Alabama Football's Availability Report Shows Encouraging Trend Ahead of Playoff Game at Oklahoma

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The No. 9 Alabama Crimson Tide officially begins its College Football Playoff journey Friday night in Norman, where the Crimson Tide will face No. 8 Oklahoma in a highly anticipated first-round matchup. This will be the second time this season the Tide has faced the Sooners. 

As required by the College Football Playoff, both teams have to release availability reports three days ahead of kickoff, offering an early snapshot of roster health entering one of the most important games of the season.

For Alabama, things are starting to look a little better.

After several key contributors were sidelined during the SEC Championship Game against Georgia, the extended break before the playoff has allowed the Tide to heal.

That rest is reflected in a lighter initial availability report compared to recent weeks.

Alabama Dec. 16 Availability Report:

Defensive Back- Kameron Howard: Out

Defensive Back- Dre Kirkpatrick Jr.: Out

Defensive Lineman- LT Overton: Out

Defensive Lineman- Jeremiah Beaman: Out

Linebacker- Jah-Marien Latham: Out

Running Back- Kevin Riley: Out

Tight End- Danny Lewis Jr.: Probable

Tight End- Josh Cuevas: Probable

Oklahoma enters the matchup with several notable absences of its own, particularly in the secondary and along the offensive line.

Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer addressed the injury situation during Monday and Tuesday press conferences, offering cautious optimism about multiple players trending toward availability.

“Parker’s [Brailsford] doing good," DeBoer said. "He’s been practicing. Jam [Miller], he’s making good progress. Just kind of continue to see how the week goes along. You guys saw him out there doing some things today. [Josh] Cuevas, very similar to Jam. Making progress out there, doing some work. And really, I guess, you’re optimistic at this point. We’ve still got four days left. So those guys are heading in a good direction, making good progress, and continue to evaluate them moving forward. But you saw them out there doing some things today in practice.”

One player unlikely to return this weekend is defensive lineman LT Overton. “Just with LT [Overton], continue to monitor him. I would say he’s doubtful for this weekend,” DeBoer added.

Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb reinforced that optimism on Tuesday, particularly regarding Alabama’s offensive contributors.

“Jam’s [Miller] always got a fire, but yeah, he looks great,” Grubb said. “He was out there running around today, did an awesome job. Feel like he’ll be full-go, ready to contribute and help us keep rolling again.”

As Alabama continues preparations, the improving health of key players could play a major role as the Crimson Tide aim to make a deep playoff run, starting Friday night in a hostile Norman environment.

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