Tide begins title defense against Spartans
The Crimson Tide begins its defense of the national championship tonight when Alabama hosts San Jose State.
Alabama will be without Heisman-Trophy winning quarterback Mark Ingram after he injured his knee in practice earlier this week and had minor knee surgery.
Even without Ingram, the Crimson Tide should have little problems disposing of the Spartans.
Trent Richardson is capable of picking up the slack and quarterback Greg McElroy still has top target Julio Jones to throw to.
The offense should be in good shape. The defense is another story.
Alabama lost ten starters from last year’s defensive unit, which played stout throughout the season and propelled the Crimson Tide to the national title.
Alabama should be solid at the linebacker position with the return of Nico Johnson and Dont’a Hightower, but the defensive line and the secondary are depleted. The only player with significant experience returning to those units is safety Mark Barron.
The Crimson Tide also lost several key special teams players including return specialist Javier Arenas, kicker Leigh Tiffin, punter P.J. Fitzgerald and long snapper Brian Selman.
Expect Alabama to get the wrinkles ironed out against the Spartans this week in preparation for one of the most anticipated games of the season next week, when the Crimson Tide hosts Penn State.
