Alabama Crimson Tide

With spring practice complete and fall camp right around the corner, TideNation's power rankings return with a look at the top 10 Alabama players heading into the offseason.

1. QB AJ McCarron (Last ranking: 2): After three trips to the White House, there's not much that fazes McCarron. Even after two interceptions in the A-Day game, there wasn't an ounce of concern. "None," in his words, and at this point in his career there shouldn't be. His championship rings, his record-breaking stats and his talent speak for themselves. There might not be a more decorated quarterback in school history by the time he hangs it up.

2. ILB C.J. Mosley (3): It's one thing for a quarterback to play with a black jersey. It's another for a linebacker to do it. But a bum shoulder wouldn't slow Mosley down. The rising senior and leading tackler from last season played all spring with a shoulder harness and a no-contact jersey, yet he found a way to contribute. On Saturday, Mosley finished with a team-high nine "tackles" and, more impressively, caused and recovered a fumble on the same play.

3. LT Cyrus Kouandjio (NR): He's the rock, the anchor to a line replacing three starters. And if you're going to start over, it's nice to have a franchise left tackle like Kouandjio. The rising junior enters the season as arguably the most prized offensive linemen in the SEC. It's only a matter of time before he declares for the NFL draft and is taken near the top of the first round, so Tide fans should enjoy him while they can.

4. RB T.J. Yeldon (7): It's almost as though Yeldon was an afterthought as many fans clung to the untapped potential of early enrollee Derrick Henry this spring. It's typical of a talented team, though, as Yeldon, only a sophomore, is already taken for granted. It was only a year ago that he was the energizing rookie making fans forget about incumbent Eddie Lacy. Unoticed or not, Yeldon is a feature back worth his weight in gold.

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Depending on which way you look at it, Alabama's scrimmage on Saturday was either good or bad for the future of the football team. Good because the offense scored 11 touchdowns and didn't cough the ball up once, and bad because the defense failed to make many stops and didn't generate a single turnover.

Ah, the joy of spring football. When you play against yourself no one really wins. The players simply get to hit one another, and that's a pleasant enough experience.

"Defensively, I guess it’s good and bad news," Alabama coach Nick Saban said. "We didn’t create any turnovers but the good news is we didn’t turn it over on offense, so that’s probably a good thing. But we practiced a lot of different situations out there, which is great exposure for our players."

Saturday marked the 12th practice and second scrimmage of the spring for the Crimson Tide. The next scrimmage will be the last when the doors to Bryant-Denny Stadium are swung open on April 20 for A-Day.

And even then, the result of the game-like practice will be the same: either the offense will look spectacular and the defense horrendous, or vice versa.

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Nick Saban opened spring practice by saying it was a time for re-invention. When you lose 25 percent of your team each season, it has to be. Who would be this team's leaders? Who would be the ones to step up and set an example?

Then, in the next breath, the head coach of the defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide spoke about three players trying their hands at new positions. Running back Dee Hart and wide receivers Christion Jones and Cyrus Jones are all playing cornerback this spring. And through three practices, they've done their best to pick up the new, yet somewhat familiar position.

Deion Belue, who started at cornerback opposite Dee Milliner last season, said the rookies on defense have played like naturals.

"Coming out of high school they were athletes, so it was a smooth transition," he said, "because they've played on defense before. It's not their first time."

But for the secondary as a whole, it might as well be starting from scratch. Milliner is gone, as is veteran safety Robert Lester. Even rising senior cornerback John Fulton is out for the spring as he recovers from surgery on his toe, leaving few experienced options for Saban and defensive coordinator Kirby Smart to work with. Thus the experiment with Hart and the Jones receivers. Belue isn't guaranteed anything after an up-and-down first season, and though rising sophomore Geno Smith played well down the stretch, he's not being handed anything. Competition, Belue said, is at a premium.

"It's the University of Alabama," Belue said matter of factly. "All we do is compete all year around. In the summer, spring -- it doesn't matter. If the spot is there, just put your best foot forward and we'll see who comes out with it."

Even rising junior safety Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix is battling for starter's reps. Though he started 10 of 14 games at free safety and finished strong with a standout performance against Notre Dame in the championship game, he's not considering himself a shoo-in. Clinton-Dix, Vinnie Sunseri, Nick Perry, Landon Collins and Jarrick Williams are competing for two spots.

"There's a lot of competition going on," Clinton-Dix said, adding that Hart, his former high school teammate, is coming along quickly and recovering well from back-to-back knee operations. "The safeties, the corners -- like I said, no one has a starting job. So everyone is out there competing, going after it, balls to the wall, so you never know who could step up and who could step down."

Collins is one player poised to rise up the depth chart. The former top-rated prospect in the 2012 signing class and the No. 1 safety in the country played primarily on special teams last season. But with Lester gone, he has his chance. So far, he's earned the praise of his teammates.

"Landon’s coming along very well," Clinton-Dix said. "He’s maturing a lot. He loves the playbook now. He’s competing.

"He’s fast, he's strong, he can break on the ball really well -- he has it all down pat."

Whether that will translate to game situations remains to be seen.

Said Saban: "It takes time. We're very patient with the players we have."

He'll have to be, with so many new and young faces. He's called the team a work in progress, and for a coach who specializes in the secondary, that's where it will start. Thankfully for him, he has the spring to get his affairs in order.

"We feel like we can make a lot of progress toward getting where we want to be by the end of the spring," Saban said. "Then being able to work on the things that they need to do over the summer so we have an opportunity to continue to progress in the fall."

Editor's note: From now until the start of spring camp on March 16, TideNation will count down the 12 most intriguing players to watch on the Alabama football roster. Today we look at safety Landon Collins.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The training wheels are set to come off of Landon Collins in a few weeks when spring practice begins at the University of Alabama. No longer a rookie, it's the former five-star safety's time to prove he belongs in the SEC. Robert Lester is gone and there's a vacancy in the secondary with his name on it. Now, all he has to do is win the job.

Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix, Nick Perry, Vinnie Sunseri and Jarrick Williams will all compete with Collins to fill the two safety positions. And in all likelihood, Cinton-Dix, who started 10 of 14 games, already has one of the spots filled up, leaving four men and one position to do battle over.

There's little doubt Collins is the most talented option. According to ESPN, the former Under Armour All-American was the No. 1-ranked safety in the 2012 class, the top-rated player Alabama signed and the sixth best prospect in the country. He runs a sub-4.4 second 40-yard dash at 6-foot and 202 pounds.

His above-average athleticism showed up mainly on special teams last season, where he finished with 17 total tackles. He also blocked a kick late in the season, no doubt earning him brownie points with a coaching staff that values the small things more than most. He was one of four players to win the Special Teams Award at the end of the the year team banquet.

Rather than use Collins all over the field, Alabama coach Nick Saban opted to keep him on special teams and use him sparingly on defense. In other words, he brought him along slowly rather than burden him with too many responsibilities at once.

Sunseri, who starred on special teams in 2011 before seeing his role expand, said he saw Collins progress as the year went along. When it was Collins' turn to come on for mop up duty, Sunseri said he saw him, "not make any mental errors and play with tenacity."

With Lester gone along with top cornerback Dee Milliner, the secondary will need all the help it can get. The cornerback position could be thin with an up-and-down Deion Belue returning and a young but talented option in rising sophomore Geno Smith. Bradley Sylve could play a role and rising senior John Fulton has a shot at significant reps if he can recover from a nagging turf toe injury. With so much up in the air, the safety position becomes that much more important.

For Alabama to be successful, the back end of the defense has to hold up its end of the bargain. If Collins develops into the ballhawking safety some expect, it would go a long way to shoring up the entire secondary.

Editor's note: From now until the start of spring camp on March 16, TideNation will count down the 12 most intriguing players to watch on the Alabama football roster. Today we look at cornerback Deion Belue.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Ever since Javier Arenas became a starter in 2008, Alabama has had a lockdown cornerback to anchor the secondary. When Arenas graduated, the job fell to Dre Kirkpatrick. When Kirkpatrick left, Dee Milliner took over. It's part of what's made the Crimson Tide's defense so dominating. When a quarterback no longer has his top receiving target to throw the ball to, generating offense becomes an uphill battle.

Now that Milliner is gone, the question of who will be next to lead the charge at cornerback lingers. The heir to the throne, rising senior Deion Belue, has shown at times that he's capable of being the on-ball defender UA needs, but those flashes of execution have been fleeting at best. For every spectacular pass defended (see Notre Dame) there's an instance of him being either out of position or late on his break (see Georgia).

Belue's stat sheet tells the story of his up-and-down season. Both of his interceptions came in the first five games -- one against Western Kentucky and the other against Ole Miss. There were eight games Belue failed to register a single pass breakup, and it wasn't for lack of teams throwing on him. With Milliner leading the country in passes defended (breakups plus interceptions) for most of the season, it was often Belue who was targeted most by opposing quarterbacks. Of Belue's nine total passes defended, just one came in the final six games of the season.

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Alabama defensive back Deion Belue's batted pass on fourth-and-5 ended a Notre Dame drive in the second quarter.

Editor’s note: Each day between now and Alabama's date with Notre Dame in the BCS National Championship, TideNation will review the season for a key Crimson Tide player and attempt to project what’s next for him. Today we’ll look at cornerback Deion Belue.

No. 13 Deion Belue

Cornerback

36 tackles, 2 interceptions, 8 passes defended

Role in 2012: The former Alabama signee had to take the junior college route to Tuscaloosa, Ala., but when he did, his impact was immediate as he won the starting job early on, beating out John Fulton and fellow transfer Travell Dixon, who left the program before the start of the season.

The good: Belue certainly looked the part early, turning in an interception return for a touchdown in his first career scrimmage, showing off elite speed and good ball skills. He started off the season by flashing those same attributes. Michigan found little success on his side of the field in the season opener and he tallied two interceptions in his first five games, one against Western Kentucky and another against Ole Miss.

The bad: Belue's production has tapered off dramatically in the second half of the season. He hasn't registered an interception or a pass defensed in five games. Georgia receiver Tavarres King abused Belue in coverage, racking up five of his seven receptions in the SEC championship game against the 5-foot-11 defender. Belue got turned around and discombobulated on several routes, losing leverage on receivers.

Crystal ball: There's little doubt about Belue's talent. His speed and agility are obvious whenever he steps on the field. The question is whether he can develop those traits and become an elite cornerback in the way Dee Milliner progressed from his sophomore to junior year. Frankly, Belue will have to for the Tide to be successful next season, as Milliner is likely to capitalize on his strong season and turn pro, leaving Belue to become the No. 1 cornerback and either Fulton or Geno Smith to step in opposite him. The more immediate concern, however, is how Belue will fare against Notre Dame in the title game. Luckily, for the Tide, the Irish are not known as a passing team. Brian Kelly's squad is 75th in the country in passing yards per game (218.83) with a freshman, Everett Golson, under center.