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Title: Tide returns 22 seniors on veteran-heavy team Post by: pmull on March 26, 2011, 06:59:40 AM TUSCALOOSA — The difference between an inexperienced, immature team and a veteran unit is slim.
Try one year, in Alabama football’s case. Light on seniors a year ago, the reliance on young talent spawned issues that never troubled the 2009 national title squad. Now, just a few months removed from the Capital One Bowl, Nick Saban feels much better about the core of his team as it wraps up Week 1 of spring practice. “I think probably some of the reason we suffered last year was we only had eight seniors. I think that it causes a little bit of void in leadership,” Saban said. “But this year — I don’t know the exact number, might be 19 — but I think a lot of those guys have made a significant contribution to the program over in the past in terms of how much they’ve played and how much they contributed.” The roster released Monday lists 22 seniors participating in spring practice who figure to have a say when the games start counting this fall. Behind them stands a solid nucleus who has seen their share of good and relative bad times in Tuscaloosa. In all, 15 of the 22 offensive and defensive starters are back along with both kicking specialists. http://www.annistonstar.com/view/full_story_alabama/12508675/article-Tide-returns-22-seniors-on-veteran-heavy-team?instance=lead_story_left_column |