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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. _ University of Alabama coach Nick Saban isn’t looking for just one player to fill in for DeAndrew White, the senior wide receiver will likely be out two weeks with a separated shoulder.
The Crimson Tide will likely use a combination of players at the “Z” receiver position when it hosts Florida Atlantic on Saturday (noon ET, SEC Network).
“Christion Jones can play where DeAndrew White plays,” Saban said Wednesday evening. “Chris Black can play there and is probably a guy who deserves to play more than he has played. So this will be an opportunity for him. ArDarius Stewart can play there as well. All those guys will probably get some opportunity to do it.”
Although redshirt freshman Robert Foster was listed second behind White on the depth chart at Z, Alabama spent part of the offseason making sure that any receiver who had been with the team for more than a year could play at more than one spot.
Junior Amari Cooper is the starter at the X receiver position and Jones, who has 17 career starts, is the H in the slot in a three-receiver set.
Alabama has a lot of depth at the position and didn’t even have a completion to sophomore tight end O.J. Howard last week against West Virginia. Outside of the three primary receivers, Black had one catch for 8 yards, with the other receptions by running backs Jalston Fowler and T.J. Yeldon.
Overall, the Tide returned 15 of the 19 players who made a catch last season, who combined to make 77.9 percent (190 of 244) of the team’s receptions.
Black has never made a start while last week Stewart was one of 10 freshmen to see his first game action with the Crimson Tide. Quarterback Cooper Bateman was the other redshirt freshman as a holder on special teams, while the true freshmen making their debuts were Tony Brown, Rashaan Evans, Shaun Dion Hamilton, Da’Shawn Hand, Cam Robinson, Cam Sims and JK Scott.
“Some of these guys that are young players that haven’t played before, they don’t understand the importance of attention to detail,” Saban said when asked about Stewart. “They get in the game and don’t do things exactly right, and it’s a great learning experience for them. I think he learned a lot from the last game and will probably be better prepared this time around and hopefully he’ll improve because of that.
“He has a lot of ability. He’s strong, fast and explosive. But knowledge and experience are something you only come to get by going out and playing, and sometimes there’s a few mistakes along the way that help you gain that. So as long as you’re learning from them and growing from them I think that is the key to the drill.”
Alabama also needs to find replacements for White on special teams, including as a gunner with the punt-coverage unit. Safety Landon Collins took his place as the second deep many next to Jones on kick returns against WVU.
Meanwhile, all indications are that junior Geno Smith will fill in injured “star” safety Jarrick Williams, who is out for four weeks following surgery to repair a fracture in his foot.
However, combined with Eddie Jackson (knee) back working with the first unit at cornerback the domino effect led to many of the reserves lined up in different places during practice.
“Jarrick is a leader on our team,” senior free safety Nick Perry said. “He plays multiple roles in our defense. He played safety, star, money, so it’s going to take a combination of a lot of us to fill his role.”
Star is the fifth defensive back in nickel formation, and money is the sixth player in the secondary for dime formations.
“Geno is a guy that plays multiple roles too,” Perry added. “Geno used to play corner, so with star it should come easy for him.”
Christopher Walsh has covered Alabama football since 2004 and is the author of 19 books. In his free time, he writes about college football.
