Alabama Crimson Tide

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- For four years, Michael Williams has built his reputation laying one brick at a time. He's caught passes here and there, and established himself as one of the best blocking tight ends in the country.

The 6-foot-6, 269-pound redshirt senior has always shown remarkable athleticism for his size, but he's never been known as an impact player on offense. The stat line simply doesn't do enough to reveal all he does for the team, his 16 catches for 191 yards and two touchdowns last season are just a start.

"He's probably a bit of an unsung hero for us in terms of the number of starts that he's had and the quality of his performance goes a little unnoticed because of the nature of this role," coach Nick Saban said of Williams. "It's sort of a workmanlike type role but I think it's very critical to the success of our team."

In 2012, Williams hopes to trade in his blue collar for something with a little more flair.

He spent the summer watching two of the NFL's most successful tight ends: Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham. Both caught more than 90 balls for 1,300 yards last season. They combined for 28 touchdowns. It's a big step up from Williams' current production, but it's a goal worth aiming for nonetheless.

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From now until kickoff in Arlington, Texas, we'll be counting down the days before Alabama and Michigan get the season started. Today, we move to No. 17 and what it means to UA football. See all the previous editions here.

The University of Alabama defense was dominant in so many ways. It led the nation in all four benchmark statistical categories: total defense, scoring defense, passing defense and rushing defense.

While the defense didn't cause the most turnovers or sack the quarterback the most times in the SEC, it was the most affective at keeping opponent's at bay, defending the field from one end zone to the other. The defense allowed offenses in the red zone 17 times all season. If you're doing the quick math, that's less than twice a game.

Of those 17 attempts inside the 20-yard line, offenses scored touchdowns six times.

Red zone attempts allowed
2011: 17
2010: 31
2009: 24
2008: 26
2007: 38

At 12:01 a.m. on June 10, the University of Alabama went off three years' probation. Sixteen teams were penalized for their involvement in improperly obtained textbooks that would cost the Crimson Tide football program 21 wins from 2005-07. The fine imposed by the NCAA was barely enough to buy a Mercedes-Benz: $43,900.

The 27 self-reported violations revealed on Tuesday aren't a blip on the radar compared to what happened then.

The violations in 2009 involved dollars and cents. Four players were suspended but no scholarships were lost, nor were any bowl games surrendered. It was a slap on the wrist.

The violations from 2011-12 involve nothing more than a slip in common sense: an ill-advised phone call or text, a social media snafu and a poorly placed brochure were among the minor offenses.

The result? Nothing more than a few hours of rules instruction, a letter of admonishment and a couple of coaches being kept away from their cell phones and computers for a few weeks.

The NCAA has enough problems on its hands. Secondary violations don't typically rise up to the level of punishment from collegiate sports' governing body.

As a matter of fact, four of the violations Alabama reported are now permissible under NCAA rules.

The practice of self-reporting violations to the NCAA is nothing new. In May, Ohio State and coach Urban Meyer acknowledged 46 secondary violations spread out among its athletic department. Ole Miss submitted 44 reports of violations. Memphis turned in 24.

If there was a pattern of misbehavior, that would be one thing. What happened at Alabama is not.

When the NCAA laid down the law on Alabama in 2009, it praised the University for its thorough investigation. In the same breath, it labeled Alabama as a "serial repeat offender" for its poor track record with rules infractions.

When Nick Saban arrived, he tried to change the perception. By all accounts, the new-look image has stuck.

"We don't ever want to be on probation," Saban told reporters just before the three-year probation came to an end in June. "We always want to do everything by the rules."

Alabama didn't play by the rules in the past 12 months, but the violations they submitted weren't egregious. The University didn't break the letter of the law and shouldn't be viewed as such.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- With Nick Saban's role as college football czar seemingly expanding by the day, it was only a matter of time before the sport's off-the-field issues would find a way to his podium in Tuscaloosa, most notably Tyrann Mathieu's unceremonious exit from LSU.

While the sixth-year coach of the Crimson Tide would not comment specifically on Mathieu's situation, he did take a moment to point out the larger issue.

"This is not a football problem," Saban said. "This is a national problem."

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Damon Sayles talks to Prosper (Texas) rising senior wide receiver Torii Hunter Jr., the No. 50 player in the ESPN 150. Hunter holds nearly 20 scholarship offers.

Editor's note: RecruitingNation is taking a look at the state of each team's brand.

On April 14, Alabama's crystal football was shattered, dislodged from its stand by the parent of a player walking the halls of the athletics department on A-Day. The janitorial staff came by to sweep up the mess later, pushing brilliant shards of Waterford Crystal into a dingy dustpan.

Coach Nick Saban and the Alabama administration didn't bat an eye at the $30,000 accident.

Saban's response: "Look, we'll get another one."

No big deal, it's just a trophy. There are plenty of those lying around these days in Tuscaloosa, Ala., as well as the expectation of more to come.

The football program has traveled along those lines since Saban arrived in 2007. It took a few years to get to BCS form, and now that it has, no one is looking back -- not even to January and the Tide's 14th national title.

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From now until kickoff in Arlington, Texas, we'll be counting down the days before Alabama and Michigan get the season started. Today, we move to No. 18 and what it means to UA football. See all the previous editions here.

Since Nick Saban's arrival in Tuscaloosa, Ala., the University of Alabama has had an argument for often overused moniker of "Linebacker U." Just a few months ago, the Crimson Tide had two linebackers taken in the first 35 picks of the draft. Between the likes of Dont'a Hightower, Courtney Upshaw, Rolando McClain, DeMeco Ryans and Dwayne Rudd, UA has had more than two dozen first-team All-American linebackers in its history.

So when Reggie Ragland signed with the Tide in 2012, he immediately joined a prestigious class of linebackers. The No. 2 inside linebacker in the country put on No. 18 at Alabama and followed in the path of some of the game's greats.

But Ragland isn't the only high-profile linebacker to sign with Alabama out of high school. The depth chart is littered with four- and five-star recruits. Here's a breakdown of all the linebackers to sign with Alabama since 2008 and how they've ranked.

2012
Reggie Ragland -- No. 2 ILB
Dillion Lee -- No. 6 OLB
Ryan Anderson -- No. 7 OLB
Tyler Hayes -- No. 10 OLB
Denzel Devall -- No. 22 DE

2011
Trey DePriest -- No. 2 OLB
Xzavier Dickson -- No. 4 DE
Shannon Brown -- No. 13 ILB
Vinnie Sunseri -- No. 18 OLB
Brent Calloway -- No. 23 ATH

2010
C.J. Mosley -- No. 7 OLB
Jalston Fowler -- N/A OLB
Petey Smith -- N/A ILB

2009
Nico Johnson -- No. 2 ILB
Petey Smith -- No. 5 ILB
Tana Patrick -- No. 9 OLB
Jonathan Atchinson -- No. 14 OLB

2008
Courtney Upshaw -- No. 4 DE
Jerrell Harris -- No. 8 OLB
Chris Jordan -- No. 20 OLB
Dont'a Hightower -- No. 26 DE

Texas A&M and Missouri had plenty of reasons to leave the Big 12 for the SEC. But what exactly have they gotten themselves into? Amy Brachmann and Hallie Grossman look at how the new kids on the block stack up with the big dogs in this interactive piece from ESPN The Magazine.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- At the close of last season, running back Jalston Fowler could have reasonably expected to take more snaps on offense when he returned to the University of Alabama for his junior year. Trent Richardson was off for a career in the NFL and the No. 3 tailback on the depth chart was poised to rise to No. 2 behind Eddie Lacy, the presumed starter.

As it turns out, Fowler might take more snaps this season, just not at his usual position.

The 6-foot-1, 242-pound wrecking ball is changing one spot in the I-formation for another. Instead of dotting the "I", Fowler has been practicing leading the charge from the H-Back position. There's been no indication that he'll give up his running back duties altogether, but as tight end Michael Williams put it, he's too skilled to keep off the field when Lacy or another back is in the game.

"He's big. He's strong. He has good blocking skills. He can catch out of the backfield," Williams said. "He's somebody that can play running back also, but when he's not in there, as good as he is you don't want him coming off the field, so he helps us at H-Back."

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