4 underrated players who could be X-Factors for Alabama vs. South Carolina

The margins in the SEC are razor-thin nowadays. Every team on Alabama's conference schedule is talented and littered with guys who are eventually going to play Sunday football.

In Alabama's eight regular-season SEC games a year ago, five of them were decided by one score. That includes a 29-22 win over South Carolina on the road. The year before, Alabama held on for a two-point win over the Gamecocks in Tuscaloosa.

Chances are, even with Alabama a near two-touchdown favorite, that this game is going to be close. That means the Crimson Tide will need some off-the-radar players to step up and make significant impacts to pull this out.

We've identified four guys we believe have a shot this week.

1. Desmond Umeozulu

Umeozulu got his first start for Alabama last week against Florida State, with Kane Wommack choosing to open the game by kicking starting Bandit Devan Thompkins inside. That inserted Umeozulu at the Bandit spot to give Alabama a bit more athleticism on the outside against a running QB in Ashton Daniels.

I would expect a similar strategy up front against South Carolina with LaNorris Sellers being such a dynamic athlete at QB.

Umeozulu played well last week, and he'll have a little extra juice for this one after spending the first three seasons of his college career with the Gamecocks.

2. Justin Hill

The sophomore needs more snaps. Last week against Florida State, Hill saw only 16 snaps. That was the third-most at Wolf LB, behind Yhonzae Pierre (34) and Jah-Marien Latham (25). No offense to Latham, who is a valuable player for the Crimson Tide, but there's not a world in which he should be on the field more than Hill.

That's especially true against an athletic QB. We saw the issue with Latham on Ousmane Kromah's touchdown run in the first quarter last week:

He plays the surf technique on the zone-read well, but he just doesn't have the athleticism to run down the running back after the give. You know who probably could've? Hill.

He was one of the lone bright spots for the Alabama defense last week, something that was probably more evident on film for Wommack. I'd expect a bigger role for Hill this week, and for him to be a major factor in chasing down Sellers.

3. Jayvin James

South Carolina will move star edge rusher Dylan Stewart around, but he'll primarily line up over Alabama right tackle Jayvin James. Stewart is the type of pass rusher who can completely take over a game, and the Mississippi State transfer will be tasked with not allowing that to happen.

Now, Kalen DeBoer and Ryan Grubb surely aren't dumb enough to put James on an island against Stewart all game. I'd expect a steady diet of double teams and chips from tight ends on the Gamecocks' star edge.

But there will be times when James has to handle the matchup one-on-one, and his ability to do so could play a major factor in Alabama's success, or lack thereof, offensively.

4. Noah Rogers

NC State transfer Noah Rogers is set to make his Alabama debut this weekend. He and RB AK Dear will be available, per DeBoer on Monday. Rogers was trending to Alabama's No. 3 WR next to Ryan Coleman-Williams and Lotzeir Brooks this season before he suffered a long-term injury during spring practice.

Rogers beat his injury timeline and miraculously will get back on the field during the first month of the season. He probably won't see a ton of snaps in his debut as he works himself back into action, but he's a veteran presence in the room who has played a lot of football in his career. That shouldn't be discounted.

Something tells me that Rogers is going to come up with a crucial play this weekend.

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