Lawrence one of 10 players not returning for Tide

Alonzo Lawrence, a Parade All-American in high school and one of Alabama's prized signees in 2008, is no longer a member of the Crimson Tide.

The 6-foot, 204-pound Lawrence was expected to do big things in Tuscaloosa before his career was over, but he was redshirted as a true freshman last season and a violation of team rules during the offseason led to his leaving the program.

Nick Saban announced the news during his preseason press conference Wednesday. The Alabama head coach also announced the departure of three other players due to disciplinary reasons. They include linebackers Prince Hall and Brandon Fanney and running back Jermaine Preyear.

"We have a demanding program here, and these guys didn't do what they needed to do," Saban said.

Four additional players -- center Evan Cardwell, running back Ivan Matchett and linebackers Charlie Kirschman and Jennings Hester -- have left the program due to medical conditions. Two more players -- Chris Jackson and Charlie Higginbotham -- elected to transfer during the offseason.

At first glance, Fanney would appear to be the team's most critical loss. He was the team's starting Jack linebacker last season and played in 25 games over three seasons.

Saban, though, wasn't exactly wringing his hands at the hole left by Fanney's leaving.

"He missed most of the spring, too, and we still had football at Alabama," Saban said. "We're not dependent on one single player."

He also mentioned that Eryk Anders could be a possibility at Jack. Dont'a Hightower is another possibility, and then there are some incoming freshmen -- Nico Johnson, Tana Patrick, Jonathan Atchison and Ed Stinson -- who could make some noise at linebacker this season as well.

"I think we have some good players and good candidates," Saban said of replacing Fanney.

As Saban pointed out, Alabama had to turn to a lot of young, inexperienced linebackers last fall and things turned out pretty well.

Of the players signed by Alabama this past February, five were not listed on the 105-man roster released to the media Wednesday. They include defensive lineman Quinton Dial, offensive lineman Darius McKeller, defensive lineman Anthony Orr, linebacker Petey Smith and offensive lineman Kellen Williams, who suffered an offseason knee injury.

Dial is currently enrolled in junior college. The other four are likely to be grayshirted and enroll in January.

Saban said the players went through an eight-week summer conditioning program, and he was pleased with the results. He was also pleased with the participation level of the true freshmen during summer workouts.

One returning player in particular whose summer conditioning progress is of interest to Alabama fans is Terrence Cody. The mammoth nose tackle was limited in his participation last year due to his conditioning level but still turned in an impressive first-year campaign at The Capstone.

He may be headed for even bigger things in '09.

"He's made some progress," Saban said of Cody's conditioning. "He weighs less than he did last year, and he's in better shape than he was last year. As far as all the goals we set for him this summer, I can say he's come close."

Alabama starts fall camp tomorrow with the returning players practicing in the morning and the newcomers taking the field in an evening session. Saban said he likes to split the two groups up for the first practice to give the new players a chance to get acclimated, receive extra attention and get in some quality reps. They'll also have the chance to observe the veterans practice in the morning to get a feel for what they can expect that night.

As far as goals for fall camp, Saban stayed away from specifics. Instead, he talked about simply trying to instill the traits of a champion in his troops over the next few weeks.

"The most important thing for us as a coaching staff is to get the intangibles in place," he said. "We want to instill things like discipline, focus, the ability to execute and do your job, being able to finish, work ethic, championship intensity and leadership."

He just hopes that this year those traits remain in place until the completition of Alabama's bowl game.

"We did not finish the season last year," he said, alluding to back-to-back losses to Florida and Utah after starting the season 12-0.

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