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As we all know its never too early to start boning up on your college football knowledge, especially with spring ball right around the corner. With that in mind Collegefootballnews.com is running down some 2009 lookbacks and early 2010 lookaheads and I thought it'd be good for us all to join them. And we're going to continue with the defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide.

Alabama Crimson Tide

2009 Recap: It was the dream season Tide fans were hoping could happen when Nick Saban took over the reins. It wasn’t always smooth sailing needing a few blocked kicks to beat Tennessee and struggling a bit to put away Auburn, but with a great combination of power running and a superior defense, the Tide got to 12-0 before getting a chance at redemption for the heartbreaking loss in the 2008 SEC Championship against Florida. Not only did the Tide blow away the loaded Gators (and made Tim Tebow cry along the way), but the performance from Mark Ingram all but sealed the first Heisman trophy in school history. The win also secured a spot in Pasadena to face Texas for the national title, and after knocking out Colt McCoy on the first Longhorn drive of the game, and after holding on after a late scare, the Tide won its first national championship since 1992.

Offensive Player of the Year: RB Mark Ingram
Defensive Player of the Year: LB Rolando McClain

Biggest Surprise: Mark Ingram winning the Heisman. It’s not like Ingram was on the radar for the top individual prize in sports even with a strong 728-yard, 12 touchdown first season. Remember, this was supposed to be the year when Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy, and Sam Bradford waged an epic battle for the Heisman, and no one ever thought that a player like Ingram could rise up and become a factor. But the sophomore came up big in every big game, was brilliant against Florida with 116 rushing yards and three scores, to go along with 76 yards receiving, and he finished the year with 1,658 yards and 17 scores on the way to Alabama’s first ever Heisman win.

Biggest Disappointment: Colt McCoy’s shoulder. Of course Bama could’ve beaten if McCoy had played the entire BCS Championship, and it’s not the team’s fault that Texas couldn’t afford to lose just one player, but the national title game will forever be known for more than just the return to glory for a superpower. McCoy’s injured shoulder overshadowed the rest of the game, and for both teams, there will always be a sense that the game didn’t live up to what it was supposed to. The last thing the Tide wants is an excuse for why it won, and Texas has a legitimate one.

Looking Ahead: Because it’s Alabama and because the coaching is so great and because the talent level is so ridiculously high after a few years of top-shelf recruiting, the team is still loaded. However, there are concerns for a team that caught a few big breaks in a down year in the SEC (not to mention Colt McCoy’s shoulder injury in the national title game) and needed a few skin-of-the-teeth wins to get through unscathed. The defense has some major work to do with six of the defensive front seven gone including LB Rolando McClain and NG Terrence Cody. Corner and punt return star Javier Arenas and FS Justin Woodall are also gone. But don’t weep any tears for a defense that has plenty of NFL prospects waiting in the wings. Oh yeah … the offense. The backfield is jaw-dropping with a Heisman-winner (Mark Ingram) along a guy (Trent Richardson) who might be a starter in the NFL right now. Throw in top-five pro prospect WR Julio Jones and three starters on the O line, and the offense will be tremendous. The schedule has plenty of landmines with Penn State, at Arkansas, Florida, at South Carolina, Ole Miss, at Tennessee, at Tennessee, and Auburn to deal with.

Why to get excited: If Bama isn’t everyone’s preseason No. 1, it’ll be in the top three with all the top skill players back, including Ingram, and the holes on the line should be patched immediately with several good prospects waiting to step in. It’s a Nick Saban defense, so while there are concerns with so many key losses, the system and the talent level will work out more than fine, while the offense should be more explosive and more effective.

Why to be grouchy: Yeah, the defense should reload in a hurry with so much talent coming in from the last few recruiting hauls, but it might take a little while before everything jells after losing almost everyone up front and corner Javier Arenas and FS Justin Woodall. Considering Penn State, at Arkansas, Florida, at South Carolina, Ole Miss, at Tennessee, and as LSU form the bulk of the first two-thirds of the season, it’s asking a lot to get through unscathed.

The number one thing to work on is: Find Julio Jones. He might not have always been 100%, and it’s hard to not keep handing the ball off when the running game is so devastating, but the most talented player on the team might be No. 8 and his talents are going to waste. Here’s a player who might be a top ten draft pick next year and could be the first receiver off the board, and he only had one 100-yard game last season and finished with a mere 43 catches for 596 yards and four scores. A receiver of his caliber should have doubled those numbers … at least.

Biggest offensive loss: OG Mike Johnson
Biggest defensive loss: LB Rolando McClain
Best returning offensive player: RB Mark Ingram
Best returning defensive player: SS Mark Barron

Top Five Prospects
DB DeMarcus Milliner 6-2 180 Millbrook, AL
QB Phillip Sims 6-2 209 Chesapeake, VA
DE Alfy Hill 6-4 222 Shallotte, NC
LB C.J. Mosley 6-2 212 Theodore, AL
WR DeAndrew White 6-0 170 Galena Park, TX