Malachi Moore's Alabama football career is over. The graduate senior safety had surgery on Tuesday and will miss the ReliaQuest Bowl, per head coach Kalen DeBoer.
Kalen DeBoer announces Malachi Moore will undergo surgery today and will miss the ReliaQuest Bowl.
— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) December 18, 2024
"He's been going through an injury pretty much a lot of the season, and it just got to the point that he wasn't gonna be able to play." pic.twitter.com/WXRhZKmLs6
Moore being injured for the majority of the season wasn't known until today. He gutted it out to help the team and go out the way he wanted to. I'm sure Moore desperately wanted to play one more game with the Alabama uniform on, but having his last game be a fifth straight win over Auburn in the Iron Bowl is a pretty good way for it to end.
Moore's injury means both Alabama's starting safeties at the beginning of the season are now out. Keon Sabb suffered a broken foot against Tennessee that caused him to miss the remainder of the season.
Bray Hubbard filled in admirably in place of Sabb, but now Alabama's depth will be tested to a greater degree with Moore sidelined.
Michigan doesn't have a prolific passing attack with either quarterback who could take snaps, but they can still throw the football and will look to pick on the inexperienced safety who takes Moore's place.
The likely replacement for Moore will be Penn State transfer King Mack, who has seen a good bit of playing time this season with various injuries to other Tide players. He has struggled at times, though.
Charlotte transfer Kameron Howard is another name who could see playing time at safety. There's also freshman Tide legacy Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. who could use the bowl practices to make a big move up the depth chart and steal some playing time on defense after spending the majority of the season as a key special teams contributor.
Freshman Zay Mincey, who started the year at cornerback, could also be shifted over to safety due to the thin room for bowl practices.
Another option for Kane Wommack would be to start DaShawn Jones at Husky (nickel) and potentially shift Red Morgan back to safety, a position he is probably better suited for than the nickel corner spot.
There are plenty of options for Wommack and DB's coach Maurice Linguist, but none will replace the experience or the high level of play Moore brought to the table.
The good news is the bowl practices will allow the opportunity for a player to step into that role and play well enough that they position themselves for a starting role on the 2025 defense.