Alabama lineman ‘not with our football team’ right now

Alabama freshman offensive lineman Chris Booker “right now is not with our football team,” Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer said Monday. DeBoer did not elaborate. Booker hasn’t played this season as a freshman in the program. He’s a 6-foot-4, 288-pound offensive lineman from Atlanta. Out of Hapeville Charter Career Academy, Booker committed to Alabama over Florida, Kentucky and South Florida. Booker was a four-star recruit who was ranked No. 28 in the state of Georgia, No. 16 at his position and No. 242 nationally, per the Rivals Industry rankings. No. 8 Alabama is preparing to face South Carolina on Saturday (6 p.m. CT, ESPN) at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Crimson Tide is fresh off a win over Florida State. Alabama has turned to six offensive linemen to start games this season because of an injury, and that group has included (left to right) Jackson Lloyd at left tackle, Will Sanders/Mal Waldrep at left guard, Racin Delgatty at center, Michael Carroll at right guard (and Sanders when Carroll missed a game) and Jayvin James at right tackle. The starting five this past game was Lloyd, Sanders, Delgatty, Carroll and James. They’ve been working under offensive line coach Adrian Klemm, who joined the program ahead of the season, Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. In 2024, NSMA named him Alabama Sportswriter of the Year, and the Football Writers Association of America honored him with the Edward...