2011 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

Before the season

After winning the BCS National Championship in 2009, Alabama fell short of preseason expectations in 2010 and finished with a record of nine wins and three losses at the conclusion of the regular season. However, they finished with a 49–7 victory in the 2011 Capital One Bowl against Michigan State, and secured Alabama's third straight ten-win season and their third bowl win in four seasons.

In February 2011, Alabama signed the No. 1 recruiting class according to Rivals and the No. 7 recruiting class according to Scout. Spring practice began on March 21 and concluded with the annual A-Day game on April 16. Televised live by ESPNU, the Crimson team of offensive starters defeated the White team of defensive starters by a final score of 14–10 before 92,310 fans in Bryant–Denny Stadium. For their performances, Barrett Jones earned the Dwight Stephenson Lineman of the A-Day Game Award and Trent Richardson earned the Dixie Howell Memorial Most Valuable Player of the A-Day Game Award.

In the weeks after the conclusion of spring practice, a pair of tragedies occurred that directly impacted the team. On April 27, 2011, an EF4 rated tornado devastated Tuscaloosa. As a result of the storm, long snapper Carson Tinker suffered a broken wrist with his girlfriend being one of the 43 fatalities attributed to the storm in Tuscaloosa. On May 12, 2011, offensive lineman Aaron Douglas was found dead in Fernandina Beach, Florida. The cause of death was subsequently ruled accidental as a result of multiple drug toxicity. After transferring to Alabama from Arizona Western College, Douglas struggled with off-field issues including a DUI charge following a December 2010 arrest. He started his career as a freshman All-America at Tennessee, before the Volunteers' new head coach Derek Dooley granted him a release from the program in Spring 2010.

By August, Alabama had a combined 31 players on 12 different preseason award watch lists. These included Mark Barron, Dont’a Hightower, Dre Kirkpatrick, Robert Lester and Courtney Upshaw for the Chuck Bednarik Award; Duron Carter, Darius Hanks and Marquis Maze for the Fred Biletnikoff Award; Hightower, Nico Johnson and Upshaw for the Butkus Award; Lester and Trent Richardson for the Walter Camp Award; Hightower, Barrett Jones, Upshaw and William Vlachos for the Lombardi Award; Michael Williams for the John Mackey Award; Richardson for the Maxwell Award; Barron, Hightower, Kirkpatrick, Lester and Upshaw for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy; Jones and Vlachos for the Outland Trophy; Vlachos for the Rimington Trophy; Barron, Kirkpatrick and Lester for the Jim Thorpe Award; and Richardson for the Doak Walker Award.

Between the conclusion of the 2010 season and the beginning of summer practice in August 2011, seven players transferred from the Crimson Tide. Those who transferred included Robby Green (California University of Pennsylvania), B.J. Scott (South Alabama), Demetrius Goode (North Alabama), Petey Smith (Holmes Community College), Brandon Moore (East Mississippi Community College), Corey Grant (Auburn) and Keiwone Malone (Memphis).

Coaching staff

Alabama head coach Nick Saban entered his fifth year as the Crimson Tide's head coach for the 2011 season. During his previous four years with Alabama, he led the Crimson Tide to an overall record of 38 wins, 11 losses (38–11) and the 2009 national championship. In the weeks after 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, and the next day Chris Rumph was hired from Clemson, to replace him as the defensive line coach. On January 12, assistant head coach and offensive line coach Joe Pendry announced his retirement, and the following day former Miami interim head coach Jeff Stoutland was hired to replace him 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, and on February 7, Mike Groh was hired as his replacement as wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator.

Returning starters

Alabama had 17 returning starters from the previous season, including ten on defense and seven on offense. The most notable departures from the previous year were defensive end Marcell Dareus, left tackle James Carpenter, tight end Preston Dial, quarterback Greg McElroy, wide receiver Julio Jones and running back Mark Ingram, Jr.

Depth chart

Starters and backups.

Recruiting class

Alabama's recruiting class included eleven players from the "ESPN 150": No. 3 Cyrus Kouandjio (OT); No. 19 Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix (S); No. 22 Xzavier Dickson (DE); No. 38 Trey DePriest (OLB); No. 41 Bradley Sylve (WR); No. 53 Jeoffrey Pagan (DE); No. 75 Marvin Shinn (WR); No. 79 Demetrius Hart (RB); No. 82 Malcolm Faciane (TE); No. 137 Danny Woodson, Jr. (WR); and No. 140 Brent Calloway (ATH). Alabama signed the No. 1 recruiting class according to Rivals and the No. 7 recruiting class according to Scout. The football program received 14 letters of intent on National Signing Day, February 2, 2011. Prior to National Signing Day, three high school players and three junior college transfers of the 2011 recruiting class enrolled for the spring semester in order to participate in spring practice. These early enrollments included: nose guard Quinton Dial, offensive lineman Aaron Douglas and nose tackle Jesse Williams from junior college and linebacker Trey DePriest, quarterback Phillip Ely safety Vinnie Sunseri from high school.

Schedule

The 2011 schedule was officially released on October 19, 2010. 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 Vanderbilt. Alabama did not play SEC opponents Georgia, Kentucky or South Carolina. The contest against Vanderbilt served as the 2011 homecoming game.

Alabama played four non-conference games. The game against Penn State was originally scheduled to be played as part of the 2004 season, however the series was moved back to this season at the request of Alabama due to fallout from NCAA sanctions being levied on the program. The non-conference schedule also included games against Kent State of the Mid-American Conference, North Texas of the Sun Belt Conference and Georgia Southern of the Southern Conference. Alabama had one bye week after the Tennessee game and prior to the first LSU game. On December 4, 2011, the final Bowl Championship Series standings were unveiled with a rematch between No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game. The Sagarin computer ratings calculated Alabama's 2011 strength of schedule to be the fifteenth most difficult out of the 246 Division I teams. The Cosgrove Computer Rankings calculated it as the twenty-ninth most difficult out of the 120 Division I FBS teams in its rankings.

In addition to the weekly television coverage, radio coverage for all games was broadcast statewide on The Crimson Tide Sports Network (CTSN). The radio announcers for the 2011 season were Eli Gold with play-by-play, Phil Savage with color commentary, and Chris Stewart with sideline reports.

Rankings

Entering the 2011 season, the Crimson Tide was ranked No. 2 in the AP and Coaches' Preseason Polls. Alabama dropped no further than to No. 3 in any of the rankings through week nine when they were ranked No. 2 for their November 5 game against LSU. After their 9–6 loss against the Tigers, Alabama dropped to No. 4 in all but the BCS standing where they dropped to No. 3. The Crimson Tide regained their No. 2 ranking in all of the polls after Oklahoma State was upset by Iowa State, and retained the No. 2 position through the end of the regular season to qualify for the BCS National Championship Game. After their victory over LSU in the BCS National Championship Game, Alabama was selected No. 1 in both the AP and Coaches' Polls.

After the season

Following the victory against LSU for the national championship, the team arrived at the Tuscaloosa Regional Airport on the afternoon of January 10. Several hundred fans were there to greet them upon their arrival. On January 21, a public national championship celebration at Bryant–Denny Stadium was attended by approximately 32,000 spectators. Speakers at the event included head coach Nick Saban and university president Robert Witt. All of the championship trophies were available for public viewing.

As part of the A-Day celebrations on April 14, the 2011 team captains Trent Richardson, Dont'a Hightower and Mark Barron were honored at the Walk of Fame ceremony at the base of Denny Chimes. On April 19, the team made their trip to the White House, where President Barack Obama offered congratulatory remarks for their championship season and recognized the team for their community service given in Tuscaloosa after the April 2011 tornadoes.

Final statistics

After their victory over LSU in the BCS National Championship Game, Alabama's final team statistics were released. On the defensive side of the ball, of the 120 FBS teams, the Crimson Tide was ranked at the top of all major defensive categories in conference and nationally. They ranked first in total defense (183.62 yards per game), scoring defense (8.15 points per game), passing defense (111.46 yards per game) and rushing defense (72.15 yards per game). It marked the first time that a single defense ranked first in all four major, team defensive categories since the 1986 Oklahoma squad. Individually, Dont’a Hightower led the team with 85 total tackles, 45 of which were assisted, and Mark Barron was the leader with 43 solo tackles. Courtney Upshaw was tied for sixteenth nationally, fourth in conference and first on the team with 9.5 quarterback sacks. Upshaw was also eighteenth nationally, second in conference and first on the team with 18 tackles for loss. DeMarcus Milliner led the team with three of Alabama’s thirteen total interceptions of the season.

On offense, of the 120 FBS teams, Alabama ranked sixteenth in rushing offense (214.46 yards per game), twentieth in scoring offense (34.85 points per game), 31st in total offense (429.62 yards per game) and 69th in passing offense (215.15 yards per game). In conference, they ranked first in rushing offense, second in total offense, third in scoring offense and fourth in passing offense. Individually, Trent Richardson led the SEC and the team offensively with 1,679 total yards rushing, an average of 129.15 rushing yards per game, an average of 160.23 all-purpose yards per game, 21 rushing touchdowns and an average of 11.08 points per game. AJ McCarron led the team in passing offense and completed 219 of 328 passes for 2,634 passing yards and 16 touchdowns. Marquis Maze led the team with 56 receptions for 627 yards, and Brad Smelley led the team with four touchdown receptions.

Awards

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 4, Mark Barron, Dont'a Hightower and Trent Richardson were each named the permanent captains of the 2011 squad. At that time Richardson was also named the 2011 most valuable player with Barron, Hightower and Courtney Upshaw named defensive players of the year and AJ McCarron and Marquis Maze named the offensive players of the year.

Conference

The SEC recognized several players for their individual performances with various awards. Trent Richardson was named the AP Offensive Player of the Year. In addition to Richardson, Mark Barron, Barrett Jones, Courtney Upshaw and William Vlachos were named to the AP All-SEC First Team. Josh Chapman, Dont'a Hightower and Dre Kirkpatrick were named to the AP All-SEC Second Team. Barron, Hightower, Jones, Richardson, Upshaw and Vlachos were named to the Coaches' All-SEC First Team. Chapman, Kirkpatrick, Marquis Maze (as both a wide receiver and return specialist) and Chance Warmack were named to the Coaches' All-SEC Second Team. Cyrus Kouandjio and Vinnie Sunseri were both named to Freshman All-SEC Team. The SEC named Richardson the Offensive Player of the Year. Jones earned the Jacobs Blocking Trophy and was also named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

National

After the season, a number of Alabama players were named as national award winners and finalists. Trent Richardson was named a finalist to win the Heisman Trophy, along with Wisconsin's Montee Ball, Baylor's Robert Griffin III, Stanford's Andrew Luck and LSU's Tyrann Mathieu. He finished third in the Heisman voting with 978 points, behind Griffin (1,687 points) and Luck (1,407 points). Richardson won the Doak Walker Award and was also named a finalist for the Maxwell Award; Dont'a Hightower was named a finalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award, the Butkus Award, the Lott Trophy and the Lombardi Award; Courtney Upshaw was named a finalist for the Butkus Award and the Lombardi Award; Barrett Jones won the Outland Trophy, the Wuerffel Trophy and the ARA Sportsmanship Award; Mark Barron was named a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy; and William Vlachos was named a finalist for the Rimington Trophy. Assistant head and linebackers coach Sal Sunseri was also named a finalist for the Frank Broyles Award. The team as a whole was honored with the Disney's Wide World of Sports Spirit Award as a result of their collective efforts to assist in the rebuilding of Tuscaloosa following the April 27, 2011 tornado.

In addition to the individual awards, several players were also named to various national All-American Teams. Barron, Hightower, Jones, DeQuan Menzie and Richardson were named to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) All-America Team. Barron, Hightower, Jones and Richardson were named to the Walter Camp All-America Team. Upshaw and Vlachos were both named to the Walter Camp All-America Second Team. Barron, Dre Kirkpatrick, Jones, Richardson and Upshaw were named to the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) All-America Team. Barron, Hightower, Jones and Richardson were named to the Associated Press All-American First Team; Upshaw and Kirkpatrick were named to the Associated Press All-American Second Team. Barron, Jones, Richardson and Upshaw were named to the Sporting News (TSN) All-America Team. Of the seven Alabama players selected, Barron, Jones and Richardson were each recognized as unanimous All-American selections, and Hightower was recognized as a consensus All-American selection.

All-star games

Several Alabama players were selected by postseason all-star games. Mark Barron, Josh Chapman, Marquis Maze, DeQuan Menzie, Courtney Upshaw and William Vlachos were selected to play in the Merrill Lynch Senior Bowl. On January 17, Brad Smelley became the seventh member of Alabama's team to receive an invitation to the Senior Bowl. Darius Hanks was selected to play in the East–West Shrine Game. Alabama did not have players participate in the Casino del Sol College All-Star Game or the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.

Coaching changes

In the weeks following the conclusion of the season, several changes were made to the Alabama coaching staff. On December 13 offensive coordinator Jim McElwain was introduced as the head coach with the Colorado State Rams. He stayed with Alabama through the BCS National Championship Game and began his transition as the Rams' head coach from Tuscaloosa. On January 13, assistant head and linebackers coach Sal Sunseri was named as the defensive coordinator with the Tennessee Volunteers. On January 18, 2012, Alabama officials announced the hires of both Doug Nussmeier from the Washington Huskies as offensive coordinator and of Lance Thompson from Tennessee as outside linebackers coach.

NFL Draft

Of all the draft-eligible juniors, Dont'a Hightower, Dre Kirkpatrick and Trent Richardson declared their eligibility for the 2012 NFL Draft on January 12. At the time of their announcement, each was projected as a first round pick. In February 2012, nine Alabama players, six seniors and three juniors, were invited to the NFL Scouting Combine. The invited players were safety Mark Barron, defensive tackle Josh Chapman, wide receivers Darius Hanks and Marquis Maze, linebackers Dont'a Hightower and Courtney Upshaw, cornerbacks Dre Kirkpatrick and DeQuan Menzie, and running back Trent Richardson. Mark Barron, Dont'a Hightower, Dre Kirkpatrick, Trent Richardson and Courtney Upshaw were each invited to attend the Draft at Radio City Music Hall. In the draft, Alabama tied a school record with four players selected in the first round. The first round selections were Richardson (3rd Cleveland Browns), Barron (7th Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Kirkpatrick (17th Cincinnati Bengals) and Hightower (25th New England Patriots). Upshaw was the third player selected in the second round (35th Baltimore Ravens). Chapman was the first player selected in the fifth round (136th Indianapolis Colts) and Menzie was the eleventh player selected in the fifth round (146th Kansas City Chiefs). Brad Smelley was the eighth and final Alabama player selected in the 2012 Draft in the seventh round (247th Cleveland Browns). In the days after the draft, six players from the 2011 squad that were not drafted signed as undrafted free agents. These players included Alfred McCullough (Baltimore Ravens), Marquis Maze (Pittsburgh Steelers), Alex Watkins (Tennessee Titans), Jerrell Harris (Atlanta Falcons), William Vlachos (Tennessee Titans) and Darius Hanks (Washington Redskins).