Alabama Football: Dee Hart's Injury May Get Bradley Sylve Some Kick Returns

Larry Burton (Syndicated Writer) Bradley Sylve is not just fast, he's Olympic fast and slippery to boot. He is a freshman recruit from Port Sulphur, La., who stands about 5'10'' and weighs in about 178 pounds and runs like the world class sprinter that he is.

Dee Hart was being looked at as someone who could help Marquis Maze with kickoff and punt returns this season. With Hart going down with an ACL, that may open the door for Sylve to start showcasing that speed and elusiveness.

Sylve participates in national track events and is a true threat any time he steps in the starting blocks, but unlike most track stars, Sylve has the football instincts and other abilities to make him just as big a threat when he steps on the football field.

He was recruited as a receiver and is the heir apparent to Marquis Maze's spot as the outside deep threat. He may now also be the heir apparent to Maze's role as kick and punt returner as well.

Sylve is often compared to former Tide player Javier Arenas in the respects of being a physically tough "smaller man" with great cutting ability and lightning speed. Sylve may in fact be the fastest man in crimson this season for the Tide.

In this season's 2011 Under Armour All-American game, Sylve showed both that speed and elusiveness by returning a kickoff 92 yards against the best recruits in the country.

That convinced Alabama coaches that he's certainly capable of doing it at this level too.

If Duron Carter fills Julio Jones' role this year, then Sylve and others could only hope to get playing time on offense as substitutions when starters need a rest or in mop-up situations, but on special teams, Sylve cut make himself a star much as Arenas did.

At South Plaquemines High School Sylve played receiver, quarterback, defensive back and was also a threat running the ball. Though he was recruited at Alabama to be a receiver, he was also an All-State defensive back who returned three picks for touchdowns.

As a part time quarterback, he threw for four touchdown and rushed for almost 950 yards and 15 touchdowns while averaging a whopping 18.2 yards a carry.

He also tacked on another eight touchdowns returning kickoffs and punts for a total of over 24 points a game alone.

With the stingy defense that Alabama always seems to have, having a playmaker like Sylve could be just what the Tide needs.

They may just need him a year sooner than they thought.