One of the biggest issues for Alabama to resolve before this fall is its secondary. A group that struggled as a whole in 2014 lost three senior safeties, including All-American Landon Collins. Nick Saban hired Mel Tucker, a former NFL defensive coordinator, to coach the position group. Saban has had good things to say about Tucker so far as the position battles shake out.

How does it look so far?

At safety, the Crimson Tide had one clear successor lined up: rising senior Geno Smith. Practice reports indicated that Smith has taken a lead role in the defensive backfield but was arrested Friday night. We’ll have to wait for more on his role in the secondary as we head towards the season.

Alongside the safety position, senior Jabriel Washington and sophomore Laurence “Hootie” Jones have been getting most of the reps, with Jones playing the “star” role as the extra defensive back in nickel formations. Jones is big, at 6-foot-2 and 221 pounds, and has the speed and instincts against both the pass and run to fit perfectly into what Saban likes in his strong safeties, which could give him the edge by fall.

The cornerback position is a bit different. Both starters from last year return. One of them, rising senior Cyrus Jones, is a lock to keep his job even though he’s out for the spring while recovering from a hip injury. The other corner position is quite a bit murkier.

Eddie Jackson started the majority of last season. However, he was inconsistent and struggled with defending deep passes all season. Saban singled Jackson out as a player who needs to improve this spring.

Saban is spot on: Alabama ranked 11th in the SEC in opponent passing plays for 20-plus yards, and it’s an area where they’ve been trending downward for the last several seasons.

With Jones out, it’s giving the Tide a chance to evaluate corners Tony Brown, Bradley Sylve and Marlon Humphrey. According to reports, rising sophomore Brown has been seeing most of the reps with the first team, while Sylve and Humphrey are on the second team. Both Brown and Sylve started a few games last season, and both spelled Jackson when he struggled. Brown is bigger and more physical, as well as one of the best athletes on the team. Humphrey redshirted last fall, and he too can match any player on the team in the athleticism department.

Alabama isn’t even halfway through spring practice, giving the coaching staff plenty of time to evaluate. With Tucker now in town as the first coach dedicated solely to the secondary since 2012, you can expect that Alabama’s secondary will hold up better, no matter who ends up starting.