Alabama's Recruiting Class of 2013 Finally Coming Through

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Here’s a thought that could cause a few sleepless nights around college football: Imagine if wide receiver Amari Cooper had come back for his senior year.

Now here’s one for University of Alabama fans: What if linebacker Reggie Ragland had not?

Although early departures have become fact a of life for the Crimson Tide, per tradition, the school will honor the 25 seniors on the team prior to their final game at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday.

Among them will be many of the players who have helped lead another title run by the Crimson Tide, like center Ryan Kelly and Ragland. But the key to the 2015 season may be the players just behind them who stepped up as well.

Specifically, Alabama’s recruiting class of 2013, which was viewed as the best in college football, has finally made its mark. Had it not, the Crimson Tide probably wouldn’t have had a chance to repeat as Southeastern Conference champions.

Coming into this season, just four players in the class had established themselves as every-down starters, including defensive linemen Jonathan Allen and A’Shawn Robinson. Defensive back Eddie Jackson spent last offseason making the change from cornerback to safety. Junior college transfer Leon Brown had already come and gone, and Cole Mazza quickly established himself at long snapper.

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Although collectively the group still had enormous potential, the class was otherwise known for its departures. No longer on the Crimson Tide roster are Alvin Kamara, Dee Liner, Altee Tenpenny, Grant Hill, Tyren Jones, Brandon Hill, Darius Paige, Jonathan Cook and Parker McLeod.

Of them, the only one who really played was Grant Hill on the offensive line. Kamara is now making headlines in Tennessee, while Tenpenny recently died in a car accident.

“I just came here from the Under Armour Game, and those were the best athletes I have ever played with before,” quarterback Cooper Bateman said on national signing day in 2013. “Now I am here at Alabama, and it is a whole other story. Seeing these guys around the locker room, it just doesn’t compare at all. It is going to take time to adjust, and I am excited for what is to come.”

As usual since Saban’s arrival in 2007, 247Sports rated Alabama’s class the best in the nation, primarily thanks to landing six 5-star recruits: Allen, Reuben Foster, Robert Foster, Derrick Henry, O.J. Howard and Robinson. All have become starters, although wide receiver Foster suffered a season-ending shoulder injury against Ole Miss.

The rest of the class:

“Just because you pick the puppy dog with the biggest feet doesn't mean it's going to grow up to be the biggest or best hunting dog,” Saban said at the time.

Name	Pos.	Career statistics before 2015 season
Reuben Foster	LB	1 start, 20 games, 34 tackles
Derrick Henry	RB	2 starts, 26 games, 1,372 rushing yards
Jonathan Allen	DL	12 starts, 27 games, 49 tackles
O.J. Howard	TE	8 starts, 27 games, 31 receptions
Robert Foster	WR	9 games, 6 catches, 44 yards
A'Shawn Robinson	DL	15 starts, 27 games, 87 tackles
Cooper Bateman	QB	14 games as holder on special teams
Tim Williams	LB	19 games, 8 tackles, 1.5 sacks
Maurice Smith	DB	1 start, 25 games, 23 tackles
ArDarius Stewart	WR	2 starts, 13 games, 12 receptions
Anthony Averett	DB	1 game played
Leon Brown	OL	13 starts, 23 games
Eddie Jackson	DB	15 starts, 18 games at CB, moved to S
Raheem Falkins	WR	15 games, no receptions
Bradley Bozeman	OL	2 starts, 9 games
Walker Jones	LB	1 game played
Cole Mazza	LS	Started all 27 games at long snapper

Two of Alabama’s priorities that year were running backs and athletic defensive linemen, and both were added in bulk.

With Dee Hart and Jalston Fowler both coming off knee surgeries, Alabama was looking at having T.J. Yeldon and Kenyan Drake as possibly being the only healthy ball-carriers on the roster. So it signed four running backs, all of whom were highly touted.

Only one remains, but Henry’s considered the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy.

“I'm going to come here and carry on the legacy,” Henry said during his first interview on campus.

Meanwhile, the defensive linemen started to help form the nucleus of this year’s defensive front seven along with linebackers Ragland, Denzel Devall and Dillon Lee, and class of 2012 holdovers Dalvin Tomlinson and Darren Lake. (D.J. Pettway got kicked off the team, went to a junior college and later returned with Jarran Reed.)

“There’s probably not a guy that I’m prouder of on our whole team than Darren Lake, in terms of where he’s come as a person, how well he’s done in school based on his academic background and how much he’s improved as a football player,” Saban said. “So seeing those kind of guys coming from where he came from and being successful, having a chance to graduate, getting to play and improve here as a player, that’s what college football is all about, and certainly the reason that I love it.”

1	Alabama
2	Ohio State
3	Florida
4	Michigan
5	Notre Dame

With players like Foster and Williams stepping up to make big contributions and other players moving up the depth chart, put those two recruiting classes together and you’re really looking at the heart of this year’s Crimson Tide.

That’s really the way it should be. Just a glance at the 2013 recruiting rankings and most of those teams are now challenging for playoff positions.

What’s Alabama known for this season? Henry on offense and the strong play of the defensive front seven, especially the deep veteran line that’s establishing a strong legacy against the run and pass pushing.

“It's about the players,” Saban said. “They've all gotten better. They've got a better understanding of it. A lot of experienced guys playing up front.”

Of course, by the end of their collegiate careers players no longer really think of themselves as belonging to a particular class, especially when a program recruits at such a high level like Alabama does. What they do when they’re at the Capstone often trumps everything else, especially when you’re talking about a player like Henry.

“He’s all about football,” sophomore left tackle Cam Robinson said. “He’s all about the team.” 

So it’s a lot more important how a player finishes, and these guys want to finish on top.

“[It’s] more about having a great group of guys on your team and going out playing week-in and week-out and trying to win championships,” senior Geno Matias-Smith said. “It’s not so much the class. We’ve had a successful class, but there’s more to it.”

“It’s definitely been a tight team. We bond so well, offense, defense, and even scout-team guys. We all get along.”

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Christopher Walsh is a lead SEC college football writer. Follow Christopher on Twitter @WritingWalsh.