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Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Writer
Alabama coach Nick Saban said Sunday that leading rusher Jase McClellan is questionable to play against No. 1 Georgia in Saturday’s SEC championship game in Atlanta because of a left foot injury.
McClellan was injured in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 27-24 victory at Auburn. He was using crutches and wearing a boot on his left foot late in the game. McClellan ran for 66 yards on 15 carries before he was hurt.
“He’s had a little foot injury all year long,” Saban said. “He tweaked it in the game, so he’ll be day to day this week. I can’t tell you how much progress he’ll make. Probably the next 48 hours will tell us whether he’ll make the kind of progress he needs to be able to practice and play in the game.”
McClellan, a senior from Aledo, Texas, leads the No. 8 Crimson Tide with 803 rushing yards with six touchdowns. He had 105 yards with one score in a 24-10 win against then-No. 15 Ole Miss and 115 yards with one touchdown in a 34-20 victory over then-No. 17 Tennessee.
Roydell Williams, a senior from Hueytown, Alabama, has 497 rushing yards with four touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Georgia coach Kirby Smart said All-American tight end Brock Bowers didn’t play in Saturday’s 31-23 victory at Georgia Tech because of soreness in his surgically repaired left ankle. Bowers, the team’s leading receiver with 51 catches for 661 yards and six touchdowns, had TightRope surgery to repair a high sprain on his ankle Oct. 16.
“As far as last night, Brock was probably the closest to being able to go of those guys,” Smart said. “He just didn’t feel as good as he had, he’s a little sore. We wanted to be able to use him situationally or see what he could if he felt comfortable with it, and he just didn’t think that he could go.”
Bowers, the No. 4 prospect on ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr.’s Big Board for the 2024 NFL draft, returned to action Nov. 11. He had three catches for 34 yards with one score in a 52-17 rout of Ole Miss. He had seven catches for 60 yards with one touchdown in a 38-10 win at Tennessee the next week.
“It was nothing about who we were playing or anything else,” Smart said. “He’s got to be able to go compete at a high level and be able to feel good about what he’s doing. We didn’t feel that he had that last night.”
Smart said staring guard Tate Ratledge (knee) could have played against the Yellow Jackets, but wouldn’t have been 100%. Injured receivers Ladd McConkey (ankle) and Rara Thomas (foot) are questionable to play against the Tide.
“As far as those other guys go, it’s going to be day to day,” Smart said. “We just don’t know anything.”