Alabama Football: Just How Loaded Is This 2011 Team with 2012 NFL Talent?

Larry Burton (Syndicated Writer) It would be easy for Alabama fans to cry over the talent that was lost at the end of last season. Four first-round NFL draft choices meant the Tide took a hit in the loss of some very key players.

Nobody would blame Alabama for having a down year after the loss of so much quality talent, but they should.

Before you shed a tear for Alabama, let me cue you in the reality of just what a team Nick Saban puts on the field year in and year out, now that his team is filled with the efforts of his own recruiting.

If this were a corporation, the U.S. Government would try to break it up, antitrust laws would be evoked and the Obama administration would try to force Nick Saban to "Share the Wealth" with the rest of college football.

Crazy talk?

Not when you consider that that Alabama wrote NCAA history in the 2011 draft by having four first-round draft choices come from just one team. That has never been surpassed before.

But it might next year, too.

With many 2012 NFL mock drafts being tossed about, Alabama has five players that could possibly be first-rounders,

Chad Reuter of NFLDraftScout.com thinks five Bama players could be Round 1 picks in next spring's NFL Draft.

He lists cornerback 'Dre Kirkpatrick, linebacker Dont'a Hightower and safety Robert Lester as probable first-rounders, with nose tackle Josh Chapman and linebacker Courtney Upshaw ranking as possible first-rounders.Do we really have to mention Trent Richardson in this list? He's everybody's first round lock.

As if that weren't enough, Mark Barron and Nico Johnson could go as high as round two.

As he's not alone.

As many as a dozen others all think Alabama has the possibly to break their own first-round record from this year.

So while some Alabama fans are still smarting from the losses of the 2011 NFL draft, there is really no excuse for Alabama if they stumble this coming season as they did last year.

Not with this much talent.

The only question that remains is how long Nick Saban can keep up this torrid pace of assembling the most talented teams in college football?