2009 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

Before the season

During the 2008–2009 campaign, the Crimson Tide completed a perfect 12–0 regular season record with wins over No. 9 Clemson, No. 3 Georgia, longtime rival Tennessee, No. 16 LSU, and in-state rival Auburn to end a six-game losing streak in the Iron Bowl. The Tide went on to lose their final two games in the postseason to end the season 12–2. They lost to the Florida Gators (31–20) in the SEC Championship Game, and to the Utah Utes (31–17) in the Sugar Bowl. Alabama reached No. 1 in the AP and Coaches' Polls for the first time since the final polls in 1992 and during the regular season for the first time since 1980 between weeks ten and fourteen. The Tide reached No. 1 in the BCS rankings for the first time in school history between weeks ten and fourteen. The team finished the 2008 season with a final ranking of No. 6 in both the AP and Coaches' Polls.

In February 2009, Alabama signed the No. 1 recruiting class according to Rivals and the No. 2 recruiting class according to Scout. Spring practice began on March 13 and concluded with the annual A-Day game on April 18. Televised live by ESPN, the Crimson team defeated the White team by a score of 14–7 before 84,050 fans in Bryant–Denny Stadium. Greg McElroy and Marquis Maze were named co-MVPs of the game.

On June 11, 2009, the NCAA Committee on Infractions sanctioned Alabama for "major violations" of NCAA policies as a result of athletes who received improper benefits in 16 of 19 NCAA sports, including football. As a penalty, the football program was forced to vacate 21 victories from the 2005, 2006, and 2007 seasons in addition to being placed on three years probation, ending in June 2012. The university stated that none of the textbooks or materials identified in the investigation were used for profit, and that the athletes involved who still had eligibility remaining were to pay restitution for the additional materials identified as part of the inquiry. Alabama appealed the ruling to the NCAA Infractions Appeals Committee in late June, but was unsuccessful; the Committee upheld the sanctions in March 2010.

During SEC Media Days in July, voters selected Alabama and Florida to again win their divisions, with 63 of 64 ballots choosing Florida to win the SEC Championship Game. Voters selected Julio Jones, Mike Johnson, Terrence Cody, Rolando McClain, Javier Arenas (as a defensive back), and Leigh Tiffin to the Preseason All-SEC First Team and selected Mark Ingram and Arenas (as a return specialist) to the Preseason All-SEC Second Team.

By August, Alabama had 19 players on 11 different preseason award watch lists. These included Cody and McClain for the Chuck Bednarik Award; Jones for the Fred Biletnikoff Award; Dont’a Hightower and McClain for the Butkus Award; Leigh Tiffin for the Lou Groza Award; Cody, Hightower, Mike Johnson, and McClain for the Lombardi Award; Cody and McClain for the Lott Trophy; Jones for the Maxwell Award; Javier Arenas, Cody, and McClain for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy; Cody and Johnson for the Outland Trophy; Arenas for the Jim Thorpe Award; and Mark Ingram for the Doak Walker Award.

Returning starters

Alabama had 16 returning starters from the previous season, including eight on defense, four on offense, and all of the special teams. The most notable departures from the previous year were Andre Smith, Antoine Caldwell, and Marlon Davis on the offensive line; John Parker Wilson at quarterback; Glen Coffee at running back; and Rashad Johnson at safety.

Recruiting class

Alabama's recruiting class was highlighted by seven players from the "ESPN 150": No. 4 Dre Kirkpatrick (CB); No. 6 Trent Richardson (RB); No. 12 D.J. Fluker (OT); No. 20 Nico Johnson (ILB); No. 36 A. J. McCarron (QB); No. 65 Kendall Kelly (WR); No. 110 Tana Patrick (OLB); No. 142 Petey Smith (ILB); and No. 143 Eddie Lacy (RB). Alabama signed the No. 1 recruiting class according to Rivals and the No. 2 recruiting class according to Scout. The football program received 29 letters of intent on National Signing Day, February 4, 2009.

Schedule

The Sagarin computer ratings calculated Alabama's strength of schedule to be the most difficult out of the 245 Division I teams. The Congrove Computer Rankings also calculated it as the most difficult out of the 120 Division I FBS teams in its rankings. Alabama's 2009 schedule was officially released on December 19, 2008. In accordance with conference rules, Alabama faced all five Western Division opponents: Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State, and Ole Miss. They also faced three Eastern Division opponents: official SEC rival Tennessee, Kentucky, and South Carolina. Alabama did not play SEC opponents Georgia and Vanderbilt. Although not on the regular season schedule, Bama met Florida in the SEC Championship Game.

Alabama also played five non-conference games. For the season opener, the Tide played in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game against Virginia Tech at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The non-conference schedule also included games against Florida International and North Texas of the Sun Belt Conference and UT-Chattanooga of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). For the 2010 BCS National Championship Game, Alabama played Texas for the first time since the 1982 Cotton Bowl Classic.

Source: Rolltide.com All-time Football Results: 2009 Season

Depth chart

Starters and backups.

Coaching staff

Prior to the 2009 season, Alabama made several changes to its coaching staff. Alabama lost their defensive head coach, Kevin Steele, on January 10, 2009, when he was hired as defensive coordinator for Clemson, and their linebacker coach Lance Thompson on January 16, when he was hired as linebacker coach by Tennessee. The following week, Saban named Sal Sunseri from the NFL's Carolina Panthers as his team's new assistant head and linebacker coach, and James Willis from Auburn as the new associate head and linebacker coach.

Rankings

Entering the 2009 season, the Crimson Tide was ranked No. 5 in the AP and Coaches' Preseason Polls. By week seven Alabama moved into the No. 1 ranking in the AP Poll and the No. 2 ranking in both the Coaches' Poll and the initial BCS rankings. After dropping as low as No. 3, following the victory against Florida in the SEC Championship Game Alabama captured the No. 1 ranking in the AP and Coaches' Polls as well as in the final BCS rankings. Following the victory over Texas in the BCS Championship Game, Alabama was selected a unanimous No. 1 by the AP and as the No. 1 team in the Coaches' Poll.

After the season

Following the victory against Texas for the national championship, the team arrived at the Tuscaloosa Regional Airport on the evening of January 8. Several thousand fans were there to greet them upon their arrival. On January 16, a public national championship celebration at Bryant–Denny Stadium was attended by well over 30,000 spectators. Speakers at the event included head coach Nick Saban and Alabama athletic director Mal Moore. All of the championship trophies were available for public viewing. In early March, the team was invited to the White House, where Obama greeted the team and offered congratulatory remarks for their championship season.

For their victory, each team member and coach received three championship rings designed by Jostens: a university-issued title ring, a BCS issued title ring, and another for winning the SEC championship. The rings were distributed as part of the annual A-Day weekend the following April. Also as part of the A-Day celebrations, the 2009 team captains Javier Arenas, Rolando McClain, and Mike Johnson were honored at the Walk of Fame ceremony at the base of Denny Chimes. As recognition for becoming the fifth Alabama head coach to win a national championship, the University unveiled a statue of coach Saban along the Walk of Champions outside Bryant–Denny Stadium as part of A-Day festivities on April 16, 2011.

Final statistics

After their victory over Texas in the BCS National Championship Game, Alabama's final team statistics were released. On the defensive side of the ball, they ranked second in scoring defense (11.71 points per game), second in total defense (244.14 yards per game), second in rushing defense (78.14 yards per game) and tenth in passing defense (166.00 yards per game). They were also the conference leaders in scoring, total and rushing defense. On offense, nationally the Crimson Tide ranked 12th in rushing offense (215.07 yards per game), 22nd in scoring offense (32.07 points per game), 42nd in total offense (403.00 yards per game) and 92nd in passing offense (187.93 yards per game). Individually, Leigh Tiffin led the SEC with an average of 2.14 field goals and 9.43 points per game.

Awards

In the weeks following the SEC Championship Game, multiple Alabama players were recognized for their on-field performances with a variety of awards and recognitions. At the team awards banquet on December 6, Javier Arenas, Mike Johnson and Rolando McClain were each named the permanent captains of the 2009 squad. At that time both McClain and Mark Ingram were also named the 2009 co-most valuable players with McClain and Terrence Cody named defensive players of the year and Ingram and Johnson named the offensive players of the year.

Conference

The SEC recognized several players for their individual performances with various awards. Alabama swept the three major individual awards on the AP All-SEC team, with Mark Ingram named Offensive Player of the Year, Rolando McClain named Defensive Player of the Year, and Nick Saban named Coach of the Year. In addition to Ingram and McClain, Javier Arenas (as a defensive back), Terrance Cody, Mike Johnson, and Leigh Tiffin were named to the AP All-SEC First Team. James Carpenter, Colin Peek, and Arenas (as a return specialist) were named to the AP All-SEC Second Team. Eight players were named to the Coaches' All-SEC First Team, including Arenas (as both a defensive back and return specialist), Mark Barron, Cody, Ingram, Mike Johnson, McClain, and Tiffin. Julio Jones was named to the Coaches' All-SEC Second Team. Nico Johnson, Barrett Jones, and Trent Richardson were named to the 2009 Freshman All-SEC Team.

National

After the season, a number of Alabama players were named as national award winners and finalists. Mark Ingram became Alabama's first Heisman Trophy winner, with the closest margin of victory in the history of the award, over Stanford's Toby Gerhart. Ingram was a finalist for the Maxwell Award and the Doak Walker Award. Linebacker Rolando McClain won the Butkus Award and the Jack Lambert Award. Other national award finalists included Terrence Cody (for the Chuck Bednarik Award) and Leigh Tiffin (for the Lou Groza Award). Defensive coordinator Kirby Smart won the Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant coach.

In addition to the individual awards, several players were also named to various national All-American Teams. Javier Arenas, Terrance Cody, Mark Ingram, Mike Johnson, Rolando McClain, and Leigh Tiffin were named to the AP All-American First Team and Mark Barron was named to the AP All-American Second Team. Cody, Ingram, Mike Johnson, and McClain were named to the Walter Camp All-American First Team. Arenas and Tiffin were named to the Walter Camp All-American Second Team. Arenas, Ingram, Mike Johnson, and McClain were named to the AFCA All-America Team. With their selections on various teams, Mike Johnson, Mark Ingram, Terrence Cody, Rolando McClain and Javier Arenas were each consensus All-America, with Ingram and McClain each being unanimous selections.

All-star games

Seven Alabama players were selected by postseason all-star games. Lorenzo Washington appeared in the Texas vs. The Nation Game. Justin Woodall participated in the East-West Shrine Game. Javier Arenas, Terrence Cody, Mike Johnson, Colin Peek, and Leigh Tiffin played in the Under Armour Senior Bowl.

NFL Draft

Of all the draft-eligible juniors, only Rolando McClain and Kareem Jackson declared their eligibility for the 2010 NFL Draft. Ten Alabama players, eight seniors and two juniors, were invited to the NFL Scouting Combine. The invited Alabama players were tight end Colin Peek, offensive lineman Mike Johnson, defensive linemen Terrence Cody, Brandon Deaderick and Lorenzo Washington, linebacker Rolando McClain, defensive backs Javier Arenas, Kareem Jackson and Justin Woodall, and placekicker Leigh Tiffin. In the draft, Alabama had seven players selected. The first round selections were McClain (8th Oakland Raiders) and Jackson (20th Houston Texans); the second round picks were Arenas (50th Kansas City Chiefs) and Cody (57th Baltimore Ravens); the third round pick was Mike Johnson (98th Atlanta Falcons); and the seventh round picks were Marquis Johnson (211th St. Louis Rams) and Deaderick (247th New England Patriots). Both Peek and Washington, with the Atlanta Falcons and Dallas Cowboys respectively, signed as undrafted free agents.

Following the 2010 season, juniors Mark Ingram, Julio Jones and Marcell Dareus declared their eligibility for the 2011 NFL Draft. Five Alabama players, two seniors and three juniors, were invited to the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine. The invited players were offensive lineman James Carpenter, quarterback Greg McElroy, defensive end Marcell Dareus, running back Mark Ingram, and wide receiver Julio Jones. In the draft, Alabama set a school record with four players selected in the first round. The first round selections were Dareus (3rd Buffalo Bills), Jones (6th Atlanta Falcons), Carpenter (25th Seattle Seahawks) and Ingram (28th New Orleans Saints). McElroy was selected in the seventh round (208th New York Jets). Preston Dial signed as an undrafted free agent with the Detroit Lions in July 2011 after the NFL labor dispute was resolved.