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When Alabama receiver John Metchie III crumpled to the ground during last month’s SEC championship game, the questions came hard and fast.
How would the Crimson Tide suddenly adapt without its most reliable receiver? Who would fill the void? Could No. 1 Alabama overcome the loss to win another national championship?
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Over the past month, coach Nick Saban and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Bryce Young have found creative workarounds without Metchie to finish off Georgia for the SEC title, beat No. 4 Cincinnati and reach yet another College Football Playoff championship game. If Alabama can continue to thrive without Metchie in Monday night’s rematch against No. 3 Georgia, it will likely have a second straight national title.
Metchie had six catches, 97 yards and a touchdown before leaving the game against Georgia near the end of the first half. In the rematch, Alabama will play four quarters without him.
“Metchie is someone you just can’t replace,” Young told reporters on a video call after arriving in Indianapolis earlier this week. “Losing Metchie was huge for us. That definitely hurt. It’s really tough. But as coach is always saying, that creates opportunity for other people and we’ve had people step up in the wake of that.”
Few teams are better prepared to absorb such a devastating blow as Alabama (13-1).
Metchie and the game-breaking Jameson Williams formed one of the nation’s top receiving tandems.
The 6-foot, 195-pound Metchie – born in Taiwan and raised in Canada – did the dirty work for Alabama’s passing game. He had 96 catches for 1,142 yards, eight touchdowns and consistently moved the chains. Before tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, NFL draft experts expected Metchie to be one of the top 10 receivers chosen in this year’s draft.
Williams, a transfer from Ohio State, is the big-play receiver. Despite catching only 75 passes, he ranks in the top five nationally in yards receiving…
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Source : foxnews
