Alabama Finishes Prep Work, Two Players Named Finalists

The Alabama football team practiced for 90 minutes in shells on Thursday inside the Hank Crisp Indoor Practice Facility as they made final preparations for Saturday’s non-conference tilt against Western Carolina.

The No. 4 Crimson Tide (9-1, 6-1) is playing their second consecutive game at Bryant-Denny Stadium. This week’s opponent is Catamounts (1-9, 0-8) from the Southern Conference. It is the third meeting between the two schools, with Alabama holding a 2-0 advantage after a 52-0 victory in 2004 and a 52-6 win in 2007.

Alabama junior quarterback AJ McCarron was selected as one of five finalists for the 2012 Johnny Unitas Golden Award on Thursday. He is joined by Southern California’s Matt Barkley, Kansas State’s Collin Klein, Florida State’s E.J. Manuel and West Virginia’s Geno Smith.

Defensively junior cornerback Dee Milliner was one of five players named a finalist for the 2012 Bronko Nagurski Trophy on Thursday. The award is presented annually by the Football Writers Association of America to the best defensive player in the country.

Joining Milliner is South Carolina sophomore end Jadeveon Clowney, Georgia junior linebacker Jarvis Jones, Notre Dame senior linebacker Manti Te'o and Florida State junior end Bjoern Werner.

Alabama and Western Carolina will meet on Saturday for an 11:21 a.m. kickoff. The game can be heard locally on 99.1 WDGM’s sister station 95.3 The Bear with the Crimson Tide Sports Network Coverage kicking off at 8:21 a.m