Welcome to BamaCentral’s "Just a Minute," a video series featuring Alabama Crimson Tide on SI's beat writers. Multiple times per week, the writers will group up or film solo to provide their take on a topic concerning the Crimson Tide or the landscape of college sports.
Watch the above video as BamaCentral basketball and football writer Hunter De Siver discusses Lotzeir Brooks' potential at Tennessee.
Alabama wide receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams had some help last season. When he was injured or not getting open quickly enough, fellow wide receivers Germie Bernard and Isaiah Horton stepped up in the big moments.
Nevertheless, Bernard and Horton are no longer with the Crimson Tide as Coleman-Williams, who is one of the team captains, has been tied with or leading the room in all three receiving categories through Alabama's first six games.
Coleman-Williams went to the locker room shortly before halftime of last Saturday's loss to Georgia with a knee injury. He was good to go to start the second half, but late in the game, he took a hit to the head and was helped off the field. Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said on Monday that there is a "pretty good chance" Coleman-Williams is unavailable for the Tennessee game due to his knee and head injuries.
Assuming he won't be on the field at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville on Saturday, the entire wide receiver room will need to step up. Many members of the unit will see an increase in offensive snaps and play in some critical moments, but Lotzeir Brooks, UA's second-leading receiver (behind Coleman-Williams), will all but certainly be quarterback Keelon Russell's top target.
As previously stated, Coleman-Williams is tied for or has the team lead in the major stats, and he shares the receptions title with Brooks — both of them have 23. Brooks' 389 yards is 26 behind Coleman-Williams, and Brooks has one touchdown to his name compared to his captain's four.
So, can Brooks step up in an environment that Alabama lost in the last two trips?
Brooks served as Alabama's first wide receiver off the bench last season and collected an impressive 32 receptions for 441 yards and two touchdowns. Both of those scores and then-career highs of five receptions for 79 yards all came in the road win over Oklahoma in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
It was Brooks' biggest moment of his freshman year, and he had multiple others, including a four-reception, 58-yard performance on the road against Missouri, with the top highlight being a 29-yard catch on fourth-and-long.
Brooks has really grown into his role this year, logging at least 50 yards in four of his six games played. He'll have to step up in Knoxville, and his clutch gene should help him throughout the Third Saturday in October.
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