Last week’s game against Kentucky was marred by injuries for Alabama Football. That didn’t stop the Tide, who cruised to a 49-21 win in Lexington.
Alabama could be missing two defensive starters for at least another week. Coach Nick Saban shared updates on redshirt sophomore inside linebacker Deontae Lawson and senior safety Jaylen Key at his Wednesday news conference, emphasizing that both are still rehabbing and aiming to return to the lineup. Both players are listed as questionable for this week’s game against UT-Chattanooga, with Saban stating that a final decision on their status might be made on Thursday.
Lawson has dealt with multiple ankle injuries this season, and has already missed two games (Mississippi State and Kentucky). Trezmen Marshall has been a serviceable replacement inside, and he and Jihaad Campbell form a respectable duo at linebacker.
The task of replacing Jaylen Key at safety is a little more complicated. At times, Bama has used senior Kristian Story to fill in for Key. At others, it has bumped Malachi Moore back to safety from his usual star position. From there, starting cornerback Terrion Arnold shifts inside to play star, and backup corner Trey Amos steps into the lineup on the boundary. While there might be a drop-off when Alabama has had to shift its secondary around, it hasn’t been significant. Players like Story and especially Amos have been solid in their roles.
Offensively, wide receiver Jermaine Burton is expected to play this week. Burton is Bama’s leading receiver, and missed last week’s game against Kentucky with an illness. Though Burton is a noted big play threat, the Tide has deployed such a balanced receiving corps this season that it would hardly miss any one individual player. Fellow receiver Ja’Corey Brooks, who has had a quiet season with just three catches, is dealing with an injury of his own. His status for this week’s game is unknown.
Depth has proven to be one of the Alabama Football team’s strengths, allowing it to allow its wounded players to fully heal. The Tide should have no trouble overcoming the Mocs, but it would like to be at full strength when it travels to Auburn next week.
