The Crimson Tide landed the No. 1 recruiting class in the country in ’15, as the team does most years since head coach Nick Saban arrived.

But how much did that class contribute to the 2015 national championship team that crushed Michigan State and eeked past Clemson in the College Football Playoff?

Player Position Starts Games Played
Calvin Ridley WR 11 15
Daron Payne DL 3 15
Minkah Fitzpatrick DB 10 14
Damien Harris RB 0 12
Lester Cotton OL 0 4
Daylon Charlot WR 0 5
Hale Hentges TE 2 14
Shawn Burgess-Becker DB 0 13
Ronnie Harrison DB 1 15
Dallas Warmack OL 0 7

Overall, 10 of the 24 enrollees played at least one game.

Those 10 players participated in a combined 114 games, starting 27. Receiver Calvin Ridley (11 games), cornerback Minkah Fitzpatrick (10 games), defensive tackle Daron Payne (3 games), tight end Hale Hentges (2 games) and safety Ronnie Harrison (1 game) all started as true freshmen.

OFFENSIVE IMPACT

Ridley finished the season with 89 catches and more than 1,000 yards as a true freshman, putting him in the same class with Julio Jones and Amari Cooper. He could be the SEC’s best returning wideout in 2016 and is getting Heisman Trophy odds.

Lester Cotton and Dallas Warmack could push for starting spots entering next season. Damien Harris is in position to be a major contributor in 2016, perhaps as the backup for Bo Scarbrough at running back. Daylon Charlot and Hale Hentges also are in position to contribute this fall.

DEFENSIVE IMPACT

Fitzpatrick was a gem of a find as well, becoming Alabama’s nickelback. He made 2 sacks, 2 interceptions and 13 passes defensed in his first season. Safety Ronnie Harrison also looks like a potential starter and played in all 15 games, and Daron Payne should be a bigger contributor in 2016.

Shawn Burgess-Becker should be a backup safety.

REDSHIRTS AND DEFECTIONS

Five-star cornerback Kendall Sheffield, five-star quarterback Blake Barnett and four-star safety Deionte Thompson were among the prominent redshirts from the class. All three are expected to at least compete for starting positions this offseason.

Five-star running back Bo Scarbrough, who didn’t qualify academically in 2015, enrolled in January and could be the starter next year.

The 2015 class lost a few players in Desherrius Flowers (academics) and Jonathan Taylor (dismissed). With Taylor’s dismissal, Bama didn’t add a single JUCO player to the roster in the 2015 class.

The Tide redshirted nine different players rated as consensus four- or five-star recruits in the class.

OVERVIEW

Overall, the influence of the top-rated class of ’15 mostly showed up as depth and special teams. Of the seven players who contributed regularly, just two of them started (most) all season — Ridley and Fitzpatrick.

That’s 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.

The 2015 class gets credit for contributing to Saban’s fourth national championship at Alabama. That, combined with the visibility of Ridley, has created a sterling early perception for this group. In reality, it played in 26 fewer games and started three fewer than the 2014 class. That’s not to discredit this year’s class — it looks to be an excellent group in the next 2-3 years — but only to illustrate what an additional two wins in the College Football Playoff can do for perception.

With No. 1 class after No. 1 class heading to campus, Alabama tends to get major contributions from a handful of freshman every year. It was encouraging to see the team finally start developing its young defensive backs yet again. If the same thing happens at offensive line, quarterback and running back in 2016, the Tide could compete for another national title.