Alabama safety Minkah Fitzpatrick’s status was in question ahead of the national championship. Reports surfaced that Fitzpatrick had a bruised kidney after Alabama’s 24-6 win over Clemson.

During Saturday’s Media Day in Phillips Arena, Fitzpatrick squashed those reports, and gave Alabama fans good news.

“I’m here, I’m great,” Fitzpatrick said. “I have two kidneys, functioning. Full function.”

Those reports surfaced on Thursday, and according to numerous accounts, Fitzpatrick missed practice time this week as well.

Despite all of this, Fitzpatrick affirmed that he will play in the national championship with a simple “Yes sir,” when asked.

The news from a television reporter about Fitzpatrick’s status angered his mother, who posted a tweet expressing her frustration that his medical records were shared. She tweeted a reference to HIPAA, which protects people from having their medical records published in a public setting.

“Somebody tweeted out something that they weren’t supposed to tweet out regarding my health, and there’s laws that say you aren’t supposed to do that,” Fitzpatrick said. “She was pretty angry about that.”

Still, Fitzpatrick did admit to taking a hospital trip after the win over Clemson. He said that he suffered an injury during the game after falling down awkwardly after a tackle. 

The Crimson Tide will need the winner of both the Lombardi Trophy and Thorpe Award against Georgia’s physical offense. 

During Media Day, Alabama head coach Nick Saban took the time praise the third-year safety for his efforts this season.

“Minkah has just got all the right stuff. He’s got a lot of ability, but he’s really driven in terms of work ethic, preparation, wanting to be successful,” Saban said. “Just really great character and attitude, doesn’t get affected by a lot of other external factors, and just has a really high standard for what he expects of himself.”

Alabama and Georgia will kick off in Atlanta at 8 p.m. EST on ESPN.