Alabama Football: Could Tide's Second String Be a Top 10 Team Itself?

I am often asked how the replacements on defense are doing and how deep are we at varying positions. The quick answer would be we are fine with the replacements and we are two and three deep now with quality talent.

The better answer would be that Alabama's second string, if a separate team, may be the second best team in the SEC and one of the top 10 teams in the country.

A.J. McCararron would soon be a household name throwing balls to Kevin Norwood and Darius Hanks, Brandon Gibson would also snag several. Trent Richardson might be in the running for a Heisman himself without sharing the load with Mark Ingram.

David Ross would be a good center and Tyler Love and Anthony Steen could hold down the left of the offensive line while John Boswell and Alfred McCullough and Brad Smelly has shown he can handle the tight end spot.

It would be a solid and high scoring offense to be sure and they would need to be to let the defensive backs learn without too much pressure on them.

On the defensive side, we would have some solid down linemen with Kerry Murphy at nose and Undra Billingsley and Damien Square at ends.

At linebacker, only Alabama's first team defense could be much better. Having linebackers Chavis Williams, Alex Watkins, Chris Jordan and Tana Patrick, this defense line and linebacker corp would be among the league's best.

In the defensive backfield, DeMarcus Milliner and Phelon Jones would be solid and John Fulton could maybe move to safety or either Kendall Kelley would be forced to start as a true freshman.

They would give the the first team about as good as run for the money as they did in the A Day game, where the second team offensive team actually won with the help of the first team defense.

The fact that all these players on just one team almost makes Alabama a sort of All Star team. They do lead the SEC in players on the All SEC team, and last year had more All Americans as well.

So next year, when people ask you how the replacements will affect Alabama's chances, you'll be safe in saying, "We'll be fine."