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SI Scouting Reports 1. Nebraska 2. Florida State 3. Alabama 4. Michigan 5. Wisconsin 6. Kansas State 7. Georgia 8. Clemson 9. Texas 10. Miami 11. Florida 12. Virginia Tech 13. Washington 14. Tennessee 15. TCU 16. Purdue 17. Mississippi 18. USC 19. Penn State 20. Southern Miss 21. Illinois 22. Ohio State 23. Oklahoma 24. Colorado State 25. Colorado ----------------- The Master List: 1-115 Lower Division Rankings

3. Alabama

Deep in talent, deep in attitude, the Tide thinks this is the year it rolls all the way in

By Ivan Maisel

The Book An opposing team's coach sizes up the Crimson Tide "On offense the guy you focus on is Milons. They put him everywhere and get a lot of mismatches. If you get a safety or a linebacker on him, watch out. But if you study them enough, you can find out what they're doing by watching where he lines up. For instance if he lines up second in a three-wide set, or if they stack three receivers, he's running the tunnel [inside] screen.... [Quarterbacks coach] Charlie Stubbs does as good a job as anybody of taking his personnel and mixing it up. I watched a game that Watts started and a game that Zow started, and I couldn't tell the difference.... I don't think there's a glaring soft spot on defense. The play of the safeties stands out. Reggie Myles is a great open-field tackler, a very instinctive player. I'm impressed how well the safeties play the run from the deep position. You block everybody perfectly, it looks like a 12-yard run, and all of a sudden it's just a four-yard gain.... They are very creative in their defensive front. What they do best is run line stunts, tackle and end twists. [End] Kindal Moorehead is the guy you notice. The stunts bring out his talent and quickness."

Young Alabama team won the SEC championship last season the hard way, but now the Crimson Tide is rich in talent and experience -- and arrogance. "Different style," says junior quarterback Andrew Zow, "but the same old Alabama tradition." Adds sophomore Tyler Watts, in his second year of battling Zow for the starting job, "This year we're thinking bigger. We're thinking national championship. We know how to go about it. We know how to win."

Last season, Alabama won one game by one point, lost two others by the same margin and won three times by making defensive stops on the last play. Along the way a team loaded with freshmen and sophomores soaked up every lesson, and the payoff is coming this fall. Ten of the top 12 tacklers return on defense, and in addition to both quarterbacks, four of the top six receivers and four of the five starters on the line are back. "We've got talent backing up talent," says sophomore strongside linebacker Saleem Rasheed.

Though the Tide lost only six starters, two of them, tailback Shaun Alexander and left tackle Chris Samuels, went in the first round of the NFL draft. In fact Alexander scored most of his 23 touchdowns running behind Samuels. Senior Shaun Bohanon will be the new tailback, and sophomore Dante Ellington, who started at right tackle as a freshman, replaces Samuels.

This year the offense will revolve around unassuming junior wideout Freddie Milons, who at 5'11", 183 pounds and wearing a golf shirt and chinos on a recent afternoon could have been mistaken for just another student. He is the fourth of seven children, which means, as Milons puts it, that he "gets along with everybody." Last season he set a school record for receptions (65), finished fourth in the SEC in punt returns (9.7 yards per return) and gave opposing defensive coordinators nightmares by occasionally lining up at quarterback.

The Tide D returns virtually intact; if safety Marcus Spencer (41) and the pass defense step up, all opponents go down. Bob Rosato

Look for Milons to occasionally line up behind center again. He is, after all, the only quarterback who has the universal support of Alabama fans. Zow started the first seven games in 1999 before spraining his right ankle against Tennessee. Watts started the next two games, and then in the last two games Alabama coach Mike DuBose went with whichever of the two had the hot hand. In spring practice Zow retained his status as No. 1 to Watts's 1-A, but DuBose says he'll play both again.

The Zow-Watts debate overshadows two glaring weaknesses the team must address -- placekicking and pass defense. Departed kicker Ryan Pflugner missed four extra points last season, including a costly one in overtime against Michigan in the Orange Bowl. Still, DuBose doesn't believe in spending a scholarship on a placekicker, so walk-ons Chris Kemp, a senior, and Danny Haynes, a freshman, will vie for the job. On defense the Tide allowed an SEC-high 20 touchdown passes last season, and that was before Michigan quarterback Tom Brady threw for 369 yards and four touchdowns on New Year's Day. Injuries were partly to blame for a poor pass rush. Senior defensive tackle Kenny Smith, who suffered torn ligaments in his left knee against LSU, should be ready for the opener against UCLA. Sophomore middle linebacker Marvin Constant, who ripped up his right knee on the final play of the LSU game and needed reconstructive surgery, hopes to be back by midseason. Junior college transfer Aries Monroe will get first crack at filling Constant's spot; if Monroe isn't up to it, Rasheed, who led Alabama last season with 84 tackles as a freshman, may have to move into the middle, as he did last year. "Don't ever think something can't be achieved," he says.

That's one of the lessons he learned last year.

Issue date: August 14, 2000

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