ATHENS – It will be a couple of banged-up football teams that collide in the SEC Championship game Saturday evening at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Georgia fans are well aware of the Bulldogs’ lengthy injury list, which included four offensive stars sitting out the Georgia Tech game this past Saturday. But Alabama coach Nick Saban on Sunday confirmed that the Crimson Tide could be without their starting running back when they meet Georgia for the conference title for the third time in five years.
Jase McClellan, the Crimson Tide’s leading rusher with 803 yards and six touchdowns, left Saturday night’s Iron Bowl in Auburn on crutches with his left foot in a walking boot.
“He’s had a little foot injury all year long,” Saban said Sunday night. “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.”
A 5-foot-11, 212-pound senior from Aledo, Texas, McClellan had to helped off the field during the Crimson Tide’s fourth-quarter comeback against Auburn. He had 66 yards on 15 carries at the time.
McClellan has played in every game this season. He had a season-high 115 yards and touchdown in a Oct. 21 win over Tennessee and ran for 105 yards and a score in a 24-10 win over Ole Miss on Sept. 23.
Alabama linebacker Deontae Lawson after a multi-week injury and right tackle JC Latham also were in walking boots after Saturday’s game.
Of course, Georgia played without star tight end Brock Bowers, flanker Ladd McConkey, split end Rara Thomas and starting right guard Tate Ratledge in its 31-23 win over Georgia Tech Saturday night in Atlanta.
“Brock was probably the closest to go of those guys,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “He just didn’t feel as good as he had, was a little sore. We wanted to be able to use him situationally or see what he could do or felt comfortable with and we just didn’t think he could go. It was nothing about who we were playing or anything else.”
Smart said Ratledge “maybe could’ve played” but said he would not have been 100 percent.
“We’re hoping to get him back,” Smart said. “As far as those other guys, it’s going to be day-to-day. We just don’t know anything right now.”
In addition to those players, Georgia’s also playing without starting middle linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson and backup cornerback Julian Humphrey.
Hello again, Jermaine
Georgia will get to go against wide receiver Jermaine Burton for the first time since Burton bolted on the Bulldogs in the days following their 33-18 victory over Alabama in the 2021 CFP Championship game.
Burton left Georgia seeking a more dynamic offense in which to play with the Crimson Tide. In his two seasons in Tuscaloosa, he has caught 73 passes for 1,426 yards and 14 touchdowns. He leads Bama in receiving this season with 749 yards and 7 TDs on 33 catches this season.
Burton, a senior from Calabasas, Calif., had 901 yards and 8 TDs on 53 receptions in two seasons with the Bulldogs.
“I haven’t really watched enough tape on him but I know he was a really good player when he was here,” Smart said Sunday. “To be two years removed from that and the impact he had in that national championship game against Alabama, to have two more years under his belt we know he’s grown as a player. We know how talented he is, so he certainly has a lot of ability.”
Milton on a roll
Georgia running back Kendall Milton has picked a good time to be playing the best football of his career. The 6-foot-1, 220-pound senior recorded a career high for the second time in three weeks with 156 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries Saturday night against Georgia Tech.
Milton had 127 yards and two TDs in a win over No. 9 Ole Miss two weeks ago. He leads the Bulldogs with a 6.5 yards per carry average and is second on the team behind Daijun Edwards (147-781) with 644 yards rushing.
According to Pro Football Focus, Milton’s current rushing grade of 91.0 would stand as the highest in a single season by a Georgia back in the 10 years the advanced-analytics outlet has been monitoring college games. The Bulldogs’ best ever was Nick Chubb with a grade of 90.3 for the 2017 season.
“Really physical,” Smart said of Milton’s play. “He’s getting his pads down, running through contact. He breaks a lot of arm tackles. You know, I saw two or three of their guys have to go out from having to tackle him because he’s really physical and downhill. But make no mistake about it: it’s not just him. It’s a lot of them dudes up there in front of him.”
With 262 yards rushing against Tech Saturday, the Bulldogs have moved up to 30th in FBS in rushing at 185.6 yards per game. Alabama is 44th at 177.6.
