ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

The summer months can be a pretty dead time for college football. But I prefer to look at it differently.

The start of preseason practice is less than two months away, and the SEC Media Days in Hoover, Ala., will be here in a month.

So as we count down the days, we'll kick off our "Hope and Concern" series today where we look at each team and analyze why that team has reason for hope and why it has reason for concern in 2009.

We'll go alphabetically and start with Alabama:

Biggest reason for hope: Defense and plenty of it

Alabama was terrific defensively last season, tying for third nationally in total defense. Not to get the Tide Nation too giddy, but don't be surprised if Alabama is even nastier on defense in 2009. Replacing safety Rashad Johnson and all he did will be the only snag, but Robby Green looked to be up to the task in the spring. Some of the younger players who played lesser roles a year ago are ready to take that next step, and the middle of this defense is going to be as good as it gets with the likes of Terrence Cody, Marcel Dareus and Rolando McClain. The guy who may really take off next season, though, is linebacker Dont'a Hightower, who's versatile enough to play a number of different roles. Look for him to be used more as a pass-rusher.

Biggest reason for concern: Rebuilding the offensive line

What Alabama has going for it here is veteran offensive line coach Joe Pendry. He's been down this road before. But when you lose two All-Americans the caliber of Andre Smith and Antoine Caldwell and another steady starter at guard (Marlon Davis), there's bound to be some drop-off. Settling on a left tackle is the first order of business, and junior college newcomer James Carpenter exited the spring as the starter. Senior Mike Johnson is good enough and smart enough to play anywhere Alabama needs him to, but there are going to be a bunch of new faces up front next season that the Crimson Tide will be counting on. Whereas Alabama set the tone for its 12-0 start last season with the way its offensive line dominated that Clemson game, there could be some growing pains in 2009. How long those growing pains last will go a long way toward determining whether the Tide can repeat as Western Division champs.