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

No. 6: Nick Marshall

It's impossible to overstate the hype that'll surround this Iron Bowl rematch. I won't even try to explain it.

But the key to Alabama reversing last year's result will be neutralizing Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall. Mobile quarterbacks have long been an issue for an Alabama defense built more for the physical than the finesse.

The Tide is taking steps to modernize the defense with quicker, leaner players on all three levels. It needs athletic guys who can play in the space Auburn hopes to create. Marshall was able to find those gaps in 2013 to net 99 yards on the ground. The threat of his mobility created the perfect storm for the 39-yard touchdown pass to Sammie Coates that tied the Iron Bowl in the final minute.

Nick Saban talks a lot about creating "side boards" to contain quarterbacks like Marshall. It didn't work in 2013, but they appear to be better equipped to handle this moving forward. Recruiting athletic players like Da'Shawn Hand and Rashaan Evans show the direction of this defense.

Imagine a scenario in which the Auburn High graduate Evans is spying Marshall in the Iron Bowl?

Expect Marshall to enter Bryant-Denny Stadium with more tools than he had a year ago. Remember Marshall had to learn everything on the fly early last fall, so he'll have the benefit of experience and comfort in the system this November.

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No. 5: T.J. Yeldon and Derrick Henry

We've cheated on a couple of these, but the majority of our selections so far have focused on one person. The "P" in VIP stands for "person," after all.

But we're doing it again with No. 5 because, well, Alabama's never been just a one-man show at running back since Nick Saban took over in 2007.

T.J. Yeldon and Derrick Henry are talented enough and good enough at what they do to be VIPs in their own right. But for the 2014 Crimson Tide, they're poised to be a two-headed monster that, ideally for Alabama fans, will replicate what Yeldon and Eddie Lacy did in 2012 (2,430 yards, 29 TDs, 6+ yards per carry) en route to a BCS National Championship.

Sure things, at least during the offseason, are boring. That's why there's been minimal chatter about both of these players since spring football began in March. It's exactly the way it's been for years at Alabama, as the running backs make the majority of their headlines during the season.

Yeldon's on pace to become one of Alabama's all-time leading rushers. Through two seasons, he's racked up 2,343 yards and 26 touchdowns, working as the "1B" to Lacy's "1A" in 2012 before taking on the lead role in 2013.

The rise of Henry should allow Yeldon to stay a bit fresher throughout 2014. As the carries piled up near the end of 2013 -- he averaged 25 in his final three regular-season games -- Yeldon appeared to slow down just a step. His ball security, just like Kenyan Drake's, was also a concern.

Henry finished 2013 with a bang and carried the momentum into his sophomore season. Outside of wide receiver Amari Cooper, no player received more positive praise from Saban than Henry did throughout the spring. At 6-foot-3 and a chiseled 238 pounds, Henry is a truly unique option in Lane Kiffin's offense, particularly when countered with Yeldon's traditional build and running style.

Even while he discussed the quarterbacks after A-Day, Saban threw a bone to this duo. It was a relatively rare moment, a reminder that boring certainty beats exciting uncertainty any day.

"It's also our goal for the quarterback to be the distributor of the ball," Saban said. "We feel like we have three really good playmakers at receiver and three really good players at running back. Those guys have to get the ball, too."

Yeldon and Henry will take it as much as Kiffin's willing to put it in their hands. Together, they'll insure that neither gets too worn out in the process.

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I can see the point of putting the two together, but then again this opens the door for something looney like Gus Gus in the top five.
What crossed my mind when I saw this was what we'll likely see as the headlines in November: Yeldon Breaks All-Time Bama Rushing Record. I looked at the numbers several months ago and as I recall it was a tad over 1200 yards. I guess it's an OFC way of thinking to look at the record book as say he deserves his own mention.

When it comes to what they'll bring to the offense how many similarities can we come up with? He's a running back?
 
Kiffin at #4?? Hmm...Maybe he should have been ranked a bit higher.

http://www.al.com/alabamafootball/index.ssf/2014/07/alabama_football_vip_the_most.html

No. 4: Lane Kiffin
This guy is the wildcard in the group — the one nobody could have guessed would be on the Alabama coaching staff a year ago. But, from all accounts, the first spring with Kiffin at offensive coordinator brought some new life to the unit.
Players talked about the different feel he brings, relating with them and throwing a few wrinkles into the playbook. Nick Saban was quick to point out none of those changes were displayed on A-Day with so many outside eyes looking.
So you'll have to wait for the fall to see just how different this offense will be. It became evident changes needed to be made after last season. The Tide was still explosive and had no major issues scoring points, but there was a feel they needed to spice things up a little bit.
That doesn't mean the HUNH offense is coming to Tuscaloosa, but there were hints of a quicker pace coming.
"I think we're a team that's made to be maulers," tight end Brian Vogler said.
Don't expect the 2014 offense to get too far away from the basic principles of the past. They'll have star running backs in T.J. Yeldon, Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake, so they won't likely abandon that facet.
But it might be how they throw it when they do. Kiffin offenses of the past have focused on playmakers, which only drew a knowing smile from Amari Cooper when he was asked about it this spring.
Fellow receiver Christion Jones explained what fans will see from Kiffin's offense this fall.
"It's going to be different," he said. "It's usually Alabama run game, run game, run game, pass here and there. I think it's going to be a lot (more) flexible with the passing game, and also in the passing game getting the running backs more involved. It's not just the receivers, it's everyone, the tight ends getting balls, the running backs and also the wide outs obviously. It's flexible enough for everybody to get a touch."
 
No. 3: Kirby Smart

The only thing that's changed less than quarterback during the Nick Saban era? Defensive coordinator.

That stability, thanks to Kirby Smart's patience and ever-increasing salary, has helped Alabama's defense maintain its status as one of college football's best over the past five years. Only the Crimson Tide didn't live up to that billing at the end of 2013, allowing 393 yards and 34 points to Auburn and 429 yards and 45 points to Oklahoma.

The sour conclusion has provided Smart with plenty of challenges as he enters his eighth season at Alabama with a defense that is low on overall experience but has the potential to be one of his best.

Smart lost two of his defensive assistants, but their replacements have provided a sense of familiarity. With the return of Bo Davis to the defensive line and Kevin Steele back on the field with the inside linebackers, Alabama's defensive staff is exactly the same as it was when Smart moved from secondary coach to defensive coordinator in 2008. Replicating that staff down to a T also required a move by Smart, who is back with Alabama's defensive backs after a number of years with the inside linebackers.

He's not alone, of course.

"I'm really sort of his GA," Saban said in March. "He's kind of working with the safeties and the whole group and then when we break down I kind of try to work with the corners a little bit.

"I thought last year, we didn't play with enough consistency back there. We had a lot of different rotating parts, different starters, different corners starting."

That's where the biggest question marks remain on a Crimson Tide defense that boasts a deep and potentially loaded front seven. The loss of cornerback Eddie Jacksonthrew another curveball at Smart, who enters the summer with just two solidified starters in the entire secondary -- safety Landon Collins and Star Jarrick Williams. Jackson will be back at some point in the fall, but Smart needs to prepare Alabama's young cornerbacks as if he's gone for good.

There's also the ongoing challenge of better preparing Alabama's defense for uptempo offenses. The Crimson Tide devoted much of its 2013 offseason to that particular task, but the results were mixed, especially against Texas A&M, Auburn and Oklahoma. Fair or not, this sort of attack has been labeled as the vaunted Crimson Tide defense's kryptonite.

It took years of consistency and dominance from Alabama's defense for Smart to establish himself as one of college football's top assistants. A bounce-back 2014 will only solidify that reputation and stir even more discussion about his future as a head coach.

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No. 2: Nick Saban

I mean, it's hard to say much more than what's been said a million times already.
Alabama's almost assured to be a national contender for as long as Saban remains in Tuscaloosa. His empire doesn't show signs of crumbling even if it took a gut punch to end the 2013 season.

But the program quickly rebounded with a 2014 recruiting class with the potential to be one of the best on record. The new contract Saban signed extends his stay (at least on paper) through the 2020 season and he's given no indication retirement is on the horizon.
So the question is what's the next major goal for Saban? He came up short of the first three-peat of modern times, but there's time to start another run.

These are also the moments that Saban seems to do his best work. He certainly had the attention of the 2011 team after losing three games the previous fall. That included what seemed like the most gut-wrenching way to lose an Iron Bowl.

This is what Saban calls a teachable moment. And after the 2013 loss at Auburn, it's hard to imagine he doesn't have the complete and total attention of his team.

The thing about Saban is he never seems overly agitated after a loss. He's never short with reporters in those moments — it's only after wins that his temper comes out. Saban wants the undivided attention and focus to be on improving, not avoiding the letdown.

The 2013 team didn't have as much adversity in the recent past. That won't be an issue this fall.

We'll see what Saban can do with this batch of 5-star talents as they deal with an unfortunate set of circumstances.

Can he lead them back to the summit? It shouldn't take long to see how they'll respond.

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Fan favorite to replace AJ McCarron first needs to seize the job


No. 1: Jacob Coker


The anticipation started long before Jacob Coker made it official. Months' worth of rumblings eventually became justified in January, when Coker made his transfer from Florida State a done deal after a weekend visit to Tuscaloosa.

Many fans anointed him as the starter tasked to fill the cleats of AJ McCarron before he even finished his third and final season with the Seminoles. The unabashed optimism kicked into overdrive when the final whistle blew at April's A-Day game, a scrimmage that saw up-and-down performances from Coker's top competitors for the job.

He watched from the sidelines on that sunny afternoon at Bryant-Denny Stadium. At one point, he embraced his top challenger, Blake Sims.

His past two months have been devoted to embracing the all-encompassing challenge that comes with (potentially) becoming the fourth starting quarterback of the Nick Saban era.

He arrived early, enrolling in an interim semester class that allowed him to work with Alabama's coaches -- off the field -- while most of his teammates were away on a summer break of sorts. When summer semester began, he was tasked with forming the kind of bond and chemistry a player like Sims, a fifth-year senior, has with Alabama's playmakers over a short stretch of time. How he fared in that regard will go a long way toward how quickly he impresses when camp opens in August.

Alabama doesn't need Coker -- or whomever else wins the quarterback job -- to break records like McCarron did. With a surplus of talent at running back, an offensive line that should be just as good as it was in 2013, one of the top wide receivers in the country (Amari Cooper) and enough other playmakers at the position to keep opposing secondaries busy, he'll simply be asked to not screw it up.

But as other young quarterbacks across the country have shown, that's not always easy. Perhaps no number in McCarron's career was more impressive than the mere three interceptions he threw in 2012.

Caretaker, game manager, whatever you want to call it: Alabama needs a quarterback who will be a "distributor of the ball," as Saban labeled it after A-Day. Making sure it only goes to players wearing crimson and white is the top requirement -- no matter how talented the quarterback may be.

Coker has the talent, the arm and some unappreciated mobility. He wouldn't have transferred to Alabama if he didn't think he could win the job, and Alabama wouldn't have wanted him if it didn't think he'd be among the favorites.

That's why we've arrived at this point in July less than two months before the Crimson Tide's season opener. Coker's the favorite among fans while Saban maintains that the competition is far from over.

If Coker takes care of business and proves the majority right, he'll take on more than enough responsibilities to be considered Alabama's top VIP.

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I don't know. He's being talked about by everyone. I think he is someone fans are relying on at the moment to continue the McCarron type form and continue to put us in a place to win. People feel more comfortable with a guy 6'4 - 230 pounds with a decent arm over a guy that's 6'0 and mobile. I can see why he threw "fan favorite" in there, but it's a lot of hoping and crossing of the fingers type favortism I believe.
 
Been hearing Coker has done pretty damn well this off-season. Struggled with accuracy in 7-on-7 drills at first, but then progressively got better. Developing chemistry with Howard.

Really have a good feeling about Coker. Has the arm, good wheels, has the hair, and the right mindset.
 
I don't know. He's being talked about by everyone. I think he is someone fans are relying on at the moment to continue the McCarron type form and continue to put us in a place to win. People feel more comfortable with a guy 6'4 - 230 pounds with a decent arm over a guy that's 6'0 and mobile. I can see why he threw "fan favorite" in there, but it's a lot of hoping and crossing of the fingers type favortism I believe.

Assuming the role of an editor for a moment, couldn't that be easily condensed into "cautious optimism?"

Look at what I said, what you're saying, and what he said. Gribble states, "Many fans anointed him as the starter tasked to fill the cleats of AJ McCarron before he even finished his third and final season with the Seminoles."

Del Rio was still here then. We hadn't played our spring game; a game which led to some fans talking about Bateman being able to fill the role. There was, and still is, a contingent of fans talking about Blake getting a lot of snaps, possibly in a starting role, at the beginning of the season.

On the other hand we had the Internet and radio filled with people talking about what Fisher, Kirbstreit, and others said about Coker.

When Gribble is using the term "fan favorite," he's not asserting "a lot of hoping and crossing of fingers." He's saying he's favored to take the job.

What's even more questionable about his commentary here is Coker wasn't committed to the Tide at that point and there were also a large contingent of fans saying "let's wait 'til he gets on campus before we start talking about possibilities."
 
Been hearing Coker has done pretty damn well this off-season. Struggled with accuracy in 7-on-7 drills at first, but then progressively got better. Developing chemistry with Howard.

Really have a good feeling about Coker. Has the arm, good wheels, has the hair, and the right mindset.

I didn't put a bit of faith or belief in those early reports about how he's done in 7 on 7 drills. He was working behind Sims and Bateman and those who were judging him were doing so based on results he was having with 3's and 4's in our WR corps. What's that supposed to tell anyone?

I saw where, and from whom, those early reports came from. The same individuals were stating how good and how bad some of the offensive linemen looked—based on skel drills.

I hope it comes together. My gut tells me we see Coker in the starting role when we get to the meat of the SEC schedule. I will not be surprised, in the least, if we see a lot of shared snaps in the first few games.
 
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