BamaInsider Top 40 for 2017: Pair of talented backs among players 20-11

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Alabama's season opener is more than two months away, but it's never too early to start thinking about what the Crimson Tide has in store for the upcoming year. Looking to make the College Football Playoff for a fourth straight season, Alabama returns a stacked roster which should set the Tide up for another national title run.

Over the next week, BamaInsider.com will break down the top 40 most important players for the upcoming season. Players were determined based on their projected impact on Alabama's success next season.

Today we look at No. 20-11 | 30-21 Here | 40-31 Here

Starting off the top 20 is Pierschbacher, who earned second-team All-SEC honors during his sophomore season last year. After spending some time at center last fall, Pierschbacher moved to right guard for the Tide's season opener against Southern California. He later moved to left guard and stayed at the position for the remainder of the season.

Starting all 15 games for Alabama, Pierschbahcer helped the Tide average 38.8 points per game, ranking No. 16 in the nation and No. 1 in the SEC. The 6-foot-4, 304-pound lineman should remain at left guard next season and will add veteran leadership to a line looking to replace two starters.

Cotton seems poised to fill one of the two open starting spots on Alabama's offensive line. However, whether or not he will play at right guard or right tackle is still yet to be determined. Cotton started at both positions this spring as the Tide rotated Matt Womack and Deonte Brown across the right side of the line.

Cotton started five games last season, two at left guard and three at right guard. He was eventually replaced by Korren Kirven at right guard near the end of the season and spent rest of the year practicing at right tackle on the second-team unit. Given his experience at guard, Cotton will most likely line up at the position on the right side to start the year. However, the 6-foot-4, 324-pound offensive lineman should provide value wherever he plays.

Whether or not first-year offensive coordinator Brian Daboll's new offense will involve more passes to the tight ends is unknown. Whatever the former New England Patriots tight ends coach decides to do, he will need to find someone to replace the production left behind by departing starter O.J. Howard who finished third on the team in receiving with 595 yards and three touchdowns on 45 receptions.

The most likely solution to that problem is Miller Forristall, who enters his sophomore season after recording five catches for 73 yards last year. Alabama head coach Nick Saban described Forristall as "O.J.-like" this spring, comparing him to the first-round pick in terms of receiving ability.

In one of the most under-appreciated feats of the season, Harris led the Tide in rushing with 1,037 yards. Not only that, he did it on 146 carries, an average of 7.1 yards per run. The former five-star also proved useful in the passing game, reeling in 14 catches for 99 yards and two touchdowns.

Harris sprained his foot during the Tide's first scrimmage this spring and was held out for much of the camp as a precautionary measure. However, the 5-foot-11, 216-pound back should be back to 100 percent for Alabama's opener against Florida State on Sept. 2. While Alabama comes into the season with a loaded backfield, Harris will most likely get the first carry against the Seminoles.

Hall might not actually get many starts for Alabama this season, but 6-foot-5, 251-pound linebacker projects to make his presence felt nonetheless. Alabama will look to replace much of its front seven this year, including its top four sacks leaders in Jonathan Allen, Tim Williams, Ryan Anderson and Reuben Foster.

That's where Hall will step in. Given his quickness and power, the former five-star seems to be a perfect fit for the Jack linebacker role left vacant by Williams' departure. Even if Hall comes in exclusively in obvious passing situations, his ability to get to the opposing quarterback will be vital for the Tide.

Saban's big experiment worked pretty well this spring. How it continues to develop as the offseason progresses will have a lot to say about Alabama's defense early on.

After originally starting the spring with Minkah Fitzpatrick at cornerback, Saban shifted his All-American defender back to safety and plugged in Diggs on the outside. Despite serving primarily as a receiver last season, Diggs took well to the switch, starting all three scrimmages at left cornerback.

The sophomore had an up-and-down showing during A-Day. While he was beaten on several occasions during the scrimmage, he did record two pass breakups and an interception in the end zone. It's understood that Diggs still has a long way to go if he's going to replace departing first-round pick Marlon Humphrey. However, his teammates remain confident he will rise to the challenge.

"I feel like he picked it up quicker than I did," Alabama cornerback Anthony Averett said this spring. "I was kind of similar to him, I played a lot of offense in high school and just transitioned to defense when I got here, so he's definitely taken that (move) very quickly, taken to it very well."

If Damien Harris starts the season as Alabama's go-to guy in the backfield, Scarbrough won't be too far behind him. Last season the 6-foot-2, 232-pound back finished third on the team in rushing, tallying 812 and 11 touchdowns on 125 carries. The bulk of that damage was done in the Tide's final four games as Scarbrough rushed for 454 yards and six touchdowns on 63 carries.

Those numbers could have been higher if Scarbrough wasn't forced to leave the national championship game after he broke his leg late in the third quarter. At that point in the game, he had already gashed Clemson for 93 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. With Scarbrough gone, the Tigers rallied to beat Alabama 35-31, proving just how important the bruising back is to the Tide's offensive attack. Scarbrough was held back from contact this spring but figures to be ready in time for the start of the season.

After sitting out the first four games of last season due to suspension Brown started the year on special teams. He was then thrown into the mix as a starter after safety Eddie Jackson suffered a season-ending injury against Texas A&M. Brown started the final seven games of the season at Star, filling in for Fitzpatrick, who shifted back to safety to fill Jackson's spot.

Brown did well in the role, tallying 32 tackles and two interceptions. Given his physical nature, the 6-foot, 198-pound defensive back appears set to stay at the Star position this season.

Brown entered Alabama as a five-star recruit in the 2014 class. Despite a solid performance last year, he has yet to live up to the elite expectations placed on him when he joined the Tide. Coming into his senior season, many are projecting him to finally have that breakout season this year.

Alabama knows it won't be easy to replace two of its three starting defensive linemen. Luckily for the Tide, it has a couple veteran options to plug in on either side of defensive tackle Da'Ron Payne. One of those weapons will be Buggs, who enters Alabama as the No. 1 rated JUCO prospect in the 2017 class.

While Buggs has yet to play a snap of Division I football, he joins the Tide from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, the same JUCO powerhouse that gave Alabama former mammoth defensive tackle Terrence Cody. Unlike Cody, Buggs should serve as more of a pass-rushing threat off the edge. However, the 6-foot-5, 292-pound defensive end could make just as much of an early impact for the Tide.

"He's a good player," Alabama center Bradley Bozeman said this spring. "He's continued to grow as he's been in this program. As the season comes around, I think he'll be really ready."

While Humphrey and Fitzpatrick earned All-American honors, it can be argued that Averett was Alabama's shutdown corner last season. The 6-foot, 185-pound speedster led the Tide in pass deflections with eight while forcing two fumbles and recording 48 tackles.

The fastest player on Alabama's roster, Averett is said to have 4.2-4.3 speed in the 40-yard dash. During high school, he posted a jump of 25-feet, 2 1/2 inches in the long jump, putting him second only to nine-time Olympic gold-medal champion Carl Lewis in the New Jersey record books. Because of that elite athleticism, Averett rarely gets beaten on deep routes. That will play a big role in helping Alabama improve on its downfield coverage, something the Tide struggled with this spring.

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Meet Alabama's six running backs who could start anywhere in the nation

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