Sudden Impact: Alabama's New Faces to Watch

(Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)

Offense

Colin Peek, senior tight end, 6'6", 241 pounds, Jacksonville, FL

Peek, the transfer from Georgia Tech, came into the program highly regarded. He is a big target for quarterback Greg McElroy and a good blocker for the running game as well.

With his soft hands and deceptive speed, it can be said that the Tide may have upgraded the tight end spot from a playmaking standpoint. He had an impressive showing on A-Day with three catches for 32 yards.

James Carpenter, junior offensive lineman, 6'5", 305 pounds, Coffeyville, KS

Carpenter was one of the two offensive linemen who participated in spring drills at Alabama (the other was Chance Warmack). Offensive line is a question mark for the Tide, and since Carpenter is a JUCO transfer, he is asked to fill that void immediately. He played the left tackle spot and emerged as a potential starter at that position. 

He has the range to play tackle but has the ability to excel at the guard position as well, since he played a bit of the guard position for Coffeyville, as well as his high school team.

D.J. Fluker, freshman offensive lineman, 6'7", 350 pounds, Foley, AL

For his size, Fluker has unreal athletic ability. In fact, he has a 40 time less than five seconds. He spent most of his time in high school on the defensive side of the field. When he went to Foley High School, he was moved to left tackle and had a phenomenal year. He's a natural at his position as he recorded 60 pancake blocks. 

He's a monster at run blocking but has some trouble with quick defensive ends for pass blocking, which was shown in the Army All-American Game. Despite that, he has the potential of being one of the great linemen in Alabama history.

Can you imagine the battle between Cody and Fluker in practice? He'll be a key factor in the offensive line battle in fall camp.

Michael Bowman, freshman wide receiver, 6'4", 205 pounds, Rossville, GA

Bowman recently received news that he has qualified and will report for fall camp. He puts Tide fans in the mind of another Julio Jones. He's hard to cover one-on-one and has athletic ability for a jump ball situation.

He may not have the speed to break away from defenders, but that didn't stop him from having over 1,000 yards receiving and over 10 touchdowns. He will push for playing time at Alabama due to unproven talent at the position outside of Jones. His brother Adarius was a star at Oklahoma State.

Trent Richardson, freshman running back, 5'11", 215 pounds, Escambia, FL

This is as close to a no-brainer as you could get. Richardson had a game where he ran for 419 yards and ended his season running for 2,090 yards and 25 touchdowns. Richardson possesses excellent vision and patience as a runner. He can catch passes out of the backfield, and he's a solid pass blocker. 

He has the ability to run between the tackles to punish defenders and shows the speed to escape them as well. He will no doubt come into the running back rotation and challenge for playing time. Although he may not be the starter out of fall camp, Saban has shown that he likes to spread the carries out to keep fresh legs in the game.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?