There may never be another No. 97 to play at the University of Alabama better than Cornelius Bennett. The three-time All-American at linebacker defined the position, averaging more than 95 tackles and five sacks a season. The Birmingham native took home the Lombardi Trophy his senior year, finished in the top 10 on Heisman ballots and was named the SEC Player of the Year.
Bennett was named UA's Player of the Decade for the 1980's, and earned a spot on Alabama's Team of the Century. In 2005, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
The tenacious linebacker went on to be selected second overall in the 1987 draft by the Indianapolis Colts. He played 14 seasons in the NFL and appeared in five Super Bowls, four coming while with the Buffalo Bills.
When talking about the greatest linebackers in Alabama history, a good place to start is with No. 97 and Cornelius Bennett.
Who could be next in the line of great UA linebackers? Vote inside The Tusk.
The Crimson Tide had their first All-American selected in 1915, and since then they have been on a roll. Prior to the 2011-12 season, Alabama had 98 All-Americans. Last season, UA added five more Associated Press All-Americans in Barrett Jones, Trent Richardson, Dont'a Hightower, Courtney Upshaw and Mark Barron. The Tide trail only Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan, USC and Oklahoma.
Alabama players have done more than just take home the hardware, though. In April, eight Tide players went in the NFL draft, five going in the first three rounds. That brought the total number of Alabama players drafted in Rounds 1-3 to 98 all-time.
Make your pick how many Alabama players will go in next year's draft inside The Tusk.
Now, it’s on to the West:
1. Zach Mettenberger, QB, LSU: Mettenberger finally gets his chance to lead a team in the SEC. He’s persevered through adversity. He’s got a big arm, and he understands what he’s up against when it comes to SEC defenses. The Tigers are counting on Mettenberger making them more balanced on offense with his ability to throw the ball down the field and keep defenses from loading up against the run. LSU is plenty talented enough to be right back in the BCS National Championship Game in 2012. The only thing the Tigers were missing a year ago was a consistent passing game when it counted most. That’s where Mettenberger comes in.
2. Knile Davis, RB, Arkansas: If anybody can make it all the way back from three fractured ankles, it’s Davis. He was pushing to play at the end of last season and now insists that he’s 100 percent healthy. He was clocked this offseason at 4.33 in the 40-yard dash and is one of the Hogs’ strongest players. There simply aren’t many running backs that combine Davis’ blend of speed, power and strength. His biggest hurdle may be mental, which is why Arkansas plans to get him some live contact in preseason camp. Everybody will be watching to see if he can get back to his 2010 form when he led all SEC running backs with 1,322 rushing yards.
3. Trovon Reed, WR, Auburn: Trooper Taylor, Auburn’s receivers coach, once referred to Reed as a limousine with no gas. From the day Reed signed with the Tigers, he’s been pegged as one of those playmakers in space that gives every defensive coordinator nightmares. The only problem is that Reed has battled injuries each of his first two years on the Plains. He sat out his first season with a knee injury and was plagued by a shoulder injury last season as a redshirt freshman. He’s yet to score a touchdown for the Tigers, who are going to need more firepower from the receiver position in 2012. Emory Blake won’t be able to do it by himself.
4. Damontre Moore, DE, Texas A&M: With the Aggies moving to the SEC in 2012, it’s imperative that they man up in the defensive line. Moore is the most talented of the group, but he’s moving from a hybrid outside linebacker position in Texas A&M’s old 3-4 setup to defensive end in Mark Snyder’s new 4-3 scheme. Moore has shown in the past that he can get to the quarterback and make big plays. He led the Big 12 last season with 17.5 tackles for loss. The Aggies are counting on him to be more than just a pass-rusher this coming season. And while Moore won’t be the biggest defensive end in the league, he’ll need to play big in every game if the Aggies are going to hold their own up front.
5. AJ McCarron, QB, Alabama: It’s safe to say that McCarron has already proved himself on a big stage. He was outstanding last season in the BCS title game win over LSU with his poise, decision-making and accuracy. The Crimson Tide did a nice job of not putting too much on McCarron’s shoulders during the season. That’s going to change some as he enters his junior season. Alabama will look to stretch the field more in 2012. McCarron has an NFL-caliber arm, and teams will gear their defenses more to stop him in 2012. We’ll see if he can pick up where he left off in New Orleans and sustain that level of play for the entire season.UGA commit Henry looking hard at Alabama 
For a big, bruising running back, it doesn’t get much better than the University of Alabama. The Crimson Tide have produced two first-round backs in the last two years, and they have a stable of players in the backfield this year who could potentially get drafted.
That’s why Derrick Henry, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound athlete who’s set on playing running back, has taken interest in Alabama. Henry committed to Georgia last July, but UA has started to pick up its recruitment in recent weeks, and it’s hard to look past the Tide’s track record.
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Bryant-Denny Stadium opened in 1927, but it didn't become the home many Crimson Tide fans know until 1999. That's the first year UA stopped playing multiple games at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala.
Why? Because in 1998 construction was completed on the Tuscaloosa stadium, adding 13,695 seats with an upper grandstand on the east side, raising capacity to 83,818. Four skyboxes were added and video replay was installed in the south end zone.
Legion Field, the former site of coach Paul "Bear" Bryant's record making win, was totally abandoned by the Tide in 2004 when the upper deck was deemed to be unsafe. The following season, UA finished work on the North End Zone project which added 8,000 bleacher seats, a pair of large video scoreboards and "The Walk of Champions" plaza.
One more for the road: The 1999 NFL draft was one of just two drafts in the past 40 years where one or fewer Alabama players were selected, the last coming in 2008.
Last month, Grant told reporters he would save his open scholarships (created by the departure of JaMychal Green, Tony Mitchell and Charles Hankerson) for next year, rather than load up on 2012 commits.
Looking to the even more distant future, ESPN released both the early 2014 and 2015 rankings. Stay tuned at TideNation as we update you on how the UA basketball staff goes after college basektball's future stars.
Each week at TideNation we'll speak with a writer who covers one of Alabama's opponents this season. Today, we spoke with WolverineNation beat writer Mike Rothstein.
Q: Michigan closed the season out strong in January, beating Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl. How has that momentum carried over during the spring?
Mike Rothstein: Michigan's offense, save Junior Hemingway, struggled against the Hokies. But the win definitely gave the Wolverines more confidence heading into next season. I think it also started to set up the leadership core for this upcoming season: Denard Robinson, Jordan Kovacs and Taylor Lewan. If anything, however, the Sugar Bowl gave Michigan an idea of how far it needed to go to continue to compete on an elite level nationally. The season-opener against Alabama is such a test.
Q: Denard Robinson is obviously the biggest threat on offense for the Wolverines. What do you expect from him in his senior year?
M.R.: For much of the spring, a lot was made of Robinson's improved accuracy and decision-making. Whether it is true or not remains to be seen. Robinson played one series in the public spring scrimmage and Robinson was made to look very good in the pre-packaged highlights of practices Michigan put on its website. It'll be interesting to see how he deals with pressure from Alabama.
Q: The defensive line lost a lot from last year. How do you see the defense as a whole coming together in 2012?
M.R.: The defensive line lost a lot but everyone else returns for Michigan. The secondary, which was once a weakness for the Wolverines, now has its top six cornerbacks returning from last season and also has a strong pair of starting safeties in Kovacs and Thomas Gordon. With a Greg Mattison-led defense, though, much of what he likes to do comes from defensive line pressure. It is a defensive line with three new starters and four guys playing different positions -- senior Craig Roh moved from rush end to strong side end in the offseason. Roh is going to have to have a big year as the rest of the line is untested. Jibreel Black has shown flashes, but is moving inside from an end spot. Will Campbell has always had potential, but never shown it with any consistency during his first three seasons. Brennen Beyer and Frank Clark will play rush end and should form a strong tandem. It'll be a place, however, where Alabama can attack on Sept. 1.
Q: We’ve got months to dissect everything about Alabama-Michigan. What do you think of the hype behind this game? Can it live up to the talk?
M.R.: Yes and no. If people understand that it is an opener and both teams are going to make some errors, I think it'll be a pretty good football game. Hype always concerns me because very rarely do games live up to it -- Kentucky-Indiana in last season's Sweet 16 was an exception -- but this will be two of the top teams in the nation playing. I'm expecting a competitive game.
Q: Give me your argument for Michigan beating Alabama in Cowboy Stadium.
M.R.: If Denard Robinson has improved as much as he and offensive coordinator Al Borges say he has, he'll be a tough player for Alabama to deal with, especially as it breaks in new players on defense. Robinson is usually good for two or three long runs a game. If those long runs turn into touchdowns, especially early, Michigan will have confidence.
Q: And, now, what are some obstacles that might prevent that from happening?
M.R.: Speed and overall talent. Alabama is perennially one of the top recruiting teams in the country and whenever Nick Saban looks like he might have a team taking a step back, that team ends up in the middle of the SEC conference title talk anyway. Michigan also is replacing David Molk at center and if snaps don't go well the first few series, confidence in the shotgun could become an issue with new center Ricky Barnum. There are still major questions about Robinson's accuracy so if he hasn't improved like Michigan claims, it could be a long night because he is prone to making a few bad decisions a game with the ball.
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Michigan's 2011 record: 11-2
All-time against the SEC: 24-8
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It’s the measuring stick of any good rushing game: Can you rush for 100 yards? At the University of Alabama, that feat has been accomplished an astounding 53 times since coach Nick Saban came to Tuscaloosa, Ala., in 2007. There have only been six games during that time in which the Crimson Tide have not reached the century mark.
Some stats in football are misleading. In the SEC, the 100-yard rushing mark is not one of those. Since 2007, the Tide have won 90 percent of games in which they’ve gone for more than 100 yards rushing. Their record when they have not: 1-5.
Conversely, when the Alabama defense holds the opposing team to under 100 yards rushing, good things generally happen. Since 2007, UA is 39-3 when opponents rush for fewer than 100 yards.
Watch: College Football Live on Tide
College Football Live's panel of experts discuss the upcoming season for the Crimson Tide.
In Friday’s spring game against a team out of Mississippi, one receiver made the mistake of trying to catch a ball over the middle. Williams found him and laid out the smaller player as soon as he made contact with the football.
“Coach said he hadn’t seen me hit all spring, so I had to give him something,” Williams said. “I had to get a good hit in.”
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What does come as a bit of a shock is the way the SEC's ever-expanding footprint is changing the nature of recruiting in the nation's largest, most talent-laden state. The success and exposure of teams like LSU and Alabama is catching the attention of top targets in Texas. With the recruiting cycle starting earlier than ever, this is highlighted specifically in the case of Texas' talented crop of 2014 defensive backs.
While Texas has long played by its own rules when recruiting its own territory, that might not be good enough anymore with teams like the Tigers and Crimson Tide identifying talent so early. The addition of Texas A&M to the SEC has allowed recruiters from schools like LSU and Alabama to sell Texas kids (and parents) on the notion of "returning home" twice in their college careers to play at Texas A&M. The addition of wide receives coach Adam Henry - a Beaumont, Texas native - to LSU's staff further solidifies LSU's Lone Star State chops.
HornsNation writer Max Olson has the full scoop here in an ESPN Insider story.
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Question: Do you expect a drop in production in this season’s secondary as compared to the last?
Alex Scarborough: By the end of the year, I believe the production will be there. That said, I think there will be some growing pains along the way with so many players adjusting to new roles. We’ll know just how good they are Week 1. Denard Robinson will test containment and the defensive backs’ ability to stay with receivers. If the UA secondary can weather a few early storms, it will be just fine.
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The Marietta, Ga., Kell High School prospect has put the recruiting process aside as he finished up the track season and started in with the football team for spring practice. Although he only worked out on the gridiron for a week, Langley believes he still got something out of it.
“I was only there for the second week, so it was pretty short, but it was fun,” he said. “I learned a lot. That’s always my goal going into things is to learn something, take something out of it, and I believe I did. In my opinion, it was productive. It was fun, and I’m just ready to get to the summer, get to these 7-on-7s, a couple camps and make my decision.”
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Robert Nkemdiche, the nation's No. 1 player in the ESPN 150, discusses his top six schools, including Alabama.
ABOUT TIDE NATION
Greg Ostendorf
Greg Ostendorf joined ESPN.com in 2012 after covering University of Alabama football and basketball recruiting at the Tuscaloosa News and Rivals.com. Ostendorf graduated from the University of Alabama and currently resides in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Email him at gsostendorf.espn@gmail.com.
Alex Scarborough
Alex Scarborough joined ESPN.com in 2012 after covering University of Alabama athletics and high school football for The Tuscaloosa News. He currently resides in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Email him at alexscarborough.espn@gmail.com.