Alabama aiming for fifth title under Saban

This is the sixth piece of a 12-part series previewing Arkansas' 2016 football opponents.

Alabama is coming off a 14-1 year capped by a 45-40 win over Clemson in the College Football Playoff National Championship game. It also beat Michigan State 38-0 in the Cotton Bowl to advance to the title game.

The Crimson Tide went 7-1 in SEC play to win the western division and earn a spot in the SEC Championship Game, where they beat Florida 29-15.

It was Alabama’s fourth SEC and national championship in the last seven seasons.

2016 outlook

Alabama hosts Kentucky the week prior to traveling to Arkansas Oct. 8. The following week, the Crimson Tide hit the road against, traveling to SEC East-favorite Tennessee.

While many expect Alabama to remain dominant in 2016, ESPN’s Football Power Index and 5Dimes, an offshore sportsbook, project the Crimson Tide to take a step back.

The FPI has Alabama at No. 6 in the country, which is third in the SEC, but projects only 8.9 wins. The over/under set by 5Dimes last month was a little higher, at 9.5 wins.

Significant departures

The Crimson Tide must replace seven players who were selected in the top three rounds of the NFL Draft, the Heisman Trophy winner, the SEC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, the co-winner of the Jacobs Blocking Trophy and its starting quarterback.

Some of those players overlap, but it’s still a lot of vacant spots Alabama will have to fill.

Derrick Henry – a second-round draft pick – was the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner after leading the country with 2,219 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns. He was also the SEC Offensive Player of the Year and a unanimous all-American.

His backup, Kenyan Drake, was a third-round pick despite rushing for only 408 yards and one touchown on 77 carries. Drake was Alabama’s kickoff returner, as well, returning 19 kicks for 505 yards and one touchdown.

Alabama will also be without center Ryan Kelly, a 36-game starter and first-round draft pick, and quarterback Jake Coker.

Defensively, unanimous all-America linebacker Reggie Ragland (SEC Defensive Player of the Year) and consensus all-America defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson were drafted in the second round, as were defensive tackle Jarran Reed and cornerback Cyrus Jones.

Jones was also one of the top punt returners in the country, leading the NCAA with four punts returned for touchdowns.

Key returners

Whoever replaces Coker at quarterback – Cooper Bateman appears to be the frontrunner – will have plenty of targets.

Calvin Ridley (89 rec., 1,045 yds., 7 TD) and ArDarius Stewart (63 rec., 700 yds., 4 TD) give Alabama one of the best wide receiver tandems in the country, while O.J. Howard (38 rec., 602 yds., 2 TD) is arguably the best returning tight end in the country.

With Henry and Drake gone, Alabama will turn to a pair of former five-star prospects at running back: sophomores Damien Harris (46 car., 157 yds., 1 TD) and Bo Scarbrough (18 car., 104 yds., 1 TD).

Left tackle Cam Robinson and right guard Alphonse Taylor are expected to pave the way for those players, but Robinson could face disciplinary action. He was arrested last month and charged with felony possession of a stolen firearm, but his arraignment was postponed last week.

On the other side of the ball, Alabama will be led by safety Eddie Jackson (46 tackles, 6 INT), who was named a third-team all-American by the Associated Press. Marlon Humphrey (45 tackles, 8 PBU, 3 INT), who started all 15 games last season as a freshman, will also contribute in the secondary.

Linebackers Reuben Foster (73 tackles, 8 TFL) and Tim Williams (19 tackles, 10.5 sacks) will help fill the void left by Ragland, while defensive end Jonathan Allen (36 tackles, 12 sacks) will be a force along the line.

Punters don’t typically get a lot of attention, but JK Scott has proven to be one of the best in the nation during his two years at Alabama. He has pinned nearly 45 percent of his punts inside the 20-yard line and averaged 45.9 yards per punt.

Coaching staff

Nick Saban enters his 10th season at Alabama with a 100-18 record with the Crimson Tide. He has won at least 10 games in eight straight seasons, half of which have ended with national championships.

Since 2008, Alabama has lost more than one SEC game only once (three in 2010). Including his 11 seasons at LSU, Michigan State and Toledo, Saban has a 191-60-1 (.760) record as a college head coach.

At the coordinator positions, Lane Kiffin enters his third season as offensive coordinator, while Jeremy Pruitt enters his first season as defensive coordinator.

Kiffin, a former college (Tennessee and USC) and NFL (Oakland Raiders) head coach, has used two different starting quarterbacks – Blake Sims and Jake Coker – to help Alabama average 36.9 and 35.1 points per game in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

Pruitt comes to Alabama from Georgia, where he served the previous two seasons in the same position. He replaces Kirby Smart, who left to become the head coach at Georgia.

His defense ranked seventh in the country last season, as the Bulldogs allowed only 305.9 yards per game.

Notable additions

For the seventh time in nine years, Alabama had the No. 1 signing class in the country, according to Rivals.

The class was headlined by five five-star prospects: offensive linemen Jonah Williams and Charles Baldwin, linebackers Ben Davis and Lyndell Wilson, and defensive end Terrell Hall.

Athlon Sports rated Baldwin, a transfer from ASA College, as the No. 2 JUCO transfer in the country.

With such high recruiting rankings, the Crimson Tide don’t need much help in other areas, but they got it in the form of a graduate transfer from Bowling Green. Wide receiver Gehrig Dieter caught 94 passes for 1,033 yards and 10 touchdowns last season and will join an already deep Alabama receiving corps.

Series history

Alabama holds an 18-8 edge in the all-time series against Arkansas. The Razorbacks first met the Crimson Tide in the 1961 and 1980 Sugar Bowls, with Alabama winning both games.

Since Arkansas joined the SEC, Alabama leads the series 16-8, but that includes a loss for the 1993 game that it had to forfeit. Without the forfeit, Alabama leads 17-7 since Arkansas joined the SEC.

The last time the Razorbacks beat the Crimson Tide was in 2006, when they won 24-23 in double overtime. Since then, they have lost nine straight.

Arkansas ties

Both the Razorbacks and Crimson have one player from the other state on their roster. Arkansas defensive end JaMichael Winston (Prichard Vigor High) is from Alabama, while Alabama defensive tackle Josh Frazier (Springdale Har-Ber High) played high school football just up the road from the University of Arkansas.

Frazier played with Arkansas defensive end-turned-tight end Jake Hall in high school.

Arkansas wide receiver Dominique Reed and Alabama running back Derrick Gore were teammates at Coffeyville C.C. in 2014.

A pair of Arlington, Texas, Lamar High 2016 signees – Alabama offensive lineman Christopher Owens and Arkansas wide receiver Kofi Boateng – will face off when the Razorbacks host the Crimson Tide.

Arkansas offensive line coach Kurt Anderson and Alabama defensive line coach Karl Dunbar were on the Buffalo Bills staff together last season.

Thoughts from a beat writer

To get an even better idea of what Alabama will look like in 2016, WholeHogSports reached out Aaron Suttles, who covers the Crimson Tide for The Tuscaloosa News. We asked him several questions about Alabama. Here are his responses:

WHS: It seems Vegas and other prognosticators expect Alabama to take a small step back in 2016. Do you see Nick Saban loosening his grip on the SEC West?

AS: I seem to think this every season and Nick Saban proves me wrong every season. So until further notice, I'm not doubting Nick Saban and his Alabama juggernaut. This is the third straight season that the team enters fall camp with no starting quarterback. The last two -- Blake Sims and Jake Coker -- won SEC titles even though they weren't named starters until the season started. Coker was even benched for a game last year. No matter, they still won big. Until someone knocks Alabama off its perch, I'm not calling for an overthrow of the SEC West just yet.

WSH: Which players do you expect Alabama to lean heavily on?

AS: Offensively I think it has to be Calvin Ridley, at least early on. He's the only proven commodity on offense, and I think Arkansas fans remember how dangerous he can be from last year's game. Normally this is question where the easy answer is "fill in the name of a star running back," but Alabama has no proven back this year. They have a lot of talent, but it is all inexperienced. Bo Scarbrough, who many call upon to shoulder the major load, had just 18 carries last season as a freshman. He also has a history of injuries in his career. The other experienced back is Damien Harris. He is also just a sophomore. So until they prove it on the field, I'll go with Ridley.

WHS: Are there any newcomers you expect to make an immediate impact on the team?

AS: I'll give you two names to watch. The first is true freshman offensive tackle Jonah Williams. Coaches love his ability. I expect him to start at right tackle this season, and if Cam Robinson wasn't on the team he might start at left tackle. The other is B.J. Emmons, a true freshman running back from North Carolina. He will provide much-needed depth at running back, a position of concern this season. It wouldn't surprise me if he logged lots of carries this season.

WHS: Coming out of spring practice, what is one area the Crimson Tide needs to shore up during fall practice, before Week 1?

AS: The offensive line needs to play better than it did during the spring. There are still unanswered questions with Cam Robinson, who faces criminal charges from an offseason arrest in Louisiana. Will he be suspended and if so, how many games? Robinson was recovering from an offseason surgery during spring practice and didn't participate, which contributed to the unit struggling during the spring. Lester Cotton is a plus athlete but he's still a first-year starter at left guard. Ross Pierschbacher moves from left guard to center to replace Remington Trophy winner Ryan Kelly. Alphonse Taylor lost his starting right guard job during the spring because he was overweight. Then there is a true freshman, Jonah Williams, at right tackle. All told, there's work to be done on the line.

WHS: How do you think Alabama will fair against Arkansas this season?

AS: Arkansas has been a tough game for Alabama these last two seasons. These two teams just match up well against each other. Expect another physical, grind-it-out game. Home field will certainly benefit the Hogs, but Arkansas has its own holes to fill. Arkansas has earned Alabama's respect the last two seasons and I expect the Razorbacks will have the Crimson Tide's full attention this season. I expect another close win for Alabama this season.