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Now that Alabama has won its fourth national title of the Nick Saban era, we — and the best coach in college football — are already looking ahead to 2016.
Here are the five key questions facing the Crimson Tide this off-season:
5. WHO STEPS IN FOR KELLY?
Ryan Kelly, the 2015 Rimington Trophy winner as the best center in college football, was the glue of Alabama’s offensive line. There’s no doubt it will be difficult to replace the three-year starter and team captain, but J.C. Hassenauer – who has played in only eight career games – looks to be the guy.
4. WHO REPLACES RAGLAND?
Reggie Ragland, the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, capped his Alabama career with 5 tackles in the Crimson Tide’s 45-40 victory over Clemson in Monday night’s national championship game. Bama’s defensive leader in 2015 will definitely be missed.
But have no fear — Reuben Foster is still here. Not only were his 73 tackles — including 8 for loss — second only to Ragland’s 102 this season, but Foster added 9 pass break-ups and 3 QB hurries. Don’t be surprised if Foster has a Ragland-like season in 2016, especially with fellow linebackers Tim Williams and Ryan Anderson returning as well.
3. WHO TAKES OVER FOR HENRY?
Derrick Henry, apparently bound for the NFL, capped his Alabama career by rushing 36 times for 158 yards and 3 TDs Monday night.
So the question is, who steps up? Bo Scarbrough, the 6-2, 240-pound rising sophomore, looks like the favorite. Not only is he built like Henry, he showed potential glimpses in 2015 with his 104 yards and a TD on 18 carries.
Fellow rising sophomore Damien Harris might have something to say about the running-back race. But it’s reassuring to know that the cupboard in this department isn’t bare.
2. WHO’S THE QB?
It could be time for Cooper Bateman, the starting quarterback in Alabama’s only loss of the 2015 season, to be more than the answer to a trivia question. The most experienced signal-caller currently on the roster, the 6-3, 220-pounder completed 37 of 52 passes for 291 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Blake Barnett could be the guy in 2016, but here’s to hoping he makes more headlines on the field than off. Not only did the rising sophomore go through a health scare in 2015, he also made news for dating someone famous.
Early enrollee and dual threat QB Jalen Hurts has already had an eventful first week with the Crimson Tide. We’ll see how this race unfolds as we get closer to spring camp.
1. CAN PRUITT DO IT?
Jeremy Pruitt clearly won’t have an easy time replacing defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, who helped Alabama win four national titles over his nine seasons in Tuscaloosa before taking his talents to Georgia, which, coincidentally happens to be Pruitt’s previous employer.
Pruitt has a few things going for him. Before returning to Tuscaloosa, he spent six years on Saban’s staff in a couple of different capacities before becoming Florida State’s defensive coordinator in 2013. The crowning moment of his career was winning a national title with the Seminoles that season.
Georgia then plucked Pruitt from Tallahassee to be its DC, but the results were not nearly as good. Under Pruitt’s watch, the Bulldogs finished 6th in total defense in the SEC in 2014 before improving to 3rd this season, but that upgrade wasn’t enough to keep Mark Richt — or Pruitt — in Athens. Nevertheless, because of Pruitt’s previous Alabama ties, you can bet that Saban will give him every chance to succeed.
Alabama’s defense will lose some major players this spring — Ragland, A’Shawn Robinson, Jonathan Allen, Jarran Reed and cornerback Cyrus Jones are all expected to be NFL draft picks. But Pruitt will still have talented players at his disposal, including Foster, Anderson, Williams, Eddie Jackson and Minkah Fitzpatrick to name a few.
Stan Chrapowicki is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, Alabama and Auburn.
