It’s hardly groundbreaking to say that Alabama under Nick Saban has become a haven for talent in the defensive backfield. Saban’s program recruits top-flight talent, obviously, and his abilities as a defensive backs guru have turned Alabama into one of the best defenses against the pass during his tenure in Tuscaloosa.

And so it was hardly a surprise to see another parade of top-flight defensive backs sign last week. OK, so the flip of 3-star corner Aaron Robinson on Signing Day was something of a surprise, but everything else seemed according to plan.

With Robinson, Jared Mayden, Shyheim Carter and Nigel Knott, Bama suddenly finds itself with an embarrassment of riches in the secondary in 2016.

Marlon Humphrey, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Ronnie Harrison and Eddie Jackson were all major contributors for the 2015 national champs; throw in Kendall Sheffield (redshirted in 2015), Maurice Smith (played some as a dime back) and Tony Brown (sent home during postseason preparations and with an uncertain future for UA), and suddenly it looks like the positions in Alabama’s secondary are locked down, at least for the near future.

That’s how it looks. With Saban, though, nothing is guaranteed.

We’ve all followed Saban at Alabama long enough to know that he guarantees his recruits nothing as part of his recruiting pitch, except the opportunity to compete for a starting job and the chance to win a title (so far, nobody who has stayed at Alabama all 4 years under Nick Saban has left school without a ring). So it’s safe to say that all four members of the 2016 class will come to campus expecting to compete.

Playing DB in Nick Saban’s system, obviously, is much more than physical. Saban prefers a relatively complex man-zone coverage scheme that’s heavy on the intellect of the players running it.

Watch a replay of the national title game vs. Clemson and you’ll see an enraged Saban shout “YOU HAVE NUMBER 2 VERTICAL!” at a very confused Ronnie Harrison.

Saban has said he prefers not to dumb down his system to suit the age of his secondary, preferring to “coach ’em up” instead.

Saban has also shown a penchant for playing defenses that feature multiple defensive backs in response to the wide-open spread formations he sees on a weekly basis in the SEC. Humphrey and Fitzpatrick played big roles for Bama in 2015 because frankly they had to — Alabama needed their talent on the field to survive.

Which is all a long-winded way of saying: Alabama’s pups better get to work if they want to see the field for the next two seasons, both in the weight room and the film room. Their predecessors have a massive head start on them in both regards.

The bet here is that we see Knott before the others. His abilities as a kick returner, coupled with his outrageous athletic ability, may make it impossible to keep him off the field later in the season.