Alabama will begin its run at the Mississippi state championship this Saturday when the No. 2 Crimson Tide host Southern Mississippi, but they will do so without one of their starters.
Junior defensive end LaBryan Ray, a five-star member of Alabama's 2017 signing class, left last weekend's 47-23 win at South Carolina due to a recurring foot injury and has no set timetable for a return.
"LaBryan Ray is probably out for sure for this game," Alabama coach Nick Saban said Monday in his weekly news conference. "We're doing some further testing to see what the situation is with his foot. It's undecided right now as to how long he may be out."
The worst-case scenario is that the 6-foot-5, 265-pounder from Madison becomes the Tide's third starting defender to sustain a season-ending setback, joining the inside linebacker tandem of Dylan Moses and Joshua McMillon.
Ray's absence will leave a young position group even younger. Redshirt freshman Stephon Wynn and true freshmen DJ Dale, Justin Eboigbe and Byron Young each played this past weekend against the Gamecocks up front defensively.
"We need to work hard to get these guys to play well," Saban said. "There is no substitute for experience, and if these guys could get comfortable with the basic fundamentals, then their ability to adapt in a game will adjust better."
Said senior defensive tackle Raekwon Davis: "There is no pressure. The younger guys know that we are all held to standard. It is what it is."
Alabama could start two true freshmen along with Davis this week, with Dale already starting at nose tackle and having been one of the most impressive members of the 2019 class.
"You don't see many young guys with a technique like DJ has," Davis said. "He plays like he's been in this league for a while, and he's straight out of high school. You don't see that."
Southern Miss is off to a 2-1 start, sandwiching wins over Alcorn State (38-10) and Troy (47-42) around a 38-15 loss at Mississippi State.
Game time set
Alabama's home game next Saturday against Ole Miss will be televised by CBS with a 3:30 p.m. EDT kickoff. The Crimson Tide hold a 54-10-2 series lead that includes a 26-2 record in Tuscaloosa.
Seeing yellow
Through three games, Alabama ranks 102nd nationally with 7.67 penalties per game and 107th with 71.67 penalty yards per game. The Tide were flagged 11 times for 92 yards at South Carolina.
"We had way too many penalties," Saban said. "We shot ourselves in the foot on both sides of the ball. A lot of these penalties were unforced errors - jumping offsides or not substituting correctly on defense - and we cannot put ourselves in those positions."
Tide tidbits
Alabama did not practice Monday. ... Saban said he would let this week's practice dictate who starts at inside linebacker between sophomore Ale Kaho and true freshman Shane Lee. ... Tua Tagovailoa last Saturday became the first quarterback in Alabama history to throw for more than 400 yards and five touchdowns in a game.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.