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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Nick Saban was asked a lot about Deonte Brown this week.
"Probably for a good reason because the guy could be a very good player for us," he said.
Brown is now eligible to play after missing the first four games of the 2019 season in Alabama. He will play Saturday, September 28, when Ole Miss will host the Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Earlier this week, Saban said that Brown should "beat someone he wants to play." in practice and plan for him on Saturday.
"Deonte worked," Saban told Baumhower's Victory Grid. "He was injured for a few weeks and people did not realize it because he was suspended, nobody really paid attention to it. So he missed a few weeks in the first four weeks of the season, but he's fine now. He worked all week. We are working on it as a backup. He worked very well.
"Very talented because he is a very good athlete, he has excellent balance and good body control. He is probably the most powerful and explosive guy in our offensive line. But he's a type of guard, and when he played for us last year, he played very well at times. There is some inconsistency because he was sort of an inexperienced player, and I think he's a lot more mature right now. But it's always a guy with whom we have a hard time keeping him in shape, putting him in shape, weighing optimally to maintain his performance.
"But we are going to play it in this game probably at the two guards at one point just to bring him back to play and be able to get some sort of assessment from him."
Brown earned the left guard position midway through her second season in 2018, making her career debut in Tennessee and starting five games in 12 games overall. He missed the match against Citadel with his sod foot and was suspended for the Oklahoma and Clemson games – and the first four games of this season – with an NCAA-related suspension.
He returns to the field for the first time since last year's SEC Championship game, but his return to the starting lineup remains to be determined. The guard of 6 feet 5 inches, 338 pounds "adds an experience" that the real freshman Evan Nealthe current starter on the left obviously does not have one yet.
"You can say whatever you want, but this guy has played in big games, and he has played well in big games," said a SEC Network analyst. Cole Cubelic of Brown. "Physically, he's a monster. He's super athletic for a 340-year-old guy or whatever. He can move. I do not think that physically, we gain something by having Evan Neal on him, but you obviously gain a lot of experience with Deonte on Evan.
"I mean, I think Saban is going to win it, I do not think he's coming back and starting this week, but I think if you talk a little bit later and you talk about what's on the horizon I could probably see him working to become the starter, I do not think there will be many more changes around him when he gets inserted, but could I see him starting the game (Texas) A & M against (Justin) Madubuike and Bobby Brown and these guys? I mean, they have a very good forehead, and I do not think you want to play with this D-line because they can make you look bad. "
Alabama and Ole Miss will play Saturday at 2:30 pm. CT. The match will be broadcast on CBS.
Contact Charlie Potter by 247Sports personal mail or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).
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