Max
Member
A summer of attrition leaves Alabama’s talented and deep secondary with issues
Try this scenario:
You’re a secondary coach and you may have lost your cornerback, who was once a five-star recruit, to an indefinite NCAA suspension. Your former four-star safety faces a felony firearm charge and two more former four-star recruits, including a potential starter at nickel back, have decided to transfer.
Where does that leave you? Desperate? Vulnerable? Facing a rebuilding year?
All wrong. In the case of Alabama, the Tide may still be left with the best secondary in the country, even if it does leave questions to be answered.
Never mind that the Crimson Tide could be left without what could be a legitimate starting SEC secondary. News on Friday that Maurice Smith, a senior who appeared to be at least very much in the competition to start at nickel back, was leaving the program as a graduate transfer was the latest blow to the Alabama secondary’s depth.
Or, is it simply a case of a very talented herd being thinned because it had, well, almost too much of a good thing?
Smith joins sophomore Shawn Burgess-Becker (transferring) and juniors Tony Brown (facing an indefinite NCAA suspension for unspecified reasons) and Laurence “Hootie” Jones (arrested on weapons and drug charges) as secondary members that either definitely won’t, or may not be in the picture come August.
But all that leaves the Tide are three elite-level defenders to anchor the secondary in safety Eddie Jackson and corners Minkah Fitzpatrick and Marlon Humphrey. All three are considered to be among the best players in a deeply talented roster.
Rising sophomore Ronnie Harrison appears to be in good shape to play free safety, a spot Jones would have (and may still) contend for. If Brown wins an appeal and is good to go, he might be the odds-on favorite to handle the nickel role, but that spot could just as easily go to Kendall Sheffield, who by all accounts had a pretty good spring at cornerback (Brown also participated in spring drills but was relegated to second-team duty while Alabama awaits his fate).
So Alabama appears to be fine in the back end — maybe even elite — despite all the losses.
But you don’t lose that many talented players without some cost.
The most obvious areas for concern now are at the nickel spot, where Brown and Smith appeared to be the top options, and in overall depth.
At the nickel spot, an easy option would be to slide Fitzpatrick into the role, given that he excelled at the spot last year. That seems possible as both Sheffield and Anthony Averett looked ready to play some cornerback during spring practice.
However, depth would be a huge concern as the season goes on. It’s hard to lose four players and not have that crop up as an issue.
The good news is, Alabama continues to recruit top classes, and that should help alleviate that potential problem.
So what’s the best-case scenario? Both Jones and Brown make it back from their issues and compete for playing time. Brown could either win the nickel spot or compete to start at corner, allowing Fitzpatrick to return to the nickel role that earned him early stardom.
Meanwhile, Jones could get in the mix for playing time, maybe even starting time at safety.
If that happens, Alabama will not only have its trio of proven stars but would also be absurdly deep with veteran talent.
What’s the worst case?
Neither Brown nor Jones can escape their offseason trouble and neither plays. Then, one or two of the star returning players — say Jackson, Fitzpatrick or Humphrey — get hurt.
That would leave Alabama without star power and lacking proven players like Smith to step up and take the role. The Tide could go from having one of the nation’s best secondaries to having it be the weakness of the team.
But as long as its star trio is in the lineup and performing up to expectations, the Crimson Tide can absorb just about any other hit the secondary takes.
Try this scenario:
You’re a secondary coach and you may have lost your cornerback, who was once a five-star recruit, to an indefinite NCAA suspension. Your former four-star safety faces a felony firearm charge and two more former four-star recruits, including a potential starter at nickel back, have decided to transfer.
Where does that leave you? Desperate? Vulnerable? Facing a rebuilding year?
All wrong. In the case of Alabama, the Tide may still be left with the best secondary in the country, even if it does leave questions to be answered.
Never mind that the Crimson Tide could be left without what could be a legitimate starting SEC secondary. News on Friday that Maurice Smith, a senior who appeared to be at least very much in the competition to start at nickel back, was leaving the program as a graduate transfer was the latest blow to the Alabama secondary’s depth.
Or, is it simply a case of a very talented herd being thinned because it had, well, almost too much of a good thing?
Smith joins sophomore Shawn Burgess-Becker (transferring) and juniors Tony Brown (facing an indefinite NCAA suspension for unspecified reasons) and Laurence “Hootie” Jones (arrested on weapons and drug charges) as secondary members that either definitely won’t, or may not be in the picture come August.
But all that leaves the Tide are three elite-level defenders to anchor the secondary in safety Eddie Jackson and corners Minkah Fitzpatrick and Marlon Humphrey. All three are considered to be among the best players in a deeply talented roster.
Rising sophomore Ronnie Harrison appears to be in good shape to play free safety, a spot Jones would have (and may still) contend for. If Brown wins an appeal and is good to go, he might be the odds-on favorite to handle the nickel role, but that spot could just as easily go to Kendall Sheffield, who by all accounts had a pretty good spring at cornerback (Brown also participated in spring drills but was relegated to second-team duty while Alabama awaits his fate).
So Alabama appears to be fine in the back end — maybe even elite — despite all the losses.
But you don’t lose that many talented players without some cost.
The most obvious areas for concern now are at the nickel spot, where Brown and Smith appeared to be the top options, and in overall depth.
At the nickel spot, an easy option would be to slide Fitzpatrick into the role, given that he excelled at the spot last year. That seems possible as both Sheffield and Anthony Averett looked ready to play some cornerback during spring practice.
However, depth would be a huge concern as the season goes on. It’s hard to lose four players and not have that crop up as an issue.
The good news is, Alabama continues to recruit top classes, and that should help alleviate that potential problem.
So what’s the best-case scenario? Both Jones and Brown make it back from their issues and compete for playing time. Brown could either win the nickel spot or compete to start at corner, allowing Fitzpatrick to return to the nickel role that earned him early stardom.
Meanwhile, Jones could get in the mix for playing time, maybe even starting time at safety.
If that happens, Alabama will not only have its trio of proven stars but would also be absurdly deep with veteran talent.
What’s the worst case?
Neither Brown nor Jones can escape their offseason trouble and neither plays. Then, one or two of the star returning players — say Jackson, Fitzpatrick or Humphrey — get hurt.
That would leave Alabama without star power and lacking proven players like Smith to step up and take the role. The Tide could go from having one of the nation’s best secondaries to having it be the weakness of the team.
But as long as its star trio is in the lineup and performing up to expectations, the Crimson Tide can absorb just about any other hit the secondary takes.
