Alabama sophomore tailback Najee Harris will not take part in Saturday afternoon's second preseason scrimmage in Bryant-Denny Stadium.
One of the many second-half stars for the Crimson Tide in January's overtime victory over Georgia in the national championship game has been sidelined due to a foot injury. The 6-foot-2, 230-pounder from Antioch, California, is wearing a protective cast.
"Our medical staff felt like totally staying off it for a week would be helpful," Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said in a news conference Thursday evening after practice. "When he comes out of that, he will start rehabbing and will be day-to-day. This is not a long-term issue that we think is going to be a significant problem for him - even for the first game."
Alabama opens Sept. 1 against Louisville in Orlando's Camping World Stadium.
Harris played in all 14 games for last season's national champions, with 61 carries for 370 yards and three touchdowns. He had six carries for 65 yards against the Bulldogs, including a season-long gain of 35.
The Tide worked Thursday for two hours in full pads. It was their 12th of 25 preseason practices, with today's workout helping set up a scrimmage Saban believes is very important.
"We've got a lot of young guys, especially on defense, and we've got to see who's got the maturity to go out there and execute," he said. "For a lot of younger guys, this is a big step as far as knowing what to be able to do to be able to understand what it takes to be able to play on a consistent basis.
"We're evaluating a lot of different positions, and in some cases it's for backup positions, and in some cases it's for who's going to start."
Saban has yet to name a starting quarterback between junior Jalen Hurts and sophomore Tua Tagovailoa, who reportedly had the better first scrimmage of the two. Hurts is 26-2 as the Alabama starter, but Tagovailoa replaced a struggling Hurts at halftime against Georgia and rallied the Tide to a fifth national championship in nine seasons.
"I don't expect it to be an easy decision," Saban said. "We have two guys who are great competitors and really good players. They've both had great fall camps, so I don't expect it to be easy.
"I've said it before: If both guys can contribute, we'll try to utilize that the best that we can."
Tide tidbits
Saturday's scrimmage will be more "game-like" compared to last weekend, though Saban's assistants did use the coaching booths and will do so again. Alabama has six new assistants this season. Saban said junior cornerback Trevon Diggs and sophomore safety Xavier McKinney have been the most consistent members of the secondary.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.