Alabama Football: 5 Storylines Heading into Spring Ball

The Alabama Crimson Tide are coming off of their 14th national title and are one of the favorites to win another one next season. They return one of the more talented teams in the country and have an absolutely loaded recruiting class coming in.

Although we still may be months away from college football kicking off, spring ball is right around the corner. The Crimson Tide's first spring practice has yet to be scheduled, but the spring game will take place on April 14th.

As we get ready for everything spring has to offer, here are the top five storylines to pay attention to.

Can the Tide Replace the Secondary?

The Crimson Tide defense is going to look very different, as it only returns five starters on that side of the ball.

Cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick is the key player to leave, as he was a shutdown corner.

Safety Mark Barron and DeQuan Menzie are also two big losses in the Crimson Tide secondary.

This means that safety Robert Lester will now have to be the leader of this squad, and John Fulton and Dee Milliner will likely become the starters at cornerback. Junior college transfers Deion Belue and Travell Dixon will also get serious looks during the spring as well.

Even young safety Vinnie Sunseri, who finished last year with 30 tackles, will probably see an expanded role.

It's going to be fun to see how this group of players works out for the defending national champs. Although for a secondary that was ranked first in the country last season, they may experience a few growing pains next season.

How Much of a Factor Will Dee Hart Be?

While everybody is focused on Eddie Lacy and how much he reminds Tide fans of Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson, the Tide does have a 5-star prospect in Dee Hart who wasn't able to play last season because he tore his ACL. Well, he's back and ready to go, as you can see here.

Hart was one of the top backs in the 2010 class and has excellent field vision and makes defenders miss with ease. He isn't the biggest back at 5'9", 189 pounds, but he's fast and would be a great change of pace next to Lacy.

He's a playmaker and can even catch the ball out of the backfield as he has fantastic hands.

Nobody knows for sure just how much of a factor he'll be this season, but make sure to keep your eye on this young running back from Orlando, Florida. He's a very exciting player and could become a difference maker on the offensive end if he has a great spring.

Special Teams Isn't So Special

If you watched Alabama last season, you'd know that special teams was far from special. There were a total of 13 field goals missed, punting only averaged 39 yards which was 10th in the SEC and kickoffs only averaged 62 yards which was 11th in the SEC.

Both the punter and the field-goal kickers return from a year ago, which I'm not sure is a good or bad thing. I do know that special teams needs to get better because it was the reason they didn't go undefeated and could very well determine if the Tide are able to repeat.

We've seen so many games come down to special teams. Alabama needs to make sure they don't end up on the losing end because of a missed kick.

What AJ McCarron Are We Going to Get?

Last season was really a roller coaster year for the sophomore quarterback, but majority of it wasn't his fault as he was handcuffed for majority of the season. He only threw the ball 30 or more times three times last year.

Although, as the year went by, he was allowed to throw the ball more and even threw the ball 34 times against LSU in the national championship game. He completed 67 percent of his passes against the Tigers and left Tide fans really wondering if he has what it takes to lead this team.

McCarron has always completed a high percentage of his passes and has really made smart decisions with the football. It just really depends on whether the coaching staff is comfortable enough to let him lead this team. 

After the performance I saw in the national championship, Alabama should be really confident in the young man.

Linebacker Remains the Question

In the SEC you need to have a great defense to succeed and Alabama will be tested as they lost several great players all at once. No area was hit harder than the linebacker position as they lost Courtney Upshaw, Jerrell Harris and Dont'a Hightower.

Hightower and Upshaw were the best defensive players on the field as they were the only two players to put up double-digit tackles for loss and were two of the top three sack leaders last season. Now Alabama is left trying to find pass-rushers and leaders on the defensive side of the ball.

Senior Nico Johnson is the most experienced out of the bunch as he has made a total of 17 starts at the linebacker position. He will likely become the starter at the weak side, but will be expected to become a leader for this team as well. 

C.J. Mosley should also earn a starting spot if he's completely recovered from a dislocated hip he suffered last season. The other linebacker position will likely be up for grabs and there's several in the mix that include Trey DePriest, Tana Patrick, Adrian Hubbard and even new recruit Reggie Ragland.

The talent is there, players just need to step up because these are some big shoes to fill.

Randy Chambers is a B/R featured columnist that covers college football and the NFL. You can contact him @Randy_Chambers or [e-mail].