2010 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

Before the season

During the 2009 campaign, the Crimson Tide finished the season undefeated, 14–0, with wins over several ranked opponents that included No. 7 Virginia Tech, No. 20 Ole Miss, No. 22 South Carolina, No. 9 LSU, No. 1 Florida in the SEC Championship, and No. 2 Texas in the BCS National Championship Game. They finished the season as the consensus National Champions, being voted No. 1 in the AP and Coaches' Polls in securing Alabama's first national title since 1992. In addition to the national title, sophomore running back Mark Ingram became the first Alabama player to win the Heisman Trophy.

In February 2010, eighteen players each signed an individual National Letter of Intent to play college football at Alabama. The 2010 recruiting class was ranked nationally in the top five by several recruiting services including Rivals, Scout, ESPNU and CBS College Sports. Spring practice began on March 12 and concluded with the annual A-Day game on April 17. Televised live by ESPN, the Crimson team of offensive starters defeated the White team of defensive starters by a final score of 23–17 before 91,312 fans in Bryant–Denny Stadium. The game was decided after the end of regulation when Brandon Gibson caught a 39-yard touchdown pass from AJ McCarron in sudden death. For their performances, Marcell Dareus earned the Dwight Stephenson Lineman of the A-Day Game Award and Mark Ingram earned the Dixie Howell Memorial Most Valuable Player of the A-Day Game Award.

By August, Alabama had a combined 21 players on 12 different preseason award watch lists. These included both Mark Barron, Marcell Dareus and Dont’a Hightower for the Chuck Bednarik Award; Julio Jones for the Fred Biletnikoff Award; Hightower and Nico Johnson for the Butkus Award; Ingram for the Walter Camp Award; James Carpenter, Dareus and Hightower for the Lombardi Award; Ingram and Greg McElroy for the Maxwell Award; Barron, Dareus and Hightower for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy; McElroy for the Davey O'Brien Award; Carpenter and Barrett Jones for the Outland Trophy; William Vlachos for the Rimington Trophy; Barron for the Jim Thorpe Award; and Ingram for the Doak Walker Award.

Returning starters

Alabama had 10 returning starters from the previous season, including eight on offense and two on defense. The most notable departures from the previous year were linebackers Eryk Anders, Rolando McClain and Cory Reamer; cornerbacks Javier Arenas, Kareem Jackson and Marquis Johnson; defensive ends Brandon Deaderick and Lorenzo Washington; nose tackle Terrence Cody; safety Justin Woodall; offensive linemen Drew Davis and Mike Johnson; and tight end Colin Peek. Additionally, all of special teams players were replaced following the departures of punter P.J. Fitzgerald, placekicker Leigh Tiffin, long snapper Brian Selman and Arenas as the return specialist.

Recruiting class

Alabama's recruiting class was highlighted by eight players from the "ESPN 150": No. 16 DeMarcus Milliner (CB); No. 32 Phillip Sims (QB); No. 36 John Fulton (CB); No. 54 Adrian Hubbard (DE); No. 74 Chad Lindsay (OG); No. 89 Keiwone Malone (WR); No. 99 C.J. Mosley (OLB); and No. 132 Brian Vogler (TE). Alabama signed the No. 5 recruiting class according to Rivals and the No. 4 recruiting class according to Scout. The football program received 18 letters of intent on National Signing Day, February 3, 2010.

Schedule

The 2010 schedule was officially released on September 2, 2009. 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, Florida, and South Carolina. Alabama did not play SEC opponents Georgia, Kentucky and Vanderbilt. The contest against Ole Miss served as the 2010 homecoming game.

Alabama also played four non-conference games. The game against Penn State was originally scheduled as part of the 2004 season, however the series was moved back at the request of Alabama due to fallout from NCAA sanctions being levied on the program. The non-conference schedule also included games against San Jose State of the Western Athletic Conference, Duke of the Atlantic Coast Conference and Georgia State of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). On December 5, it was announced Alabama would face Big Ten co-champion Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl. In what was the first meeting between the programs, the Tide defeated the Spartans 49–7 and secured their third consecutive ten-win season.

Alabama played six of its SEC opponents the week following the opponents' bye week. These SEC teams who scheduled a bye week before facing the Crimson Tide included South Carolina, Ole Miss, Tennessee, LSU, Mississippi State and Auburn. Georgia State also had a bye week prior to playing Alabama, for a total of seven consecutive opponents playing Alabama the week following their bye. On July 1, 2010, the game against Georgia State was moved from Saturday, November 20 to Thursday, November 18 to give Alabama additional time to prepare for its game against Auburn. The Sagarin computer ratings calculated Alabama's 2010 strength of schedule to be the fifth most difficult out of the 245 Division I teams. The Cosgrove Computer Rankings calculated it as the 12th most difficult out of the 120 Division I FBS teams in its rankings.

Coaching staff

The only change to the coaching staff from the 2009 season was the departure of James Willis, an associate head and outside linebackers coach, to become the defensive coordinator at Texas Tech. Willis was replaced on the staff with Jeremy Pruitt on January 15. Other assistants that declined positions at other programs included Jim McElwain declining an offer to become San Jose State's head coach and Kirby Smart declining an offer to become Georgia's defensive coordinator.

Depth chart

Starters and backups.

Rankings

Entering the 2010 season, the Crimson Tide was ranked No. 1 in the AP and Coaches' Preseason Polls. The No. 1 preseason ranking was the first for Alabama since the 1978 season. In week six, Alabama dropped to the No. 8 ranking in both the AP and Coaches' Poll following their loss to South Carolina. The Tide rebounded in the rankings though week nine, rising to No. 5 before dropping to No. 11 in the AP and No. 12 in the Coaches' Poll following their loss at LSU. After their loss to Auburn, Alabama dropped to No. 15 in the AP, No. 18 in the Coaches' Poll and No. 16 in the final BCS standings. Following the victory over Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl, Alabama finished No. 10 in the final AP, No. 11 in the final Coaches' Polls.

After the season

As part of the A-Day celebrations on April 16, the 2010 team captains Greg McElroy, Dont'a Hightower and Mark Barron were honored at the Walk of Fame ceremony at the base of Denny Chimes. Later that day, as recognition for becoming the fifth Alabama head coach to win a national championship with the 2009 squad, the University unveiled a statue of coach Saban along the Walk of Champions outside Bryant–Denny Stadium.

Final statistics

After their victory over Michigan State in the Capitol One Bowl, Alabama's final team statistics were released. On the defensive side of the ball, they ranked third in scoring defense (13.54 points per game), fifth in total defense (286.38 yards per game), tenth in rushing defense (110.15 yards per game) and thirteenth in passing defense (176.23 yards per game). They were also the conference leaders in both scoring and total defense. On offense, nationally the Crimson Tide ranked 18th in scoring offense (35.69 points per game), 22nd in total offense (444.08 yards per game), 27th in passing offense (261.15 yards per game) and 29th in rushing offense (182.92 yards per game). Individually, Robert Lester led the SEC with an average of 0.62 interceptions 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, Mark Barron, Dont'a Hightower, and Greg McElroy were each named the permanent captains of the 2010 squad. At that time Julio Jones was named the 2010 most valuable players with Dont'a Hightower and Mark Barron named defensive players of the year and Greg McElroy and Mark Ingram named the offensive players of the year.

The SEC recognized several players for their individual performances with various awards. Defensive back Mark Barron, wide receiver Julio Jones and offensive guard Barrett Jones were all named to the AP All-SEC First Team. Offensive lineman James Carpenter, defensive lineman Marcell Dareus, running back Mark Ingram, linebacker Dont'a Hightower and defensive back Robert Lester were all named to the AP All-SEC Second Team. Quarterback Greg McElroy and center William Vlachos were each named AP All-SEC Honorable Mention. Four players were named to the Coaches' All-SEC First Team including Barron, James Carpenter, Marcell Dareus and Julio Jones. Barrett Jones, William Vlachos, Mark Ingram, Dont'a Hightower, return specialist Trent Richardson and defensive backs Robert Lester and Dre Kirkpatrick were named to the Coaches' All-SEC Second Team. Four players were named to the Freshman All-SEC Coaches' Team including offensive lineman D.J. Fluker, linebacker C.J. Mosley, defensive back Dee Milliner and punter Cody Mandell.

In addition to the conference awards, several players were also named to various national All-American Teams. Julio Jones and Mark Barron were named to the AP All-American Second Team and Marcell Dareus and Barrett Jones were named to the AP All-American Third Team. Barron was also named to the All-America team by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA). Quarterback Greg McElroy, tight end Preston Dial and offensive lineman James Carpenter were all selected to play in the Under Armour Senior Bowl.

Coaching changes

In the week following the Capitol One Bowl victory, several changes were made to the Alabama coaching staff. Defensive line coach Bo Davis resigned his position to serve as the defensive tackles coach for Texas. The following day, Chris Rumph was hired by Coach Saban from Clemson to replace Davis as defensive line coach. On January 12, assistant head coach and offensive line coach Joe Pendry announced his retirement. The following day, former Miami interim head coach Jeff Stoutland was hired to replace Pendry as offensive line coach. On January 21, wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator Curt Cignetti resigned his position to accept the head coaching job at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. On February 7, Mike Groh was hired a Cignetti's replacement as wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator.

NFL Draft

Of all the draft-eligible juniors, Mark Ingram, Julio Jones and Marcell Dareus declared their eligibility for the 2011 NFL Draft on January 7. At the time of their announcement, each was projected as a first round pick. Five Alabama players, two seniors and three juniors, were invited to the 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.