Alabama Football: After the Bowl Game, What Should You Expect?

Win or lose this bowl, this has not been the season that Alabama fans had hoped for, but a 10-win season would be nothing to wring your hands over either.

The frustrating part was being oh so close to being able to win so many of those games they lost.

Where do we go from here, and what's in store for next year?

First of all, the bowl preparation helps next year's team almost as much as a second spring practice. Extra practices really help a team come back in the spring, and the long time between the final game and the actual bowl means the coaches have lots of time to give younger players a better look and determine who might just be the players next year.

And who may those players be? It is said that Mark Ingram is flirting with the idea of coming back after a relatively disappointing junior year. That would be great news for the Tide, but Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacey seem ready to take up the slack, and with promising newcomers in the pipeline too, the running game looks good to go for a few years.

As for who will be handing them ball, while A.J. McCarron looks to be the heir apparent, Phillip Sims seems ready to not only to put up a fight for the starting job, but to continue the fight throughout the season for playing time.

For those who fret that Alabama will be playing with a first-year quarterback, just remember that Greg McElroy was a first-year starter last year when the Tide won it all.

As for receivers, even if Julio Jones moves on the NFL as expected, Alabama will have several great pass snaggers to throw to. It's time for Kevin Norwood to step up, and Brandon Gibson to show the talent he has on a consistent basis.

Darius Hanks will be back for sure as a sure-handed leader of that corps, and Marquis Maze should join him in that role. Maze is flirting with the NFL, but a year of stellar punt and kick-off returns, along with some highlight deep grabs could enhance his draft status.

Many think he'll be talked into another year.

The offensive line should be improved. William Vlachos will return for his senior year to anchor the line, with perhaps D.J. Fluker moving over to left tackle if it's not claimed by one of the Kouandijo brothers first.

Guards should be very experienced, with Chance Warmack and Barrett Jones. Throw in experienced tight ends like Michael Williams, Chris Underwood and Brad Smelley, and we have one very experienced and aggressive offensive line to push the defense.

This is an offensive group that can handle the championship mantle.

Defense? That's another matter.

The Tide will without doubt lose Marcel Dareus to the NFL on one end and Luther Davis on the other. There are lots of questions to be answered there, but one really bright answer could be the pick up of the nation's top defensive lineman from the junior college ranks, Australian Jessie Williams, a 6'4", 330-pound quarterback crusher.

Who will fill the other slot? Undra Billingsly and Damion Square have both shown signs of greatness, and who knows if Darrington Sentimore and Brandon Moore will step up to provide some solid backups.

We should be more than blessed at nose tackle, and the linebacking corps should be both more experienced and more athletic next year.

The question will once again be the defensive backfield.

Dre Kirkpatrick should be a good one, and if Dequan Menzie can stay healthy, he should be another good one. Who steps up beyond that is still anyone's guess, but there is talent there.

At safety, should Mark Barron leave to test the NFL waters, that just leaves the very talented and pick-happy Robert Lester as a sure starter.

This year we saw that young talent can be both a good and bad thing. This year's crop did well in man-to-man coverage, but were often confused when it came to learning the assignments and coverage in the complex zone coverages.

Too many games were lost because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and opposing receivers were left uncovered and went for easy scores.

Saban's assignment here is not getting the talent to do the job, but get them to a higher mental plateau to avoid the disastrous miscues that plagued the team this year.

If he can accomplish this one feat next year, it won't matter which coach we might lose, who went to the NFL or who we play, this will be a team that can contend.

That is what Tide fans have to look forward to from this bowl game to next year. The future is bright indeed.