šŸˆ Alabama football's VIP 25: Difference makers in '14ā€”#1 Jacob Coker

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Part I of a five-week series counting down the most important people to Alabama's 2014 football season.

Every season has its memorable moments and game-changing performances, so we're counting down the 25 most important figures within or around the Crimson Tide program (or foes) who will determine whether Alabama's upcoming season is a success.



Continue reading...
 
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No. 25: Kenyan Drake

Perhaps no member of the 2013 Alabama team had as many highs and lows as Drake. He was a breakout member of the backfield early, then slipped out of the running back rotation before the Sugar Bowl.

His ability to shake off whatever caused the issues late in 2013 will be huge to fixing matters in 2014. In all, Drake ran 92 times for 694 yards for an average of 7.5 yards. He was easily had the most explosive speed in Alabama's loaded backfield, but there were ball security issues

Three lost fumbles came at inopportune times and likely led (in part) to his declining playing time. Drake ran four times for 33 yards against Auburn, but didn't play in the second half. He also didn't get any carries against Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl.

Coach Nick Saban said the ball security and Derrick Henry's December progress was behind the depth chart swap before the Sugar Bowl.

Henry's big performance in the Superdome creates more difficulties for Drake moving back into the top two with T.J Yeldon.

But Drake brings something unique to the backfield in his speed. Fix the fumbles and there should still be a place for him in Alabama's rotation.
 
Football is a game of inches, right?

A football measures between 10Ā½-11Ā½". Drake's issues deal in much smaller measurements...roughly 5-5Ā½".
 
I personally think Drake is the best back we have. His ability to take it the distance on any given carry is not a secret, but his ability to get the tough yards is not as talked about. He has a dynamic to him that I donā€™t think Yeldon or Henry has, and thatā€™s the fact he never goes down on first contact, runs low to the ground, and I have no doubt would do wonders in the open field with the ball, plus the fact he can just run right by you. Yeldon is my favorite player on the team, so it hurts to say Drake is the better back, but I believe if he can hold on to the ball, he has shown he can get it done. I still would love to know what it would look like if we give him the ball against Auburn on those short yardage carries where Yeldon was tackled short. Not saying there would be any change in results, but I still would have loved to have seen that. If he could get his ass into the classroom and quit talking back to coaches, this guy could make himself millions one day, but the story I hear about him chasing the girls, not getting it done in the classroom, and talking back to the coaches doesnā€™t bode well for his future at Alabama or the NFL. He has everything it takes though to be a Heisman winning running back, if he can just do the other things long enough to stay on the field.
 
Definitely need him this year. Guy can turn a 5 yard run for an average back into a TD. Ball handling skills need work, but other than that, he's got is all. No idea why he didn't get more carries against Auburn, but something is up within the locker room. Whatever it is, I hope it gets resolved and he can see the field. Get back to the running game we had in '08, '09, '11, and '12. Have a trio of backs who can eff stuff up.
 
No. 24: Chuck Karr

Wait, who's Chuck Karr?

His name doesn't appear on Alabama's roster and he's not a coach. Karr isn't listed on Alabama's football media guide or game programs. He's authored three books, 44 journal articles and 90 conference papers.

So who is he?

Karr is the dean of Alabama's engineering school and played a crucial part in landing one of the nation's top recruits last fall. Da'Shawn Hand, a unanimous 5-star and among the best players in the nation chose the Tide over academic heavyweight Michigan and others.

During his televised news conference, Hand took a minute to thank the academic side of the equation.

"On top of that, Dean Karr, the engineering dean, he's a football guy. I love that guy," Hand said. "I love civil engineering and they have that major and a couple of players that actually play now are taking that major."

Hand could very well make an impact this fall as one of the most athletic, speedy defensive linemen best suited for the new-age, fast-paced offenses. Credit Karr with the assist on a few future tackles.

Continue reading...
 
Carr makes a difference in 2014? That's based on an assumption Hand makes a difference...is he going to be on this list as well?

:headscratch:
 
Prof. Karr came to speak to my high school kids earlier this school year. Great guy! Real passion for both engineering and Bama. We definitely have the right guy leading this school. The barn is no longer the go-to school for engineering, not by a long shot. When I was in school there in the late 80s and early 90s, just a small percentage of students were in engineering (vast number of the population there were either in liberal arts or business). Now engineering students comprise... ~ 30% or so (sorry, can't remember the exact number); that's very impressive jump!
 
bama alum said:
Prof. Karr came to speak to my high school kids earlier this school year. Great guy! Real passion for both engineering and Bama. We definitely have the right guy leading this school. The barn is no longer the go-to school for engineering, not by a long shot. When I was in school there in the late 80s and early 90s, just a small percentage of students were in engineering (vast number of the population there were either in liberal arts or business). Now engineering students comprise... ~ 30% or so (sorry, can't remember the exact number); that's very impressive jump!
Click to expand...

It's about half of that...

I find it hard to remember the school has almost 35K students now. I mean, I know it...hard to fathom, still.
 
Culverhouse still has the most numbers, but the difference isn't as big as it used to be. Anyway, maybe we can just agree that Prof. Karr is exactly what the College of Engineering needs, regardless if he was one of the reasons Hand picked Bama. (bad pun in there somewhere...)
 
bama alum said:
Hmm...Numbers don't lie. We were told a higher number though. (shrug!)
Click to expand...

I'm betting your just getting a number confusedā€”or the speaker did. I noticed that the average ACT score of incoming frosh into the engineering program was now 30 which is a jump of about five points in less than a decade.

What I find remarkable, especially in this age of student loan default and unemployment, is the school is carrying an 83% placement rate with an average starting salary of 62K+ per year.

No matter where the confusion is...strong hand the school is playing right now with our engineering card.
 
No. 23: Ryan Kelly

In baseball, it's called VORP, a statistic used to determine a player's "Value Over Replacement Player."

It's a bit more challenging to apply it to a football player, especially an offensive lineman who doesn't accumulate many measurable statistics, but Kelly might just have the highest VORP on Alabama's 2014 roster.

The reasons are twofold.

For starters, Kelly is a solid veteran, as he enters his fourth year at Alabama firmly entrenched as the Crimson Tide's starting center. His 2013 campaign had its fair share of highs and lows, as he missed three games in the middle of the year with a knee injury and the regular season finale against Auburn with another knee ailment. On the field, he was reliable, athletic and constantly growing as a vocal leader on an offensive line that was replacing two first-round draft picks and a three-time All-American.

During the spring, he embraced the increased leadership that was expected from him as the Crimson Tide looked to break in (at least) two new starters. He had no problem speaking for the group.

"We just need to be more together as five," Kelly said after a so-so performance at Alabama's A-Day scrimmage. "Obviously, offensive line is a big part of that, that we are all together on the same page. So communication is key and something we will work on all summer."

Continue reading...
 
Now I'm a little more interested in the rest of this countdown. I'll wait until more are published, but imagine what we'd be dealing with if we lost Kelly in mid-season to injury? We don't know, but it's easy to assume the ranking of #23 is undervalued.
 
When I saw who #23 is, I started thinking about how the loss of Lindsay could affect the OL. The article talks about this:

Without Lindsay, Alabama's a bit thin at arguably one of the most important positions on the field. The versatile Grant Hill received some repetitions at center during the spring and two freshmen, JC Hassenauer and Joshua Casher, will add depth to the position when camp opens in August, but there isn't someone with the experience Lindsay had before he was thrust into full-time duty.

Two things came to mind: Is Hill still being used at RT, or will he be...serviceable, and I think I'd like to see Hassenauer get some reps this fall. He's come in pretty well acclaimed. I'd like to see him play.
 

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