🏈 Breaking down the 2015 Tide football team

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DAY ONE: QUARTERBACKS

BY THE NUMBERS

Jacob Coker 38-for-59 (64.4 percent), 403 yards, 4 touchdowns, 0 interceptions.

THE DEPARTED

Blake Sims 252-for-391 (64.5 percent) 3,487 yards, 28 touchdowns, 10 interceptions

SPRING CAST

Jacob Coker

Alec Morris

Cooper Bateman

David Cornwell

Blake Barnett

BURNING QUESTION

Can Jacob Coker win the starting job in his final collegiate season or will one of the young guys step up?

STAR ATTRACTION

Once again, all eyes will be on Coker, the former Florida State backup who was Blake Sims' No. 2 last fall. He has the physical tools complete with a cannon right arm. A year in the program to learn and master the offense should benefit his progress. Arriving last summer, Coker faced unrealistic expectations in the competition for the 2014 job. He'll be unofficially penciled in as the leader entering the spring.

FLASH OF POTENTIAL

In what's becoming an annual spring event, there will be serious attention on the new guy. The parade of early-enrollee quarterbacks continues with perhaps the most talented of the group. Blake Barnett will receive a nice share of the interest after arriving in January with an extra dose of hype. Among the nation's top quarterbacks last fall, coach Nick Saban said he wouldn't be ruled out of the competition purely for his age. That said, no true freshman has sniffed the starting quarterback job in Saban's time at Alabama.

WILD CARDS

Morris finished last season as the No. 3 quarterback, but that didn't lead to any passing situations. He entered late and handed off in a few blowouts. At 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, Morris has the size and strength to throw the ball down field. He just hasn't had many opportunities to show it in games.

Bateman was a fan favorite after last year's A-Day, but he remained on the scout team last season.

Cornwell is healthy again after enrolling last spring. The knee injury is healed so he could be one to watch this March and April.

FACTS OF LIFE

0 - passes thrown in a college game by any Alabama quarterback not named Jacob Coker.

28 - percent of Alabama's receiving yardage returns from 2014 so the new quarterback will be seeking new targets as well.

QUOTABLE

"We're all competing. We're going to come in with four great quarterbacks and this Blake Barnett kid coming in, so it's going to be a full quarterback room again. So I just look forward to coming in and getting better as a quarterback each day - keeping my head down and not worried about the depth chart or anything. You've got Coker, Alec Morris, Cooper who I spent all day on the scout team with, All these guys. We've all become a tight quarterback room and just look forward to going with these guys in the spring."

-- Redshirt freshman David Cornwell before the Sugar Bowl

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DAY TWO: DEFENSIVE LINE

Nose tackle A'Shawn Robinson leads arguably the most talented defensive line in the country

It's coming. Spring football starts again March 13 in Tuscaloosa as Alabama turns the page.

A few months after the 2014 season ended in the Sugar Bowl, the Crimson Tide will have some serious work to do this spring. Another new quarterback will see a rebuilt group of receivers while the defense has to replace key linebackers and defensive backs.

We'll take a day-by-day look at what to expect from the 15 spring practices before they get started. Day 2: Defensive line.

BY THE NUMBERS

Jarran Reed: 55 tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss, one sack
A'Shawn Robinson: 49 tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss
Jonathan Allen: 33 tackles, 11.5 tackles for a loss, 5.5 sacks
D.J. Pettway: 23 tackles, three tackles for a loss, two sacks
Dalvin Tomlinson: 22 tackles, 5.5 tackles for a loss, two sacks
Da'Shawn Hand: Seven tackles, two sacks
Darren Lake: Five tackles
Josh Frazier: One tackle, one sack

THE DEPARTED

Brandon Ivory: 13 tackles, 0.5 tackles for a loss

SPRING CAST

Defensive ends

Jonathan Allen
Jarran Reed
D.J. Pettway
Dalvin Tomlinson
Da'Shawn Hand
Dakota Ball
Stephen Hodge
Bernel Jones
Jake Long

Defensive tackles

A'Shawn Robinson
Jonathan Taylor
Darren Lake
Josh Frazier
O.J. Smith
Johnny Dwight

BURNING QUESTION

Will this group live up to its vast potential?

STAR ATTRACTIONS

Robinson and Allen are the two stars of this group, which is arguably the best defensive line in the country. Former NFL general manager Phil Savage, the color analyst for Alabama's radio broadcasts on the Crimson Tide Sports Network, has referred to Robinson as a "man-child" and an elite talent. A 6-foot-4, 320-pound junior from Fort Worth, Texas, Robinson had 38 tackles and 5.5 sacks as a freshman in 2013 before posting 49 tackles last year, including 6.5 for a loss. Robinson and Allen are both potential future first round picks. While Allen is not considered a top-notch pass rusher, he is a very good all-around player that is strong against the run and has the quickness, strength, skills and motor to be disruptive.

FLASH OF POTENTIAL

Hand will be part of a group that will see time at defensive end behind Allen and Reed. Rated by Rivals as the top overall prospect in last year's recruiting class, Hand flashed his potential at times as a freshman last season and is expected to play a bigger role this year.

WILD CARD

Taylor, a junior college transfer, will compete with Lake and Frazier for playing time at the nose tackle spot vacated by Brandon Ivory. The 6-foot-4, 335-pound Taylor started his college career at Georgia and played in 10 games as a redshirt freshman in 2013 before being dismissed from the team in July. Taylor spent last season at Copiah-Lincoln Junior College in Mississippi and recorded 44 tackles, including 11 for a loss and 4.5 sacks.

Five-star freshman Daron Payne will factor into the competition at nose tackle as well come fall practice.

FACTS OF LIFE

88.8 -- Alabama returns eight of the nine defensive linemen that posted a tackle last season from what was widely considered one of the best defensive lines in the country. Led by the line, the Tide finished last year ranked fourth nationally in rush defense.

QUOTABLE

"We feel like [Jarran Reed] and A'Shawn have been the rock-solid core for our defensive line. Those two guys have been very important to our defensive line as a whole this year."

-- Allen in December

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