Alabama's wide receiver depth to be tested against South Carolina

With Kendrick Law out last week against Vanderbilt, it was obvious that it would be Kobe Prentice who would step into his place with the starting unit.

Unfortunately, Prentice suffered an injury on a scary hit during the game last week, and now both he and Law are questionable for Saturday's game against South Carolina. If neither are able to go, then the Crimson Tide's depth at WR will be tested.

Ryan Williams has been a revelation as a freshman, and is already one of the very best WR's in the country. Germie Bernard has been a reliable No. 2, and his role in the offense has gotten bigger with each passing week.

But behind those two, with Law and Prentice potentially on the mend, there's a lot of inexperience.

Who steps up for Alabama if Law and Prentice are both out?

Junior Emmanuel Henderson is the most experienced of the options. Henderson is in his third year in the program, but hasn't seen a lot of playing time outside of special teams until this season. He's caught three passes for 54 yards this season, but it is obvious the coaching staff trusts him.

He was in the game on the first drive against Georgia, and came up with a big play on a 34-yard catch from Jalen Milroe that sparked the opening touchdown drive. Henderson has some physicality to his game as a former high school running back, so he could be the guy to try and replicate what the offense was getting out of Law.

Redshirt freshman Cole Adams is a guy the coaching staff trusts, but he has been dealing with an arm injury he suffered against USF that kept him out of the Wisconsin game. He played against Georgia and Vanderbilt, but he's wearing a bulky brace on his arm.

Adams is a rock solid receiver, albeit not a big-play threat and not a guy who is going to make a huge difference as a blocker because of his size (5'10", 181).

The most intriguing of the options is freshman Caleb Odom. He saw some playing time against the 'Dores, and made a key block on Jam Miller's first touchdown run of the afternoon. He's not the same level of a blocker as Law, but he has tight end size and wide receiver skill. He's a guy who is going to make a big impact down the road, but circumstances might thrust him into meaningful snaps earlier than the coaching staff would have preferred.

You may also see Alabama run more two tight end sets to compensate. CJ Dippre has become a bigger part of the offense this season with Milroe's improvement in the intermediate passing game. Washington transfer Josh Cuevas has proven himself as a reliable target as well, and while Robbie Ouzts isn't going to strike fear with his receiving ability, he is a good blocker in space.

In football, you have to have a next man up mentality, and that mentality could be tested this weekend with both Law and Prentice questionable to play.