Six days before the start of Alabama's football season, sophomore defensive lineman Raekwon Davis was being treated for a gunshot wound in his right leg that he sustained in the parking lot of a Tuscaloosa bar.
Davis is doing better now.
Actually, he's doing much, much better.
The 6-foot-7, 306-pounder from Meridian, Miss., recorded a 10-yard sack of Florida State's Deondre Francois in the Sept. 2 season opener and has nine tackles through games against the Seminoles and Fresno State.
"I think it's really important to Raekwon for him to be a great player," Alabama coach Nick Saban said Wednesday night in a news conference. "He works really hard. He gives great effort. Like all young players, they don't realize all the time the importance of paying attention to detail and understanding the situation and not just going 100 miles an hour."
The Crimson Tide practiced outside for the first time this week Wednesday, working out for two hours in full pads.
Davis is tied with Da'Ron Payne for the most tackles on a defensive front that has helped limit the Crimson Tide's first two opponents to an average of 49 rushing yards per game. Florida State's longest run against Alabama was 9 yards, a yard short of the sack Davis registered.
"We've been pleased with his performance," Saban said.
Plans not revealed
A reporter Wednesday night began his question by referencing Saban's comments after last Saturday's 41-10 win over Fresno State and how the plan had been to insert freshman quarterback Tua Tagovailoa for Jalen Hurts during the first half. The reporter asked if something similar would occur this week against Colorado State.
The response was predictable.
"We haven't decided how we're going to play the guys, and I wouldn't tell you if I did," Saban said. "I will call Colorado State and tell them exactly what we want to do as soon as I get out of here. I know Mike Bobo. His dad lives by my house at Lake Rabun, so I'll tell him who we're playing, when and for how long."
Tide tidbits
Junior right guard Lester Cotton suffered an undisclosed injury late in the third quarter last Saturday and came out of the game, but Saban said Cotton has practiced this week and that there is "every thought he will play." ... When asked about sophomore running back Josh Jacobs (hamstring) playing for the first time this season, Saban said, "He's been practicing. I don't know." ... Colorado State's lone win over a Southeastern Conference team occurred in 1992, when the Rams upset LSU in Baton Rouge 17-14.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.