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The 2015 recruiting cycle was business as usual for Alabama. The Crimson Tide cleaned up once again, landing the most five-star signees of any team in the country and twice as many as the nearest SEC competitor. Will any of those touted recruits make an impact in 2015?
Last year’s No.1-ranked class had two of the most vital freshmen in the country. The first was left tackle Cam Robinson. A five-star left tackle recruit, Robinson started from Alabama’s opener through the Sugar Bowl, anchoring an offensive line that allowed the fewest sacks in the SEC despite a slew of injuries.
The Tide also trotted out JK Scott, one of the best punters in the nation regardless of class. He led the country in punting average and was a Ray Guy Award finalist. Scott had announcers gushing over his punting ability; it takes a pretty special player to be recognizable while playing punter, but Scott pulled it off.
While there’s certainly enough talent in this class capable of playing immediately for Alabama, there is a question of opportunity. While the Tide lose three players from the offensive line, all of the backups at those positions were touted recruits in their own right.
The offensive skill positions lose plenty of depth too, with Blake Sims, T.J. Yeldon, Amari Cooper, DeAndrew White and Christion Jones all moving on. The problem for incoming blue-chip signees like Blake Barnett, Calvin Ridley, Damien Harris and others is that they’re coming in behind a run of No. 1 classes loaded with skill position players.
From 2012-2014, Alabama brought in a slew of four-star or better prospects at those positions that are still on campus: two at quarterback, six at wide receiver and three at running back, not to mention Florida State quarterback transfer Jacob Coker. That’s a lot of bodies to climb over on the depth chart.
Is there any more opportunity on defense? It’s possible for safeties Ronnie Harrison and Deionte Thompson, both already enrolled, to help lessen the losses of Landon Collins and Nick Perry, one of the best back lines in the nation in 2014.
Outside of those two positions, there aren’t a lot of clear paths to regular playing time. Trey DePriest is the only other departing starter, and Alabama doesn’t lack at all for potential replacements. Every other position will be even deeper in 2015 than it was in 2014, with former five-star recruits like Da’Shawn Hand, Rashaan Evans, Tony Brown and Marlon Humphrey presumably taking on much larger roles.
The good news for Alabama: the Crimson Tide simply don’t need this class to be great right away. That’s a luxury afforded to Nick Saban and his staff thanks to a half-decade at the top of the recruiting rankings. Saban’s track record doesn’t point to any propensity for the coach to hand playing time to inexperienced players, but he said recently that he certainly won’t keep a guy off the field if he’s the best at his position. Cooper and Yeldon are both proof of that in recent years.
If Barnett, Ridley or someone else emerges in practices before the season, Saban will get them on the field. More than likely, don’t expect to see much of the 2015 class until a bit down the road.
A former freelance journalist from Philadelphia, Brett has made the trek down to SEC country to cover the greatest conference in college football.
