Amari Cooper’s big-play potential, including this one that was the go-ahead score in the SEC Championship Game against Georgia, makes him the easy No. 1 option heading into the spring. (ap photo)
Today: Quarterbacks (click here to read it)
Tomorrow: Running backs (click here to read it)
Saturday: Wide receivers
Sunday: Tight ends/H-Backs
Monday: Offensive Line
Tuesday: Defensive Line
Wednesday: Linebackers/Pro Day
March 14: Cornerbacks
March 15: Safeties
March 16: Opening day of spring practice
For the third position group in-a-row, there is no shadow of a doubt who the No. 1 man is, as Amari Cooper (freshman year highlights) enters his second spring training with the Crimson Tide as the No. 1 receiving threat available.
Not only did the true freshman lead the Tide in receiving yards last season with 1,000 on 59 catches and 11 touchdowns, he’s also the only every-down wideout starting practices this spring, as Kevin Norwood has an uncertain status with a toe injury.
Alabama also has the two Joneses returning to the wide receiving corps, Christion and Cyrus. Outside of their kick returning duties, Christion caught 27 passes, third-best on the team, for 368 yards, and Cyrus caught four passes for 51 yards.
The Tide has three more wide receivers returning from injury: Kenny Bell and DeAndrew White. Bell’s junior season was cut short with a late leg injury, after catching 17 passes for 431 yards, while White’s season was cut off much earlier with his season-ending knee injury, holding him to only eight catches for 105 yards in 2012.
Finally, the Chris Black saga will finally take to the field after having his potential freshman season ended with a redshirt after a shoulder injury in spring training, despite rumors that he would strip the redshirt to play in te SEC Championship Game and BCS National Championship Game.
The Tide will have one newcomer to the position group for spring practice, New Orleans native Raheem Falkins. Falkins (high school highlights), coming in at 6-foot-4 and 195 according to Rivals, is one of three wide receivers in the 2013 class, but the only early enrollee at the position. Robert Foster (high school highlights) and Eddie Jackson (high school highlights) will join the team in the fall.
Breakdown: Two seniors (Bell and Norwood), two juniors (White and Chr. Jones), two sophomores (Cooper and Cyr. Jones), one redshirt freshman (Black), three true freshmen (Falkins in the spring, Foster and Jackson in the fall)
Prediction: Cooper will be the No. 1 receiving threat again yet again, and Norwood will follow despite missing some, possibly all, of spring training with the toe injury. Norwood’s absence does create a large opportunity for wideouts to separate themselves for the No. 3 and 4 spots alongside Bell.
The Joneses will compete with Black and Falkins for that honor, and an edge could be given to Black seeing the shot he had at playing time over the Joneses before his shoulder injury.
The other two freshmen, Foster and Jackson, look like they could be on their way to a redshirt season unless one of them strikes the scenes like Cooper did (however, unlikely, as Cooper had the advantage of being a early enrollee).
