Snap Counts and Observations: Game 5 vs. Tennessee

A season-high 29 players took the field on offense for Alabama against Tennessee on Saturday in Knoxville. Seven players (six on offense, one on defense) made their season debuts for the Crimson Tide, six players took the field for the first time in an Alabama uniform (not including special teams), and one player took his first snaps on his side of the ball in nearly two years.

Below is a breakdown of snap counts for every player, first by offense and defense and then with additional observations by position:

Offense (76 snaps)
Alex Leatherwood 74
Emil Ekiyor Jr. 74
Landon Dickerson 73
DeVonta Smith 72
John Metchie III 71
Mac Jones 63
Evan Neal 57
Najee Harris 53
Slade Bolden 49
Chris Owens 48
Miller Forristall 43
Kendall Randolph 32
Jahleel Billingsley 30
Deonte Brown 27
Bryce Young 13
Trey Sanders 12
Brian Robinson Jr. 9
Major Tennison 9
Tommy Brown 5
Cameron Latu 4
Javon Baker 3
Roydell Williams 2
Traeshon Holden 2
Joshua McMillon 2
Javion Cohen 2
Tanner Bowles 2
Darrian Dalcourt 2
Pierce Quick 2
Joshua Lanier 1

The offense was as wide-receiver-heavy as it has been all season, despite the loss of superstar wide receiver Jaylen Waddle on the game's opening kickoff. Alabama used three wide receivers (Blue personnel) on 50 of its 76 snaps (65.8%), and it used two tight ends (Silver personnel) on 24 of its 76 snaps (31.5%). Two snaps were run out of Tan personnel (four tight ends), and both resulted in touchdowns. The team is now 9 for 10 at scoring touchdowns out of Tan personnel this year.

A note on Tan personnel: That's coach Nick Saban's term for having four tight ends in the game. Even if one of them usually plays tight end, it could be argued that he lines up as a fullback in this formation, which would make it Black personnel (2 backs and 3 tight ends).

Defense (63 snaps)
Josh Jobe 63
Patrick Surtain II 63
Jordan Battle 63
Christian Harris 62
Malachi Moore 62
Daniel Wright 60
Dylan Moses 56
Will Anderson 38
Chris Allen 37
D.J. Dale 33
Phidarian Mathis 32
Byron Young 32
Justin Eboigbe 31
Christian Barmore 26
Tim Smith 13
Joshua McMillon 6
Brian Branch 6
Jamil Burroughs 5
Demarcco Hellams 3
Stephon Wynn Jr. 2

The defense lined up in nickel (five defensive backs) on 56 of 63 snaps (88.9%). Of those 56 snaps, 51 had three linemen and one outside linebacker; the other five had two of each. It lined up in dime (six DBs) on six snaps. Four of them had one lineman, two OLBs and two ILBs, but two of them had two linemen, two OLBs and one ILB, the first time this season that it had only one ILB on the field in dime. One snap was run out of base formation (four DBs).

QUARTERBACKS
Mac Jones 63
Bryce Young 13

Jones' streak of 400-yard games ended at three, but the team's streak of 400-yard games extended to four, courtesy of Young. Jones began the game 11 for 11, which meant he completed a school-record 19 straight passes dating back to the Georgia game. Stretching back a bit farther, there was a span in which Jones completed 29 of 30 passes for 495 yards and 23 first downs or touchdowns. He completed more than 80% of his passes against the Vols for more than 12 yards per attempt, and it was his lowest passing efficiency in a game this season.

RUNNING BACKS
Najee Harris 53
Trey Sanders 12
Brian Robinson Jr. 9
Roydell Williams 2

Harris continues to churn out effective-but-not-explosive runs. He ran for 96 yards on 20 carries against the Vols with a long of 16. He also took at least one direct snap with Jones shifting over as the "running back" next to him. Sanders recorded a 20-yard run in the fourth quarter, but like the season opener against Missouri, he didn't have much room to run. Williams, a true freshman from Hueytown, made his debut, carrying the ball on the game's final two plays.

WIDE RECEIVERS
DeVonta Smith 72
John Metchie III 71
Slade Bolden 49
Javon Baker 3
Traeshon Holden 2
Joshua Lanier 1

Smith played every snap possible — he missed two snaps in Tan personnel, when there are no wide receivers on the field, and two snaps with the reserves at the end of the game. Metchie missed all but one snap — the Hail Mary to end the half. Baker, a true freshman, took his place. He was one of three receivers to make his Alabama debut, joining Holden, a fellow freshman, and Lanier, a fifth-year senior who transferred from North Alabama.

Before the reserves entered the game, Bolden was the team's singular replacement for Waddle. Alabama ran 49 plays with three receivers on the field, and he was on the field for all 49 of them. He was targeted on four of Jones' first 11 throws. The offense also ran at least three plays with Bolden in the backfield and motioned him out of the backfield a few other times, which could be something to keep an eye on down the stretch.

TIGHT ENDS
Miller Forristall 43
Jahleel Billingsley 30
Kendall Randolph 18
Major Tennison 9
Cameron Latu 4
Joshua McMillon 2

Billingsley got his most playing time of the season with a brief injury to Forristall; he also became the second tight end this season to catch a pass. McMillon continued to enter as a blocker in goal-line situations. He could be considered a fullback, but he's classified as a tight end here because he's not expected to ever get a carry.

OFFENSIVE LINE
Left tackle: Alex Leatherwood 74, Javion Cohen 2
Left guard: Deonte Brown 27, Landon Dickerson 30, Kendall Randolph 14, Tommy Brown 3, Tanner Bowles 2
Center: Landon Dickerson 43, Chris Owens 31, Darrian Dalcourt 2
Right guard: Emil Ekiyor Jr. 74, Pierce Quick 2
Right tackle: Evan Neal 57, Chris Owens 17, Tommy Brown 2

The starter at each position is listed first, even if he didn't play the most snaps. Deonte Brown had a slight shoulder injury, so there was some early shakeup on the O-line. Dickerson moved to left guard and Owens to center to fill his place. Then Randolph switched from a tight end wearing No. 85 to a left guard wearing No. 60, but Tommy Brown had to fill in at left guard while he switched.

When the reserves came in for the final two snaps, Cohen and Bowles got their first-ever action on offense for Alabama.

DEFENSIVE LINE
D.J. Dale 33
Phidarian Mathis 32
Byron Young 32
Justin Eboigbe 31
Christian Barmore 26
Tim Smith 13
Jamil Burroughs 5
Stephon Wynn Jr. 2

Despite LaBryan Ray missing the game with an elbow injury and Christian Barmore missing the first quarter, this group still went eight deep. (Barmore didn't play at all in the first quarter but played 26 of 49 snaps afterward. When asked about it, Saban said he wouldn't comment on "what we do internally.") Mathis and Young each played a season-high 32 snaps. Two true freshmen, Smith and Burroughs, played in their second straight game, and Wynn, a redshirt sophomore, got his first playing time of the season.

OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS
Will Anderson 38
Chris Allen 37

These two continue to split the snaps very evenly. This was the first game in which they were the only two OLBs to see the field; Drew Sanders and Ben Davis saw time in the previous four games.

INSIDE LINEBACKERS
Christian Harris 62
Dylan Moses 56
Joshua McMillon 6

McMillon, the sixth-year senior, got his first defensive snaps since 2018, subbing in for Moses for six snaps against the Volunteers. There were 63 defensive snaps, so you may be wondering why this group is two snaps short — it's because two snaps were run out of dime personnel with only one ILB, which the defense hadn't done before this game. Every defensive snap until this point had two ILBs on the field.

DEFENSIVE BACKS
Josh Jobe 63
Patrick Surtain II 63
Jordan Battle 63
Malachi Moore 62
Daniel Wright 60
Brian Branch 6
Demarcco Hellams 3

This is pretty self-explanatory. Jobe, Surtain and Battle played every snap. Moore played all but one snap, which was run out of base personnel, meaning there's no Star, or fifth defensive back. The defense had Moore blitz from his Star position several times, either to generate more pressure or to help contain outside runs. Wright played the first 56 snaps at safety; then Hellams was going to get the final drive, but he was injured after three plays so Wright got the final four snaps.

But what's interesting here is that Wright was the starter in the first place. Hellams had already replaced him twice this season — against Texas A&M and Ole Miss — and Hellams played every defensive snap against Georgia, with Wright only playing in dime. But against Tennessee, not only was Hellams not a starting safety in nickel, but he didn't even play in dime. Freshman Brian Branch came in for all six dime snaps. So Hellams proved he was capable of starting an entire game as one of the five nickel DBs, and then the very next week, he wasn't even part of the dime defense with six DBs. Alabama will likely play a lot of dime against pass-heavy Mississippi State, so keep an eye on who's manning each position in the secondary.