The Alabama Crimson Tide's wide receiver battle has taken a rather surprising turn.
The Alabama Crimson Tide have one of the deepest wide receiver rooms in the country, so at the end of the day, someone was going to get the shaft in terms of playing time.
Everyone knew that Ryan Coleman-Williams and Lotzeir Brooks were going to be Alabama's top two receivers, and the prevailing thought seemed to be that Derek Meadows would win the No. 3 slot.
But that doesn't appear to be the case.
Head coach Kalen DeBoer was asked about the receiving corps during the SEC Coaches' Teleconference on Wednesday, and he revealed that Rico Scott will actually probably be the third receiver on the depth chart.
"It kind of depends a little bit on what we what we want as far as personnel," DeBoer said. "Are we in 11 or 12 personnel with the tight ends on the field, [will we have] multiple running backs? I mean, there's a lot of different things we can do. So sometimes it has to do with what each guy does best. So, Rico's the guy that's been around a little bit longer, probably give the nod to him."
DeBoer was sure to add that Meadows would still have opportunities.
"But that doesn't mean that there are some things Derek can't do that would put him out there if you're talking about truly starting a game," DeBoer added. "So they're both going to be integral parts. They're both going to be in the mix, having an impact."
Scott is entering his redshirt sophomore campaign with the Crimson Tide. His role has been very limited over his first couple of years, as he has amassed a grand total of 16 catches for 158 yards and three touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Meadows arrived at Tuscaloosa last season and did not register a single reception during his debut campaign.
The general expectation was that, because of Meadows' size at 6-foot-5, he would earn more playing time because he brought something truly unique to the table.
But evidently, DeBoer prefers to go with the more experienced Scott, which is interesting considering Austin Mack would have been the more experienced quarterback option over Keelon Russell.
Clearly, DeBoer liked what he saw from Scott in fall camp.
Of course, none of that necessarily means that Scott is guaranteed to keep the WR3 role over Meadows long term.
