Alabama fans got to see some new faces and a potential glimpse into the future Saturday, as several team veterans were held out due to injury and general precaution and others were demoted from their starting roles.
On offense, senior guard Anthony Steen warmed up but had a headache and was kept out of the game andKellen Williams started in his place. Wide receivers Amari Cooper (toe) and Kevin Norwood were in uniform but didn’t play from lingering injuries sustained last week.
But the biggest changes came on defense, where a trio of defensive backs didn’t dress for the game.
Nick Perry hurt his shoulder in practice, head coach Nick Saban said. Jarrick Williams was poked in the eye against Texas A&M and lost vision due to bleeding, and Deion Belue sustained a toe injury last week. Williams and Belue started the first two games of the year, while Perry saw snaps as a reserve safety last week.
The biggest benefactors were freshman Eddie Jackson, redshirt freshman Bradley Sylve and sophomore Geno Smith, who all started at cornerback. Cyrus Jones, Maurice Smith and John Fulton also rotated in at cornerback.
“They all made mistakes. Their lack of experience shows up,” Saban said after the game. “There were a lot of formations, a lot of adjustments. I think everybody learned a lot, which is the most important thing.”
Sophomore safety Landon Collins said it took them a while to get used to the speed of the game.
“They were kind of nervous,” he said. “It’s expected, though. They’re going to make a few mistakes. But once they got to it and figured out what we were doing and our assignments, they improved a lot.”
Fulton had started the first two games at corner as well but was demoted from a starting role this week. Saban had hinted at a shakeup in the secondary and kept his word.
Tide struggles on third down
A major point of concern for the Alabama offense was its lack of efficiency on third down. Alabama finished 2-of-10 on the day, but didn’t get its first third down conversion until its final drive of the game.
“Some of it was lack of preparation on our part from a coaching standpoint,” Saban said. “Some of it was lack of execution by the players, which we need to get corrected, and that’s our responsibility to that.”
Who’s got it?
There was a little bit of confusion in the heat of Alabama’s punt block for a touchdown in the second quarter.
Kenyan Drake sprinted in and made the block, while Dillon Lee scooped it up and ran it in for the score. But Collins ran alongside Lee and appeared as if he wanted to take the ball from Lee.
“The ball just bounced up, and Dillon picked it up. I thought he was going to drop it,” Collins said. “So I put my hands there, he thought I was trying to strip it. And he kind of jacked it away, and we just pushed him all the way to the end zone.”
