2013 Alabama Crimson Tide football team The 2013 Alabama Crimson Tide football team ( variously " Alabama " , " UA " , " Bama " or " The Tide " ) will represent the University of Alabama in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season . It will mark the Crimson Tide ' s 119th overall season , 80th as a member of the Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) and its 22nd within the SEC Western Division . The team will be led by head coach Nick Saban , in his seventh year , and will play its home games at Bryant – Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa , Alabama . Before the season . Previous season . In 2012 , Alabama came into the season ranked No . 2 in both preseason polls . After their week one victory over Michigan , the Crimson Tide moved into the No . 1 spot in both polls , and then proceeded to win their next eight games that included a victory at LSU . However the next week , Alabama was upset by Johnny Manziel and the Texas A & M Aggies and dropped to the No . 4 position . Alabama bounced back and won its remaining games to clinch the SEC Western Division and secured a spot in the 2012 SEC Championship Game against Georgia . The Crimson Tide then defeated the Bulldogs and captured the SEC Championship . The next day , Alabama finished No . 2 in the final BCS rankings and would play Notre Dame in the 2013 BCS National Championship Game . In the game , Alabama defeated the Fighting Irish 42 – 14 and captured their 15th national championship and made Nick Saban the only coach in college football to win four BCS Championships . February 2013 . In February 2013 police arrested four football players from the 2012 season : Brent Calloway ( running back / tight end , upcoming redshirt sophomore ) , Tyler Hayes ( linebacker , upcoming sophomore ) , D . J . Pettway ( defensive lineman , upcoming redshirt sophomore ) and Eddie Williams ( defensive back , upcoming redshirt freshman ) . Williams was involved in four separate incidents on February 10 and 11 . First , on the 10th he had a dispute with a gas station clerk about paying for gas and said he had something in the trunk of his car . The clerk called the police , and police arrested Williams with carrying a pistol without a license . The police released Williams later that day on a $ 500 bond . Later that night around 12 : 30am , Williams attacked an Alabama student with Hayes and Pettway and they stole the student ' s backpack . In a separate incident almost an hour later , Williams attacked another student while Hayes and Pettway waited in a car , and later Williams used one of the students ' credit cards . Calloway was also arrested after he used a victim ' s student debit card with knowledge it was stolen . Following the arrests , Alabama suspended all four from the football team . Alabama also prohibited Hayes , Pettway and Williams from entering campus . On February 27 , Alabama dismissed all four players from the university after completing a judicial review and all four are no longer associated with the Alabama football program . Although none of the four players involved in these charges were starters , defensive lineman Pettway received the most playing time in the 2012 season , and was selected to the SEC Coaches ' All - Freshman Team after the 2012 season . Spring practice . Alabama will start spring practice on March 16 and conclude 15 practices later on April 20 with the annual A - Day game . The 2013 A - Day game will be televised nationally on ESPN2 . Personnel . Coaching staff . Alabama head coach Nick Saban will enter his seventh year as the Crimson Tide ' s head coach for the 2013 season . During his previous six years with Alabama , he led the Crimson Tide to an overall record of 63 wins and 13 losses ( 63 – 13 ) and the 2009 , 2011 and 2012 national championships . On January 9 , 2013 , former Colorado defensive coordinator Greg Brown was hired as the successor for Jeremy Pruitt as secondary coach . On February 18 , former Florida International head coach Mario Cristobal was hired as Jeff Stoutland ' s replacement for offensive line coach . On February 21 , former Florida State tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator Billy Napier was hired as Mike Groh ' s replacement as wide receivers coach . Returning starters . Alabama has six returning players on offense and eleven on defense that started games in 2012 . Another notable player returning for 2013 that did not start in 2012 is running back T . J . Yeldon , who appeared in all 14 Alabama games in 2012 as the backup for starter Eddie Lacy . Four first - year players in 2012 made the SEC Coaches ' All - Freshman Team : true freshmen wide receiver Amari Cooper , true freshman running back Yeldon , redshirt freshmen center Ryan Kelly and redshirt freshman defensive lineman D . J . Pettway . In the defensive backfield , eight players had starts in the 2012 season . Six of these eight players ( John Fulton , Deion Belue , Ha ' Sean Clinton - Dix , Nick Perry , Geno Smith and Vinnie Sunseri ) will return for the 2013 season . Another defensive back that did not start in 2012 , but played in all 13 games , was Landon Collins , the top player in the state of Louisiana his senior year in high school . Recruiting class . Prior to National Signing Day on February 6 , 2013 , nine players enrolled for the spring semester in order to participate in spring practice ( six former high school seniors on scholarship , one former junior college player on scholarship , one walk - on from professional baseball and one walk - on from high school ) . The early enrollments from high school included quarterbacks Cooper Bateman and Parker McLeod , wide receiver Raheem Falkins , running back Derrick Henry , offensive lineman Brandon Hill and tight end O . J . Howard . Lineman Brandon Hill spent a post - graduate high school year at Hargrave Military Academy , and does not have the option to take a redshirt year , but still has four years of playing eligibility . Offensive tackle Leon Brown enrolled at Alabama after he transferred from junior college and will be eligible to play in the 2013 season and for a maximum of two seasons . Four of the eight players who were early enrollees in 2012 saw playing time last season : Amari Cooper , Dillon Lee , T . J . Yeldon and Deion Blue . Henry and Howard entered school as two of the top 100 recruits in the country . Henry was the No . 1 ranked " athlete " according to 247Sports Composite Rankings based on his potential to make an immediate impact at either running back or outside linebacker , but he has commented that he plans to compete at running back . Henry broke the national high school record for career yards , and in his 2012 high school season he averaged 328 yards per game . In addition to those scholarship recruits that signed early , former professional baseball player Jai Miller and high school quarterback Luke Del Rio enrolled in order compete for roster spots as invited walk - ons . Miller is a 28 year old who out of high school signed to play baseball and football at Stanford , but ended up playing professional baseball out of high school after being drafted by the Florida Marlins in 2003 . Based on the terms of his original contract , the Marlins will pay for Miller ' s tuition at Alabama . On National Signing Day , Alabama signed 18 additional players out of high school that completed the 2013 recruiting class . The class was highlighted by fourteen players from the " ESPN 150 " : No . 9 Derrick Henry ( ATH ) ; No . 16 Reuben Foster ( ILB ) ; No . 25 Robert Foster ( WR ) ; No . 26 Dee Liner ( DT ) ; No . 28 Jonathan Allen ( DE ) ; No . 32 Alvin Kamara ( RB ) ; No . 36 Tim Williams ( DE ) ; No . 44 Cooper Bateman ( QB ) ; No . 45 O . J . Howard ( TE ) ; No . 63 Tyren Jones ( RB ) ; No . 81 Altee Tenpenny ( RB ) ; No . 84 Maurice Smith ( CB ) ; No . 86 Grant Hill ( OG ) and No . 105 A ' Shawn Robinson ( DT ) . Alabama signed the No . 1 recruiting class according to " Rivals . com " and the No . 3 recruiting class according to " Scout . com " . As of the morning of National Signing Day , Alabama ' s top three football recruits for the 2013 season were ( in order of ranking in the ESPN 150 ) Derrick Henry ( running back / athlete ) , Reuben Foster ( linebacker ) and Robert Foster ( wide receiver ) . All three were ranked as the top recruits of 2013 at their respective positions . Early enrollee O . J . Howard ( tight end ) was also the top - ranked recruit at his positions . Schedule . The 2013 schedule was officially released on October 18 , 2012 . The 2013 schedule was developed as a " bridge " schedule for only the 2013 season as a permanent system will be developed by the conference in spring 2013 . Alabama will face all six Western Division opponents : Arkansas , Auburn , LSU , Mississippi State , Ole Miss , and Texas A & M . They will also face two Eastern Division opponents : official SEC rival Tennessee and Kentucky . Alabama is not scheduled to play SEC opponents Georgia , Missouri , South Carolina , Florida or Vanderbilt . They are also scheduled to play four non - conference games : Virginia Tech of the Atlantic Coast Conference , Colorado State of the Mountain West Conference , Georgia State of the Sun Belt Conference and Chattanooga of the Southern Conference . The Crimson Tide will have two bye weeks in the 2013 season : their first during week two , before facing Texas A & M , and their second during week ten , before facing LSU . Game notes . Virginia Tech . On July 7 , 2011 , officials from both Alabama and Virginia Tech announced the Crimson Tide and the Hokies would meet to open the 2013 season in the Chick - fil - A College Kickoff at Atlanta . In their most recent game , Alabama defeated Virginia Tech 34 – 24 in the 2009 Chick - fil - A College Kickoff , and the Crimson Tide lead the all - time series 11 – 1 . Texas A & M . In the first conference game of the 2013 season , Alabama will play the Texas A & M Aggies at College Station . In their previous meeting , the Aggies upset the Crimson Tide 29 – 24 during the 2012 season , and the Crimson Tide lead the all - time series 3 – 2 . Colorado State . On December 13 , 2012 , officials from both Alabama and Colorado State announced the Crimson Tide and the Rams would meet each other for the first time in the third game of the 2013 season . The Rams will be led by former Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Jim McElwain and will receive $ 1 . 5 million to play the game at Bryant – Denny Stadium . Ole Miss . Alabama will play their first home conference game in their annual rivalry game , against the Ole Miss Rebels at Tuscaloosa . In their previous meeting , Alabama defeated Ole Miss 33 – 14 during the 2012 season , and the Crimson Tide lead the all - time series 46 – 9 – 2 ( 50 – 8 – 2 without NCAA vacations and forfeits ) . Georgia State . In their fifth game of the 2012 season , Alabama will play the Georgia State Panthers in Tuscaloosa . In their previous meeting , Alabama defeated Georgia State 63 – 7 during the 2010 season , and the Crimson Tide lead the all - time series 1 – 0 . Kentucky . For the first time since 2009 , Alabama will play the Kentucky Wildcats at Lexington . In their previous meeting , Alabama defeated Kentucky 38 – 20 during the 2009 season , and the Crimson Tide lead the all - time series 35 – 2 – 1 . Arkansas . In what will be the first Bret Bielema coached team to play against the Crimson Tide , Alabama will host the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bryant – Denny Stadium . In their previous meeting , Alabama defeated Arkansas 52 – 0 during the 2012 season , and the Crimson Tide lead the all - time series 13 – 8 ( 16 – 7 without NCAA vacations and forfeits ) . Tennessee . In their annual rivalry game , Alabama will play the Tennessee Volunteers at Tuscaloosa . In their previous meeting , Alabama defeated Tennessee 44 – 13 during the 2012 season , and the Crimson Tide lead the all - time series 49 – 38 – 7 ( 50 – 37 – 8 without NCAA vacations and forfeits ) . LSU . In their annual rivalry game , Alabama will play the LSU Tigers at Tuscaloosa . In their previous meeting , Alabama defeated LSU 21 – 17 during the 2012 season , and the Crimson Tide lead the all - time series 47 – 25 – 5 . Mississippi State . In their annual rivalry game , Alabama will play the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Starkville . In their previous meeting , Alabama defeated Mississippi State 38 – 7 during the 2012 season , and the Crimson Tide lead the all - time series 75 – 18 – 3 ( 77 – 17 – 3 without NCAA vacations and forfeits ) . Chattanooga . In the final non - conference game the 2013 season , Alabama will play the Chattanooga Mocs of the Southern Conference . In their previous meeting , Alabama shutout the Mocs 45 – 0 during the 2009 season , and the Crimson Tide lead the all - time series 11 – 0 . Auburn . In the 2013 edition of the Iron Bowl , Alabama will play the Auburn Tigers at Auburn . In their previous meeting , Alabama shutout Auburn 49 – 0 during the 2012 season , and the Crimson Tide lead the all - time series 42 – 34 – 1 .