Ahead of Saturday’s matchup with Alabama, the Daily Beacon talked with The Crimson White’s Sports Editor Alexander Plant. Plant broke down the Crimson Tide and things to keep an eye on Saturday.

Question: What is both the injury and the COVID-19 situation right now at Alabama?

Answer: “No update on the COVID reserve list or COVID report. No players have tested positive for it so far this week. That’s according to the athletic department of course. Injury report, LaBryan Ray is looking to play this Saturday. Tight end Miller Forristall had an ankle injury. He actually returned to the game versus Georgia and is expected to play Saturday. Other than that there haven’t been many injuries. The team as a whole is looking extremely healthy.”

Q: The offense lost Tua Tagovailoa, Henry Ruggs and Jerry Jeudy and hasn’t skipped a beat, what’s been your takeaway of Alabama’s offense?

A: “I’ll have to say that I completely underestimated this group. I thought this group would struggle a lot in the beginning. I thought Steve Sarkisian would try to return to the run game like previous Alabama offenses without Tua or Jalen Hurts. So more of an A.J. McCarron or Greg McElroy, game manager quarterback who relies on the run a lot. But I’ve been completely wrong on that. Mac Jones is completely better than what I thought or many people thought he would be. Sarkisian has a lot of confidence in him. I think this wide receiver core that they have is better than any that it’s had in its history. Just the amount of versatility that the group has is the key to the offense. You have somebody that can go deep like Jaylen Waddle or John Metchie. You have a great route runner in Davonta Smith. … Just having that kind of versatility on the outside, not to mention the offensive line being able to provide such great protection for Mac Jones, gives the offense plenty of options to open up the offense.”

Q: Alabama defensive coordinator Pete Golding has received a lot of criticism, what have you made of him and the defense as a whole this season?

A: “This Alabama defense so far, besides the second half in the Georgia game, has been disappointing so far for fans and the media. When you think about Alabama you think about having historic defenses. One reason I think this has been a problem is because this system is incredibly complex. With so many new pieces on the defensive side of the ball, especially with Dylan Moses the middle linebacker returning to the fold, and moving players like Christian Harris out of that position and having a true freshman start at the star position (nickelback) it’s extremely hard to run this system. There’s a lot of smoke and mirrors with this defense and a lot of that has to do with proper communication. When you don’t have that chemistry when you start off the season it’s real hard to get that chemistry and click immediately. I attribute a lot of the problems with the defense to not having a true fall camp and not being able to have a long summer where you can work on it as a full defensive unit.”

Q: What’s a matchup Tennessee can take advantage of Saturday?

A: “One thing that I have not seen so far that an opposing defense has tried against Alabama, is all out blitzing Mac Jones. You saw a lot of run stoppage in the Texas A&M game. Jimbo Fisher really wanted Jones to beat them through the air. I think Kirby Smart also did a bit of the same. Everyone is aware of the talent of Najee Harris and the power the offensive line has, but forcing Alabama to beat you on the run may be the key to making the game close. That may eat up a lot of clock but you can take away the high volume of scoring if you can blitz Mac Jones and get to him. … Getting his confidence rattled is a key for Tennessee.”

Q: What does Alabama need to do to jump on Tennessee early and cover the point spread (Alabama -21.5)?

A: “I don’t really think there’s a particular key on offense just because there’s so many different options you can go with on offense. Obviously, it’s hard to talk bad about an offense that’s leading the nation in scoring. As far as the defense goes, that’s the key to covering the spread and Alabama getting out early and on top. I think that the second half of the Georgia game, they’re going to have to take a lot of notes from that. … One thing Alabama has to get better at is not letting offenses run smoke and mirrors plays and use a lot of motion to abuse man-to-man coverage or flat zone coverage.”