Upshaw has been fairly quiet this year in the Tide's games against less-notable opponents, but when tough games come Nick Saban pulls out his defensive tricks and Upshaw flourishes.Ĭourtney leads the Tide with 6.5 sacks and 14 tackles for losses, and places 23rd in the nation in tackles for losses and 28th in sacks. Like fellow linebacker Dont'a Hightower, Courtney Upshaw is a finalist for both the Butkus Award and the Rotary Lombardi Trophy, and has more than earned his place there. Hopefully, every player will retain their health during the battle, but second-string Tide quarterback Phillip Sims better be ready if Corey Lemonier clobbers starter A.J. Fluker has problems with smaller, athletic pass-rushers, and left tackle Barrett Jones may not be fully recovered from the ankle injury he suffered against LSU. Lemonier has lived up to all his hype, so Tide fans that breathed a sigh of relief when Auburn's Nick Fairley left for the NFL will be sorely disappointed.Ĭorey may be shuffled around the line a bit, as right tackle D.J. Lemonier has become one of the premier pass-rushers in the nation and has a knack for finding carriers in the backfield, ranking ninth in the nation with 8.5 sacks and 40th with 12.5 tackles for losses.

He has my vote as Auburn's best player, ahead of even Michael Dyer.Ĭorey may be smaller than Alabama's linebackers, but his pure athleticism is going to pose a serious threat for young quarterback A.J. He is one of six Butkus finalists, and one of four Rotary Lombardi finalists.Ĭorey Lemonier was a highly touted recruit coming out of high school, and has turned into anything but a lemon. Hightower has been all over the place for Alabama, and has earned national recognition for his performance as the primary cog in Alabama's No. He has good penetration ability is shown by his three sacks and 8.5 tackles for losses, but his secret weapon is his ability to blow up opposing linemen already engaged in blocks with Alabama defensive linemen, perfectly displayed in this video. He is back down to 260 lbs and has speed uncharacteristic of a man his size, though he may get bit by Onterio McCalebb's speed on the outside.ĭont'a leads the Tide in total tackles with 72, but his 32 solo tackles are second to Mark Barron's 39.Īuburn's offensive line was decimated by graduation, and Hightower should excel at exploiting this. McCarron.ĭont'a Hightower is Alabama's best linebacker and one of the best in the nation, and looks nothing like his 2010 version that was still struggling to recover from a torn ACL.

Auburn managed to shut down then-Heisman hopeful Mark Ingram in 2009, but Trent will try to make sure he doesn't fall victim to this as well.Īt the very least, Richardson is going to command so much attention from the Auburn defense that the passing game will open up quite nicely for quarterback A.J. Richardson himself is averaging over 125 yards per game and is one of the most difficult players to tackle in all of college football, many times having his forward progress stopped without touching the ground. Trent will look to abuse Auburn's 98th-ranked rush defense and could eclipse the 193-yard rushing average they have given up this year.

'Bama's workhorse may be more than deserving of all of them. He is the best running back prospect in the upcoming 2012 NFL draft, and a hopeful for numerous awards, including the Doak Walker Award (best running back), the Maxwell Award (top collegiate player of the year) and the prestigious Heisman Trophy. He is eighth in the nation with 236 carries. Trent Richardson will be entering the game relatively healthy, which is amazing given the recent overburdening he's had to deal with the past few games, including back-to-back games of 32 carries.

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