THIS WEEK'S GAME: San Jose State at Alabama, Sept. 4 -- Defending its SEC and national championship starts here. It won't exactly be a preview of things to come in terms of the strength of the opposition, but it will provide the first look at a revamped Crimson Tide.

KEYS TO THE GAME
End it early and stay healthy. With RB Mark Ingram already out because of a knee injury, Alabama all of a sudden cannot afford any more serious injuries. Alabama will take all the rest it can get heading into next week's primetime showdown with Penn State.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

RB Trent Richardson -- The stud sophomore will receive the lion's share of carries in what could be the breakout game of his career. Even when Ingram was healthy, Richardson, a preseason first-team All-SEC selection, was expected to get plenty of touches. Now, he might be able to put up career highs against an overwhelmed San Jose defense.

LB Dont'a Hightower -- This will be the fiery linebacker's first game since Week 4 of the 2009 season and his first action at middle linebacker. He has big shoes to fill with Rolando McClain gone to the NFL, but some have said he has more potential than last year's Butkus Award winner. He would have been a leader by default on this defense with all the departed starters, but he's embraced the role and is clearly one of the go-to players on Alabama's stacked roster.

S Mark Barron -- If Saban had to have just one player with experience in his defensive backfield, he probably would have chosen Barron. A third-team Associated Press All-American and a first-team preseason All-SEC pick, Barron looks like an NFL safety, with good size and speed. He has 94 career tackles after making 76 stops as a sophomore in 2009. He'll be asked to do a lot of coaching on the field this season, as the Crimson Tide secondary could feature a number of true freshmen and junior-college transfers.

ROSTER REPORT

--Wesley Neighbors, a redshirt sophomore defensive back, will miss Alabama's first two games because of a non-contact injury he suffered last week, coach Nick Saban said Monday.

--Senior Chavis Williams' long quest to be an Alabama starter culminated Monday when he was named the Tide's starting SAM linebacker. Junior-college transfer DeQuan Menzie was also a surprise addition to the first-team, where he'll start at cornerback opposite Dre Kirkpatrick.

--S Mark Barron missed practice for "personal reasons," but the absence was excused, Saban said.

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