Why Alabama's Secondary Will Transform from Pushover to Power in 2015
Alabama used to be known as a program that not only sent members of its secondary to the NFL but also produced a top-tier pass defense while those players were on the Crimson Tide roster.
Over the last two seasons, the second half of that equation has been more myth than reality.
The Crimson Tide secondary finished 11th in the SEC in pass defense last year after it gave up 226 yards per game, more passing plays of 10 or more yards (133) than any team in the SEC and the second-most first downs (15) in obvious passing situations (3rd-and-10 or more) in the conference.
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The year before, Alabama got picked apart by teams that could actually throw the ball and finished eighth in the SEC in third-down passing conversions of 10 or more yards (eight).
What seemed like an anomaly has become a trend under head coach Nick Saban and defensive coordinator Kirby Smart—both of whom were hands-on with their defensive backs in practice.
Will Alabama's secondary go from pushover to power in 2015?
Yep. Here's why.
An Established Leader
The secondary seemed more like the punchline to a bad joke in 2014, but it wasn't Cyrus Jones' fault.
The 5'10", 196-pounder from Baltimore earned a starting nod at corner before the season and steadily transformed into a star as the season progressed. He finished the year with three picks, a team-high 13 pass breakups and second-team All-SEC honors from the Associated Press (via USA Today). Not bad for a guy who, as Matt Zenitz of AL.com notes, put off hip surgery and played through the pain.
He missed spring practice recovering from surgery for that torn labrum in his hip but should be 100 percent this fall.
As Zenitz noted in April, he has the confidence from last season's personal success and the motivation to fix the perception of the Alabama defense.
"Now I know what I can do, and I know my abilities, and I know the defense," Jones told Zenitz. "Now it's just up to me to just go out there and play and prove everyone wrong who has something bad to say about it."
His presence and established success at corner will help stabilize the secondary and give Saban and his staff a nice foundation as they fill out the rest of the depth chart during fall camp.
A Fresh Face
Whatever Saban and Smart were doing over the last few years was clearly not working the way that it should. That doesn't fall squarely on the coaching staff, although it should shoulder some of the blame.
New secondary coach Mel Tucker was brought in as a fresh set of eyes to try to fix the glitch.
Tucker was most recently the defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears from 2013 to 2014 and served in the same capacity for the Jacksonville Jaguars (2009-2012) and Cleveland Browns (2008). He has also served as the defensive backs coach for the Browns (2005-2007), Ohio State (2001-2004)—where he won a national title in 2002—LSU (2000) and Miami-Ohio (1999).
"I've known Mel for almost 20 years going back to Michigan State when I hired him as a graduate assistant," said Saban, according to Alabama's official site. "He is an outstanding coach all the way around and really does an excellent job in terms of teaching the players. When you look at his college and NFL experience, his resume is very impressive."
His presence takes pressure off Saban and allows Smart to move back down to coaching inside linebackers. Basically, Saban and Smart recognized the problem and brought in Tucker as the elixir.
How much will things change under Tucker? Saban and Smart will still have their hands in the cookie jar to an extent, but it's Tucker's show for the most part, and that new set of eyes couldn't hurt.
A Blessing in Disguise
Jones' absence this spring could be a blessing in disguise for the cornerbacks, because it allowed even more first-team snaps for players who are vying for the top spot on the depth chart.
Who took advantage the most? Sophomore Tony Brown seems like the big winner.
The 6'0", 195-pounder from Beaumont, Texas, played with the first team in the spring game and had three tackles, one for a loss and one quarterback hurry, according to stats released by Alabama. As Marc Torrence noted on Bleacher Report following the spring game, Brown should start alongside Jones barring something crazy happening this summer.
Jones' absence also allowed more reps for Bradley Sylve, Anthony Averett and Marlon Humphrey, all of whom will see time either as reserves or at nickel.
What's more, the move of former cornerback and part-time starter Eddie Jackson to safety indicates that Tucker has already put together some pieces of the puzzle.
Geno Smith will join Jackson at safety after spending the majority of his career at nickel, sophomore Hootie Jones has boat loads of potential, and early enrollee Ronnie Harrison was the talk of spring practice in the defensive backfield.
"The freshman is impressing me a lot. He’s just showing a lot of instinctiveness out there on the field,” Jones said, according to Alex Byington of the Times Daily. "He’s still getting it mentally, and that’s going to take time, but he’s definitely a football player. So he’s one of the guys that’s impressed me a lot."
In 15 short practices, Tucker already has made tremendous progress in getting the secondary shuffle sorted out.
That bodes well for the future.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports' composite rankings.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and college football video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on Sirius 93, XM 208.
Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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