TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama’s future collided with the present.
That future also happened to slam into LSU second-string quarterback Myles Brennan on fourth down with just over two minutes remaining in Saturday night's game.
The responsible party, Alabama freshman linebacker Dylan Moses, a Baton Rouge, La., native, turned to the LSU side of the field and flexed his arms across his chest after the 11-yard sack of Brennan sent the Tigers’ offense off the field for good.
“Dylan Moses I know he stood out in my eyes, had those two big sacks,” Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts said. “That’s what we need is [an] all-around unit and all-around team is for guys to step up when their number’s called.”
Moses’ No. 18 jersey is sure to soon be in high demand both on the football field and at the vendor stands set up along 10th Avenue outside Bryant-Denny Stadium.
No. 2 Alabama defeated No. 19 LSU 24-10 for the seventh consecutive time in the series, but the Crimson Tide (9-0, 6-0 SEC) didn’t come away unscathed.
There were still more than nine minutes left in the third quarter Saturday when Alabama senior linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton tossed his helmet aside and clutched his right knee — the same one that suffered a season-ending ACL injury to during the SEC Championship Game last season — in what appeared to be a serious injury.
“I’ve been hurt myself and I understand mentally what it does to you,” Alabama linebacker Rashaan Evans said. “Just the fact that this is his senior year, I know he’s feeling a lot of emotions right now.
“After that I just knew as a team we had to rally together and play for him.”
With Hamilton’s backup, sophomore Mack Wilson, already out of the game with a foot injury, junior Keith Holcombe was asked to play alongside Evans. At the time, Alabama’s defense, the same unit that was averaging and 8.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks per game in its last four contest, had only recorded three sacks and four tackles for loss.
Holcombe recorded a tackle for loss on his first play in for Hamilton, and the rest of the Crimson Tide seemed to follow suit. The team added three more sacks for a loss of 29 yards to finish with a season-high six total sacks and nine total tackles for loss.
“Holcombe did a great job calling the plays,” Evans said. “I just look forward for him to continue to keep doing what he’s doing and filling (in) great for Shaun Dion.”
The Crimson Tide also saw outside linebacker Jamey Mosley miss time in the second half with what appeared to be an ankle injury and defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick left the game twice with injuries early on in the game.
“Minkah wanted to play,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “He was begging me to play, wanted to play, wanted to play, wanted to play so finally I said ‘look you can play on dime.’ Because he always plays at money, which is really more of a linebacker position. So you know he’s not going to get caught running deep on somebody.”
Fitzpatrick’s apparent hamstring injury originally occurred while he was in the process of breaking up a deep would-be touchdown pass on LSU’s first drive.
Despite the injury, Fitzpatrick managed to make the most of what amounted to a handful of snaps following the injury. He finished the game with three tackles and shared a sack with safety Ronnie Harrison.
“He was energetic [after the injuries],” Harrison said. “You know how Minkah is, he was still talking, still being a leader, taking care of the guys that’s in, making sure they know all the checks.”
Saban said the fact that the defensive back was able to return to the game makes him think the injury wasn’t too terrible. The team will likely do an MRI to confirm Fitzpatrick’s status on Sunday.
Saban was less optimistic where Hamilton and Wilson were concerned. Their injuries are expected to keep them out for the rest of the season, the Crimson Tide now has to hope Evans, who recorded a game-high 10 total tackles, can hold down the fort with the help of Holcombe [four total tackles] and Moses [two total tackles and a game-high 1.5 sacks for a loss of 17 yards].
Alabama remains confident that Holcombe and Moses can live up to the Crimson Tide standard.
“They came in and did an excellent job,” Alabama linebacker Anfernee Jennings said. “We already knew what they were capable of. Dylan Moses did a really good job when he came in. He’s been working really hard and it showed tonight.”
Holcombe has already started two games this season when Evans was unable to go against Fresno State and Colorado State due to injury. That experience could prove to be the difference with games against No. 16 Mississippi State and No. 14 Auburn coming up in the next three weeks.
“It’s very unfortunate, but we got to look at the next man up,” Jennings said. “Those guys [Hamilton and Wilson] are a big part of this team, my prayers are out to them, but we’ll be alright.”
