Alabama Football: Post-Spring Game Two-Deep Depth Chart

Coming out of Saturday's somewhat anemic 17-14 victory for the White team over the Crimson unit in Alabama's annual spring game, head coach Nick Saban has not publicly announced a depth chart for the Tide.

This will leave us to speculate ourselves. While many positions are relatively clear, there are others that have yet to become so obvious.

There are many freshmen who have yet to step foot on campus and could possibly work their way into the rotation this coming fall, but for right now we will work with what we have seen.

Here is what Alabama's two-deep depth chart might look like coming out of the A-Day game.

Quarterback

Starter: AJ McCarron

Backup: Blake Sims

McCarron is without a doubt going to reprise his role as leader of the Tide offense. With his pedigree of winning and accuracy, the senior will no doubt handle every snap aside from those that come late in severe blowouts.

The coaching staff got a good look at a number of early enrollee freshmen Saturday, but it is hard to see how any of them will unseat Sims for the backup role this season.

Even though Sims struggled, throwing two interceptions, none of his counterparts fared much better. Due to his ability to run, Sims should handle the backup role in 2013.

Running Back

Starter: T.J. Yeldon

Backups: Kenyan Drake and Derrick Henry

Coming off a stellar freshman campaign, Yeldon will inherit the role of feature back from the departed Eddie Lacy. While Saban would prefer to have a stable of interchangeable backs, it looks as though Yeldon will carry the bulk of the load.

For right now, we will place sophomore Kenyan Drake ahead of incoming freshman Henry if for nothing else than the fact that he has experience and is healthy at the moment.

Henry broke his leg late in spring camp, but is expected to be running at full speed come fall.

Look for Henry and Drake to be the primary candidates to share the backup role.

Wide Receiver

Starters: Amari Cooper, Kenny Bell and Christion Jones

Backups: Kevin Norwood, DeAndrew White and Chris Black

Alabama is as deep at wideout as it has ever been. Sophomore Amari Cooper will be making a run at first-team All-SEC as he builds on his amazing freshman season.

Kenny Bell looked to be back up to full strength coming off of his injury last season and will be the Tide's best deep threat once again.

The one to really keep an eye on is the speedy freshman Chris Black. Black was targeted often in the spring game and could definitely work his way into the starting lineup by fall.

The dependable Norwood and Christion Jones will make it difficult for this to happen, but again, McCarron will have the chance to get the ball to all six of these guys with regularity in 2013.

Offensive Line

Offensive Tackle

Starters: Cyrus Kouandjio and Austin Shepherd

Backups: Brandon Greene and Leon Brown

Offensive Guard

Starters: Arie Kouandjio and Anthony Steen

Backups: Chad Lindsay and Arie Kouandjio

Center

Starter: Ryan Kelly

Backup: Chad Lindsay

Even though the Tide are replacing three incredible starters, the o-line should be able to handle its own once again.

Cyrus Kouandjio and Anthony Steen will reprise their starting roles, and center Ryan Kelly has more experience than many realize.

The other Koiandjio brother, Arie, saw significant playing time a year ago and will be a valuable commodity at guard.

Sophomore Austin Shepherd will most likely close out the starting rotation.

Defensive Line

Defensive End

Starters: Jeoffrey Pagan and Ed Stinson

Backups: LaMichael Fanning and Xzavier Dickson

Nose Tackle

Starter: Brandon Ivory

Backup: Wilson Love

Pagan and Dickson will be the ones to watch this fall. While Stinson is the lone returning starter, this speedy pair will be the ones tasked with getting to the quarterback, and they have the talent to make life difficult for the Johnny Manziels of the world.

Both Dickson and LaMichael Fanning were impressive in the spring game and will likely find significant playing time this fall.

Brandon Ivory appears to have won the starting job at nose tackle, where the Tide are least experienced. Replacing Jesse Williams will not be an easy task, but Ivory and Love along with freshman Darren Lake should be able to handle the job.

Linebacker

Starters: Adrian Hubbard, Denzel Devall, Trey DePriest and C.J. Mosley

Backups: Reggie Ragland and Tana Patrick

This is another position where the Tide may have more talent than they do playing time.

Look to see Mosley playing time in an every-down role, where he will surely compete for first-team All-American honors.

Hubbard and DePriest could have breakout years even though DePriest was held out of spring camp.

Devall and Ragland looked quite impressive in the spring game and will battle to make regular contributions this fall. Both appeared to be better than advertised this spring.

Defensive Secondary

Cornerback

Starters: John Fulton and Deion Belue

Backups: Cyrus Jones and Geno Smith

Safety

Starters: Vinnie Sunseri and Nick Perry

Backups: Landon Collins and HaHa Clinton-Dix

In the spring game, all four of Alabama's safeties intercepted passes, with two coming from Perry.

The Tide appear to be loaded at the safety position and, with the exception of the newly converted Jones, every one of the men listed above will get his share of the workload.

Sunseri seems to have adapted to the role of safety well and Dix has become quite the ball hawk. Deion Belue seems to have made significant improvement coming off of his much-publicized struggles from a year ago.

While there was once concern about the quality of the 'Bama backfield, this crew earned a lot of respect in Saturday's spring game.

Collins is the one to keep a real eye on. He was all over the place Saturday and will significantly get every chance to break into the starting lineup.

Special Teams

Punter: Cody Mandell

Kickers: Cade Foster and Adam Griffith

Kick Returners: Christion Jones and Chris Black

Punt Returners: Christion Jones and Dee Hart

Mandell will likely handle all of the punting duties once again, a role he flourished in a year ago.

At place kicker, Cade Foster will likely get a chance to handle all kicks after just taking on the longer ones in previous seasons.

The combination of Jones, Hart and Black will all get to handle their share of kicks and punts this fall until one of them separates himself from the pack. Look to see Jones get the bulk of the action there.