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12. Alabama

Attention, Tuscaloosa department stores: Don't stock up on suits and sport coats in hopes of outfitting first-year coach Mike DuBose. The man who wore cutoff jeans and a T-shirt to his first meeting with Bear Bryant as a player 25 years ago, and whom most of the Crimson Tide's current players have never seen in anything but shorts and a casual shirt, is adapting to the formalities of his new job one step at a time. "It's been a long-standing tradition around here that the head coach wear a nice coat and tie on the sidelines," says DuBose, a former 'Bama defensive lineman and the Tide's defensive line coach from 1990 to '96. "For now it's just going to be a shirt and tie."

To achieve his goal of winning the SEC West, DuBose will have to dress up a defense stripped of its entire linebacking crew--including conference defensive player of the year Dwayne Rudd, who bolted for the NFL--and All-America strong safety Kevin Jackson, who graduated. The departures leave senior All-SEC tackle Michael Myers to face a season's worth of double and triple teams, a fact that worries neither the 6'3", 270-pound Myers nor his coach. "I'll get 20 sacks this year," says Myers, who had eight sacks and 13 tackles for losses, both team highs, last season. Adds DuBose: "I'll be disappointed if he doesn't have a better year."

ALSO

Alabama team page 1997 schedule

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Myers's easy transition from Hinds Community College in Mississippi to Division I last season was a key to the Tide's 7-0 start, which briefly lifted Alabama to No. 6 in the nation. Peyton Manning and Tennessee then dashed 'Bama's national-title hopes with two fourth-quarter touchdown strikes that rallied the Volunteers to a 20-13 win. "I'm keeping my eye on the Tennessee game this year," says Myers, who helped limit Manning to 176 passing yards. "We had them last year and let them get away."

In an effort to keep up with flashy conference foes like Tennessee and LSU, DuBose hired former New Orleans Saints quarterbacks coach Bruce Arians to boost a passing attack that ranked near the bottom of the SEC in almost every statistical category last season. Senior quarterback Freddie Kitchens and the team's top receiver, junior wideout Michael Vaughn, hooked up only 39 times for 702 yards and six touchdowns, which was far too infrequently for DuBose's tastes.

Arians's attempts to help develop the skills of Kitchens, the conference's seventh-rated quarterback a year ago, could be hampered by an inexperienced line that will carry two newcomers, sophomore tackle Jason McDonald and senior center Michael Ray, neither of whom has a start to his credit. Until the pieces of the upgraded passing attack jell, Kitchens will have to rely on senior halfback Dennis Riddle, the team's leading rusher with 1,079 yards.

For some Tide enthusiasts, the prospect of an Alabama air show is as likely as DuBose's sporting a tuxedo on game days. "Wide-open offense, uh-huh," Myers says sarcastically. "Well, maybe they'll surprise us."
—Richard Deutsch

TELLING STAT
23.0 Percentage of third-down conversions (39 of 169) allowed last season by the Alabama defense, the lowest in the SEC.
TWO GAMES TO WATCH
OCT. 18 VS. TENNESSEE The Tide ranked eighth in the nation in total defense (255.6 yards per game) in '96. It will have to be at least that good against the explosive Vols. NOV. 22 AT AUBURN Alabama won last year's Iron Bowl 24-23 and leads the series 35-25-11.
RETURNING LEADERS
Passing	Freddie Kitchens, Sr.	152 comp., 302 att., 2,124 yds., 14 TDs
Rushing	Dennis Riddle, Sr.	1,079 yds., 11 TDs
Receiving	Michael Vaughn, Jr.	39 catches, 702 yds., 6 TDs
Tackles	DT Michael Myers, Sr.	66
Interceptions	CB Fernando Bryant, Jr.	3