Ja’Corey Brooks entered the Iron Bowl an afterthought, a rarely-used freshman receiver buried on the depth chart.
The previous five-star recruit will enter Monday evening’s championship as a possible X issue for defending national-champion Alabama, rising within the wake of John Metchie III’s torn ACL.
“He’s getting higher day-after-day due to his work ethic,” offensive coordinator Invoice O’Brien mentioned over Zoom. “Ja’Corey has actually come up huge for us. He’s come up huge for us with some huge catches over the previous couple of video games, and that’s been necessary for our group.”
The 6-foot-2 Brooks’ coming-out occasion got here towards Auburn on Nov. 27, when he hauled in a game-tying, 28-yard landing catch within the remaining seconds that compelled additional time within the come-from-behind victory. Then, within the Cotton Bowl win over Cincinnati, Brooks produced career-highs of 4 catches for 66 yards, which included a 44-yard landing seize. After Jameson Williams obliterated Georgia within the SEC title recreation, catching seven passes for 184 yards and touchdowns, the Bulldogs will virtually actually pay him further consideration. That might result in extra alternatives for Brooks.
Brooks might find yourself following within the footsteps of one other well-known Alabama extensive receiver: former Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith, who didn’t play a lot as a freshman, however broke out late within the 12 months. He caught the game-winning landing in additional time of the 2018 nationwide championship recreation. Georgia was the opponent.
“I feel you guys are going to see very far more from him in his coming days,” Williams mentioned, referring to Brooks.
In two video games towards Alabama, Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett has thrown 5 interceptions in a pair of matching 41-24 defeats. He did throw for 609 within the two video games, to associate with 5 landing passes, and offensive coordinator Todd Monken believes there was some dangerous fortune blended into the performances.
“The primary turnover a 12 months in the past was a batted ball that was out of his management, the second interception was a tipped cross on an finish reduce that went on to them,” Monken mentioned. “The third one was a poor determination.
“So the underside line is I can do higher as a coordinator to place him in a greater place to achieve success. He understands that. Our group understands that. So I count on him to play effectively similar to I did final week.”
Within the Orange Bowl, Stetson thrived, finishing 20 of 30 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns in a rout of Michigan. This opponent, after all, is totally different. It’s Alabama, which has defeated Georgia seven straight occasions and has its quarterback’s quantity. However Monken pointed to Bennett performing effectively in stretches within the two video games as proof he's able to beating the Crimson Tide.
“He has every little thing we must be profitable offensively,” Monken mentioned.
Alabama has a number of accidents to necessary gamers which can be value monitoring. Beginning CB Josh Jobe (turf toe) missed the Cotton Bowl and is unlikely to play Monday evening. He was changed by extremely regarded freshman Kool-Assist McKinstry, who carried out effectively. Fellow starter Jalyn Armour-Davis (hip) was out and in of the sport whereas beginning OL Emil Ekiyor (shoulder) and Chris Owens (ankle) suffered accidents within the win. Nick Saban hasn’t provided a lot perception into their standing, saying the gamers can be monitored main as much as Monday’s recreation.
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