3 Position Battles to Watch During Alabama’s Spring Practice

The Alabama football team will begin spring practice tomorrow, and there are several key positions battles that will be taking place.  Since Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa, the Tide have sent several players to the NFL Draft before their senior seasons.  While this brings great recognition and prestige to the program, it also means several key areas will lack the experience of upperclassmen.  However, this year Alabama has several junior and senior players who can fill roles for next season.  With that, here are the three position battles you should watch during spring practice.

Quarterback

It's the most important position on the team, and for the 2nd straight year the Tide will be filling it with a new starter.  The consensus heading into the offseason centered on rising senior Jake Coker, who transferred from Florida State last year and was the projected starter until Blake Sims won the job in fall camp.  Coker has all the physical tools, and hopefully a year in Lane Kiffin's system has helped him find his rhythm.  Alec Morris and Cooper Bateman have waited patiently for opportunities, but have seen little game action. David Cornwell, who was redshirted last season, could also throw his name into the mix.  However, the one competitor really turning heads is early-enrollee Blake Barnett. Though he would be a true freshman, he is believed to have the best tools to complement Kiffin's style of offense.  Until further notice, expect Coker to get first team reps in the spring.  Of course, we said that once before and were completely wrong, so stay tuned.

Wide Receiver

You can't replace Amari Cooper.  A simple glance at the stats would show how irreplaceable he is.  And as if that wasn't bad enough, experienced receivers DeAndrew White and Christion Jones are also gone.  Essentially, this position is as wide open as Cooper was against Auburn.  Chris Black has the most game experience of the group, but he could easily be challenged by ArDarius Stewart, Cam Sims, Raheem Falkins and Robert Foster.  These players need to take advantage of the spring period, because when true freshman Calvin Ridley arrives this summer he is expected to challenge for early playing time.

Safety

Landon Collins? Gone. Nick Perry? Gone. Jarrick Williams? Gone.  New DB coach Mel Tucker will certainly have some shoes to fill in the secondary, especially at safety.  While Geno Smith has some starts under his belt, he should be challenged early and often in spring practice.  Hootie Jones should be ready to contribute more after playing mop up duty last season.  But watch out for early-enrollee freshmen Ronnie Harrison and Deionte Thompson to challenge for early playing time.  Another name to look for could be Ronnie Clark, who began his career as a DB, but moved to running back during the season before tearing his Achilles during practice.  Neither position has a ton of depth at the moment, so he may see time at both during spring practice.