The 2012 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 2012 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) football season. It marked the Crimson Tide's 118th overall season of playing college football, 79th as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and 21st within the SEC Western Division. The team was led by head coach Nick Saban, in his sixth year, and played its home games at Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It finished the season with a record of 13 wins and 1 loss (13–1 overall, 7–1 in the SEC), as SEC champion and as consensus national champion after it defeated Notre Dame in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) National Championship Game.
After they captured the 2011 national championship, the Crimson Tide signed a highly rated recruiting class in February 2012 and completed spring practice the following April. With twelve returning starters from the previous season, Alabama entered the 2012 season as the defending national champions, ranked as the number two team in the nation and as a favorite to win the Western Division and compete for both the SEC and national championships. The Crimson Tide opened the season with nine consecutive victories that included one over Michigan at a neutral site and a come-from-behind victory on the road at Louisiana State University (LSU). In their tenth game, Alabama was upset by Texas A&M, and dropped to the number four position in the rankings. However, after a series of upsets and victories in their final three games that included winning the SEC Championship over Georgia, Alabama qualified for the 2013 BCS National Championship Game against Notre Dame, where they won 42–14 and captured the 2012 national championship. Alabama were the last team to repeat as national champions until the 2021-2022 Georgia Bulldogs.
At the conclusion of the season, the Alabama defense led the nation in total defense, scoring defense and rushing defense and ranked seventh in passing defense. Offensively, the Alabama offense ranked 12th in scoring offense, 16th in rushing offense, 31st in total offense and 75th in passing offense. Starting quarterback A. J. McCarron was ranked first nationally in pass efficiency. Additionally, several players were recognized for their individual accomplishments on the field. Starting center Barrett Jones won both the Rimington Trophy and the William V. Campbell Trophy, and was named as the Academic All-America of the Year; defensive coordinator Kirby Smart was named the 2012 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) FBS Assistant Coach of the Year. Also, five players were named to various All-America Teams with Jones and C. J. Mosley being consensus selections and Dee Milliner and Chance Warmack being unanimous selections.
Before the season
Spring practice Spring practice began on March 9 and concluded with the annual A-Day game on April 14. The only players that did not compete during the spring practice period were Eddie Lacy, Blake Sims and Arie Kouandjio due to injuries; and Duron Carter, Michael Bowman and Ronald Carswell due to team suspensions.
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In the annual A-Day game at the conclusion of spring practice, the White team composed of defensive starters defeated the Crimson team of offensive starters 24–15. The Crimson team opened on offense and on their first offensive play, A. J. McCarron threw an interception to Robert Lester. Each team then traded punts and the first quarter ended tied at zero. On the first offensive play of the second quarter, T. J. Yeldon was tackled in the endzone for a safety to give the Crimson team a 2–0 lead. The White team responded on their next possession with a 48-yard Cade Foster field goal and took a 3–2 lead before McCarron threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Christion Jones that gave the Crimson team a 9–3 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, the White team scored a pair of touchdowns on successive possessions and took a 17–9 lead. Both were made on a pair of long Phillip Sims touchdown passes to Chris Black on a 44-yard reception and to Yeldon on a 50-yard reception. The Crimson team responded with a two-play, 70-yard drive that saw a Dee Hart run of 23 yards and a 47-yard McCarron touchdown pass to Kenny Bell. After the unsuccessful two-point conversion, the White team led 17–15 at the end of the third quarter. In the fourth, both defenses again held both offenses scoreless. The only points came late in the game when Vinnie Sunseri recovered a Michael Williams fumble and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown and a 24–15 White victory.
For his performance, Adrian Hubbard earned the Dwight Stephenson Lineman of the A-Day Game Award. In the game, Hubbard had seven tackles that included four tackles for a loss and three quarterback sacks. On offense, Yeldon earned the Dixie Howell Memorial Most Valuable Player of the A-Day Game Award for his 179 all-purpose yards on the day that included 88 rushing and 91 receiving, and a 50-yard touchdown reception.
Fall camp By August, Alabama had a combined 31 players on 13 different preseason award watch lists. These players included Nico Johnson, Robert Lester, C. J. Mosley and Jesse Williams for the Chuck Bednarik Award; Johnson and Mosley for the Butkus Award; Barrett Jones and A. J. McCarron for the Walter Camp Award; Jeremy Shelley for the Lou Groza Award; D. J. Fluker, Johnson, Jones, Mosley, Chance Warmack and Williams for the Lombardi Award; Michael Williams for the John Mackey Award; Eddie Lacy and McCarron for the Maxwell Award; Johnson, Lester, Dee Milliner, Mosley and Williams for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy; McCarron for the Davey O'Brien Award; Fluker, Jones, Warmack and Williams for the Outland Trophy; Jones for the Rimington Trophy; Lester for the Jim Thorpe Award; and Lacy for the Doak Walker Award. On August 3, the first official summer practice was held at the Thomas-Drew Practice Facility, and on August 28, Saban released the depth chart for the game one starters against Michigan.
Coaching staff Alabama head coach Nick Saban was in his sixth year as the Crimson Tide's head coach for the 2012 season. During his previous five years with Alabama, he led the Crimson Tide to an overall record of 50 wins and 12 losses (50–12) and both the 2009 and 2011 national championships. On January 18, 2012, Alabama officially hired Doug Nussmeier from the Washington Huskies as offensive coordinator and Lance Thompson from the Tennessee Volunteers as outside linebackers coach. Nussmeier took the place of Jim McElwain who left to become the head coach at Colorado State, and Thompson took the place of Sal Sunseri who left to become the defensive coordinator at Tennessee.
Nick Saban Head coach 6 Kent State (1973) Burton Burns Associate head coach, running backs 6 Nebraska (1976) Mike Groh Receivers, recruiting coordinator 2 Virginia (1995) Doug Nussmeier Offensive coordinator, quarterbacks 1 Idaho (1993) Jeremy Pruitt Secondary 3 West Alabama (1999) Chris Rumph Defensive line 2 South Carolina (1994) Kirby Smart Defensive coordinator, linebackers 6 Georgia (1999) Jeff Stoutland Assistant head coach, offensive line 2 Southern Connecticut (1984) Lance Thompson Linebackers 3 The Citadel (1987) Bobby Williams Tight ends, special teams 5 Purdue (1982) Scott Cochran Strength and conditioning 6 LSU (2001)Reference:2012 Alabama Crimson Tide Football Media Guide, p. 2
Analysts
Offensive analysts Kevin Garver Jules Montinar Jeff Norrid Chris Samuels Kelvin Sigler Jody Wright
Defensive analysts Dean Altobelli Russ Callaway George Helow Wesley Neighbors Glenn Schumann
Special Teams analysts John Wozniak
Graduate assistants Tim Castille Glenn Schumann John Van Dam
Roster Departed starters At the conclusion of the 2011 season, of all the draft-eligible junior starters, Dont'a Hightower, Dre Kirkpatrick and Trent Richardson declared their eligibility for the 2012 National Football League (NFL) draft. In addition to those who declared early, several other starters graduated after the 2011 season. Graduating starters on Alabama's offense included Darius Hanks and Marquis Maze at wide receiver, Brad Smelley at tight end and William Vlachos at center.2012 Alabama Crimson Tide Football Media Guide, p. 9 Graduating starters on Alabama's defense included Mark Barron at safety, Josh Chapman at nose guard, Jerrell Harris and Courtney Upshaw at linebacker and DeQuan Menzie at cornerback.2012 Alabama Crimson Tide Football Media Guide, p. 11 The only graduating starter on Alabama's special teams was Maze as the return specialist.2012 Alabama Crimson Tide Football Media Guide, p. 13
Returning starters
Offense Player Class Position A. J. McCarron Junior Quarterback Chance Warmack Senior Left Guard Michael Williams Senior Tight End Barrett Jones Senior Left Tackle D. J. Fluker Junior Right Tackle Anthony Steen Junior Right GuardReference:
Defense Player Class Position C. J. Mosley Junior Linebacker Nico Johnson Senior Linebacker Dee Milliner Junior Cornerback Damion Square Senior Defensive End Robert Lester Senior Safety Jesse Williams Senior Defensive EndReference:
Special teams Player Class Position Cade Foster Junior Placekicker Jeremy Shelley Senior Placekicker Cody Mandell Junior Punter Carson Tinker Senior Long SnapperReference:
Depth chart Starters and backups:
Recruiting class
Prior to National Signing Day on February 1, 2012, six high school players that graduated early and two junior college transfers of the 2012 recruiting class enrolled for the spring semester in order to participate in spring practice. These early enrollments included: defensive lineman Ryan Anderson, wide receivers Chris Black and Amari Cooper, linebacker Dillon Lee, defensive tackle Alphonse Taylor and running back T. J. Yeldon from high school and defensive backs Deion Belue and Travell Dixon from junior college. On February 1, seventeen additional players signed their National Letter of Intent to play at Alabama that completed the 2012 recruiting class.
Alabama's recruiting class was highlighted by thirteen players from the "ESPN 150": No. 6 Landon Collins (safety); No. 11 Eddie Williams (athlete); No. 20 Cyrus Jones (athlete); No. 22 Chris Black (wide receiver); No. 30 Brandon Greene (offensive tackle); No. 31 Geno Smith (cornerback); No. 49 Amari Cooper (wide receiver); No. 55 T. J. Yeldon (running back); No. 59 Dillon Lee (outside linebacker); No. 93 Ryan Anderson (outside linebacker); No. 100 Korren Kirven (defensive tackle); No. 109 Reggie Ragland (inside linebacker); and No. 121 Tyler Hayes (outside linebacker). The Crimson Tide signed the No. 1 recruiting class according to Rivals.com and the No. 2 recruiting class according to Scout.com. In recognition for his accomplishments in helping Alabama land its highly rated 2012 class, Jeremy Pruitt was named Recruiter of the Year by 247Sports.com.
Schedule The 2012 schedule was officially released on December 28, 2011. With the addition of both Missouri and Texas A&M to the conference, the SEC abandoned its previous scheduling format to accommodate its expansion. As such, Alabama faced all six Western Division opponents: Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Texas A&M. They also faced two Eastern Division opponents: official SEC rival Tennessee and Missouri. Alabama did not play SEC Eastern Division opponents Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Florida or Vanderbilt as part of the regular season. Alabama also played four non-conference games: Michigan of the Big Ten Conference, Western Kentucky University (WKU) and Florida Atlantic of the Sun Belt Conference and Western Carolina of the Southern Conference. Alabama had their only bye week between their games against Ole Miss and Missouri.