2013 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

Previous season

In 2012, Alabama came into the season ranked No. 2 in both preseason polls. After their week one victory over Michigan, the Crimson Tide moved into the No. 1 spot in both polls, and then proceeded to win their next eight games that included a victory at LSU. However the next week, Alabama was upset by Johnny Manziel and the Texas A&M Aggies and dropped to the No. 4 position. Alabama bounced back and won its remaining games to clinch the SEC Western Division and secured a spot in the 2012 SEC Championship Game against Georgia. The Crimson Tide then defeated the Bulldogs and captured the SEC Championship. The next day, Alabama finished No. 2 in the final BCS rankings and would play Notre Dame in the 2013 BCS National Championship Game. In the game, Alabama defeated the Fighting Irish 42–14 and captured their 15th national championship and made Nick Saban the only coach in college football to win four BCS Championships.

February player arrests

In February 2013 Tuscaloosa Police arrested four football players from the 2012 season: Brent Calloway, Tyler Hayes, D. J. Pettway and Eddie Williams. Williams was involved in four separate incidents on February 10 and 11. On February 10 he had a dispute with a gas station clerk about paying for gas and said he had to get something in the trunk of his car. The clerk called the police, the police arrested Williams with carrying a pistol without a license, but Williams was released later that day on a $500 bond. Later that night around 12:30 a.m., Williams attacked an Alabama student with Hayes and Pettway and they stole the student's backpack. In a separate incident almost an hour later, Williams attacked another student while Hayes and Pettway waited in a car. Later Williams used one of the students' credit cards. Calloway was also arrested after he used a victim's student debit card with knowledge it was stolen. Following the arrests, Alabama suspended all four from the football team. Alabama also prohibited Hayes, Pettway and Williams from entering campus. On February 27, Alabama dismissed all four players from the university after completing a judicial review.

Spring practice

Alabama started spring practice on March 16 and concluded 15 practices later on April 20 with the annual A-Day game. In the annual A-Day game at the conclusion of spring practice, the White team composed of offensive starters defeated the Crimson team of defensive starters 17–14. The White team opened on offense and scored a touchdown on their first possession on a 40-yard AJ McCarron pass to Kenny Bell. After Nick Perry intercepted a Blake Sims pass on the first Crimson possession, the White team extended their lead to 10–0 on a 29-yard Adam Griffith field goal. Both offenses then struggled for the remainder of the first half with turnovers for the Crimson team coming on a second Perry interception of a Sims pass, an Alec Morris fumble recovered by Dillon Lee, and on a Cooper Bateman pass intercepted by Landon Collins. The White team had turnovers on a Kenny Bell fumble recovered by C. J. Mosley and on the last play of the first half when a McCarron pass was intercepted by Vinnie Sunseri and returned 86-yards for a touchdown that made the halftime score 10–7.

The offensive struggles continued into the second half with neither team scoring any points in the third quarter. In the fourth, the Crimson team took a 14–10 lead after Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix recovered a Brian Vogler fumble and returned it 55-yards for a touchdown. The White team responded on their next possession with a seven-yard T. J. Yeldon touchdown run for a 17–14 victory. For his performance, Ryan Kelly earned the Dwight Stephenson Lineman of the A-Day Game Award. On offense, Yeldon earned the Dixie Howell Memorial Most Valuable Player of the A-Day Game Award for his 129 all-purpose yards on the day that included 69 rushing and 60 receiving, and game-winning touchdown run.

Fall camp

By August, Alabama had a combined 31 players on 14 different preseason award watch lists. These players included C. J. Mosley, Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix and Deion Belue for the Chuck Bednarik Award; Amari Cooper and Kevin Norwood for the Fred Biletnikoff Award; Adrian Hubbard and Mosley for the Butkus Award; Cooper, AJ McCarron, Mosley and T. J. Yeldon for the Walter Camp Award; Hubbard, Mosley, Cyrus Kouandjio and Anthony Steen for the Lombardi Award; Christion Jones for the Paul Hornung Award; Brian Vogler for the John Mackey Award; Cooper, McCarron, Mosley and Yeldon for the Maxwell Award; Belue, Clinton-Dix, Hubbard and Mosley for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy; McCarron for the Davey O'Brien Award; Kouandjio and Steen for the Outland Trophy; Ryan Kelly for the Rimington Trophy; Clinton-Dix for the Jim Thorpe Award; and Yeldon for the Doak Walker Award.

Coaching staff

Alabama head coach Nick Saban completed his seventh year as the Crimson Tide's head coach for the 2013 season. During his previous six years with Alabama, he led the Crimson Tide to an overall record of 63 wins and 13 losses (63–13) and the 2009, 2011 and 2012 national championships. On January 9, 2013, former Colorado defensive coordinator Greg Brown was hired as the successor for Jeremy Pruitt as secondary coach. On February 18, former Florida International head coach Mario Cristobal was hired as Jeff Stoutland's replacement for offensive line coach. On February 21, former Florida State tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator Billy Napier was hired as Mike Groh's replacement as wide receivers coach.

Returning starters

Alabama had six returning players on offense and seven on defense that started games in 2012. Another notable player that returned for 2013, but did not start in 2012, was running back T. J. Yeldon, who appeared in all 14 Alabama games in 2012 as the backup for Eddie Lacy. Additionally, four first-year players in 2012 made the SEC Coaches' All-Freshman Team: Amari Cooper, Ryan Kelly, D. J. Pettway and Yeldon.

Depth chart

Due to varying circumstances throughout the season, several players were rotated in and out of starting positions throughout Alabama's depth chart. Below is a listing of at what times during the season players were substituted as starter or saw increased playing time. On the offensive side of the ball, freshman Grant Hill split time with starter Austin Shepherd at right tackle against Kentucky. Kellen Williams was listed on the depth chart as a backup at left tackle and guard; however, coach Saban mentioned Williams as being the sixth starter who can fill in at all the offensive line positions. After the Ole Miss, Williams was listed as the back-up center to Chad Lindsay after an injury to starter Ryan Kelly.

On the defensive side of the ball, reserve Nick Perry sustained a shoulder injury in practice prior to the Colorado State game that ended his season. On October 2, Nick Saban announced the indefinite suspension of Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, and indicated Landon Collins and Geno Smith would play more in Clinton-Dix's absence. Clinton-Dix's eligibility was reinstated by the NCAA on October 18 after he served a two-game suspension for receiving an improper benefit.

The depth chart listed below shows starters and backups as announced in August 2013.

2013 recruiting class

Prior to National Signing Day on February 6, 2013, nine players enrolled for the spring semester in order to participate in spring practice (six former high school seniors on scholarship, one former junior college player on scholarship, one walk-on from professional baseball and one walk-on from high school). The early enrollments from high school included quarterbacks Cooper Bateman and Parker McLeod, wide receiver Raheem Falkins, running back Derrick Henry, offensive lineman Brandon Hill and tight end O. J. Howard. Lineman Brandon Hill spent a post-graduate high school year at Hargrave Military Academy, and does not have the option to take a redshirt year, but still has four years of playing eligibility. Offensive tackle Leon Brown enrolled at Alabama after he transferred from junior college and will be eligible to play in the 2013 season and for a maximum of two seasons. Four of the eight players who were early enrollees in 2012 saw playing time last season: Amari Cooper, Dillon Lee, T. J. Yeldon and Deion Blue.

Henry and Howard entered school as two of the top 100 recruits in the country. Henry was the No. 1 ranked "athlete" according to 247Sports Composite Rankings based on his potential to make an immediate impact at either running back or outside linebacker, but he has commented that he plans to compete at running back. Henry broke the national high school record for career yards, and in his 2012 high school season he averaged 328 yards per game.

In addition to those scholarship recruits that signed early, former professional baseball player Jai Miller and high school quarterback Luke Del Rio enrolled in order compete for roster spots as invited walk-ons. Miller is a 28-year-old who out of high school signed to play baseball and football at Stanford, but ended up playing professional baseball out of high school after being drafted by the Florida Marlins in 2003. Based on the terms of his original contract, the Marlins will pay for Miller's tuition at Alabama.

On National Signing Day, Alabama signed 18 additional players out of high school that completed the 2013 recruiting class. The class was highlighted by fourteen players from the "ESPN 150": No. 9 Derrick Henry; No. 16 Reuben Foster; No. 25 Robert Foster; No. 26 Dee Liner; No. 28 Jonathan Allen; No. 32 Alvin Kamara; No. 36 Tim Williams; No. 44 Cooper Bateman; No. 45 O. J. Howard; No. 63 Tyren Jones; No. 81 Altee Tenpenny; No. 84 Maurice Smith; No. 86 Grant Hill and No. 105 A'Shawn Robinson. Alabama signed the No. 1 recruiting class according to Rivals.com and the No. 3 recruiting class according to Scout.com.

Schedule

The 2013 schedule was officially released on October 18, 2012. The 2013 schedule was developed as a "bridge" schedule for only the 2013 season as a permanent system was developed by the conference in spring 2013. Alabama faced all six Western Division opponents: Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M. They also faced two Eastern Division opponents: official SEC rival Tennessee and Kentucky. Alabama was not scheduled to play SEC opponents Georgia, Missouri, South Carolina, Florida or Vanderbilt. They also played four non-conference games: Virginia Tech of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Colorado State of the Mountain West Conference, Georgia State of the Sun Belt Conference and Chattanooga of the Southern Conference. The Crimson Tide had two bye weeks: their first was before they faced Texas A&M, and their second before they faced LSU. On December 9, Alabama was selected as an at-large BCS selection to compete in the Sugar Bowl against Oklahoma of the Big 12 Conference.

Rankings

As they entered the 2013 season, the Crimson Tide were ranked No. 1 in both the AP and Coaches' Preseason Polls. As they were still undefeated at the time of the initial Bowl Championship Series (BCS) standings, the Crimson Tide were ranked first by the BCS on October 21. Alabama remained in the No. 1 position through their final regular season game against Auburn. After their 34–28 loss against the Tigers, Alabama dropped to No. 4 in all of the standings. The Crimson Tide closed the regular season in the No. 3 position in all of the standings and failed to qualify for their third consecutive BCS National Championship Game. In the final poll of the season, Alabama dropped into the No. 7 position in the AP and No. 8 position in the Coaches' Polls after their loss against Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl.

Final statistics

After their loss to Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl, Alabama's final team statistics were released. Nationally, Cody Mandell led the nation with an average of 42.43 net yards per punt. On the defensive side of the ball, of the 124 FBS teams, the Crimson Tide was ranked near the top of all major defensive categories both nationally and in conference. They ranked fourth nationally and first in conference scoring defense (13.9 points per game), fifth nationally and first in conference in total defense (286.50 yards per game), seventh nationally and first in conference in rushing defense (106.2 yards per game) and eleventh nationally and second in conference in passing defense (180.3 yards per game). Individually, C. J. Mosley led the team with 108 total tackles, 61 of which were assisted, and 47 solo tackles. Mosley also led the team with 8 tackles for loss. A'Shawn Robinson led the team with 5.5 quarterback sacks. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Landon Collins, Cyrus Jones and Vinnie Sunseri tied for the team lead in interception with each having made two.

On offense, of the 124 FBS teams, Alabama ranked 17th nationally and fourth in conference in scoring offense (38.2 points per game), 24th nationally and fourth in conference in rushing offense (205.6 yards per game), 33rd nationally and sixth in conference in total offense (454.1 yards per game) and 49th nationally and seventh in conference in passing offense (248.5 yards per game). AJ McCarron led the team in passing offense and completed 226 of 336 passes for 3,063 passing yards and 28 touchdowns. Amari Cooper led the team with 45 receptions for 736 yards and Kevin Norwood led the team with seven touchdown receptions. T. J. Yeldon led the team with 207 rushing attempts for 1,279 yards and 14 touchdown runs. Kenyan Drake was second on the team with 92 rushing attempts for 694 yards and 8 touchdown runs.

Awards

After 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 8, AJ McCarron C. J. Mosley and Kevin Norwood were each named the permanent captains of the 2013 squad. At that time Mosley was also named the 2013 most valuable player with Mosley and HaHa Clinton-Dix named defensive players of the year and AJ McCarron and T. J. Yeldon named offensive players of the year.

Conference

The SEC recognized several players for their individual performances with various awards. On December 11, C. J. Mosley was named SEC co-Defensive Player of the year with Michael Sam of Missouri, and Christion Jones was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Year. On December 9, Cyrus Kouandjio, Cody Mandell, Mosley and Anthony Steen were named to the AP All-SEC First Team. HaHa Clinton-Dix, Landon Collins, Christion Jones, Trey DePriest and T. J. Yeldon were named to the AP All-SEC Second Team; Brandon Ivory, AJ McCarron and Vinnie Sunseri were named to the AP All-SEC Honorable Mention Team. Clinton-Dix, Jones, Kouandjio, Mosley and Yeldon were named to the Coaches' All-SEC First Team. Mandell, McCarron, Steen and Ed Stinson were named to the Coaches' All-SEC Second Team. A'Shawn Robinson was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team.

National

After the season, a number of Alabama players both won and were named as national award winners and finalists. Finalists for major awards from the Crimson Tide included: C. J. Mosley for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Chuck Bednarik Award and the Lombardi Award and AJ McCarron for the Davey O'Brien Award. Mosley won the Butkus Award as the top collegiate linebacker and McCarron won both the Maxwell Award as the overall player of the year and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award as the top senior quarterback. McCarron also finished second behind Jameis Winston in voting for the Heisman Trophy.

For their individual performances during the regular season, several players were named to various national All-American Teams. Cyrus Kouandjio, AJ McCarron and C. J. Mosley were named to the Walter Camp All-America First Team (WC). HaHa Clinton-Dix and Mosley were named to the Sporting News (TSN) All-America Team. Kouandjio and Mosley were named to the Associated Press All-American First Team; Clinton-Dix and McCarron were named to the Associated Press All-American Second Team. Clinton-Dix, Kouandjio and Mosley were named to the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) All-America Team.

The NCAA recognizes five All-America lists in the determination of both consensus and unanimous All-America selections: the AP, AFCA, the FWAA, TSN and the WC. In order for an honoree to earn a consensus selection, he must be selected as first team in three of the five lists recognized by the NCAA, and unanimous selections must be selected as first team in all five lists. As such, for the 2013 season Mosley was a unanimous selection and Clinton-Dix and Kouandjio were consensus selections.

All-star games

Several Alabama players were selected by postseason all-star games. Kenny Bell and John Fulton were selected to play in the College All-Star Bowl. Cody Mandell, C. J. Mosley, Kevin Norwood and Ed Stinson all accepted invitations to play in the Senior Bowl. Adrian Hubbard was also invited to compete in the game as fourth-year junior and became only the third non-senior to participate in the Senior Bowl. Invitations were also extended to Deion Belue and AJ McCarron to participate in the game. Alabama did not have players participate in the East–West Shrine Game or the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.

Coaching changes

In the weeks that followed the conclusion of the season, several changes were made to the Alabama coaching staff. On January 9 offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier was officially hired in the same capacity at Michigan as the replacement for Al Borges. On January 10, former Oakland Raiders, Tennessee and USC head coach Lane Kiffin was hired as the replacement for Nussmeier as both offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. On January 11, it was announced defensive line coach Chris Rumph had resigned and took the same position on the Texas staff. On January 13 USC defensive line coach Bo Davis was hired as Rumph's replacement. Davis previously coached defensive line at Alabama from 2007 to 2010 and had also served under Saban at LSU and with the Miami Dolphins. On February 12, Greg Brown resigned to become the safeties coach at Louisville. Two days later, Kevin Steele was promoted from Alabama's director of player personnel to inside linebackers coach. Steele previously served as a defensive assistant for Saban at Alabama in 2007 and 2008.

NFL Draft

Of all the draft-eligible juniors, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Adrian Hubbard, Cyrus Kouandjio, Jeoffrey Pagan and Vinnie Sunseri declared their eligibility for the 2014 NFL Draft. At the time of their announcement, Clinton-Dix and Kouandjio were projected to be first-round picks and both Hubbard and Pagan were projected to be no lower than third-round picks. With their departures it marked the first time during the Saban era that more than three juniors declared early for the NFL Draft. In February 2014, twelve Alabama players, seven seniors and five juniors, were invited to the NFL Scouting Combine. The invited players were offensive linemen Cyrus Kouandjio and Anthony Steen, safeties Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Vinnie Sunseri, linebackers Adrian Hubbard and C. J. Mosley, defensive ends Jeoffrey Pagan and Ed Stinson, quarterback AJ McCarron, wide receiver Kevin Norwood, cornerback Deion Belue and punter Cody Mandell.

In the first round, two Crimson Tide players were selected: Mosley (17th Baltimore Ravens) and Clinton-Dix (21st Green Bay Packers). Kouandjio was selected in the second round (44th Buffalo Bills); Norwood (123rd Seattle Seahawks) was selected in the fourth round; Stinson (160th Arizona Cardinals), McCarron (164th Cincinnati Bengals) and Sunseri (167th New Orleans Saints) were selected in the fifth round; and Pagan (177th Houston Texans) was selected in the sixth round. In the days after the draft, several players from the 2013 squad that were not drafted signed as undrafted free agents. These players included Hubbard (Green Bay Packers), Steen (Arizona Cardinals), Mandell (Dallas Cowboys), John Fulton (Philadelphia Eagles), Tana Patrick (Chicago Bears) and Belue (Miami Dolphins).