Questions will outnumber answers in several areas for Alabama throughout spring practice, which begins today at 3:30 p.m.

The Crimson Tide faces some rebuilding, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. Job 1 will be finding a replacement for three-year starter John Parker Wilson at quarterback, who departed with nearly every significant passing record at the school.

Perhaps even more crucial is the search to fill three big vacancies on the offensive line. Left tackle Andre Smith opted for the NFL after three years. Center Antoine Caldwell and right guard Marlon Davis were senior starters in Alabama’s 12-0 regular season last year.

Junior quarterback Greg McElroy took the most snaps behind Wilson last season — but that wasn’t many. McElroy played in six games and completed 8-of-11 passes for 123 yards with one touchdown, against Auburn, and one interception, against Arkansas. Freshman Star Jackson, a touted playmaker who was redshirted last year, will also compete for the job, along with Thomas Darrah.

Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban, going into his third spring in Tuscaloosa, said the quarterbacks are on equal footing.

“Nobody has thrown the ball or done anything to this point, so, we don’t have any evaluations,” Saban said last week in a pre-spring meeting with reporters. “We are pleased with the progress that those guys have made. We’re just going to have to let things happen during the course of spring practice. I think it will be critical for those guys in terms of their improvement and gaining the confidence of the other players on the team.”

With spring drills limited to 15 sessions, the quarterbacks will have learn a lot in a hurry.

“Obviously, the quarterback with experience can take on things a little more quickly,” Saban said. “I still think that Greg has experience in what we’ve done in the past. I think the younger players can sort of grasp things and develop, we can’t just do it at their pace. That’s part of seeing what they can do. What is their capacity to learn and develop and execute?”

Don’t look for a quick answer.

“I don’t have a timetable,” the coach said. “I know you guys are always looking for results, and who’s starting where and when you’re going to name a starter. That doesn’t mean anything to me.

“It’s helping every player play to his capacity, being the best they can be and then who has the best opportunity to help our team be successful in what they do. I don’t think you can put a timetable on how long it takes for that to happen.”

Several positions could be interchangeable along the offensive line. Newcomers James Carpenter, a junior college transfer from Coffeyville, Kan.,  and Chance Warmack, a high school player from Atlanta who enrolled early, will get a lot of attention.

“Carpenter is a tackle. We don’t know that much about him,” Saban said. “Tyler Love is a tackle. Drew Davis is a tackle. You know, so, we’ll probably do experimenting, moving around.

“(William) Vlachos ended up the season as the backup center. He has done a good job in the off-season program. We’ll probably take some tackle types and play them inside. Warmack is another young player who can get a crack at something. We got a lot of different guys to look at and that is why we are going to have spring practice.”

The questions aren’t confined to the offensive side, of course. Replacing senior free safety Rashad Johnson, who coordinated the entire secondary, is one of the bigger challenges.

Ali Sharrief is probably the most experienced candidate for the job. Tyrone King and a couple others are in the mix.

“We’ve got Ali and King and Mark Barron, all who played some last year, whether it be special teams or some as defensive backs in whatever role,” Saban said. “Those are probably the leading candidates at safety. We’ll try (converted wide receiver) B.J. Scott a little bit at safety first, which is harder.

“I think we want to see what his capacity is to learn and adjust. Maybe we’ll look at him at corner at some point in time, too. And again, this is just an experiment. It’s not a final decision.”