Alabama Football: Tightest Position Battles of Tide's Spring Practice

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Spring practice is officially full speed ahead at Alabama. A-Day will be here soon enough with a long summer to follow.

For now, though, the Crimson Tide are getting a good look at where they stand across the board at several positions where starting roles are up in the air.

Some are pretty much settled. Others are not.

Where are the tightest position battles taking place this spring? Let’s take a look.

Inside Linebacker

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It’s essentially a two-horse race right now for the right to replace Trey DePriest.

In one corner is Reuben Foster, a former 5-star from Auburn who had a whirlwind recruitment before settling with the Crimson Tide.

Foster has proven to be a hard-hitter, but his poor tackling form opens him up to injuries. He has suffered regular neck stingers from lowering his head when going for the knockout hit.

"Him. It's only him. Only him can stop him,” said Reggie Ragland, a returning starter at the other inside linebacker spot. “And with Reuben coming along, he's going to do what he's got to do. I ain't worried about Reuben."

In the other corner is Shaun Dion Hamilton, a rising true sophomore who saw spot duty as a freshman. Hamilton has been taking the majority of reps with Ragland inside during media viewing periods at practices.

"I love that he's physical, he's smart,” Ragland said of Hamilton. “He was the valedictorian of his class when he came out of high school. He's great, smart and he picks up stuff very easily. I think this year's going to be a very big year for him."

No. 2 Cornerback

Cyrus Jones has one side locked down. It’s the other side that’s a tougher question.

It’s a crowded group of up to four potential starters there, all of whom are getting first- and second-team reps with Jones out for the spring after offseason surgery.

Eddie Jackson started the most games among that group—10 of Alabama’s 13 in 2014—but Nick Saban made it clear he isn’t exactly ready to just hand him the reigns.

"

Eddie's got to improve, in my opinion, as all players do, probably gave up too many big plays last year. And that's something we've got to improve on. You've got to believe, trust in the technique that you're being taught and go out there and try and execute and do it and use all the things that you're being taught to help you have a chance to be successful and I don't think we did that last year enough in the secondary.

And that's something that I think we need to make a big improvement on for next year. And Eddie is one of those guys that needs to improve.

"

Otherwise, rising sophomore Tony Brown is getting first-team reps next to Jackson during media viewing periods, with Bradley Sylve and Marlon Humphrey behind them.

This one is up for the taking, with still a long way to go to figure things out.

Quarterback

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Quarterback is always going to be the closest race, with five guys who all have a legitimate shot at leading Alabama next season.

Jake Coker seems to be the de facto No. 1 right now, with the quarterbacks just working in order of their seniority.

“I think that’s why everyone respects (Coker) so highly is because when Blake when out there to start there was never a time where you saw him on the sideline like pouting,” said center Ryan Kelly, who is also Coker’s roommate. “I remember we scored against Florida and he was the first guy over there high-fiving and jumping up and down, so just a team guy that everybody wants to be around. Quite frankly, for the quarterback that’s what you want. I think he’s done a great job so far, and I think he’s had a positive attitude.”

Kelly, one of just two returning starters on offense, is getting his fair share of work in with each of them. Don’t expect this one to end any time soon.

“It’s nothing that I haven’t been used to,” Kelly said. “You look at Jacob, Blake (Barnett), Alec (Morris), Cooper (Bateman), rotating those guys in, especially because you never know what’s going to go down. That’s something we’ve been pretty proficient at, is just rotating guys in and out and never skipping a beat.”

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

Follow on Twitter @marctorrence.