X-factor: Injuries riddle Alabama's linebackers

<p>Redshirt senior Aaron Young will finally be back in action this weekend after totaling only seven receptions in two games last season</p>

Redshirt senior Aaron Young will finally be back in action this weekend after totaling only seven receptions in two games last season

Duke will travel to Atlanta this weekend for the team's much-anticipated matchup against No. 2 Alabama in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. The Blue Zone takes a look at a key player for each team:

Duke: Wide receiver Aaron Young

It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to predict that the Blue Devils will struggle to move the football this weekend against Alabama. The Crimson Tide defense—even with a few injuries—is just too talented for Duke to really compete with on an every-down basis. So how can Quentin Harris and company get on the scoreboard? The deep ball.

Aaron Young played just two games of football last season. But in one of those contests—the Blue Devils’ season-opener against Army—he totaled 114 yards on a mere four receptions, including a 25-yard touchdown and another 61-yard haul. Harris is not known for short-yardage accuracy, and although he’s shown improvements in that department since last fall, a matchup against Alabama is not the place to work on your weaknesses. Thus, the deep threat may be his only option.

The Crimson Tide secondary doesn’t make many mistakes, but even a few could be enough for Young to break free, potentially gifting Duke enough points on the scoreboard to pull within the 34.5 point spread.

Alabama: Linebacker Anfernee Jennings

Injuries have not been kind to the Crimson Tide’s linebackers. First it was Joshua McMillon, who will likely miss the season with a knee injury. But the most recent news is what hit the hardest—star linebacker Dylan Moses, likely the top overall defender for Alabama and a projected top-ten draft pick, tore his ACL.

Not only that, but Terrell Lewis has been suspended by the team for the first half of Saturday’s contest, reportedly for missing a team function. All of that leads to a pretty depleted linebacker corps, making Anfernee Jennings’ job that much more important. 

The redshirt senior will be leading an extremely young Alabama defense, matching up against a Blue Devil coaching staff that will know how to take advantage of that youth. His performance could be the difference between the blowout everyone is expecting or the shocker of the decade.

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