From year to year, many teams go on roller coaster rides of sorts – the ups and the downs, the fans and coaches being thrown for loop after loop. In 2000, Alabama didn’t just get on a simple roller coaster; the team boarded Space Mountain and promptly derailed. Gone is the entire 2000 coaching staff and with them, fans hope, the uncertainty that plagued preparation and game plans. 

Dennis Franchione arrives from Texas Christian with the task of rebuilding the grandest tradition in all of sport, and the road upon which those rebuilding efforts are to take will be a bumpy one, at best. Alabama must rebuild its secondary, offensive line and must find a quarterback.

What shape Alabama’s offense will take has been a subject of serious discussion among Alabama fans. Franchione refers to his offense as "multiple," and it appears the offense could be just that – vastly diverse depending on the play and personnel. At New Mexico, Franchione employed a wide-open split-back set. At TCU, his team ran so much that his offense could have been confused with a wishbone-type set. Alabama’s offensive strength is its wide receiver corps, but its weakness is probably pass blocking. This will present a quandary for Franchione throughout the season.

QUARTERBACKS

Alabama fans have watched Andrew Zow and Tyler Watts split time at the position for two years, and very well might see it for a third year. Neither player developed one iota during 2000 and might actually have regressed. The senior Zow won the job coming out of the spring, but the battle has tightened again in the fall, with the junior Watts possibly taking the upper hand recently. 

While quality is iffy, Alabama boasts very good depth at the position. Senior Jonathan Richey has game experience and won’t embarrass himself, while talented freshmen Brodie Croyle and Spencer Pennington have both had their moments in practice. Croyle in particular could challenge for playing time in 2001. Walk-on Mark Miller has been working at receiver. The bottom line is that vast improvement is needed over 2000.

RUNNING BACKS
There might be no single bellcow back among the four main contenders, but there is enough quality and diversity to ensure that Alabama will move the sticks. Ahmaad Galloway has the position at this time. He is viewed as a player good at most things but excelling in few, with perhaps an exception for his leadership skills. He is one of the team’s strongest personalities. 

Brandon Miree, Santonio Beard and Raymon Hudson are in a fight at the position as well. Miree is basically a small fullback, a bruiser between the tackles. Beard is a glider with good speed, but has durability issues. Hudson, a converted cornerback, is one of the team’s fastest players, although he has no experience in a college backfield. True freshman Marquez Dupree is probably due for a redshirt year, and transfer Shaud Williams will sit out the year per NCAA rules. 

At fullback, converted linebacker Donnie Lowe leads Marvin Brown, but just by a slim margin. Brown has had a good fall camp, and has as much speed as some of the tide’s tailbacks. When his head is in the game, he can dominate. Walk-on Nick Signaigo had a good spring camp and will provide depth.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Perhaps the strength of the entire team, this group is lead by senior Freddie Milons, who is intent on reclaiming the glory of his 1999 season, and senior tight end Terry Jones Jr., who might be the team’s best player and highest potential draft pick. Milons is versatile and has worked hard on improving his game, particularly his ability to go vertical for the catch. Jones, if healthy, might be the best tight end in America. He is nearly impossible to bring down in the secondary after making the catch. 

Juniors Antonio Carter and Sam Collins and senior Jason McAddley highlight the rest of the group. McAddley is a speed burner and a good downfield blocker, but needs to work on his consistency. Carter and Collins progressed nicely last year and particularly through spring camp. Senior Michael James and younger players such as Joel Babb, Triandos Luke and Brandon Greer provide depth. 

Redshirt freshman Tarry Givens looks like a new man after summer conditioning, and at 6’5", could be the tall deep threat Tide fans have long hoped for. Theo Sanders, Donald Clarke and David Cavan are the most likely candidates to back up Jones, although signee Clint Johnston is also in the mix. Incoming frosh receiver Brandon Brooks could play as a kick returner.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Alabama fans could enter the season with the realization that they have the conference’s worst line. The good news is that Alabama’s conditioning program should pay dividends as the season rolls along. The bad news is that offensive line production, or lack thereof, seems to creep its way into most press conferences and fan discussions. Tackle Dante Ellington has improved in terms of strength and conditioning, and at worst, should duplicate his 1999 performance levels. Center Alonzo Ephraim, albeit smallish for an SEC offensive lineman, has established himself as a team leader. 

The other three spots are up for grabs. Guard Dennis Alexander was a Sporting News Freshman All-American in 2000, but has been slowed by an ankle injury. Marico Portis and Justin Smiley were competing for the quick (usually left) guard slot, but Portis has now been moved in front of Alexander at the strongside (usually right) guard position. 

Redshirt freshman Wes Britt leads junior college All-American Atlas Herrion at quick tackle, meaning that if Britt and Smiley hold on to their respective positions, Alabama will start two redshirt freshmen on the quarterback’s blind side. Evan Mathis will back up Ephraim at center and possibly Ellington at tackle, as well. Lannis Baxley and Matt Lomax could see time at tackle, while Danny Martz is currently the fourth guard. Experience is at a premium with this unit.

While Alabama’s offensive style is up for debate, there is no doubt that the defense will possess an attacking style. Alabama’s defensive line is made up almost entirely of future professional players, while the linebackers are among the quickest, as a group, to ever grace the Capstone. If Alabama can get a good performance from its secondary, the Tide defense will mask many of the offense’s holes.

DEFENSIVE LINE

If Tennessee does not possess the SEC’s top defensive line, it most certainly resides in Tuscaloosa. Ends Kindal Moorehead and Kenny King are big, athletic, mean, and most importantly, productive. Moorehead returns after a year on the sidelines recovering from Achilles tendon surgery. He is not often blockable one-on-one and even then, only by the most experienced offensive linemen. King battled shoulder and neck injuries throughout 2000, but is now full speed. Both players can slide into the tackle positions if necessary. Their backups – Antwan Odom, Aries Monroe and Nautyn McKay-Loescher – are all blazing fast with a nose for the quarterback. Depth in the inside, however, is a concern. 

Jarret Johnson draws the starting tackle assignment; he is athletic enough to play end, but is more effective inside. Fireplug David Daniel leads super-prospect Anthony Bryant for the nose guard position. Derek Sanders will back up Johnson, but beyond those four, the coaches are sweating. Senior walk-on Allen Hollie is serviceable as a nose guard, while Gerard Clark has the tools to play on the line but has not produced as of yet. Alabama signed no tackles in the spring, meaning the coaches will watch the training table with a keen eye.

LINEBACKERS

There have been times when Alabama has had more experience or more strength in its linebacking corps, but never more speed. Saleem Rasheed, a true 4.5-forty linebacker, will start in the middle, making him perhaps the fastest player ever to patrol centerfield for Alabama. Victor Ellis and Brooks Daniels are also in the 4.5/4.6 range, and they will flank Rasheed. In addition to his speed, Ellis has added bulk to his frame and can now bring serious heat from the corner. 

Brooks Daniels is Alabama’s rover linebacker, a new position created under the Carl Torbush scheme. He will be responsible for copious amounts of pass coverage. Senior Darius Gilbert and signee Freddie Roach are competing for the title of Rasheed’s backup, while Cornelius Wortham, Jason Rawls and Adam Cox will battle for the backup outside linebacker positions. 

Walk-on Brad Biel played well enough to impress the coaches in the spring; he was once a prep wrestling star. Without sounding prone to overstatement, all three starters on this unit are legitimate contenders for some level of all-SEC consideration.

DEFENSIVE BACKS

The defensive backfield was at one time a concern equal to that about Alabama’s offensive line. While the secondary is still not ready to contend for the honor of being the conference’s elite, the nine or ten players who have risen to the top of the rotation appear to be ready to at least contend with opposing wide receivers. Gerald Dixon returns from a wrist injury to man one cornerback position, while fellow junior Hirchel Bolden takes the other. Bolden appears much more confident than in recent years, but he must show his performance can carry over from practice to game situations. 

Senior free safety Reggie Myles has a flair for the dramatic, but must keep his emotions in check. Special teams standout Shontua Ray gets the starting nod at strong safety. Neither reserve safety – sophomore Charles Jones or junior walk-on Waine Bacon – has game experience, although both contended heavily for the starting posts in the spring. 

Reserve cornerbacks Roberto McBride and Carlos Andrews have played in game situations, but not much. They are joined by redshirt freshman Thurman Ward, who has much promise. Signee Charlie Peprah is working at both corner and safety, and could play early. Safety Tyler Harris was forced to give up football due to a shoulder injury.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Alabama will be solid in the kicking game. Junior punter Lane Bearden had a good 2000 season and has gotten stronger in preseason workouts. Senior kicker Neal Thomas is a Groza Award contender. The biggest challenge for Alabama is to improve coverage efforts and identify reliable kick returners. Brandon Brooks looks like a possibility, along with Roberto McBride, Antonio Carter and Jason McAddley.

Alabama could be the conference’s toughest team to pick. Alabama has better talent than a 3-8 record would suggest, and if Franchione is as much better than Mike DuBose as many observers think, Alabama fans could be in for a pleasant autumn. But if the Tide suffers injuries at key positions, or if the offensive line continues to stumble, a winning record might be all Alabama fans can hope for. The key to it all is Dennis Franchione. 

Although comparisons to Bryant might be misguided, there is no doubt that among his contemporaries, Franchione is a coach worth noting. His attention to detail has been meticulous, and the commitment to strength and conditioning has been no joke. Could Alabama finish 3-8 or 4-7? If everything goes wrong that can go wrong, yes. 

Could Alabama go undefeated? If everything goes right that can go right, yes. The safe money is on a solid 7-4 or 8-3 season, with the Tide being competitive for the SEC Western Division crown. Expect a lot of close defensive struggles – in other words, Alabama football at its finest and purest.

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