TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Returning starters. Position battles. Early enrollees.

Those are terms often used during spring football season once Alabama returns to the field. And while they’re all equally important, one aspect that can either trump or devalue them each one of them in terms of sustaining success is upperclassmen leadership.

The Crimson Tide lost 16 scholarship seniors to eligibility and three early entrants to the 2017 NFL Draft. Among those 19 players were four team captains, making it a top priority for Alabama to find a new group of leaders and for them to find their voices on the field and in the huddle. And that search continues in the next 10 spring practices and three scrimmages.

“Every great team that we’ve had around here has had a lot of chemistry, a lot of guys that buy into principles and values the organization and the standard and the way we do things,” head coach Nick Saban said. “We also had really good leadership to set a good example for what those things were all about and didn’t tolerate it when people didn’t do it that way.

“So I think that is something that’s a work in progress with every team. It’s a new team. The leadership, the togetherness, the positive energy, people being responsible … self-determination so they can go out there and do their job with some kind of consistency in performance is why we’re starting to practice and why we need all these practices in the spring and all the practices in the fall.

“You just gotta keep working and be patient with the players that we have so that we can get better.”

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After two spring practices, some of the Crimson Tide’s new leaders are starting to emerge.

One indicator is which players media relations walks into the Naylor Stone Media Room for the first day of interviews. On Thursday, it was one rising redshirt senior and three rising juniors that spoke to local reporters prior to the second outdoor practice.

Bradley Bozeman, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Calvin Ridley and Da'Ron Payne reviewed the team’s return to practice, and each player was asked about stepping into a new role. All four admitted the abnormality of their current situations as well as accepted the challenges that lie ahead of them.

“It’s something new, because being from where I came from, I just like to sit back and listen and just learn,” Payne said. “But now guys are coming to me asking me for advice and stuff. It’s something like a learning curve.”

Payne and Fitzpatrick will be tasked with replacing several leaders on the defensive side of the football, including three team captains in Jonathan Allen, Reuben Foster and Eddie Jackson.

As the most experienced player in the secondary, Fitzpatrick views himself as a potential leader and knows he has to establish that role over the course of spring practice and the offseason.

“Just setting an example for the younger guys and showing them how it’s supposed to be done,” he said. “Even some of the older guys don’t know how to do it yet, so just going out there and showing them how it’s supposed to be done.”

Bozeman and Riley will be two of the players their teammates will look to with Cam Robinson, O.J. Howard and ArDarius Stewart moving on to the NFL. But they have already realized the seats they will need to fill in their respective meeting rooms.

“I would say I’m now the leader the wide receiver group,” Ridley said. “I want to take that role on, not only to my group but my team, and be one of the captains on the team. That’s what I feel like I need to do. Being more vocal. I lead by example already, I think I just need to speak up some. I don’t say too much.”

The players they looked to for advice, encouragement and motivation have all moved on to the next step in their football careers. They left behind a foundation and blueprints to continue the leadership that has propelled Alabama the past two seasons, but it’s now up to a new wave of leaders to keep the 2017-18 team afloat with their actions and example this spring.

“We’re going to miss them,” Bozeman said, “but it’s our time to step up and lead.”

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