Alabama Football: Which Players Could Bring Home Individual Award Trophies?

Alabama is a team stacked with talent at every position, and the majority of them will be in the NFL someday. When it comes to individual awards to be announced in December, however, they may or may not come home empty-handed.

Does this matter to the Crimson Tide players and Nick Saban? "Hell no!" is the answer. The next game is all that matters.

Even if they say it doesn't matter, you just know how good it has to feel to actually win one. Everybody remembers Mark Ingram's tear-stained Heisman Trophy acceptance speech, and all but his most cynical critics praised him for showing such emotion.  

A team that has stars who almost win individual trophies is going to win the only trophy that matters, the Coach's Trophy.  

That is the story of Alabama football, and that is why the Tide leads the nation in national championship wins despite never having a Heisman Trophy winner prior to Mark Ingram.  

So which players have a shot at what trophies?

Bronko Nagurski Trophy: Courtney Upshaw

This is awarded annually to the nation's outstanding defensive player by the FWAA/Charlotte TD Club, but don't be fooled: It's basically an award for the best linebacker or defensive lineman in the country.

It hasn't been won by another position since 2003 when Oklahoma cornerback Derrick Strait took it home.

Courtney Upshaw seems to have the best shot at this. Awards can often boil down to frivolous things like stats and other paperwork garbage, but stats are stats.  

Upshaw is about to hit high gear against LSU, and will be going lights-out for the rest of the season with the team so close to another national title.

His ferocity may woo the fans and strike fear in the hearts of opposing quarterbacks (especially those he put on the bench), but his stats will win the voters.

He is currently tied for seventh in the nation (first in SEC) with 11.5 tackles for loss, with the two leaders being Sammy Brown and Vinny Curry, from Houston and Marshall, respectively.  

Others like Mark Barron and Dont'a Hightower would have made great candidates for this trophy as well, but the voters seem to love tackles behind the line of scrimmage.  

Butkus Award: Dont'a Hightower

The Butkus Award is presented annually to the nation's top linebacker, and Rolando McClain was the second in Alabama history to win the award—the first being sack-machine Derrick Thomas in 1988.

The votes for this trophy don't stem from mere sacks, which is good, unless it's someone with gaudy numbers, like Texas A&M's Von Miller, who won the trophy in 2010.

Dont'a Hightower is the team's best candidate because, let's face it, he's the best linebacker on the team. He's not the slow, knee-brace-bound linebacker he was a year ago.  

Tackles in general, however, do matter to win the hearts of the voters. As good as Hightower is, the overall excellence of the defense will likely prevent him from taking home this trophy.  

This is because the team leads the nation in forcing three-and-outs. The Tide defense just isn't on the field enough for Hightower to rack up the 105 tackles that McClain stacked up in 2009.   

Doak Walker Award: Trent Richardson

The Doak Walker Award is presented annually to the nation's top running back.  

Strangely enough, Alabama has never had a player win this award.  Even Mark Ingram didn't win this along with the Heisman in 2009, as it went to Stanford's Toby Gerhart.  

This year is a different story. This award is Trent Richardson's to lose.  

Some may argue that he isn't the best running back in the country, but the other competitors just won't have the stats to win the votes.

Oregon's LaMichael James busted his elbow, South Carolina's Marcus Lattimore busted his knee and Auburn's Michael Dyer plays on a floundering offense, having only eclipsed 100 yards four times this year.

He may not win the Heisman Trophy, but the Doak Walker will fall into Richardson's hands in December.  

Jim Thorpe Award: Dre Kirkpatrick

The Jim Thorpe Award is presented annually to the best defensive back in college football.

This award isn't a measurement of interceptions, but stats are important. For that reason, Mark Barron wont be bringing this award home.  

Dre Kirkpatrick, however, has the silly stats that voters love, such as his eight passes deflected and eight passes defended.  

What will give Kirkpatrick a shot at this award are the big hits he's been making lately and his two forced fumbles.  

He's a long-shot for this award, and will likely be out-shined by LSU's cornerbacks, Tyrann Mathieu and Morris Claiborne. To stand any chance of catching up, he'll have to cause some more turnovers, and actually get an interception this year.  

LSU's Patrick Peterson won this award in 2010, and he won it through his pure shutdown ability, rather than stats.  

Rimington Trophy: William Vlachos

The Rimington Trophy is presented annually to the most outstanding center in college football.

The Tide's William Vlachos has been on this trohpy's watchlist since he proved his worth during the 2009 championship run.  

2011 held his best chance at winning this award, but he has recently been called on multiple holding penalties—one of his most uncharacteristic actions on the field.  

He has his work cut out for him to win this one, especially since Wisconsin's Peter Konz is the prime candidate.  

If he can help spring Trent Richardson to 150-plus yards against LSU while dominated their defensive tackles, he could very be the first Alabama center to win the Rimington.  

Rotary Lombardi Award: Barrett Jones

The Rotary Lombardi Award is given annually to the college football offensive or defensive lineman who best exemplifies the discipline of Vince Lombardi.

Former Freshman All-American Barrett Jones could be the team's best possible candidate for this award, as he is their best offensive lineman. Guard, tackle, center, whatever you need, he can play it.

After switching from right guard to the all-important left tackle this year, he has played like a champion against quality SEC opponents.  

I'd love for him to win this award, but unfortunately it is has been dominated by defensive players in recent history. The voters just don't hold a great block in the same regard as a sack.  

Courtney Upshaw is the other candidate for this award and is actually more likely to win it, but he already has his own slide.  

The last offensive lineman to win this award was Ohio State's Orlando Pace, who won the award back-to-back in 1995 and 1996.

Heisman Memorial Trophy: Trent Richardson

The Heisman Memorial Trophy is college football's most prestigious award, awarded to the most outstanding player in collegiate football.  

It's really just a running back/quarterback award. Some would go as far to say its an award for "the best player on the best team." 

Regardless, it's quite an honor to bring this one home.  

Trent Richardson is the best candidate the Tide could ask for to win the Heisman.

Unfortunately, the voters will likely be wearing cardinal-colored glasses rather than crimson. But if Trent can steamroll the LSU Tigers on Nov. 5 to the tune of 150 or so yards (or more!), he could certainly leapfrog the media's loverboy, Andrew Luck.