Alabama Football 2015 Spring Practice Check List

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — With several SEC teams back on the practice field for the spring, Alabama will finally join that mix on Friday. The Crimson Tide will hit the practice field Friday afternoon, then get the following week off for spring break, before returning 10 days later the following Monday.

It’s somewhat of a strange schedule to kick things off, but at this point, it’s hard to question Nick Saban’s practice and preparation tactics.

Anyway, with everything kicking into high gear in a couple of days, let’s take a look at Alabama’s spring practice checklist—a list of things the Crimson Tide need to get done during these next 15 practices, including the spring game, before leaving the pads behind for the summer.

Get Early Enrollees on Their Feet

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Alabama will essentially have eight new faces suiting up for spring practice. Six of those are true freshman 2015 signees, one JUCO transfer and Bo Scarbrough—who signed with the 2014 recruiting class, couldn’t qualify in time for the fall and practiced with the team in Tuscaloosa before the Sugar Bowl.

Spring practice will be an extremely valuable time for these players. They’ll get a chance to see what life is like as an Alabama football player—balancing class time, a social life and football responsibilities—without the grind of the season looming over them.

A handful of these enrollees could get a chance to play down the road, and they can prove themselves on the field before their fellow freshmen get to campus over the summer.

If Jonathan Taylor can stay out of off-field trouble and within the guidelines that Saban has set for him, he would be a candidate for the starting nose tackle job vacated by Brandon Ivory. Both true freshman safeties will get a look, at least on special teams. Desherrius Flowers will be in the mix for No. 3 running back, and Blake Barnett can’t be counted out of the quarterback race.

It’s also easy for players a little farther down on the depth chart to get lost in the shuffle during the season, when coaches are more focused on getting the team ready for the next opponent.

Now, they can get more tailored instruction and more attention from coaches who want to bring them along in their development, even if they aren’t going to play right away.

Assess the Quarterbacks

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Note, this does not say choose a quarterback or name a starter. It does not say to rank, order or grade them. Simply assess.

There is no rush to name Alabama’s starter for the 2015 season. The opener against Wisconsin is still nearly six months away. And if past quarterback competitions are any indication, this battle should go on beyond even that.

In the spring, Saban and Lane Kiffin simply need to see where each guy is at in his development, how he reacts in live practice and what he does in the spring game, to formulate a plan for the real battle in fall camp.

How is David Cornwell doing physically after knee surgery a year ago? Is Alec Morris finally ready to contend for a starting job? Can Cooper Bateman make the next step to legitimate contender after impressing on the scout team this season?

Has Jake Coker mastered the playbook yet, and can he translate that into game situations? Is Blake Barnett physically and mentally mature enough to lead an SEC football team or does he need a redshirt year?

These questions and more need to be answered by each player to determine where they will fit in in the fall quarterback race.

Five quarterbacks are manageable in a spring practice for splitting reps. But the race will need to be tightened by the time fall camp rolls around.

Adjust to New Coaches

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Alabama will have a couple of new faces with whistles around their necks leading drills and running the slideshows in position meetings.

Mel Tucker will be charged with leading the defensive backs, though “leading” might be a little too kind, as Saban is always in the shadows of the DBs during practice.

That might be good for Tucker, though, to be under the direction of Saban as he makes the transition back to college and learns the routine of working for the demanding Alabama coach.

Tucker also has the tall task of essentially rebuilding the Alabama secondary after a disastrous year in pass coverage last season.

Elsewhere, Tosh Lupoi will be taking over the outside linebackers. He won’t be too much of a fresh face in Tuscaloosa, though, after serving as an “intern,” in Saban’s words following a dismissal from Washington that included a year’s pay.

Lupoi is known for his recruiting prowess but made an impact on the field at Cal and Washington as a defensive line coach. Now he moves to outside linebackers, which play a similar role as a defensive lineman in Saban’s 3-4 defense.

The moves also push defensive coordinator Kirby Smart back to inside linebackers, where he will need to find a replacement in the middle for Trey DePriest among a young, but talented group of backers.

Safety Help

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Alabama has a big gaping hole right now on the back end, where it lost three starting safeties from the 2014 season.

There isn’t a sure thing at any position, so it’s likely that the spring will see a lot of moving around for some defensive backs.

Geno Smith should get the first crack at free safety with rising sophomore Hootie Jones at strong. "Star" and "Money"—the fifth and sixth DBs on the field on passing downs—are anybody’s guess.

Recently, Alabama has been using safeties at those spots, like Smith and Jarrick Williams. But Saban also has a history of putting cornerbacks, like Javier Arenas and Dee Milliner, back there, too, especially early in their careers.

Someone like Marlon Humphrey, Jonathan Cook or Anthony Averett could sneak into those spots, especially against a wide-open passing team like Texas A&M.

Tucker and the Alabama defensive coaches can tinker around with different combinations during spring practice to get a good idea of who can do what before the rubber meets the road in the fall.

Position Changes?

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Spring is also a time for experimentation, as we’ve seen in the past.

Last year, wide receiver ArDarius Stewart had a few cups of coffee in the secondary before ultimately coming back to offense, where he was able to make an impact.

Brandon Greene played some tight end and, while he switched back to offensive tackle, he ended up catching a pass against LSU in one of the more memorable plays of last season. And Dakota Ball went from defensive line to tight end and was a contributor in blocking situations last year.

The best example of one of these switches working out is Cyrus Jones. Jones came to Alabama as a wide receiver, but two years ago he made the switch to corner and was the Crimson Tide’s best cornerback as a starter this season.

So who are candidates to switch positions or at least get a look elsewhere?

Stewart is probably out, as he’ll probably be one of the top wide receivers to start the spring. Scarbrough will probably get looks at several offensive positions, including receiver and H-back, while working primarily with the running backs.

It wouldn’t be surprising, either, to see some shuffling among the defensive backs, or someone from offense get a look at safety, where Alabama is thin in numbers.

Marc Torrence is the Alabama lead writer for Bleacher Report. All quotes and reporting were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Follow on Twitter @marctorrence.