Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama

2011 overall record: 12-1

2011 conference record: 7-1 (T-2nd)

Returning starters

Offense: 7; defense: 5; kicker/punter: 2

Top returners

QB AJ McCarron, RB Eddie Lacy, C Barrett Jones, T Cyrus Kouandjio, T D.J. Fluker, G Chance Warmack, G Anthony Steen, LB Nico Johnson, LB C.J. Mosley, S Robert Lester, NG Jesse Williams

Key losses

RB Trent Richardson, WR Marquis Maze, HB Brad Smelley, C William Vlachos, DE/LB Courtney Upshaw, LB Dont'a Hightower, S Mark Barron, CB Dre Kirkpatrick, NG Josh Chapman

2011 statistical leaders (*returners)

Rushing: Trent Richardson (1,679 yards)

Passing: AJ McCarron* (2,634 yards)

Receiving: Marquis Maze (627 yards)

Tackles: Dont'a Hightower (85)

Sacks: Courtney Upshaw (9.5)

Interceptions: Dee Milliner* (3)

Spring answers

1. McCarron taking ownership: The junior signal caller had a voice in the Alabama locker room in 2011, but this spring he seems to have dialed up the volume. Many of the leaders from last year’s team are gone and it’s up to McCarron to keep an offense that is as inexperienced as it is talented on track. Coach Nick Saban had praised his command under center during spring practice and all signs point to the tall righty taking the offense and making it his.

2. Linebackers coming together: Adrian Hubbard put on a show at A-Day in April, posting three sacks against the first-team offense. The 6-foot-6, 248-pound linebacker has big shoes to fill with Dont'a Hightower and Courtney Upshaw both off to the NFL. Given his solid spring, defensive coordinator Kirby Smart can check off one of those spots.

3. Stable of backs: Trent Richardson is gone, but that doesn't mean the running back corps can't improve in other ways, namely depth. While projected starter Eddie Lacy missed the spring recovering from offseason surgery, it gave other the chance to step up. Jalston Fowler is a bulldozer at tailback, Dee Hart a speedy slasher and freshman T.J. Yeldon a little bit of both. Yeldon had a coming out party at A-Day, rushing for 88 yards and catching five passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns.

Fall questions

1. Wide receiver options: The unit will be more explosive than in years past, but it will also be more inexperienced. How true freshmen Amari Cooper and Chris Black continue to develop will be key. Both had good springs and will help provide depth to sophomores Christion Jones and DeAndrew White, and juniors Kevin Norwood and Kenny Bell.

2. Secondary shaping up: Nick Saban and Kirby Smart have to replace three positions in the secondary and beginning this spring, the results have been good. Vinnie Sunseri and Ha'Sean Clinton Dix are two talented underclassmen ready to play alongside Robert Lester at safety. Meanwhile Dee Milliner moves into a starting role and will likely line up alongside either junior college transfer Travell Dixon or Deion Belue.

3. Special teams: By fall, we likely mean the season opener. By all indications, kickers Jeremy Shelley and Cade Foster had good springs, but neither were forced to do much at A-Day and we won't know their true improvement until the lights go up in Arlington, Texas. Shelley proved a lot in the BCS title game but there are still concerns whether the kicking game will be a handicap, as it was last year, or a boon to an offense with a fresh start. Keep an eye on incoming freshman Adam Griffith, who is expected to get a look at placekicker.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Four-star wide receiver Marqui Hawkins (Columbus, Ga./Carver) committed to Florida on Monday night. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound athlete chose Florida over offers from Alabama, Clemson, Mississippi State and Auburn. He said Florida was his favorite team as a child.

"I've been liking Florida since I was little," Hawkins said. "My coach was telling me it's a great school to be at, and I just like Florida a lot."

Hawkins, ranked the No. 18 prospect in Georgia, said Florida head coach Will Muschamp was excited at the news of his commitment.

"He was proud, he was happy, he was screaming," Hawkins said. "He was just excited that I'm joining the Florida family right now."

Hawkins joins four-star prospects Ahmad Fulwood (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Kenny) and Rodney Adams (St. Petersburg, Fla./Lakewood) as Florida wide receiver commitments. The Gators now have 16 verbal commits, including 15 who are ranked four stars or higher.

Though committed to the Gators, Hawkins said he still plans to visit other colleges.

"I'm still going to be taking visits," Hawkins said. "I'll visit Mississippi State, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn, Clemson and North Carolina."

The No. 3-seeded Gators will face No. 2 seed Tennessee in Friday's first SEC softball tournament semifinal at 3 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU. You can also watch it live here on WatchESPN.

Graham Hays: Day 1 recap from SEC softball tourney
The top four seeds advanced Thursday at the SEC tournament, and they moved on thanks to some surprising sources. Read the story here.

Tune to WatchESPN at 4:30 p.m. CST to see the University of Alabama softball team in the second round of the SEC Tournament against Georgia.

And don't forget to stay there at 6 p.m. CST to catch the first of three between Kentucky and the Alabama baseball team in Lexington, Ky.

It's only a year away.

The 2013 NFL draft will get underway in New York before we know it and the draft gurus are already making their predictions who will go and when.

Last year, the University of Alabama had four players taken in the first round of the draft, with a handful more in the following rounds. TideNation has already taken a look at Alabama's top prospects for the 2013 draft, and draft experts Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay have done their work as well, formulating their first mock drafts and projecting the top five at each position.

Kiper writes: Alabama could make it five years in a row with a player taken in the first round of the draft, judging by the first Big Board of the year.

The top five juniors by position is littered with UA prospects, as are the top five seniors.

McShay writes: The first mock draft of the year from Scout Inc.'s Todd McShay features a potential landing spot for Alabama's most likely first-round selecion.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- While the news of Phillip Sims' departure from the University of Alabama football program two weeks ago wasn’t exactly earth shattering with whispers of his transferring for some time, it did leave the cupboard somewhat bare at quarterback for the Crimson Tide.

Sims, who competed with AJ McCarron throughout the fall for the starting spot and later succumbed to a backup role, saw action in eight games in 2011 and provided a firm safety net if McCarron ever were to go down. The 6-foot-2, 211-pound righty had all the tools coaches look for in a quarterback -- tall and sturdy in stature with a strong throwing arm -- coming out of high school in Chesapeake, Va., ranked as the No. 1 quarterback in the ESPN 150.

“Phillip Sims did a wonderful job for us,” UA coach Nick Saban said at a speaking engagement in Birmingham on Tuesday afternoon. “He’s a fine young man. He did a great job in our program. We hate to see him go, but at the same time I understand there’s a lot of personal things, illnesses in his family. ... We’re going to be very supportive of him in his future and hope he does extremely well.”

(Read full post)

Where are the elite recruits for 2013 and 2014 leaning? Who are the most intriguing under-the-radar prospects? And which team is coming out of nowhere to land some big names? Go ahead and ask away.

Starting at 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday, RecruitingNation's writers will hold a three-hour chat and will hit on a variety of topics. Click here to ask your question.

Check out the schedule ...

11:00 -- 11:30 a.m. ET: Corey Long on Florida recruiting.
11:30 -- Noon ET: Jamie Newberg on Southeast recruiting.
Noon -- 12:30 p.m. ET: Dave Hooker on East recruiting.
12:30 -- 1:00 p.m. ET: Jared Shanker on Midwest recruiting.
1:00 -- 1:30 p.m. ET: Damon Sayles on Midlands recruiting.
1:30 -- 2:00 p.m. ET: Erik McKinney on West recruiting.