No. 1 Alabama forced to shuffle secondary
Alabama will have to take on one of the top quarterbacks in the country on Saturday without a starting cornerback.
Trevon Diggs will be out indefinitely because of a fractured foot, coach Nick Saban announced on Monday.
Diggs, who is the brother of Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs, sustained the injury during Saturday’s 65-31 win at Arkansas. The junior had a season-high seven tackles and a pass defended in that contest. He has 20 tackles and an interception this season.
No. 1 Alabama (6-0) plays host to Missouri on Saturday. The Tigers feature a passing game that rates 14th in the country with an average of 318.4 yards per game. Drew Lock, who entered the season as arguably the top senior quarterback prospect for the NFL Draft, has completed 118 of 197 passes for 1,487 yards, with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions.
For Alabama, junior cornerback Saivion Smith seems most likely to join the starting lineup, although he has been working on the other side behind true freshman Patrick Surtain II. One answer is for Surtain to move over to Diggs’ spot, with Smith elevated to the first team.
Another possibility: Josh Jobe could take over for Diggs, but that would mean Alabama starting two true freshman cornerbacks, which is not ideal.
“We’re obviously very thin and need some guys to step up and develop,” coach Nick Saban said. “But Patrick has played quite a bit at his position. We do have two guys that have some experience, but we don’t have a lot of depth right now.”
That’s the really big issue.
Alabama entered the season with no returning starters in the secondary, and then freshman cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis (knee) and sophomore safety Daniel Wright (shoulder) suffered season-ending injuries.
Smith started the first three games this season but was replaced by Surtain after giving up a 75-yard touchdown on the first play at Ole Miss. Smith has 14 tackles and one interception — a pick-six against Arkansas State, when he jumped in front of a screen pass and returned the interception 38 yards for a score.
Missouri (3-2, 0-2 SEC) is averaging 39.0 points per game.
“Missouri has a really, really good team,” Saban said. They’re running the ball for over 200 yards a game and are one of the leading passing teams in the country. Drew Lock is an outstanding quarterback.”
