TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) Nick Saban has started freshman on defense before at Alabama, either through necessity or sheer talent.

He just can't recall having had to rely so much on so many this early in the season. The second-ranked Crimson Tide could start four freshmen in the defensive front seven in Saturday's game against Southern Miss, mostly courtesy of injuries .

"We knew we were going to have to have a lot of depth in our defense with the freshmen and we're really pleased with the freshmen that we were able to recruit last year," Saban said. "And they've done a nice job of working, developing and continuing to improve. But we've had some unfortunate bad luck or whatever you want to call it, losing players at certain positions. A couple of inside linebackers, a defensive lineman.