2013 Alabama Crimson Tide

[Jack Lambert]

Here are your white starters for the Alabama Crimson Tide and Nick Saban in 2013. The Crimson Tide have been on a historic run the last five years, and will look to continue it this year. AJ McCarron returns to pilot the Alabama offense. Alabama has not been using very many white players, however. Since 2006 there have been 5, 4, 3, 8, 4, 5, and 5 whites. Expect that number to stay the exact same this year, with 5. The few white backups to look out for are: QB Alec Morris, H-Back Harrison Jones, C Chad Lindsey, NT Wilson Love, MLB Walker Jones, and SLB Dillon Lee. Slim pickings for the favorites to win it all this year. Exactly what you'd expect from an SEC team.

Offense
QB- AJ McCarron
TE- Brian Volger
C- Ryan Kelly
RG- Anthony Steen
RT- Austin Shepard

Defense
SS- Vinnie Sunseri

 

[celticdb15]

Sunseri could be the next Harrison Smith. He's a beast but its unfortunate that Bama will only allow this white boy a chance because his daddy happens to be their D Coordinator. Pretty messed up but I see big things from him!

 

[I'm an Awful Troll]

Sunseri could be the next Harrison Smith. He's a beast but its unfortunate that Bama will only allow this white boy a chance because his daddy happens to be their D Coordinator. Pretty messed up but I see big things from him!

His daddy isn't the defensive coordinator nor was he ever... Kirby Smart has been the defensive coordinator since 2008. Sal Sunseri was at one point the Linebackers coach at Alabama but left to become the d coordinator at Tennessee and is now with FSU so yeah you fail...

 

[davidholly]

His daddy isn't the defensive coordinator nor was he ever... Kirby Smart has been the defensive coordinator since 2008. Sal Sunseri was at one point the Linebackers coach at Alabama but left to become the d coordinator at Tennessee and is now with FSU so yeah you fail...

Still a coordinator on their defense.

 

[celticdb15]

His daddy isn't the defensive coordinator nor was he ever... Kirby Smart has been the defensive coordinator since 2008. Sal Sunseri was at one point the Linebackers coach at Alabama but left to become the d coordinator at Tennessee and is now with FSU so yeah you fail...

You fail you little ****er. Nice try trying to stir the pot.You don't think the fact that his father was a coach at Bama or any other caste-protocol school in any way helped him land there? Get real.

 

[dwid]

hah, this guy was serious? not to mention the fact his dad still has connections to coaches. He left on good terms, moved up, just at a different school in the SEC, and now at another pretty black school, FSU.

Bio for FSU

Sal Sunseri has a long history of success coaching in the SEC and the NFL over the course of a 28-year span. He has been a defensive coordinator, assistant head coach at Alabama for Nick Saban and a seven-year defensive line coach for the Carolina Panthers of the NFL. Sunseri joined Fisher's staff in time to coach in the 2013 Discover Orange Bowl.
• Sunseri joins Florida State after serving as the defensive coordinator at Tennessee in 2012. With the Vols, Sunseri coached two of the nation's top defensive players. Linebacker A.J. Johnson was fourth in the nation and led the SEC averaging 11.5 tackles per game. Cornerback Byron Moore was tied for 11th in the nation in interceptions and he led the Southeastern Conference in that category.
• Prior to Tennessee, he spent three years as the assistant head coach and linebackers coach at Alabama under Saban, including the 2009 and 2011 national championship teams. He also spent seven years (2002-08) with the Carolina Panthers under then-head coach and current Denver Broncos coach John Fox, a tenure that included the franchise's lone NFC Championship and Super Bowl appearance.
• A former All-American linebacker at Pittsburgh, Sunseri joined the Alabama staff in January of 2009 after serving as the defensive line coach with the NFL's Carolina Panthers. As a member of the Crimson Tide staff, he held the title of assistant head coach for defense and coached the outside linebackers.


Ties to the NFL as well...so Sunseri might have a shot of getting real playing time. Sunseri to Denver?

 

[celticdb15]

Good article on Sunseri

[h=1]Sunseri's intangibles vital to Alabama[/h]October, 16, 2013

OCT 16
2:00
PM ET​

By Alex Scarborough | ESPN.com

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- There's an elusive nature to Vinnie Sunseri's game, a nagging need to define what makes him so special. In a sports that lusts after measurables, he doesn't fit the mold. He makes play after play at safety for Alabama, but we're not sure why or how.

[+] Enlarge Paul Abell/USA TODAY SportsVinnie Sunseri has shown a big-play ability this season as both of his interceptions have been returned for scores.


Trey DePriest wishes he could tell you what makes his friend and teammate such a playmaker, but the junior linebacker doesn't know. The two came up on special teams together as freshman and he's still trying to figure him out. Both of Sunseri's interceptions this season have been returned for touchdowns, including one which came against Texas A&M when he jukedJohnny Manziel out of his shoes. He had no business making the defending Heisman Trophy winner look that bad. No one expected it.

"That's just what he does," DePriest said. "That's him."

At 6-feet tall, there's nothing inspiring about Sunseri's size. Sure he's sturdy, quick and has a nose for the football, but in terms of what scouts crave -- the numbers combines generate like 40-yard dash, vertical jump and the three cone drill -- he leaves something to be desired. But as Mike Smith, Sunseri’s former coach at Northridge High (Ala.), said via text: "He's a relentless competitor!"

"He's a throwback guy in a modern era," Smith said. He knows how athletic Sunseri is having played him at linebacker, punt returner and running back, but defines him in simpler terms. "He's the way it used to be played. He breaks the mold of what we are led to believe is needed to win in college football."

Sunseri, the son of longtime college football assistant coach Sal, is a coach's dream. He hurls his body around like a bowling ball crashing against the lanes. And more than making plays at pivotal moments, he's a teacher and a leader. In a secondary that's had more than its fair share of turnover, he's been a driving force for youngsters like Landon Collins andGeno Smith who have had to fill in at free safety with Ha Ha Clinton-Dix serving a suspension.

One week it's Sunseri shouting out the play to John Fulton at cornerback, the next it's Eddie Jackson and then the next it's Bradley Sylve. The carousel in the back end of Alabama's defense has been spinning from early on this season with Sunseri calmly holding the wheel.

"Vinnie's a very smart guy," UA coach Nick Saban said. "He's been showing leadership in terms of making calls and trying to help the other guys in the secondary, which I think they appreciate.

"He all of a sudden is one of the most experienced guys back there right now."

Saban explained how the communication Sunseri provided against a no-huddle team like Kentucky was vital to the Tide holding the Wildcats one touchdown, less than 200 total yards of offense and under 50 percent completions through the air. Sunseri narrowly missed his third interception of the year when he jumped in front of a pass from Maxwell Smith, knocking it to the turf.

It was easy to see the joy in his face in the waning moments of the Kentucky game. He bear-hugged wide receiver Kevin Norwood on the sideline and congratulated his fellow defensive backs for a job well done. They'll need to improve with Arkansas coming to town this week and LSU in less than a month's time.

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For full coverage of the Tide, check out the Alabama blog, part of ESPN's College Football Nation. Blog
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"It's been fun to see all these guys develop: Bradley, Eddie, Landon Collins, and see the players they're becoming and teach them all the things they need to know has just been something really fun," Sunseri said. "They're doing a great job."



"He’s taken the leadership role very hands-on because he’s got to make more calls now because we’ve got two new safeties doing the position,†Collins said. “There’s more calls now, doing a lot more and talkative so he’s helping a lot more than I think and I appreciate that."

Though his role as a starter and leader of the secondary might be larger, teammates insist nothing has changed. He doesn't have the flash of some big-name players in the SEC, but he's just as important as any of them to his team.

"He's still the same old Vinnie, which has always been a leader," defensive end Jeoffrey Pagan said. "Since he's been here he's always been a leader."

It’s everyone else that’s just now catching on. Both ESPN and CBS Sports named Sunseri a Midseason All-American this week, though as many as three of Alabama's defensive backs could be more physically gifted. But it's that old-school idea that production trumps all that makes Sunseri so special. After a while, the interceptions and big plays are too much to ignore. The why and how he's doing it starts to become irrelevant.

"He's got great ball instinct," Pagan said matter-of-factly. "The guy knows football. I'll give him this: he's a football player."

 

[TwentyTwo]

Yeah Vinnie Sunseri was really establishing himself as a leader & playmaker(2 early Pick 6's)....however he is OUT for the year with a knee injury a few weeks ago/just after this article was posted.

The Crimson Tide will really miss Sunseri's presence with LSU QB Zach Mettenberger- a Davey O'Brien Semi-finalist coming to town to face Alabama this weekend....