Jaylen Key, Malachi Moore deemed game-day decisions for Texas
During his weekly radio show, Alabama head coach Nick Saban shared the latest on injured defensive backs Jaylen Key and Malachi Moore two days prior to the Texas game.
“We’ve had a lot of issues in the secondary with some of these guys, so we’re working hard to try to get them ready,” Saban said Thursday night. “Malachi’s been able to practice some. Jaylen Key practiced some today. Both of them will be game-day decisions. The secondary is not someplace you can play if you can’t move around pretty good.
“But I’ve been encouraged by the progress that they’ve made.”
Shortly after intercepting a pass that led to Alabama’s fourth touchdown of the game, Key left the field gingerly after covering the ensuing kickoff. Once Tide trainers attended to the starting free safety, he walked to the locker room just before halftime and did not return.
Alabama’s lead ballooned to 35-0, and during an Alabama punt return, Moore was slow to get up and visited the sideline medical tent. He eventually left the field and did not return.
When Key left the game, he was replaced at in the back end of the defense by Kristian Story. When Moore went down with his injury, Trey Amos came off the Crimson Tide sideline to play cornerback, while Terrion Arnold – who started at cornerback – moved to Star.
If he’s able to play Saturday, Moore can line up at both safety or Star, and Saban discussed how that makes the senior defensive back a top leader in his position group this season.
“If you’re gonna take every position on the team and let them vote on their position, ‘OK, who do you think is the leader?’ – that doesn’t mean there’s not other guys that are leaders, but I think Malachi would win that vote in the secondary,” Saban said. “Because he’s vocal, he makes all the calls and he’s in a better position playing safety and Star to do that as (opposed to) a corner.
“As a corner, you’re kind of over there on an island. … But when you’re a safety, you’re making all the calls, so you’re in a better position. Just like (Deontae) Lawson is in a better position being the Mike linebacker, making all the calls – even though he plays Will sometimes, too. But he makes all the calls for internally for the whole front seven, so he’s in a better position from a leadership standpoint than, let’s say, Dallas Turner or Chris Braswell, who play on the outside.”
Alabama will host No. 11 Texas on Saturday, Sept. 9. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.
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