Smith's start against Tulane 'doubtful'

The status of starting defensive tackle Andre Smith for Saturday’s game against Tulane is still undetermined.

Smith was downgraded from questionable to doubtful, head coach Nick Saban said Wednesday, making it less likely that he sees the field in the home opener.

Smith sprained his knee during the third quarter of the Clemson game Aug. 30 and has been unable to practice all this week. His streak of 27 consecutive starts for the Crimson Tide is in jeopardy.

“He’s doing rehab,” Saban said. “He can jog straight ahead. I think cutting is the problem right now. He has a sprained [medial collateral ligament], so the inside lateral movement is the problem.

“They usually heal up nicely. We thought it would probably take about a week. We were hoping it would come a little faster than that, but he’s probably doubtful.”

If Smith cannot play Saturday, Alabama will likely use the same rotation it did at the end of the Clemson game, moving Mike Johnson from guard to left tackle to make room for David Ross at guard.

Next in line behind Johnson and the other starting tackle Drew Davis would be either Taylor Pharr or one of the true freshman tackles.

Wide receiver Earl Alexander is also doubtful for Saturday’s game. Alexander is nursing a sprained ankle that flared up during the Clemson game, forcing him to wear a boot earlier in the week.

Bowden phone call

Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden called Saban looking for answers after Alabama dominated the Tigers over the weekend.

Bowden wanted to know if there was anything specific that the Tide knew about his team that might be able to help them improve in the future, Saban said.

“You know how your competitors feel even though you feel great when you have success,” Saban said. “You also have been on the other side of that and know how they must feel and some of the issues and problems that they have to deal with relative to trying to get their team back.”

The relationship between Saban and the Bowden family goes way back. Tommy Bowden was a graduate assistant at West Virginia when Saban began playing football there in 1978.

Tommy’s father, Bobby Bowden, offered Saban a job at West Virginia to be closer to home during a difficult time after his father passed away.
“We’ve always had a tremendous respect personally as well as professionally, and I think all the Bowdens know that,” Saban said.

Special teams coverage

Though Alabama seemed to make it look easy on both sides of the ball in Saturday’s game, Saban said the team had a weakness on special teams and kickoff coverage in particular.

“We worked hard on special teams,” Saban said. “It was a little better, but still not where it needs to be.”

The team hopes to improve on kickoff and punt returns against Tulane on Saturday. Despite averaging 11.5 yards on punt returns, Saban felt like they still left 20 or 30 yards out there.