The Crimson Tide's depth at guard has been tested so far this season, and it looks to be getting even thinner from where Alabama was projected in the preseason.

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Alabama lost Latrell Wrightsell Jr. earlier in the year to a torn Achilles tendon, opening the door for a medical redshirt for the senior guard. Another senior guard looks to be heading in the same direction, with Alabama head coach Nate Oats speaking on the status of Houston Mallette on Friday.

“Not 100 percent, but we’re leaning towards keeping him on the redshirt,” Oats said on Friday.

Mallette has not played in two weeks for Alabama and only in six games this season. Alabama's original plan for Mallette was the redshirt, but with the injury to Wrightsell against Oregon, the Crimson Tide inserted Mallette into the lineup, seemingly "burning" the redshirt.

Mallette averaged eight minutes per game during his six outings with the Crimson Tide, but only played a combined five minutes in his two most recent appearances. He has not played since Alabama's 20-point victory over South Carolina.

While the decision is not official (Alabama will have to submit a waiver to the NCAA) Oats will speak to Mallette soon about the guard's status for the remainder of the season.

“It’s gonna be a conversation we have with him when it gets here, probably halfway through, like, ‘How are your knees feeling? because if you bring him back, it’s gotta be your knees are going to 100 percent be healthy and you can full-go as many minutes as you deserve to play the rest of the year in all the games,” Oats said.

“If you can’t do that with his knees, I just don’t think it’d be the right decision because we can continue to get him on the rehab program because he’s come a long ways. He couldn’t even practice all summer. He got here and they were so bad, he literally sat out the entire summer. He was here all summer, and then he was gradually getting built-in in the fall, and then you come back and there’s a little setback.

“He’s just gotta get them right. So my guess would be we’re leaning more towards keeping him on the redshirt.”

Wyatt Fulton is the TIde 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.

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