Alabama Crimson Tide

Each week at TideNation we'll take a look at how Alabama's players up for postseason awards fared in action. All told, 12 Alabama players were put on watch lists this offseason.

QB AJ McCarron, Jr. (Maxwell, Manning, O'Brien, Camp): McCarron put on a show against WKU, tying a career high with four touchdown passes. He was 14-of-19 passing for 219 yards.

RB Eddie Lacy Jr. (Maxwell, Walker): The junior running back still isn't looking like himself after an ankle injury late in fall camp. He carried the ball nine times for 36 yards Saturday.

TE Michael Williams, Sr. (Mackey): Williams had an empty stat line against Western Kentucky, failing to catch a pass in Alabama's home opener.

C Barrett Jones, Sr. (Rimington, Outland, Lombardi, Walter Camp): Despite a poor showing from the entire line in pass protection Saturday, Jones continues to be a steady force on the offensive line, helping the running game to 103 yards rushing against WKU.

G Chance Warmack, Sr. (Outland, Lombardi): Warmack won't be pleased with how the line protected the quarterback on Saturday, but he's still a standout whenever the Tide decide to run the ball downhill.

RT D.J. Fluker, Jr. (Outland, Lombardi): Western Kentucky overloaded its blitzes on defense, often toward Fluker's side of the line. As a result, the junior tackle's weakness in pass protection was on full display.

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Jalston Fowler, who will likely miss the rest of the season recovering from knee surgery, wasn't the leading rusher, the leading blocker or the leading receiver for the No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide. His name didn't appear first on any depth chart. In fact, he shared the distinction of being the No. 2 tailback with true freshman T.J. Yeldon.

But what Fowler lacked for in distinction on paper he made up for in usefulness on the field. His unique skill set -- a power runner with light feet and soft hands -- was put to use by the Alabama coaching staff. He was second on the team in yards rushing, but he was also a reason why the Alabama rushing game has been so effective this season in his role as a lead blocker at H-back.

Alabama coach Nick Saban said replacing Fowler's production will be a team effort. His loss at tailback hurts when considering starter Eddie Lacy's health concerns. He missed all of spring practice recovering from surgery to fix his battle with turf toe, only to sprain his ankle late in fall camp. He's been limited thus far, carrying the ball less than 10 times in each of the first two games.

The good news is Yeldon has emerged so quickly. The rookie was the first freshman in school history to rush for 100 yards in his debut. He followed up that performance by leading the team in receptions against Western Kentucky on Saturday. He and fellow freshmen Dee Hart and Kenyan Drake will take on more responsibility in Fowler's absence.

"I think we have what we have," Saban said. "We have backups at every one of the positions and roles that he filled. There may not be one particular guy. I think on special teams, there's a different guy on each special team that would take his place now. At running back, Dee Hart, Kenyan Drake will have a little more opportunity. Kelly [Johnson] was his backup at fullback, which is where he plays anyway. So we are going to miss him. It's going to take a number of people to replace him in various roles that he played on our team."

Junior receiver Kevin Norwood, who caught two touchdowns against Western Kentucky, said there's not much the team can do now other than move on.

"We're all going to pray for Jalston that hopefully he'll get back our there soon," Norwood said. "But the only thing we really can do is move on and make sure everybody is focused and preparing right for this team."

Guard Chance Warmack said he hasn't spoken to Fowler since the injury and hopes his recovery will happen swiftly. In the meantime, he said Alabama's lost a weapon on offense.

"Phenomenal player," Warmack explained. "Brought a lot to the offense. I don't want to count him out just yet. I don't know the specifics about how the injury is. Great guy, brought a lot to the offense. Very powerful back."

Fowler was one of three tailbacks in the SEC to average better than 6.9 yards per carry in 2011-12. He ran for 395 yards and four touchdowns on 56 carries.

Linebacker Nico Johnson went up against Fowler every day in practice. The 6-foot-1, 242-pound wrecking ball at tailback was routinely considered the most difficult man to bring down with the ball in his hands.

"He's more like a back like Trent (Richardson)," Johnson said. "He can run, catch out of the backfield, and he's tough to tackle. So, it's going to be real tough, but we've got enough guys and depth for somebody to step in and fill his role."

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- It happened to Alabama during Nick Saban's first season in Tuscaloosa. The heavily favored Crimson Tide became the laughing stock of college football in 2007 after losing to Louisiana Monroe at home 21-14.

After the game, quarterback John Parker Wilson told reporters it was "embarrassing" and that "We're Alabama. We're supposed to win."

Maybe that's why coach Nick Saban spent all of last week lecturing reporters about the quality of another Sun Belt opponent -- the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Alabama dispatched WKU after Saban's tirade about overlooking opponents, winning 35-0, but the other pesky team from the Sun Belt wasn't so easily slain in Little Rock, Ark., on Saturday.

Then-No. 10-ranked Arkansas was upended by Louisiana Monroe in overtime at what was essentially a home game for the Hogs. The loss was a potential deathknell for a team with national championship aspirations.

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Bo Scarbrough, a 2014 running back from Northridge (Tuscaloosa, Ala.), committed to hometown Alabama after his high school game Friday. He talks with Greg Ostendorf about the decision.

There are are two types of visits high school prospects can make to colleges recruiting them: the "official visit," which is paid for by the school and allowed during a prospect's senior year, and the "unofficial visit," which is paid for by the prospect and isn't restricted to the senior year. Official visits are pretty cut and dry. They are also -- given the modern recruiting trend of prospects committing to schools early in their careers -- passé.

The imbalance this rule causes -- wherein prospects from wealthy families can go anywhere and see any school, while prospects of limited means have to find other ways -- is obvious. That imbalance has also placed an undue amount of influence on the unofficial visit, providing a way in for infamously scurrilous prep hoops go-betweens, who can offer influence and access to schools in exchange for helping prospects find their way to campuses. It's not supposed to happen, but it does, and it no doubt happens more frequently than is ever reported.

How do you regulate this? Bylaw Blog's John Infante (along with the aforelinked Mike DeCourcy) has taken on the issue before, arguing that unofficial visits should be banned. The issue is not uncomplicated, as Infante's explanation shows; it would involve a ream of rule changes and restructuring to avoid negative unintentional consequences. The solutions aren't obvious.

Which is why a third way -- which Infante wrote about Thursday -- sounds so very promising. In a landscape in which prospects' increasing willingness to be aggressive in their own pursuit of a college scholarship (the "good old days" of prospects waiting around for coaches to come visit are over, and "probably never existed" in the first place, John writes), some are using Kickstarter-clone web fundraising tools. One such player is football prospect Marcus Rose, who began his own Indiegogo campaign to help pay his way to a camp. And it's legal:

Rose’s fundraising campaign used to be against NCAA rules, but is now allowed by Bylaw 12.1.2.1.4.5.1. As long as the funds do not come from an agent, NCAA member institution, or a booster of an NCAA school, athletes can find “sponsors” to help cover the cost of practice and competition in athletics events.

As of right now, fundraising for recruiting travel is not permitted. While you could put the same restrictions in, there is a much greater temptation to break those rules for boosters and agents when it means the chance to direct an athlete to a certain school rather than just to finance their athletic development. Allowing for fundraising campaigns without close regulation would be difficult.

First of all, that bylaw -- 12.1.2.1.4.5.1 -- is amazing. And people wonder why the NCAA rule book requires so much explanation.

Anyway, it would be very difficult to allow athletes to start raising money directly for recruiting, but not impossible, and that's where John's other idea comes in:

The NCAA could run a fundraising site where athletes could sign up to get recruiting expenses like trips to camps or unofficial visits covered. The best way to do it would be not to allow individual fundraising campaigns, but rather allow individuals to donate collectively to the athletes in the pool. That way money is not directed toward an individual athlete, even if say a recruit considering Kentucky encourages Kentucky fans to contribute.

Prospects would be given the funds for recruiting trips, then required to show the money was spent on recruiting expenses like travel, lodging, and meals. Failure to do so would require the prospect pay the money back and potentially face other penalties when he or she starts school.

Another week has gone by and there is even more movement in our power rankings.

The top two teams are still the same, but we have a new No. 3 and there are some changes through the middle (LW: Last week's ranking):

1. Alabama (2-0; LW: 1): Despite what Nick Saban might have told the media, his team deserves all the praise it's getting. The Crimson Tide destroyed a ranked Michigan team in a neutral environment and then shut out a very, very overmatched Western Kentucky team. It could have been much worse in Tuscaloosa over the weekend if Saban didn't take his foot off the gas.

2. LSU (2-0; LW: 2): The Tigers haven't been very flashy, but they haven't needed to. LSU is giving up just 201 yards a game and only 3.47 yards per play. Washington was just another victim when it came to the Tigers' ferocious running game, which has averaged 279 yards in the first two games. LSU hasn't really been tested, but there's no denying that this team is good and should only get better.

3. Georgia (2-0, 1-0; LW: 4): The Bulldogs got a big win in Missouri over the weekend. This team's resiliency has been questioned in the past, but it played at its best in Columbia, Mo., with its back against the wall. Once the Bulldogs get back to full strength on defense, we'll really see how much talent Mark Richt is working with in Athens.

4. South Carolina (2-0, 1-0; LW: 5): Connor Shaw was out and Marcus Lattimore failed to eclipse the 50-yard rushing mark, but the Gamecocks had absolutely no problem overwhelming East Carolina. Dylan Thompson filled in well for Shaw, passing for 330 yards and three touchdowns, while the defense shut down the run. The secondary still has some issues to work out, though.

5. Tennessee (2-0; LW: 6): We're still not sure just how good Tennessee is, but it sure is fun watching that offense. Yes, the quality of opponents can be questioned, but both the offense and defense have looked very good, and there is finally quality depth in Knoxville. Tyler Bray continues to impress with his arm, and he has plenty of weapons to work with. He and his team get a real test Saturday against No. 18 Florida at home.

6. Florida (2-0, 1-0; LW: 7): The Gators squeaked out a win that probably wouldn't have come in the two years prior. It wasn't very pretty overall, but Florida was very impressive after all those second-half adjustments against Texas A&M. This team is tougher and looks more like the physical team Will Muschamp wants. Saturday's trip to Knoxville could really set the tone for the Gators moving forward.

7. Mississippi State (2-0, 1-0; LW: 8): Dan Mullen finally got a win over an SEC West opponent not named Ole Miss with that 28-10 win against Auburn over the weekend. Now, it's all about capitalizing on the weekend's success. The defense totally dominated the Tigers' offense, while Tyler Russell looked as poised as ever. If this team continues to play like it has in the first two weeks, Mississippi State could be 6-1 or 7-0 heading into the Alabama game in late October.

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