Alabama Football: 5 Things We Learned About the Crimson Tide This Spring

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama is officially in 2015 season mode.

Spring practice is over, and the next time the Crimson Tide take to any kind of field as a team, it will be in August during fall camp, preparing for real-life, actual football against Wisconsin.

As we take one final look back at spring practice, we can glean a little bit about what the team will look like next year, based on the results of the last two months or so.

Here are five things that we learned during spring practice.

Long Way Until Quarterback Resolution

Butch Dill/Associated Press

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, but the team won't name a starting quarterback until he actually takes the field at AT&T Stadium.

Still, we did learn some tidbits about where Alabama stands at the position and what to expect in the summer and fall.

Redshirt sophomore David Cornwell made the biggest moves of anyone, taking second-team reps during Alabama’s second scrimmage and at A-Day. Jake Coker still looks like the man to beat, but Cornwell may well do that.

There are also rumors swirling of a potential transfer from Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller. That looks unlikely at this time, but does anything in college football surprise us anymore?

Top Heavy at Running Back

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Much has been made of Alabama’s seemingly endless string of running backs dropping or leaving the program for whatever reason.

But the Crimson Tide’s top two options will be as good as anyone in the country.

Nick Saban called Derrick Henry one of the MVPs of the offseason, and he has emerged as one of the leaders on offense. He appears ready to step into a full-time, No. 1 running back role.

And behind him is Kenyan Drake, whose skill set couldn’t be more different, and that’s a good thing. Drake will be the perfect change-of-pace for Henry as a home run hitter who can capitalize on a defense worn down by Henry.

While Alabama searches for a complementary third back, it doesn’t have to worry about the two at the top.

Vocal Leader on Each Side of the Ball

Butch Dill/Associated Press

It’s hard to read too much into a lot of Alabama’s player interviews sometimes, but with Saban’s strict limits on who talks and who doesn’t (freshmen, players who don’t play, players who are in trouble, players liable to say something they shouldn’t and so on), who Saban allows in front of cameras and recorders can say enough in itself.

Two players made regular appearances in front of microphones, and they will be major leaders on each side of the ball—center Ryan Kelly and inside linebacker Reggie Ragland.

Kelly and Ragland are both seniors who bought into the system, waited their turn and are now poised for major roles both on and off the field.

In particular, it was Kelly who answered questions on behalf of the team the day that Jonathan Taylor was dismissed after being accused of domestic violence.

It’s clear to see from the spring that Kelly and Ragland will be big factors in the locker room this year.

Wide Receiver by Committee Can Work

Butch Dill/Associated Press

Alabama was never going to just replace Amari Cooper with one guy. There just isn’t another Cooper on the roster, and maybe not in all of college football.

But during the spring, and particularly at A-Day, ArDarius Stewart and Robert Foster showed that they can be a dangerous duo for whomever the quarterback ends up being.

And behind them, Chris Black will be an experienced option in the slot to give the Crimson Tide three legitimate receiving threats on every play.

There won’t be one dominant superstar this year, but a more even distribution of the ball can be lethal for Alabama’s offense with the players it has.

Defensive Line Will Be Dominant

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

There’s no question where Alabama will be the deepest and most talented in 2015.

The defensive front will feature four guys—Jonathan Allen, A’Shawn Robinson, Jarran Reed and D.J. Pettway—who could all be high draft picks next year, with incredible depth behind them.

A group with an incredible amount of talent and motivation seems like a recipe for success.

“The coaches put high expectations on us, but no one puts higher expectations on us than ourselves,” Allen said. “We always talk about how great we want to be. You look at the old Alabama defenses of the past, we want to be the best there ever was—and to do that, that’s a very high expectation. So we just go out there every day and try to work toward that goal.”

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

Follow on Twitter @marctorrence.