Alabama remains on everyone’s short list of teams capable of winning not only the SEC, but the national championship.
It’s also a different-looking Crimson Tide team. There aren’t as many individual players standing out during the preseason the way Amari Cooper and Landon Collins did one year ago.
But coach Nick Saban’s team once again is loaded with depth, which made narrowing down a list of the Top 10 Alabama players for 2015 something of a challenge. But after careful consideration, here’s a look at 10 players who will lead the Tide in the pursuit of another national title.
1. Senior LB Reggie Ragland: The 6-foot-2, 252-pounder is the leading returning tackler with 95 last year, including 10.5 for loss. If there’s a “face of the program” among returning players, Ragland is it.
2. Sophomore LT Cam Robinson: It’s hard to overstate the importance of Robinson on the line. One of just three returning starters on offense, the 6-foot-6, 326-pound tackle will need to repeat a stellar freshman campaign while protecting first-year starting QB Jake Coker.
3. Junior RB Derrick Henry: Some preseason publications have Henry, who rushed for 990 yards last season while sharing carries with T.J. Yeldon, as a dark-horse Heisman Trophy candidate.
4. Junior DT A’Shawn Robinson: Coming through the middle, Robinson has the ability to wreak havoc on the opposition’s running and passing games. At 6-foot-4, 312 pounds, he had 6.5 tackles for loss last year and used his long arms and big hands to knock down three passes.
5. Sophomore P JK Scott: Ranking a punter so high might raise a few eyebrows, but nobody does it better than Scott, who can change the game with his leg. He averaged 48 yards per punt last season with a long of 73 and placed 31 of them inside the 20-yard line without a single kick blocked.
6. Senior CB Cyrus Jones: Jones does it all to lead the way in the defensive backfield. At 5-foot-10, 196 pounds, he has good size for a corner and used it to make 46 tackles and force two fumbles last year. He also broke up 13 passes and picked off three others.
7. Junior DE Jonathan Allen: Nobody on the Alabama defense has shown better ability to get to the quarterback. Allen returns after recording 11.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks in 2014.
8. Senior C Ryan Kelly: Along with Robinson, he’s one of just two returning starters on the offensive line. A preseason All-SEC pick, Saban has called him the “anchor” up front.
9. Senior RB Kenyan Drake: Drake averaged 5.1 yards per carry last season before going down with a broken leg. He’s healed now and ready to work with Henry in the backfield. He’s also a dangerous weapon in the passing game.
10. Senior DE Jarran Reed: What Robinson does in the middle, Reed brings from the outside. He made 55 tackles and broke up five passes from the defensive end spot last year, but made just one sack. That’s a number the Tide would like to see him improve.
Shane Mettlen is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Texas A&M, Missouri and Alabama.
