Alabama Football: Looking Forward to '09

Alabama, if all goes as expected, is doing well filling the weak spots on the roster with the incoming class of '09. Of course, recruiting is like beauty, mostly based on the eye of the beholder, and it can fade with the years as the players try to live up to their potential.

If a team gets more than a couple of real stars (or five stars) per class, they are lucky.

Very few players have the same impact in college that people project them to have while in high school, like Fr. Julio Jones has shown in his brief career at 'Bama. Most schools have to rely on their ability to take a three star and coach him up to a four or a four star and either teach him to hold that rating or rise to a higher level.

If schools succeeded based only on the class of blue chip recruits they had coming in, then Notre Dame would have won at least 10 Championships in the 80's and 90's.

The gurus have the Tides' incoming class ranked from No. 5 (Rivals) to No. 8 or No. 9 (ESPNU & Scout.com respectively). ESPNU is suggesting the Tide could end up as high as No. 3, depending on what happens with recruits who have yet to commit.

Gerald West, a 3-4 star CB announced Jan. 30 that he had decided to attend So. Miss. instead of Alabama. It's a relatively minor change in the grand scheme of things, so I doubt it will change the Tides' overall ratings.

Some of the most coveted offensive HS recruits include OT D.J. Fluker, RB Trent Richardson, and the lone CC transfer, James Carpenter. Fluker is considered one of the top HS OL prospects by many while Carpenter has been mentioned as the best one coming from the CC ranks.

Considering the loss of C Caldwell and AA OT Smith, along with TE's McCall and Walker, it's great to have two signees who could have an immediate impact.

Despite playing only one year at OT, many pundits are sure that Fluker could eventually be as talented as Smith. Considering Andre Smith was a consensus AA that opted to skip his senior season and go pro, that says a lot about his potential.

Fluker won't yet have the skills Andre has developed, but at 6'7" & 350lbs, his sheer size should be enough to allow him a place as a run blocker almost immediately.

With the graduation of QB J.P.Wilson, there will be some interesting competition for a QB starter. QB's Greg McElroy (who was committed to Tx. Tech before signing with Bama in '06) and Star Jackson (considered the No. 1 QB prospect by Scout.com in the Southeast last year) will be front-runners. McElroy should have the upper hand after being Wilson's backup in '08.

Spring practice will be the deciding factor—a chance to see if Star can take the starting job from Greg. This years' only QB recruit is A.J. McCarron—a four-star prospect from Mobile, AL.

The departure of the Tides most productive RB (Glen Coffee) could help wrap up Trent Richardson—one of the nation's most highly coveted running backs. While he is considered a "soft verbal" commit to 'Bama, there are still lots of schools attempting to lure him away.

Alabama has some returning RB's, most notably true freshman Mark Ingram, who started ahead of Coffee and 2007's biggest gainer Terry Grant in some games. The addition of Richardson would give them a great stable of backs for '09.

While most of 'Bama's defense will return, they need to replace one of their best DB's— the outstanding safety Rashad Johnson. It seems they are happy with the prospects from last year and earlier because there are few DB's in this class.

Instead, they are trying to improve depth at the front seven, with five-star LB Nico Johnson leading the way. Several four-star commits at DE and DT should provide the help needed on the defensive front. With returning stars Sr. Terrence Cody at anchor, So. Rolando McClain and Fr. Dont'a Hightower at LB, they should have a good run defense again in 2009.

Special teams were consistently inconsistent last year, especially at PK. Even when Saban tried replacing starter Leigh Tiffin, son of a  great 'Bama PK, things just got worse. Hopefully, his senior season will be better than last year's 69 percent record.

But the sensational Jr. returner Javier Arenas will be back to provide a bright spot again. His skills will once again create fear for opponents and excite Tide fans on every return.