Unlikely Faces Make Plays in Alabama Football's Rout of Chattanooga
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Most everyone knew that No. 8 Alabama's game against Chattanooga wasn't going to be competitive, but what people didn't expect were the Crimson Tide players that ended up making the biggest contributions.
"We got to play a lot of players," Alabama head coach Nick Saban said after the game. "A lot of these guys, man, they work hard all year long. They don't get a lot of positive self gratification. [...] It's good for their development, good for their experience, obviously they can learn and grow."
Of course, quarterback Jalen Milroe had a great game. In just one half of playing time, he completed 13-of-16 passes for 197 yards and three touchdowns, and two of those touchdowns went to players who had yet to score in an Alabama uniform.
Early in the second quarter, Milroe hit Robbie Ouzts on a flat route that the big-bodied tight end took seven yards for a touchdown through a would-be tackler.
It was only Ouzts' third catch of the season, and eighth of the junior's career, as he's primarily used as a blocker. It was also the first touchdown of his career .
Later on in the quarter, Milroe executed a perfect fake-toss to open up the back end of the field, and hit wide receiver Malik Benson in the back right corner of the end zone for the score.
Benson, who was the No. 1 recruit in all of junior college last year, was expected by some to be a large part of this Alabama offense. He earned a starting spot to open the season and has held it all year, but the stats have been lackluster.
Entering Saturday's game, he had just nine catches for 109 yards. He recorded three catches on the day for 23 yards and the aforementioned touchdown.
"He's a light in the room," fellow wide receiver Jermaine Burton said of Benson. "He's a funny dude, he's a real team player. He always does his job and is a guy you can depend on. He's a great friend outside of the locker room that will be there for you. He's a great add-on for us and he works hard."
The new faces continued to shine in the second half as well.
With the game already out of reach, backup quarterback Ty Simpson hit sophomore wide receiver Kendrick Law for what would have been a 32-yard touchdown and his first of the year, but he was called down at the 1-yard-line.
That paved the way for uber-talented freshman running back Justice Haynes to plow in his first touchdown in an Alabama uniform. Later on in the fourth, he scored a second touchdown with a 33-yard scamper.
Haynes was one of the stars of Alabama's A-Day game back in April, but hasn't been able to see the field much this year behind the lethal trio of Jase McClellan, Roydell Williams and Jam Miller in the backfield. With McClellan and Williams both being seniors, Haynes is poised to make a big impact on the Crimson Tide offense in 2024 and beyond.
"Justice is a really good player, and probably hasn't gotten as many opportunities as we'd like for him to because of the depth at that position," Saban said. "I was very pleased with the way he played. He made an outstanding run for a touchdown at the end of the game. [...] Justice has done a really good job all year long and we have lots of confidence in him."
To add to it, freshman running back Richard Young punched in a 1-yard score of his own in the fourth quarter for the first touchdown of his career.
It wasn't just the offense that had new players making plays, either. Defensive back Kristian Story, who didn't start but played in dime packages due to Jaylen Key's injury, made an astounding play on the ball for the senior's first career interception.
While Story is a senior, he was not recognized before the game for senior day and still has an extra year of eligibility remaining due to COVID. There's a high chance he could be a key part of the Crimson Tide secondary next season, and this play could serve as a takeoff point for him.
"He deserves it, you know, he earned it," linebacker Jihaad Campbell said of Story. "He's actually seen that route in film, so I definitely have to applaud him for his understanding of what was going on during that play."
Another player who will be a key piece of next year's secondary? Caleb Downs. But his big play of the day came on special teams.
Kool-Aid McKinstry, the team's starting punt returner all season, finally lost his job after a myriad of miscues throughout the season.
He was replaced by Downs, who late in the third quarter housed a punt 85 yards for Alabama's first special teams touchdown of the year, as well as the star freshman's first career touchdown.
It's too early to tell whether or not Saban will stick with Downs as return man for the rest of the season, but if he chooses to do so, Alabama appears to have yet another weapon at its disposal in the third phase of the game.
"We've got confidence in [Downs], we've got confidence in [Isaiah Bond], I've got confidence in Kool-Aid," Saban said. "Sometimes when you're in that position, confidence is really, really important, and we've got to get his confidence back. Caleb's got confidence. Obviously did a great job on the return we had today."
While it was great to see the new faces shine against an inferior opponent, Alabama's season is on the line the next two weeks against rivals Auburn and Georgia.
For those, it's probably safe to assume we'll see more of the usual faces.
