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The Crimson Tide landed the No. 1 recruiting class in the country in ’14, as the team does most years since head coach Nick Saban arrived.
But how much did that class contribute to the 2014 SEC championship team that lost in the College Football Playoff to eventual champion Ohio State?
| Player | Position | Starts | Games Played |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cam Robinson | OL | 14 | 14 |
| Da’Shawn Hand | DL | 0 | 9 |
| Tony Brown | DB | 2 | 13 |
| Rashaan Evans | LB | 0 | 13 |
| Hootie Jones | DB | 0 | 7 |
| Cam Sims | WR | 0 | 12 |
| Josh Frazier | DL | 0 | 6 |
| Dominick Jackson | OL | 0 | 7 |
| J.C. Hassenauer | OL | 0 | 1 |
| Shaun Hamilton | LB | 0 | 14 |
| Ty Flournoy-Smith | TE | 0 | 4 |
| JK Scott | P | 0 | 13 |
| Jarran Reed* | DL | 13 | 14 |
| D.J. Pettway* | DL | 1 | 14 |
*Junior college transfer
Overall, 14 of the 24 enrollees played at least one game. Those 14 players participated in a combined 141 games, starting 30. Left tackle Cam Robinson (14 games) and cornerback Tony Brown (two games) were the only true freshmen from the country’s No. 1 recruiting class to start a game for Bama.
Robinson was huge for the Tide, both figuratively and literally. Not many true freshmen left tackles start in college football, much less at Alabama on a team that produced arguably the most prolific passing offense in school history.
The defense should continue to get a boost from this class in 2015, as Brown should at least compete for a starting cornerback job, while DL Da’Shawn Hand and LB Rashaan Evans got some good experience in preparation for larger roles.
Five-star CB Marlon Humphrey, four-star OLB Christian Miller and four-star QB David Cornwell were among the prominent redshirts from the class. Five-star Bo Scarborough didn’t qualify academically, then became eligible to practice with the team in December and enrolled in January. All four of those players should at least compete for snaps during spring practice.
Two junior college transfers had a huge impact on the defensive line in Jarran Reed and D.J. Pettway.
Overall, the relative lack of big-time influence from the top-rated class of ’14 is a testament to Alabama’s three-deep depth chart, as it’s not easy to step onto the campus in Tuscaloosa and immediately hit the practice field as the best available player at any particular position.
That said, Saban and the Tide turned less-touted classes into national championships earlier in his tenure. With No. 1 class after No. 1 class heading to campus, Alabama needs to get more production from this group in ’15 and even more in ’16. If the class follows a natural progression, it should start producing some big-time starters other than Robinson and Reed within the next couple of seasons.
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
