Alabama Crimson Tide

It’s Rankings Week at TideNation. Every day we’ll rank some aspect of the Alabama football program heading into the 2013 season. Today we’re ranking the top 10 UA rookies with the chance of making the biggest impact in the fall. On Friday we’ll rank the Tide’s top needs in recruiting for the Class of 2014, as well as give you the top players the staff are pursuing at those positions.

Rookies with the best chance of making an impact

1. TE/H-back O.J. Howard: He's big, he's tall and he's fast. Really, he's unlike any tight end Alabama has had in the Nick Saban era in that he can make plays on his own because of his athleticism. Howard, the former No. 2 tight end prospect in the country, enrolled early and showed why he's viewed as a game-changer at the position. As teammate Brian Vogler put it, "He's a whole new dimension to the offense."

2. RB Derrick Henry: He'll play running back. Let's get that out of the way right now. At 6-foot-3 and some 240 pounds, Henry doesn't look like your prototypical ball-carrier, but that's what he'll be as a freshman. And watch out. Teammates marveled at his strength, saying he looked like a taller version of Trent Richardson on the practice fields. A broken leg caused him to miss A-Day, but he's expected to be back to 100 percent before the start of fall camp.

3. WR Raheem Falkins: As the No. 41-ranked receiver in a signing class that featured No. 2-ranked Robert Foster, it's understandable why Falkins wasn't on many people's radar coming into spring camp. But the tall, rangy wideout from Louisiana enrolled early and showed he's more than just a project. He was quick, smooth and graceful with the football, belying his size. But it's his size that gives him an edge. At 6-foot-4, he'll be the tallest receiver on the roster and thus a good option in the red zone.

4. OT Leon Brown: Don't count Brown out of the race at right tackle just yet. Veteran Austin Shepherd has the lead, but Brown isn't so far behind that he can't catch up. The former No. 2-ranked juco offensive tackle enrolled early this spring and transitioned well to the college game under new position coach Mario Cristobal. He could hit his stride this fall after a full offseason in the weight and film rooms.

5. LB Jonathan Allen: It's no secret that Alabama needs help rushing the passer, and Allen is a talent in that respect. The former No. 3-ranked defensive end in the country got after the quarterback well in high school, and the native Virginian will be asked to do the same in Tuscaloosa, albeit from a hybrid linebacker position. He already has the size at 6-foot-3 and 245 pounds, it's just a matter of taking to a new position.

6. DL Dee Liner: Nabbing Liner away from the Auburn Tigers late in the recruiting season was a home run for the Alabama staff. The No. 4-ranked defensive tackle in the ESPN 150 has the quickness Alabama is looking for in its defensive linemen, as well as the versatility to play multiple spots on the field.

7. RB Alvin Kamara: Like Falkins, Kamara will have an edge on his competition in that he'll have a niche role. Unlike all the other Alabama tailbacks that are generally one-cut power runners, Kamara is a guy with the shiftiness to get outside the tackles, make multiple cuts and run away from the defense. He's got good hands, too, meaning he could be a weapon on third down and in passing situations if he shows he can block effectively.

8. CB Maurice Smith: Alabama needs depth at cornerback, and Smith is the highest-rated defensive back in the Tide's 2013 signing class. More importantly he's a physical corner which Bama coach Nick Saban will like, and he's a guy who is used to competition having come up through the Texas high school football ranks. But be warned, his transition to college will take time. It's no easy task for a freshman to learn Saban's way of playing corner. It took Geno Smith until nearly the end of his first season to figure it out.

9. LB Reuben Foster: The tattoos and backstory now fully behind him, it will be interesting to see what Foster does with a fresh start. Say what you will about his personality, but his talent is undeniable. As the No. 1-rated inside linebacker in the ESPN 150, he has the strength, size and speed to be a force at the next level.

10. LS Cole Mazza: In all honesty, Mazza could be at the top of this list if it were "Who is the most likely to play as a freshman?" Instead it was a question of impact, and measuring the potential for impact is debatable given the position he'll play. We could see the long-snapper playing from Day 1 seeing as he's the only player Saban has ever awarded a scholarship at his position. He's the heir to Carson Tinker, who played in 38 career games.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- President Barack Obama is the most powerful man in the free world. His office is famously known across the country, but does he have a button on his desk that automatically closes the door to the room where he works?

Nick Saban does.

Alabama’s head coach can close the door to his office from the confines of his chair whenever he chooses. The device has proven to be both impressive and intimidating to potential recruits who have walked in.

“I was actually kind of nervous coming into his office,” Alabama signee Maurice Smith said. “When I had walked into his office, he was the only coach who ever had a button -- he pushes the button and the door closes. That was pretty scary.”

ESPN Watch List linebacker Bryson Allen-Williams met with Saban in his office during the Crimson Tide’s first junior day this year. He left with a scholarship offer, but when he first walked in, he was a little unsure.

“It’s very intimidating,” he said. “You come into his office, he presses the button and the door closes behind you, and then it’s right to business, what you want to talk about.”

The infamous automatic door didn’t bother 2014 running back Leonard Fournette. He was more impressed with the next part of Saban’s routine -- showing off his four national championship rings to the recruits.

“I was pretty impressed,” Fournette said. “He asked what was going on with me, personal stuff, how school was going and stuff like that.”

There’s a reason Saban is considered the best recruiter in college football right now, but is he the most powerful man in the sport?

It’s hard to argue for anybody else. The UA head coach has compiled a record of 68-13 during his six seasons with the Tide. He has won three national championships in the past four years. He’s also earned a top-three recruiting class in each of the last six years.

“Three rings in the past four years,” Allen-Williams said. “Who else is doing that? Four rings as a head coach. Who else is doing that? To me, he’s the most powerful man in college football right now.”

As Saban aims for yet another title next season, he’ll take a break on Monday to visit the White House with his team. The most powerful man in college football will meet the most powerful man in the free world.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- By any statistical measurement, Alabama's signing class this year was a success. The number of ESPN 300 members who faxed in their paperwork was staggering. Thirteen signees were ranked in the top 10 nationally at their positions.

The No. 1 class ranking was just a distinction. Simply hauling in top recruits won't get a team too far. UA coach Nick Saban knows this well. As he and his staff were building the class, they had goals in mind. The road map was simple.

"We didn’t change the recruiting strategy," Saban said. "We define the kind of players that we want, and they have critical factors at each position. I think we added fast-twitch, pass-rushing athletic guys to the defensive line category as being a higher priority because of spread offenses, more spread offenses, more athletic quarterbacks -- those types of things, the same things that NFL teams are talking about when they play against RG3 or [Colin] Kaepernick or Russell Wilson from Seattle, who are athletic and run the ball. We have to be able to adapt to that kind of athleticism and that means we have to be more athletic to do that."

In other words, Saban is gearing up for three more years of Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M. The Aggies were the only team to beat Alabama in 2012, and after watching the future Heisman Trophy winner carve up his defense, Saban is ready to react.

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The University of Alabama has utilized more and more true freshmen each year, and it should be no different with the 2013 class. The Crimson Tide already have 21 commitments, including 10 ranked in the ESPN 150. It also doesn’t hurt that nine of them have already enrolled and will compete in spring practice.

Instant-impact recruits

RB Derrick Henry: With Eddie Lacy leaving a year early for the NFL, T.J. Yeldon expects to carry the load at running back next year for Alabama. But who will spell him? Both Jalston Fowler and Dee Hart are coming off major knee injuries, and Kenyan Drake will be just a sophomore. After the season Yeldon put together, don’t count out another true freshman making an impact in the backfield next year.

The Tide expect to sign at least three, possibly four ESPN 150 running backs, but the most physical and ready to play is Henry -- who broke the high school career rushing record. The 6-foot-3, 243-pound could see some time at H-back as well, but expect him to start out as a running back.

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