As long as Alabama takes care of business, first- and second-year players should see extensive playing time against Chattanooga on Saturday (11 a.m. CT).
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — It is not uncommon for first- and second-year players to play substantial snaps for the Alabama football team.
We’ve already seen a lot of true freshmen play this year, including Caleb Downs, Kadyn Proctor, and vJalen Hale. Redshirt freshmen and sophomores have also seen significant playing time, including Isaiah Bond, Kobe Prentice, Jihaad Campbell, Tyler Booker, and others.
Saturday’s home game against Chattanooga (11 a.m. CT, ESPN+/SEC Network+) should provide an excellent opportunity for more young players to see significant playing time.
The Mocs come to Tuscaloosa with a 7-3 Southern Conference record, and the one thing they have in common with the Crimson Tide is that they are both hoping for playoff berths this season – Chattanooga in the FCS, Alabama in the CFP.Otherwise, this is a late-season cupcake game, and Alabama, which needs to win out to have a chance in the College Football Playoff, is not going to toy with its food.
“This is a great opportunity for (Chattanooga) to play in a game that they probably dreamed about,” Saban said Monday. “We need to approach this game in terms of what our focus is and how we want to continue to improve as a team.”
“You can’t have peaks and valleys if you want to peak at the right time.” You must continue in the right route.”
Assuming the Tide take care of business in this game with little fuss — that is, a big, comfortable lead by halftime — there should be plenty of opportunities for younger players to see the field and play meaningful plays.
Who would we like to see? Here’s a list of 15 players we’d want to see earn more playing time this Saturday:
The redshirt freshman has only played five snaps this season, two in Week 1 against Middle Tennessee and three last Saturday against Kentucky. He’s made two tackles. He’s the third-string JACK, following Chris Braswell and Keanu Koht.
Earlier this season, Saban stated that Alexander, who started the program as an EDGE, was mulling a move to inside linebacker. He warmed up with Alabama’s inside linebackers before the game against Mississippi State. Perhaps he’ll play a few series there against Chattanooga on Saturday.
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