Nick Saban walked into a crowded lobby in Hoover on Wednesday morning to what seemed to be a Bryant-Denny sized crowd. With fans cheering and asking for autographs, it was less than a minute before Saban took his first question from the media. The rest of the day was filled with questions about the 2015 schedule and how the Tide’s offense would rebuild for this season.

“In college football, you probably lose 25 percent of your team every year,” Saban said in his opening statement to the media. “Which is what makes it great, makes it fun to rebuild, but this year especially on offense, we’re going to have a lot of new faces, and we have some talented players.”Saban SECMD15

Saban will still have coordinator Lane Kiffin take charge but the quarterback situation may be an issue for the offense. The battle seems to be down to two players, freshman David Cornwell and senior Jacob Coker. Whoever ends up winning the starting job, the running game will be looked at to lead the Tide back to Atlanta.

Ryan Kelly will be the anchor of the offensive line that only returns two starters from last season.

“When we’re running the ball great, I don’t think anyone can stop us,” Kelly said. “Regardless of who ends up starting (at quarterback) in Dallas, I know they are going to do a great job, be a great team leader and have great energy.”

The senior center will be blocking for two very talented backs in Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake while feeling very comfortable about whoever starts at quarterback. Drake was used often by Lane Kiffin for his speed but a leg injury in last season’s Ole Miss game has people questioning whether he can play up to his potential.

“I never thought that I wouldn’t be able to come back,” Drake said. “I personally feel like we have the best rehab staff in the country so they definitely did their job to help me get back as soon as possible.”

With all the questions on offense, the defense was often overlooked during Media Days because there may not be any questions to ask. The Tide boast one of the best front seven in the nation with an improved secondary to back it up. Reggie Ragland leads a defense that has been compared to Alabama’s legendary 2009 defense.

“We’ve had Dont’a Hightower, Rolando McClain and Javier Arenas,” Ragland said. “Those guys have paved the way for how we are in the weight room and the locker room.”

After finishing the season giving up 40-plus points to both Auburn and Ohio State, the defense has a point to prove on how they can improve and Ragland says only time will tell. Saban said that the players were wore down because of the speed that the Tide’s offense and opposing offenses played.

“I think (speed) has affected it tremendously,” Saban said of his defensive philosophy. “Everything was based on situations. What pace of play has done to the college game does not allow you to do that.”

Nick Saban also took some heat throughout the day on his comments about why Alabama lost to Ohio State. Saban said he wasn’t taking away from what the Buckeyes did but that some of his players were facing distractions.

Saban’s comments were about the NCAA needing a rule about when draft grades come out. He said that some of his juniors may not have played at their best or toughest because of the draft stocks that they had. In any case, Alabama lost to Ohio State and the rule may need to be changed but the two are not related.

Alabama returns to the field on September 5th for the 2015 season opener against Wisconsin in Dallas.