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. -- There's a healthy dose of expectations and optimism surrounding the new-look Alabama defensive line this spring. Like its counterpart on offense, so much has changed in the trenches from a season ago: nose guard Jesse Williams is gone, along with starting defensive end Damion Square and former top reserve Quinton Dial.

But unlike the offensive line, which is seeking to replace three All-SEC starters, there's no hint of an expected of a drop off in production from the defensive front. In fact, it's quite the opposite. If there is an area on defense that's in need of the most improvement, it might be the defensive line, particularly the pass rush.

Alabama failed to finish in the top 25 nationally in sacks or tackles for loss last season, trailing eight other SEC teams in negative plays. With underclassmen such as Jeoffrey Pagan and Xzavier Dickson a year older, the hope is that those numbers will improve.

"We've got some really talented guys and guys that work really hard on the defensive line, Pagan especially," Alabama tight end/H-back Harrison Jones said. "I see those guys really stepping up and filling the spots that were left open last year from guys leaving the team, big team leaders like Damion Square and Jesse Williams and guys like Quinton Dial.

"That's something that's going to be a big part of our team this year the defensive line stepping up and I feel like they're doing a good job of that so far."

Pagan, who has played as a reserve his first two seasons, admits the pass rush "struggled a little bit" in 2012. He said he welcomes the task of improving upon it as well as the personal responsibility of rising up the depth chart to a possible starting role. He added on five pounds from a year ago and wants to make his game more well-rounded, stopping the run and the pass.

"I've gotten better," he explained. "I've grown as a person, I've learned from great players."

Pagan credited Square for teaching him what coaches couldn't -- the intangibles of the game. And now that Square is gone, it's fallen on the broad shoulders of Ed Stinson to captain the defensive line. Stinson, the lone returning starter on the line, added 10 pounds to his already stocky frame and has developed into a leader among his peers.

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Editor's note: Every day from now until kickoff in Miami, TideNation will break down the match-ups position-by-position. Today we'll look at the battle of the defensive line.

Alabama: There's not a whole lot of flash to the Alabama defensive line. Jesse Williams, the formerly mohawked Monstar, doesn't lack personality and neither does the oft-grinning Damion Square. But their play on the field, as a result of coach Nick Saban's 3-4 scheme, is usually understated. Square, Williams and Co. are there to take on blocks and free up the linebackers and defensive backs to make plays.

And by that measure, Alabama's defensive line has been one of the best in college football. Take sacks and tackles for loss -- the traditional measurements -- out of the equation and look at the bigger picture: UA ranks in the top five in passing, rushing and total defense. The Crimson Tide have given up the second fewest points per game in the country, trailing only Notre Dame. Creating negative plays is nice, but winning all four downs is what matters.

Williams is the anchor of the unit at nose guard. The converted defensive lineman has held the point well this season, rotating with Brandon Ivory depending on down, distance and general fatigue. Square and Ed Stinson have served as the primary defensive ends, but Quinton Dial, Jeoffrey Pagan and D.J. Pettway have all played significant snaps. The key for the unit as a whole is size and gap discipline. All three starters come in at more than 280 pounds and have at least three years experience.

Notre Dame: The Golden Domers may operate the same 3-4 scheme as Alabama, but they get different results. Coach Brian Kelly's defense has produced a pair of stars on the defensive line in end Stephon Truitt and nose guard Louis Nix III.

"He’s a high-energy player," UA left tackle Cyrus Kouandjio said of Truitt, who comes in at 6-foot-6, 303 pounds. "He’s talented, of course, and it will be an honor to play against him."

With starting defensive end Kapron Lewis-Moore, Notre Dame averages 311.6 pounds across the front.

Said UA guard Chance Warmack: "They're just really physical, really big up front."

Defensive ends Sheldon Day (6-foot-2, 286 pounds) and Tony Springmann (6-foot-6, 300 pounds) figure into the rotation, along with nose guard Kona Schwenke (6-foot-4, 290 pounds).

Final Verdict: The defensive line may be one of Alabama's biggest weakness as their inability to generate a consistent pass rush has allowed quarterbacks like Aaron Murray, Zach Mettenberger and Johnny Manziel to run wild. Meanwhile, Notre Dame's d-line is arguably its biggest asset. Truitt, Nix and Lewis-Moore have combined for 20 sacks and 27 tackles for loss. By comparison, Alabama has 33 total sacks, 7.5 coming from Williams, Square and Stinson. While the ability to rush the passer is not the end all be all, it could be one of the keys to the outcome of the game.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The University of Alabama stayed unbeated with a 33-14 win over Ole Miss on Saturday, but the victory came at a cost.

The Crimson Tide saw four major contributors leave the game at some point with injuries -- cornerback Deion Belue, running back Dee Hart, defensive lineman Ed Stinson and wide receiver DeAndrew White.

White’s injury could be the most significant of the three. The sophomore receiver left in the first quarter with an apparent knee injury, returning to the Tide’s sideline on crutches later.

“White has a knee injury that will be evaluated tomorrow,” UA coach Nick Saban said. “He was playing really well for us on special teams and really playing his position well offensively.”

Although there will be no official word until Sunday, quarterback AJ McCarron insinuated White’s injury could be serious and the impact long lasting.

“Now that DeAndrew is out, we are going to need more guys to step up and make plays for us,” McCarron said.

Hart also suffered a knee injury on Saturday. The redshirt freshman running back went down in a heap while returning a punt in the fourth quarter. He left the field under his own power. Hart tore the ACL in his right knee last summer.

“Hart has a possible knee injury that will be evaluated tomorrow,” Saban said.

As for Belue, he didn't return from the locker room after halftime. The junior college transfer finished with five tackles and an interception in the first half, but a shoulder injury kept him out for the rest of the game.

However, Saban doesn’t believe the injury to be serious.

“It’s a week or two type deal,” Saban said. "He’s hurting right now, but I don’t really feel like it’s something that’s going to keep him out for a long time.”

Junior cornerback John Fulton replaced Belue in the cornerback spot opposite Milliner.

With all of the injuries, Alabama is looking forward to the upcoming bye week to rest up and get healthy for the remainder of the season.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The picture of the Crimson Tide, circa 2012, is coming into full view. On Tuesday afternoon, Alabama released its depth chart.

There were a couple surprises on the list, including Jalston Fowler and T.J. Yeldon sharing duties as the No. 2 tailback and Ed Stinson winning the second defensive end spot. True freshmen Denzel Devall and Geno Smith also won coveted backup roles at Jack and cornerback, respectively.

Quarterback
AJ McCarron, Jr.
Phillip Ely, RS Fr.

Running back
Eddie Lacy, Jr.
Jalston Folwer, Jr. -- OR -- T.J. Yeldon Fr.
Dee Hart, RS Fr.

Tight end/H
Michael Williams, RS Sr.
Brian Vogler, Soph.

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Like a high school athlete who is good at multiple sports and excellent at none, there's a temptation to do too much with young talent, to force the issue and create more problems than answers.

Such is the case at Alabama. The secondary is filled with mostly inexperienced players and it has caused the coaching staff to look at their roster and push the limits, to see how many positions for one player is too much.

"Where guys get into the complicated issues is, when they’re young players, and you try to teach them corner and star, or you try to teach them safety and money," Alabama coach Nick Saban said.

"Some of our younger players this year are in a situation because we don’t have a lot of depth in the secondary, where we’re having to do that with some of them. That probably makes it a more difficult learning curve."

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