Nate Oats reacts to Chris Youngblood's big day in Alabama victory vs. Texas A&M

Alabama relied on multiple players during the win against Texas A&M but got something new from Chris Youngblood. The USF transfer has eased his way into the Alabama rotation after an injury but feels as if he’s finally arrived with SEC play underway. Youngblood finished Saturday with a season-high 14 points, making three of six from deep and his lone two-point attempt.

Following the game, head coach Nate Oats gave his reaction to Youngblood playing well against Texas A&M. It’s something he may have predicted coming into the game, especially being an off-ball player for Alabama. Luckily, a few open shots went down for a potential breakout game.

“We knew what we were getting with him,” Oats said. “From South Florida, he’s conference Player of the Year, he shoots it at a really high clip. He just had to get off that surgery and get himself back comfortable. I told him he was going to be able to get some shots this game. We tried to put him off with the press, have some other guys handle it, get him open. He goes 3-6 and he made a bunch of tough plays too.”

Looking at Youngblood’s numbers throughout the season, he is still shooting under 30% from deep. That’s well under the 41.6% a season ago at USF, the type of production Alabama was hoping they would get entering the season.

However, Oats believes Youngblood does more for Alabama than just scoring. He gave credit to the defensive job he did on Texas A&M’s primary scorer on the night, Zhuric Phelps. With Wade Taylor out, Phelps took on the main offensive role and despite 24 points, was just eight of 23 from the field and missed five of six shots from three.

Getting closer to full health, Youngblood’s impact is beginning to show on the court.

“He’s a winner, he’s a competitor, a leader,” Oats said. “You want him. I thought he did the best job on Phelps tonight and that’s still with him not 100% because he’s still trying to get back from the ankle surgery.”

A pair of 3-0 SEC teams will meet in Tuscaloosa on Tuesday as Ole Miss comes to Coleman Coliseum. If Alabama is going to continue its undefeated start, getting another productive game from Youngblood might wind up being key. But for now, the Texas A&M performance is a good start.