Much of the emphasis early in the baseball season has been placed on Alabama’s powerful hitting lineup, which boasts two preseason All-Americans, Ross Wilson and Jake Smith. But it’s the players who make noise with their arms, not their bats, who have Crimson Tide head coach Mitch Gaspard excited about his team’s fortunes this season.

“We feel like we have really good pitching depth and we are excited about getting some of those guys out on the mound,” Gaspard said.

One pitcher the Tide will lean on is emerging ace Adam Morgan, who will lead the staff as he takes the position of Friday starter.

“He has great leadership. He knows how to conduct himself on the mound,” pitching coach Kyle Bunn said. “Being the captain of the pitching staff, they [the pitchers] see him as the ace as well.”

Morgan, who struck out 11 batters in his season debut against the University of South Alabama, said he doesn’t feel the pressure of being placed in the Friday role.

“I consider myself just like any other weekend starter,” Morgan said. “I’m just starting it off.”

Another pitcher who could have an impact on how well the Tide does this season is pitcher Jimmy Nelson. Nelson, a junior, struggled at times last season and was moved around between the bullpen and starting roles. Gaspard said he likes what he sees in Nelson and hopes he will hold on to a spot in the rotation.

“With Jimmy, you talk about a guy who is 6’5”, 250, who throws 90-94 [miles per hour] with an excellent slider, so all the pitches are there,” Gaspard said. “We are looking for Jimmy to take that start and really improve each time he goes out.”

With any pitcher of Nelson’s stature, body control is a key. Over the offseason, pitching coach Kyle Bunn has worked with Nelson on scheming his pitching motion.

“I think one thing he has attacked more than anything else is being in control of his body,” Bunn said. “When a big-bodied guy is out of control, he tends to be more erratic.”

Though it appears that both Morgan and Nelson will both be part of the rotation, much of the Alabama pitching staff has not taken shape yet. Gaspard said that the weekend rotation is set to be Morgan, Nelson and Jonathan Smart, but that rotation might change as the season moves on.

“We feel like we have a good mix of some relievers as well as some starters,” Bunn said. “Right now with theses games leading into conference play, the question is what position can we put them in so that they can be most productive.”

The bullpen will be another area of interest as the Tide will be welcoming back Smith. Along with being the team’s third baseman, Smith also took the role of closer in the latter half of last year. His presence was greatly missed when he went down with an ankle injury in the Southeastern Conference tournament.

“I was anxious to get back out there,” Smith said. “It was tough to not get to play in regionals last season, but you can’t let that bother you.”

The Crimson Tide will face the University of Illinois-Chicago over the weekend, and while it may be the offense that gets the spotlight, Morgan and the rest of the Alabama pitching staff don’t mind working in the shadows.

“It’s kind of good all you ever hear about is offense,” Morgan said. “It’s kind of good being the underdog when nobody really believes in you.”