Grading Alabama's incoming transfers in recent years

Jameson Williams announces transfer to Alabama

Alabama's newest WR addition shows shades of DeVonta Smith

Alabama made waves earlier this week when it added Ohio State transfer Jameson Williams. The 6-foot-2, 188-pound receiver recorded nine receptions for 154 yards and two touchdowns during his sophomore season last year and is the first non-graduate to transfer into the program under scholarship since defensive back Phelon Jones joined the Tide from LSU in 2009.

While Alabama hasn’t typically leaned on transfers during the Nick Saban era, there have been a few that have made their mark on the Tide. Here’s a breakdown of some of Alabama’s incoming transfers in recent years.

The need: Alabama entered last season without much depth at the tight end position. The Tide was especially in need of a blocking option at the position as it leaned on offensive linemen Chris Owens and Kendall Randolph as blocking tight ends the year before. The answer was to bring in Carl Tucker, a 6-foot-2, 248-pound graduate transfer from North Carolina who earned first-team All-ACC honors from Pro Football Focus in 2018 after recording 16 receptions for 265 yards and two touchdowns while registering an 83.8 pass-blocking grade and a 76.6 run-blocking mark.

How it worked out: Tucker started the first two games for Alabama last season before seeing his playing time decrease throughout the year. However, he served his purpose in shoring up the Tide’s blocking on the perimeter, recording a 79.9 run-blocking grade which led all tight ends and ranked fifth on the team among players with at least 50 run-blocking snaps. He also served on the kick return and field goal/extra point units on special teams.

Tucker did not record a reception during his lone season with Alabama. He appeared in seven games, missing some time with a pulled hamstring. His lone appearance on the stat sheet occurred when he returned a short kickoff 23 yards against Ole Miss.

Grade — B: Tucker didn’t light the world on fire during his time with the Tide, but he did perform the duty Alabama brought him in for.

The need: The post-JK Scott era hasn’t been kind to Alabama as it has failed to rank in the top 100 nationally in punting the past three years. Heading into last season, Alabama brought in Scott’s younger brother, Charlie, as a walk-on graduate transfer from Air Force.

Before arriving at Alabama, Charlie averaged 40.5 yards on 30 punts in 2019. Four of those punts went 50 or more yards while 11 were downed inside the 20-yard line.

How it worked out: Alabama started last season with walk-on Sam Johnson at punter before moving to Charlie in Week 5 against Tennessee. While the Air Force transfer doesn't have the same booming leg as his older brother, he proved reliable, delivering the necessary hang time on his punts to eliminate opposing returns.

Appearing in nine games, Charlie averaged 39.18 yards on 22 punts with a long of 51 yards. He dropped nine of his punts inside the 20-yard line and forced 15 fair catches.

Despite Charlie’s consistency, Alabama still ranked No. 118 of 127 Division I teams, averaging just 38.0 yards per punt.

Grade — B-: While he isn’t an elite option at the position, Charlie proved serviceable on an Alabama team that didn’t have to punt the ball much last season. He’ll enter the fall as the favorite to land the punter role this season as well.

The need: Entering the 2019 season, Alabama was looking to replace three of its starters on the offensive line from the year before, including a first-round pick in tackle Jonah Williams and a team captain in center Ross Pierchbacher as well as left guard Lester Cotton. The Tide added Landon Dickerson to the unit that summer, hoping the Florida State graduate transfer would be able to provide an instant impact while adding much-needed experience to the unit.

Dickerson was a top-50 recruit in the 2016 class and became the first true freshman offensive lineman to start a home opener for Florida State since 1982. However, injuries hampered his career early on. After making seven starts his freshman year, he suffered an ACL injury which ended his season. From there, he missed all but six games the next two years.

How it worked out: Dickerson’s time at Alabama was a tremendous success. Last season he earned the Rimington Award presented to the nation’s top center while ranking as the Tide’s highest-graded lineman, earning a 91.3 offensive mark from PFF. He also was a co-recipient of the SEC Jacobs Blocking Trophy, sharing the honor with teammate Alex Leatherwood.

During his two seasons at Alabama, Dickerson allowed just one sack over 805 pass-blocking snaps while serving as one of the Tide’s best run-blockers. He started all 13 games in 2019 as well as the first 11 games last season before suffering a knee injury in the SEC Championship game against Florida.

Dickerson’s blue-collar mentality was beloved by his teammates who voted him as one of four permanent team captains this past season.

Grade — A+: Alabama couldn’t have asked for more from Dickerson. Despite being with the team for just two seasons, he leaves the Tide as one of the most popular linemen in the Nick Saban era. He was also a driving force in Alabama’s recent undefeated national championship season.

The need: Looking to replace another graduate transfer from the year before in Andy Pappanostos, Alabama turned to Temple’s Austin Jones prior to the 2018 season.

Jones was viewed as one of the top kickers in the American Athletic Conference before suffering an ACL injury in 2016. He joined the Tide after losing his role at Temple following his injury.

During his time with the Owls, Jones was 50 of 67 (74.6 percent) on field goals, including 23 of 28 in 2015.

How it worked out: Jones started the 2018 season as Alabama’s placekicker before eventually being replaced by Joseph Bulovas. Appearing in just three games, the graduate transfer made 1 of 2 field-goal attempts and 8 of 11 extra-point tries. He also had one kickoff for 54 yards.

Grade — D: Jones’ year at Alabama was pretty forgettable.

The need: Pappanastos walked on from Ole Miss prior to the 2016 season. After waiting for his turn at placekicker, he finally earned the role during the 2017 season when he beat out Bulovas for the opening left behind by Adam Griffith.

How it worked out: Pappanastos was solid in his lone season as the Tide’s placekicker, making 18 of 25 (72 percent) field-goal attempts and all 56 of his extra-point tries. Despite his production, he is remembered for his 36-yard miss at the end of regulation during the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship Game against Georgia. Had he made that kick, Pappanastos would have been one of the heroes of that historic comeback victory.

Grade — B-: Sure, Pappanastos missed the most important kick of his Crimson Tide career. However, it ended up not mattering as Tua Tagovailoa and DeVonta Smith bailed him out in overtime.

The need: Alabama’s wide receiving room wasn’t always chock full of first-round talent. In fact, the Tide filled out the unit with graduate transfers in back-to-back years from 2015-16, bringing in Oregon State’s Richard Mullaney before adding Gehrig Dieter from Bowling Green the following year.

After having success with Mullaney, Alabama was optimistic of Dieter’s potential, especially since he was coming off a stellar season at Bowling Green where he recorded 94 receptions for 1,033 yards and 10 touchdowns over 14 games.

How it worked out: Dieter didn’t quite carry over his production to the SEC but did carve out a role as Alabama’s third receiver. Making 11 starts over 15 appearances, he recorded 15 receptions for 214 yards and four touchdowns.

After recording 45 or more yards in each of his first three games, Dieter failed to tally more than 12 yards in any of his next 13 appearances.

Grade — B-: Dieter dealt with an inconsistent passing attack during Jalen Hurts’ freshman season at quarterback. Still, he could have been a bit more productive during his time with the Tide.

The need: Heading into the 2015 season, Alabama was looking to replace its top three receivers in Biletnikoff Award winner Amari Cooper, DeAndrew White and Christian Jones — a trio that had combined for 183 receptions for 2,495 yards and 21 touchdowns the year before.

The Crimson Tide turned to Mullaney, who graduated from Oregon State in the spring of 2015 after recording a combined 83 receptions for 1,160 yards and five touchdowns over his three previous seasons with the Beavers.

How it worked out: Mullaney appeared in all 15 of the Tide’s games during its national title run in 2015. He finished the season with 38 receptions for 390 yards and five touchdowns.

Mullaney was one of the unsung heroes of Alabama’s title run, combining for four receptions for 82 yards during the Tide’s playoff games against Michigan State and Clemson. His best performance in an Alabama uniform came in the Tide’s loss to Ole Miss as he tallied seven receptions for 61 yards and two touchdowns.

Grade — B: Mullaney wasn’t spectacular but he played a somewhat significant role in Alabama’s title run.

The need: Looking to replace its all-time leading passer in AJ McCarron, Alabama brought another Mobile, Ala. native in Jake Coker at the quarterback position.

Coker began his college career at Florida State where he redshirted in 2011 before backing up EJ Manual and Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston the next two seasons. After graduating in the spring of 2014, he returned to his home state in hopes of replacing McCarron.

How it worked out: Coker’s path to the starting role was delayed a year as he lost out to Blake Sims during his first season at Alabama. However, his time on the bench was worth the wait as he went on to lead the Tide to a national title the following year.

Coker started the first two games of the 2015 season before being infamously replaced by Cooper Bateman during the loss to Ole Miss in Week 3. It was in that defeat that the graduate transfer earned the starting role for good as he took control of the offense while leading a late comeback bid in the defeat.

Coker started the remainder of Alabama’s games that season, completing 66.9 percent of his passes for 3,110 yards and 21 touchdowns with eight interceptions on the year. During the Tide’s 45-40 victory over Clemson in the national championship game, he completed 16 of 25 passes for 335 yards and two touchdowns without an interception.

Grade — A: While running back Derrick Henry earned the Heisman Trophy in 2015, Alabama doesn’t win the national championship without Coker. His performance in the national championship game alone earns him an A.