2014 Special Teams Preview

Christian Jones is one of the best return men in CFB, but we'll be starting a Freshman punter and our kicker is inaccurate. Our coverage units were good for the first 11 games last year, but it's tough to project where they'll be this year. Young studs like Rashaan Evans and Hootie Jones will definitely make names for themselves out there. The kicking game probably won't get better, and the punting will, in all likelihood, take a step back.

Analysis of coaching

I've already talked about some of the changes we made. Of course retaining HC Nick Saban is the key, and we also kept DC Kirby Smart, who is arguably a top three DC in the nation. Lane Kiffin as an OC is a high risk, high reward move. I wouldn't call any of our coaches weak, except maybe Coach Mario Cristobal, who coaches the OL. He's an exceptional recruiter, make no mistake about it. But we have questions about his ability to actually coach the OL, though we're still waiting for a bigger body of work.

2014 Schedule

Aug 30 vs West Virginia*
Sept 6 vs Florida Atlantic
Sept 13 vs Southern Miss
Sept 20 vs Florida
Oct 4 @ Ole Miss
Oct 11 @ Arkansas
Oct 18 vs Texas A&M
Oct 25 @ Tennessee
Nov 8 @ LSU
Nov 15 vs Mississippi State
Nov 22 vs Western Carolina
Nov 29 vs Auburn

The schedule isn't very tough, but there are definitely tough teams.

Florida (make no mistake, they'll be back), Ole Miss, Mississippi State, LSU, and Auburn will all be very losable games. That doesn't include the opener vs West Virginia, a game vs Texas A&M, or a the TSIO against Tennessee, which could be trap games. Our bye weeks set up nicely, and overall our OOC schedule is weak.

Off-season Report

Guys like Christion Jones and Landon Collins are stepping up, but we've had a lot of off the feld distractions. Kenyan Drake, Altee Tenpenny, Jarran Reed, and Tony Brown have all found themselvesin legal trouble. Eddie Jackson, who was expected to start at CB, got injured in the Spring, and may not be ready to go for a while.

Keys to Success / Failure

- Development of leadership
- Maturation process of Jacob Coker
- Improved offensive playcalling
- Better results vs HUNH

Wrap-up

Realistically, I expect another 11-2 season. Worst case scenario, I think it's a 9-4 team. Best case, 15-0 and a national title. The 9-4 outcome is a lot more likely than the 15-0 outcome.