Sophomore guard Chance Warmack was recognized as SEC offensive lineman of the week for his performance in the Florida game. Warmack had key blocks on both of Mark Ingram’s touchdown runs that gave Alabama the lead in the first half. Junior linebacker Courtney Upshaw was also recognized as SEC Defensive Player of the Week for his seven tackles, four tackles for loss, two pass break-ups and one fumble recovery.
The Alabama coaching staff also recognized junior wide receiver Darius Hanks, junior safety Mark Barron, freshman cornerback John Fulton and sophomore running back Trent Richardson for their performances Saturday.
Barron led all the tacklers with 11 stops against the Gators and had the Crimson Tide’s only sack of the game. Barron is Alabama’s leading tackler this season with 31 through the past five games.
Richardson was recognized for his performance on special teams and is the only player to be listed by the coaches as a player of the week following all five games this season.
This was Fulton’s first time recognized by the coaching staff as a player of the week for his work on special teams. He had one tackle in the game on punt coverage and a key block on Julio Jones’ 41-yard punt return in the second quarter.
“I really think our team is progressing,” said head coach Nick Saban. “Each week you have a new challenge and learn more about your team. Like how are we going to respond this week? We play another very good team on the road in a difficult place to play. Are we going to be able to challenge ourselves to continue to do the things we need to do to play at a high standard? Are we going to be relieved with what we’ve done up to this point?
“I can’t answer those questions. They have to come from within, with what people accomplish and what they want to do. So far we’ve responded fairly well, but not consistently all the time and that is something we have to continue to work on.”
Preparing for South Carolina
While the Tide prepares for South Carolina, one player they are particularly focusing on is freshman running back Marcus Lattimore. Lattimore is averaging 91.5 yards per game and has six touchdowns this year.
“He’s a great SEC back,” sophomore Dont’a Hightower said. “He is probably one of those guys who wants to shake-and-bake. He’s a north and south runner. He’s a really good back.”
The Alabama defense, which hasn’t allowed a touchdown from a running back yet this season, continues to work on the fundamentals to keep the Gamecocks from being the first.
“We pride ourselves on just going out there and doing our job, whether it’s in the red zone or anywhere on the field,” Warmack said. “As long as you try to dominate on every play that is all you can ask for. But one thing you have to pride yourself on is not giving up down there. It is about going out there and tackling guys in the red zone. You have your back against the wall because you aren’t that far from the end zone, but you just have to dig down deep inside of you. We don’t want to give up any points down there.”
This week’s game will be the Tide’s third consecutive top-25 ranked opponent and third straight SEC opponent.
Injuries
As Alabama prepares for South Carolina in Columbia there have been a few roadblocks along the way in terms of injuries. Junior linebacker Chris Jordan pulled his hamstring in the Florida game and is day to day. Saban said they will be seeing how Jordan responds this week in practice. Jones also bruised his knee in the game.
“Again, you never know how these things are,” Saban said about Jones’ injury. “We did an MRI, checked it out to make sure things are OK, and he’ll be day-to-day at least for the first part of the week to see how he progresses.”
Neither Jones nor Jordan were wearing black jerseys in practice Monday or Tuesday, but they were not participating at full speed.
