The 2014 season was a weird year for Alabama, which lifted the governor from its offense with a mobile quarterback and Lane Kiffin as coordinator, but also featured a defense that was a far cry from Nick Saban’s best units.

The result was the same, as the Tide won another SEC championship and lost a competitive game to eventual national champion Ohio State in the national semifinals.

Normally the Alabama offensive line, running backs and linebackers power the entire team, but the Crimson Tide may be evolving.

So which positions helped Alabama the most in 2014?

1. WR

DeAndrew White and Christion Jones weren’t the strongest second and third options. But Amari Cooper singlehandedly lifted this unit to the best on the 2014 SEC championship team. Defenses just couldn’t stop Cooper from producing, even when it seemed like Kiffin force-fed him the ball at times.

All three of them are gone next season, so Alabama will have to develop its unproven talent.

2. RB

T.J. Yeldon didn’t meet expectations and Derrick Henry played well, but needs another offseason to develop into a true star. Kenyan Drake missed much of the season with a major injury. By Alabama’s standards, this was a down year at running back.

But those are very high standards. The Tide performed well at running back compared to the rest of the SEC, and the offensive line didn’t provide as much of an artificial boost as usual. Only Arkansas managed two 1,000-yard backs, but Alabama boasted two with more than 975.

3. DT

A’Shawn Robinson, Brandon Ivory and Darren Lake held their own this season, especially against the run. The defensive line started slow, but especially Robinson came on strong the second half of the season, including a standout SEC championship performance. More versatile than the departing Ivory, he’s capable of an All-SEC season in 2015.

4. QB

Blake Sims wasn’t supposed to be the starter. Alabama went out and found Jacob Coker at Florida State to replace AJ McCarron. Only Coker never did enough to earn Nick Saban’s confidence, and Sims surprisingly held him off. Much improved as a passer, with some help from Cooper and Kiffin, Sims had a terrific season, especially relative to expectations.

Sims threw three interceptions against Auburn and three against Ohio State, though, and struggled against Arkansas, tempering what could’ve been an even better season.

5. DB

Landon Collins was everything Alabama hoped he’d be, and now he’s on his way to a likely first-round NFL draft pick.

Nick Perry played like a solid veteran most of the year, nothing spectacular, but he did his job. The cornerbacks gave up some yards and a few big plays against better offenses like West Virginia, Auburn and Ohio State.

This team is loaded with young five-star cornerbacks, but it’s about time the Crimson Tide develops its youthful talent and gets back to churning out All-SEC cover men.

6. LB

Everyone always talks about how the Crimson Tide don’t rebuild, they reload. But Alabama missed C.J. Mosley. Trey DePriest was too slow and didn’t play well in coverage, while many of the other linebackers were best at playing downhill, but not in coverage or in space.

Ohio State’s offensive line and running back Ezekiel Elliott weren’t the only team to take advantage, but the Buckeyes sure did make it obvious.

The outside ‘backers provided occasionally-effective pass rush and the unit played well enough against the run, but this wasn’t one of the team’s best groups of linebackers.

7. DE

Jonathan Allen produced a solid season (11 tackles for loss, five sacks), even better considering he was only a sophomore. JUCO transfers Jarran Reed 6.5 tackles for loss, six pass breakups) and D.J. Pettway (3.5 tackles for loss) made contributions.

Depth represented the unit’s best attribute, but the team lacked a certifiable star/All-American candidate like most of the other dominant defenses in the SEC in 2014. Will Da’Shawn Hand emerge as that guy during this true sophomore season?

8. OL

This season was a mixed bag. Freshman left tackle Cam Robinson made a strong transition from high school to playing against the SEC’s collection of  NFL-ready defensive ends. The line offered good pass protection overall.

But injuries took a toll, whether or not they always cost players games. Run blocking also was inconsistent, particularly at guard and center.

9. TE

O.J. Howard was supposed to be a monster, one of those pass-catching standouts like we’ve seen in the NFL from Jimmy Graham, Rob Gronkowski and Antonio Gates. Instead, he became a punchline early in the season, with all sorts of clever and not-so-clever “missing” ads. He closed with 11 catches in the final six games, but that’s not exactly the All-American type production that many expected.

Alabama’s group of tight ends also didn’t perform as well as the team would like as blockers.