A look at five areas of interest for the Alabama Crimson Tide as Nick Saban's team enters the offseason.

Assuming Collins turns pro, will Jones be ready to play a major role in the secondary in 2015?

Figure out the secondary

Moving pieces at both cornerback and safety have been the story for Alabama's defensive backfield the past two seasons. As a result, the Crimson Tide's effectiveness against the pass declined for a second-straight year.

In 2014, opponents averaged 226 passing yards per game, the most surrendered by a UA defense in Nick Saban's eight seasons with the Crimson Tide. The 19 touchdown passes opponents completed this season were the most allowed by an Alabama defense since Saban's first season in Tuscaloosa.

Has the game changed a good bit since 2007? You bet it has. Has Alabama felt the effects of some early departures to the NFL? Between Dee Milliner, HaHa Clinton-Dix and Vinnie Sunseri making the jump since 2013, that's definitely been the case.

Those things out of the way, two things hurt UA's 2014 secondary: Eddie Jackson's knee injury last spring and Sunseri's departure for the NFL.

By all accounts, Jackson was on his way to becoming Alabama's top corner, only to see an ACL tear stunt his development by a season. As for Sunseri, his skill set may not have been the perfect complement to Landon Collins', but his ability to play multiple spots while running the show would have obviously come in handy.

Even with those setbacks, it's not like UA hasn't continued to recruit at an elite level, so expectations back here aren't going to go away anytime soon.

I wasn't ready to give up on Cyrus Jones a year ago and I'm pretty much in the same place with Jackson this time around. If we get to A-Day and he's still struggling to compete physically, maybe I'll change my mind. Until then, I'll go on the assumption that we'll see the guy in 2015 that we expected to see in 2014.

With former five-star recruits Tony Brown and Marlon Humphrey and veteran Bradley Sylve also competing at corner, safety is actually the bigger concern moving forward. Of the top four players at the position, it's likely only one -- Geno Smith -- will return for 2015. With that, hello, Laurence Jones!

While Jabriel Washington saw time on the back end in the dime package in 2014, the expectation will be for Jones to join Smith as one of the Crimson Tide's top two safeties for 2015. Even if it plays out that way, questions about the star (nickel) and money (dime) positions will linger.

Establish Coker as the guy

In retrospect, the biggest benefit of landing Florida State transfer Jacob Coker had to do with the 2015 season. With Blake Sims taking the job by the throat, Coker spent his first season at UA as the backup, spelling Sims on five different occasions during the 2014 campaign.

Not all of that came in mop-up time, however, as Coker, working in place of an injured Sims, helped Alabama close out Florida courtesy of a third-quarter touchdown pass to Amari Cooper that gave the Crimson Tide a two-touchdown lead over the pesky Gators.

His most promising play of the season came against Texas A&M, as Coker hit reserve tight end Ty Flournoy-Smith on a 14-yard touchdown pass in UA's 59-0 shutout of the Aggies. Not only was the throw perfectly placed, Coker showed some instincts on the play, using his feet to get himself into position to deliver the ball while keeping his eyes down the field.

For the season, Coker completed 38 of 59 passes (64 percent) for 403 yards and four touchdowns without an interception. Just as importantly, after getting a late jump on things as a summer arrival, he got a season's worth of time in Lane Kiffin's system and five-plus months to mesh with his new teammates.

For the first time in the Nick Saban era at Alabama, the Crimson Tide will break in a new starter behind center for a second straight season. Given Coker's talent and familiarity with the offense, there's reason to think he can maintain the high level of play that preceded him.

Address both offensive guard spots and right tackle

In addition to losing a two-year starter at right tackle in Austin Shepherd, UA must replace interior starters Arie Kouandjio and Leon Brown at the guard spots. The good news is that the Crimson Tide will return left tackle Cameron Robinson and center Ryan Kelly, a pair that man the two most important spots along the front.

Moving from right to left, Grant Hill spent the 2014 season as Shepherd's backup, playing well at times while also battling illnesses on two separate occasions during his sophomore campaign. After nearly taking the job away from Shepherd in 2013, Hill should be in good position to win it outright in 2015.

At for the guard spots, Alphonse Taylor started two games on the right side in 2014, so he should have an edge as far as experience goes. The same is true of Bradley Bozeman, who, despite working mostly at center this season, has also taken reps at guard during his short time in the program.

Still, it won't come as a surprise if a member or two of the 2014 recruiting class ends up finding a home in the starting lineup. The wildcard here will be Dominick Jackson. Will the junior college transfer be able to polish his game enough to be a factor at right tackle or perhaps even guard in his second and final season at UA?

Identify DePriest's successor

While it's possible that Alabama will need to replace both starters at inside linebacker, the expectation is that Reggie Ragland will return for his senior season. That leaves the hole created by the departure of three-year starter Trey DePriest at middle linebacker.

While he posted solid numbers over his final two seasons in the program, the most difficult aspect of replacing DePriest will involve his duties as the play caller for the defense. And in nearly every instance, the play caller is the one inside linebacker who fills the every down role.

So, it's not just about getting the defense aligned correctly; the ideal candidate also needs to be able to span the base, nickel and dime packages. And it was there that Alabama missed CJ Mosley the most in 2014. While DePriest had his moments, playing in space was never his strong suit.

Can Ragland provide an upgrade in that area in 2015?

Even if he can, he'll need someone to go alongside him in base and nickel. While Reuben Foster (if he can stay on the field) and Shaun Hamilton would seem to be the top candidates to fill the void, it will be interesting to see what kind of progress 2014 signee Keith Holcombe makes in the weight room between now and March. Utility backers Dillon Lee and Ryan Anderson have also worked inside.

Reload at wide receiver

Assuming Cooper will make his intentions of moving on to the NFL official in the coming days, Alabama will likely see its top three wide receivers for the 2014 season leave the building. With that, the Crimson Tide will likely need to replace 85 percent of its receiving yardage production from the outside spots. The trio also accounted for 21 of the 22 touchdown receptions posted by UA wide receivers this season.

Statistically, Chris Black (15 receptions, 188 yards) ranked fourth at the spot in 2014. However, most of the excitement moving forward seems to center on a pair of freshmen: ArDarius Stewart and Cameron Sims. With both making moves up the depth chart at Z and X, respectively, as the season progressed, the pair are good bets to take over at the outside spots in 2015, with Black positioned to replace Jones in the slot. It would also be a good time for former five-star recruit Robert Foster to make his move as well.