Former five-star prospect Bryce Young will make his first start at quarterback for No. 1 Alabama as it begins its national championship defense in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game on Saturday vs. Miami. Kickoff in Atlanta is at 3:30 p.m. Eastern.
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The Crimson Tide beat Ohio State by 28 points for the national championship, but had six players from that team go in the first round of the NFL draft and two more in early in the second round. D’Eriq King returns at quarterback for Miami after he threw for 2,686 yards and 23 touchdowns in 2020.
What: Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game.
Who: No. 1 Alabama (13-0, 10-0 SEC in 2020) vs. No. 13 Miami (8-3, 7-2 ACC in 2020).
When: Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021.
Time: 3:30 p.m. Eastern.
Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta (71,000).
TV: ABC.
Cable channel finder: AT&T U-Verse, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, Cox, DIRECTV, Dish, Verizon Fios, WOW.
Live stream: fuboTV (free trial), Sling TV (promotional offers), Hulu Live TV (free trial).
Latest line: Alabama -19.5.
Announcers: Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge and Molly McGrath.
Check out some of what John Zenor of the Associated Press wrote about Alabama needing to rely on young receivers along with John Metchie III.
Alabama is hoping its search for receiver help to complement John Metchie III pays immediate dividends.
The top-ranked Crimson Tide, which could be called Wide Receiver U. with its recent run of talented wideouts, brought in four highly rated recruits and landed Ohio State transfer Jameson Williams.
They don’t know if the additions have solved the problem, but there is extremene confidence in the group.
Alabama will rely heavily on some of those newcomers in the passing game starting with Saturday’s matchup against No. 14 Miami in Atlanta.
There’s plenty of talent but only Metchie has really established himself as a consistent threat, and he did it with DeVonta Smith demanding most of the attention from opposing defenses.
“We had a lot of super talented receivers come in and a lot of people who have made a really good impression on me, the rest of the team and the coaching staff,” said quarterback Bryce Young, also a newbie; the sophomore is set to make his first start. “You can tell when they came in they were guys that were really experienced at the high school level.
“You can tell how they came in, they came with a lot of talent, they made a lot of plays early. We’re all super excited about the young group of receivers.”
Alabama has had four receivers picked in the first round of the NFL draft over the past two years, including the 2020 Heisman Trophy winner Smith. Jaylen Waddle joined him in the latest draft, a year after Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs were also first-rounders.
Everyone is waiting to see which young receivers emerge from the fray starting Saturday, but coach Nick Saban said developing consistency is a big part of the process.
“I think sometimes they’re not sure what they’re doing so they’re not playing fast, sometimes they get impatient and cut things short,” Saban said. “But they also have shown that they have a lot of upside in terms of their ability to make a really positive contribution to the team so it’s going to be a little bit of a work in progress.”
Metchie became Alabama’s No. 2 receiving threat last season when Waddle went down with an injury. But he was a distant No. 2 behind Smith, who shattered Tide records with 117 catches for 1,856 yards and 23 touchdowns.
Metchie caught 55 passes for 916 yards and six touchdowns.
The speedy Ohio State transfer Williams is set to start the opener. Saban also brought in four of the top 10 receiver prospects from the high school ranks, according to the 247Sports composite rankings, led by No. 2-rated JaCorey Brooks.
For team hats, shirts or other gear:
Visit Fanatics, Lids, Champs Sports, Dick’s Sporting Goods or New Era.
No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 14 Miami football free live stream: How to watch, TV, odds | Bryce Young - cleveland.com
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