It's a much-needed bye week for Alabama after a grueling five weeks. The Crimson Tide faced a gauntlet, winning five SEC games in a row amid a seven-game winning streak.
After getting through four straight ranked opponents, Alabama survived a scare in the type of game that has plagued Kalen DeBoer in Tuscaloosa: on the road against an unranked opponent. All hope looked to be lost in the 4th quarter, but Ty Simpson led the Alabama rally and the Crimson Tide escaped Columbia with a 29-22 win over South Carolina.
Alabama's reward for that gauntlet is three straight games at home following the bye week. Securing wins over LSU and Oklahoma on the other side of the bye would clinch the Tide's berth in the College Football Playoff and almost certainly the SEC Championship Game as well.
The bye comes at a perfect time as Alabama looks to get healthy and perhaps make some subtle changes to the two-deep. The extra week of preparation could be pivotal for a few players who have been angling for increased playing time.
These four Alabama football players could see more playing time going forward
RB Daniel Hill
The redshirt freshman has taken over the RB2 slot from Kevin Riley in recent weeks as he's gotten healthier, and while the rushing stats have been far from eye-popping, he's coming up with big plays as a receiver that should lead to him getting more overall snaps.
Hill was actually Alabama's leading receiver last week against South Carolina. He turned four receptions into 76 yards. His 41-yard catch-and-run in the 2nd quarter set up the Crimson Tide's lone offensive touchdown of the first half.
Hill only got three carries, producing 10 yards. But he picked up a gain of 11 on one of those carries. He hasn't proven to be a strong between-the-tackles runner yet, but when Alabama can get him outside on sweeps, he has made some nice plays.
Jam Miller is still RB1, and that won't change after the bye, but increased snaps for Hill moving forward seems inevitable.
OT Michael Carroll
I won't pretend to know more about offensive line play than DeBoer, OC Ryan Grubb, or OL coach Chris Kapilovic. But it is odd, after how much they talked up Carroll before the Tennessee game, how little he has played since making his first career start against the Vols.
In fairness, Wilkin Formby played well at RT when he rotated in against Tennessee, but Carroll's lack of snaps last week against South Carolina was puzzling. Formby played 59 snaps to Carroll's 10. Carroll did get a bad penalty on one of those 10 snaps, but it's not like Formby was all that more effective when he was in there.
With Alabama still not getting what they want to get out of their guards, it wouldn't be surprising during the bye to see Carroll earn more snaps at RT with Formby potentially sliding in at RG. Formby has looked promising at guard, and his long-term future could be there.
DL Keon Keeley
Redshirt sophomore Keon Keeley has slowly begun earning playing time in his third season in Tuscaloosa. The coaching staff is trusting him more and more, and he's producing when he gets the chance.
Keeley finished the game against South Carolina, sacking LaNorris Sellers on the last play to secure Alabama's win. He's produced 1.5 sacks on the season in limited snaps, and with Kane Wommack looking to produce more of a pass rush from the front four, increased playing time for Keeley in the DL rotation could be a way to do that.
Keeley is one of five players on the team with more than a single sack, and the other four (Yhonzae Pierre, LT Overton, Justin Jefferson, and Edric Hill) have all seen significantly more playing time than Keeley.
DB Red Morgan
Sophomore Red Morgan has quietly developed nicely in his second season in Tuscaloosa. It's a credit to him - and the coaching staff - that he has remained engaged despite seeing less playing time this season than he did a year ago.
That's likely to change moving forward, however. Morgan played an outstanding game against Tennessee the week before, and will likely see an increased snap share at Alabama's Husky position moving forward.
DaShawn Jones has started all year - and he came up with a pivotal pick-six in the first quarter last week - but Morgan is demanding more playing time.