Jarran Reed to return to Alabama in 2015

Very glad to have him back for another year. DLine is going to be strong again next year.

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Anyone else have any big time returnees?

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Avery Young and Duke Williams so far for Auburn.

Still waiting on Cass McKinzy and Kris Frost to declare one way or the other, but they are also expected to return in 2015.

That's huge for Bama. That guy is a stud. Probably one of the most important players on Bama's team.

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Cassanova wouldn't be drafted that high (3rd round at highest) but he'd be an instant impact guy for any team he's got NFL talent

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He's a downhill thumper, but a huge liability in space. He adds a pass rush dimension to a defense, but he isn't very fluid in coverage. That being said, he needs to come back. I think he also needs to lose weight.

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Kris Frost needs another yr, raw as hell needs to work a little more on technique

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He's more sound in technique than Cass McKinzy, but he needs to get bigger and improve his upper body strength. He's pretty good sideline to sideline though, and can provide coverage.

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The wrong WR declared IMO but that's a good thing for AU, Sammie could really use another yr and Duke looks to me on film (if everything checks out health wise) like a 2nd rounder at worst, with his talent level and injury really shocked he's not declaring

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Sammie Coates declared because he had already graduated and will go ballistic at the NFL Combine. He was also a more known prospect than Duke Williams. IMO, Duke Williams needed to come back more to show he could stay healthy and out of trouble. Either one could have improved their draft stock with Jeremy Johnson, though.

Also, Sammie Coates came to Auburn...not because of his uncle...but because Auburn was his only other offer other than Southern Mississippi.

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Not sure where Avery Young is projected but it isn't particularly a deep yr for OL

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IMO, he was never leaving.

Sammie made the right decision...he wouldn't have gone to Southern Miss, almost wanted to call UAB coaches and get an offer to stay home

Thomas (his uncle) had a lot to do with him picking AU, and his uncle led him to the right decision, he's a phenomenal player but sadly was overlooked by a lot of people

I knew he graduated but I still think scouts will watch film and see how raw he was route running and physicality wise, he will be ridiculous at the Combine you are right, but you never know how good sticking around with Jeremy Johnson would've improved his stock.

I agree on all points about Duke, he's a fairly new player but is well known by scouts who've watched AU this year and he will greatly improve his stock also he's the type player that needs a more solid body of work than Sammie who as you said will blow away the combine and he's a charismatic guy also so teams will like him. Duke needs more PT for the exposure and I'm sure he'll get it next year.

if i remember correctly Mills is returning and Hunter is a heavy lean to stay

Georgia went ham on returnees.

Reed and Ragland were the only two I was worried about as maybe being on the fence. If they both return then Depriesf will be our only departing starter from the front 7, and that will be a nasty nasty group next year. Reed, Pettway, Robinson, Allen, Tomlinson have all seen a ton of reps in their careers. Hand, Frazier provide good depth behind them and bring some experience. It will be the best defensive line Saban has had at Alabama without a close second. The depth will set that group apart.

The importance of Duke coming back for Auburn can't be overstated in my opinion. He completely changes the look of that receiving corp. By all accounts, Auburn is going to throw the ball more with Johnson. Without Duke, the WR corp didn't really seem that problematic and a lot of teams might have welcomed Auburn becoming a bit more of a passing team. With Duke, Auburn's offense will be potent again.

While I'm glad Marshall is gone (he was very good against Bama in both games), Auburn's offense will still present a big (albeit likely different) challenge next year.

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Auburn's offense will still present a big (albeit likely different) challenge next year.

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I am under the impression that we will all see a mixture of 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2014's offense all in one. 2009 and 2010 because of Jeremy Johnson's ability to throw the ball, 2013 and 2014 because of Jeremy Johnson's ability to run (although he isn't in the same league as Cam Newton or Nick Marshall).

I'm excited to see him mesh with Duke Williams (look what they did together in one half against Arkansas), Melvin Ray, Ricardo Louis, Marcus Davis, Tony Stevens, Stanton Truitt and Myron Burton.

It'll also be interesting to see how defenses react to an Auburn offense with a guy that can sling the ball around. We have a quarterback that can make every throw, running backs that would force many teams to load the box, and a playmaker out wide that would start for any team in the country. In the past, you could load up the box and force a sometimes erratic Nick Marshall to pass, sometimes finding success. We also were able to run on those defenses a lot more often than not.

Do you think JJ will run the ball more than 10 times a game on average? I think it will be closer to 5. I don't think you can really run the same offense that Marshall did unless the QB is a constant threat to run the ball. Teams won't really fear JJ getting to the edge. In the words of the immortal Joe Kines "WE JUST GOTTA STOP THAT INSIDE TRAP"