The most significant injury for Monday's upcoming national championship game is on the Alabama side.
The Crimson Tide will be without receiver John Metchie, who went down with a torn ACL in the SEC Championship Game. He leads Alabama in receptions (96) and is second in yards (1,142) and touchdowns (8).
Two receivers will now step squarely into the spotlight. One is Jameson Williams, the Ohio State transfer who has become one of college football's best pass-catchers this season. The other is Ja'Corey Brooks, a freshman who has come on strong down the stretch.
Metchie's injury changed things for Alabama against Georgia back in Atlanta.
After he went down late in the first half, the Bulldog defense had at least a little more success slowing down the Crimson Tide offense. Williams said he saw Georgia play a little more over-the-top coverage on him in the second half.
Meeting with media this week, Williams said he feels as if that won't affect Alabama too much on Monday night. Offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien agrees.
"We're always finding ways to get all of our guys the ball," O'Brien said. "Our guys are really smart. You can move them around. You can do a lot of different things with them."
O'Brien has been around a handful of great receivers in his time as a football coach. He coached Deandre Hopkins while he led the Houston Texans. O'Brien also spent time on the New England Patriots staff when they featured greats such as Randy Moss and Julian Edelman.
He feels Williams has the physical traits of a great receivers, aspects like speed, route running, and intelligence.
"I think that's something that the great ones have those traits," O'Brien said. "Everybody's a little bit different. Everybody's built differently. Everybody has different skill sets. Different speed, things like that. But the best ones that I've been around, and Jameson's in that category, they all have that competitive spirit that's really hard to find sometimes."
But Williams can't do it alone. That's where freshman Ja'Corey Brooks comes in.
Brooks went without a catch in Alabama's first nine games this season. He recorded one reception each in the two games following.
With Williams dealing with an injury against Auburn, Brooks made perhaps the biggest play of Alabama's season. He hauled in a 28-yard touchdown catch with 24 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime. The Crimson Tide went on to win and keep their national championship hopes alive.
Thrust into the spotlight against Cincinnati in the College Football Playoff after Metchie's injury, Brooks hauled in four catches for 66 yards and a touchdown.
"Ja'Corey is a very young impressive player, really good size, really good work ethic," O'Brien said. "He's a very serious guy. He takes his game very seriously. He tries to work every single day to get better. I think it's really hard to play receiver at a young age at this level and at the next level. And he's doing it really well at this level."
There are other Alabama pass-catchers to keep an eye on such as Slade Bolden and Jahleel Billingsley. But it's the superstar and the up-and-coming freshman Georgia will have to monitor to contain the Crimson Tide attack.
