field for practice and you're like, 'Who is going to do this or who is going to do that? What guy is going to separate from the pack?' All of those guys come and they come and they practice well.ā
Entering a sixth season on a job for the first time in his career, coach Nick Saban has stockpiled four- and five-star players from recruiting classes ranked No. 1 in four of the past five years.
When Square started his Alabama career in 2008, he said it was clear who the first-team player was at each position.
āThe next guy was somewhat close, and then it was a drop-off. Now, we got eight guys at one spot that can just go. However you want to do it, they can get it done. I know as coaches it's pretty difficult to choose what guy is going to get the majority of reps, and that's why. It's great for us as a team to have that kind of depth.ā
How many starters on Alabamaās 2009 national championship team wouldnāt have a place on this 2012 team? Strong outside linebacker
Cory Reamer? Right tackle Drew Davis? Jack linebacker Eryk Anders?
Twinkle, twinkle, Xzavier Dickson. And Cyrus Kouandjio.
Shine on, Vinnie Sunseri. And Amari Cooper.
A new generation of stars is ready to join quarterback A.J. McCarron, guard Chance Warmack and D.J. Fluker and pick up where the Tide left off, routing LSU 21-0 in the BCS Championship Game.
A cast of newcomers is ready to blend with Nico Johnson and C.J. Mosley and Robert Lester and compete for a third national championship in the past four years.
āThe players we've got are dynamic,ā Square said. āThey're great guys, fast guys, guys that learn well, guys that want to be great right now. They're not really complacent.
āSome guys may come in and be complacent to redshirt or complacent to play. It may hurt them from getting better as individuals. But these guys listen to the leadership, they take what we're saying because they know we've been there before. A guy like me, twice, so they know that I know what it looks like. They get better after things I tell them they're doing wrong.ā
Twinkle, twinkle, Quinton Dial. And Brian Vogler.
Shine on, Deion Belue. And Christion Jones.
McCarron became the first sophomore to quarterback a team to a championship in the BCS era. Lacy averaged 7.1 yards per carry as a backup to Richardson, a Heisman Trophy finalist. Experts say the Tideās offense line is the best in college football.
Alabama led the nation last season in all major statistical categories.
How good can the 2012 defense be?
āWe can be great,ā said sophomore safety HaHa Clinton-Dix, once a five-star signee. āWe have reloaded.ā
Sunseri is an example. Heās a hard hitter who could replace Barron much the way the two-time All-American replaced All-American Rashad Johnson three years ago.
āWe always have a standard at Alabama,ā Sunseri said.
āWe want to be fast, strong, relentless. Stop the run, play everything right. We're definitely working hard trying to do everything the right way, how Coach Saban wants it.ā
