Alabama Crimson Tide

From now until kickoff in Arlington, Texas, we'll be counting down the days before Alabama and Michigan get the season started. Today, we move to No. 99 and what it means to UA football.

Bryant-Denny Stadium opened in 1927, but it didn't become the home many Crimson Tide fans know until 1999. That's the first year UA stopped playing multiple games at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala.

Why? Because in 1998 construction was completed on the Tuscaloosa stadium, adding 13,695 seats with an upper grandstand on the east side, raising capacity to 83,818. Four skyboxes were added and video replay was installed in the south end zone.

Legion Field, the former site of coach Paul "Bear" Bryant's record making win, was totally abandoned by the Tide in 2004 when the upper deck was deemed to be unsafe. The following season, UA finished work on the North End Zone project which added 8,000 bleacher seats, a pair of large video scoreboards and "The Walk of Champions" plaza.

One more for the road: The 1999 NFL draft was one of just two drafts in the past 40 years where one or fewer Alabama players were selected, the last coming in 2008.

Edward has already unveiled the five players in the East who have the most to prove in 2012.

Now, it’s on to the West:

1. Zach Mettenberger, QB, LSU: Mettenberger finally gets his chance to lead a team in the SEC. He’s persevered through adversity. He’s got a big arm, and he understands what he’s up against when it comes to SEC defenses. The Tigers are counting on Mettenberger making them more balanced on offense with his ability to throw the ball down the field and keep defenses from loading up against the run. LSU is plenty talented enough to be right back in the BCS National Championship Game in 2012. The only thing the Tigers were missing a year ago was a consistent passing game when it counted most. That’s where Mettenberger comes in.

2. Knile Davis, RB, Arkansas: If anybody can make it all the way back from three fractured ankles, it’s Davis. He was pushing to play at the end of last season and now insists that he’s 100 percent healthy. He was clocked this offseason at 4.33 in the 40-yard dash and is one of the Hogs’ strongest players. There simply aren’t many running backs that combine Davis’ blend of speed, power and strength. His biggest hurdle may be mental, which is why Arkansas plans to get him some live contact in preseason camp. Everybody will be watching to see if he can get back to his 2010 form when he led all SEC running backs with 1,322 rushing yards.

3. Trovon Reed, WR, Auburn: Trooper Taylor, Auburn’s receivers coach, once referred to Reed as a limousine with no gas. From the day Reed signed with the Tigers, he’s been pegged as one of those playmakers in space that gives every defensive coordinator nightmares. The only problem is that Reed has battled injuries each of his first two years on the Plains. He sat out his first season with a knee injury and was plagued by a shoulder injury last season as a redshirt freshman. He’s yet to score a touchdown for the Tigers, who are going to need more firepower from the receiver position in 2012. Emory Blake won’t be able to do it by himself.

4. Damontre Moore, DE, Texas A&M: With the Aggies moving to the SEC in 2012, it’s imperative that they man up in the defensive line. Moore is the most talented of the group, but he’s moving from a hybrid outside linebacker position in Texas A&M’s old 3-4 setup to defensive end in Mark Snyder’s new 4-3 scheme. Moore has shown in the past that he can get to the quarterback and make big plays. He led the Big 12 last season with 17.5 tackles for loss. The Aggies are counting on him to be more than just a pass-rusher this coming season. And while Moore won’t be the biggest defensive end in the league, he’ll need to play big in every game if the Aggies are going to hold their own up front.

5. AJ McCarron, QB, Alabama: It’s safe to say that McCarron has already proved himself on a big stage. He was outstanding last season in the BCS title game win over LSU with his poise, decision-making and accuracy. The Crimson Tide did a nice job of not putting too much on McCarron’s shoulders during the season. That’s going to change some as he enters his junior season. Alabama will look to stretch the field more in 2012. McCarron has an NFL-caliber arm, and teams will gear their defenses more to stop him in 2012. We’ll see if he can pick up where he left off in New Orleans and sustain that level of play for the entire season.

From now until kickoff in Arlington, Texas, we'll be counting down the days before Alabama and Michigan get the season started. Today, we begin with No. 100 and what it means to UA football.

It’s the measuring stick of any good rushing game: Can you rush for 100 yards? At the University of Alabama, that feat has been accomplished an astounding 53 times since coach Nick Saban came to Tuscaloosa, Ala., in 2007. There have only been six games during that time in which the Crimson Tide have not reached the century mark.

Some stats in football are misleading. In the SEC, the 100-yard rushing mark is not one of those. Since 2007, the Tide have won 90 percent of games in which they’ve gone for more than 100 yards rushing. Their record when they have not: 1-5.

Conversely, when the Alabama defense holds the opposing team to under 100 yards rushing, good things generally happen. Since 2007, UA is 39-3 when opponents rush for fewer than 100 yards.

Coach Anthony Grant and the rest of the University of Alabama basketball staff are poised to make an impact recruiting in 2013. Today, ESPN released the top 100 recruits for next year's class, including two Crimson Tide commits. Recent commit Jimmie Taylor checked in at No. 49 on the ESPN 100 and power forward Shannon Hale just made the cut at No. 99.

Last month, Grant told reporters he would save his open scholarships (created by the departure of JaMychal Green, Tony Mitchell and Charles Hankerson) for next year, rather than load up on 2012 commits.

Looking to the even more distant future, ESPN released both the early 2014 and 2015 rankings. Stay tuned at TideNation as we update you on how the UA basketball staff goes after college basektball's future stars.