Alabama faced a unique challenge in defending Leonard Fournette last week. The Tide had a unique solution.
To simulate what it would be like to tackle Fournette, Alabama brought Trent Richardson out of retirement to play his part. Former Tide quarterback John Parker Wilson was also brought into simulate LSU quarterback Danny Etling.
"I think Trent gave a pretty good look, and John Parker, too," Alabama cornerback Marlon Humphrey told AL.com. "I tackled Trent this week, man. That's a big guy, man. It's also pretty cool just to go against those guys, knowing what they've done for the program."
The pair obviously did an effective job as scout teamers. Alabama limited Fournette to 35 yards on 17 carries, while Etling completed only 11-of-24 passes for 92 yards with an interception in a 10-0 Tide win.
Alabama is not the only school to use alums as scout teamers this season -- Cal did it with Marshawn Lynch -- but not many schools have former Heisman finalists that are still in their mid-20's available to pinch in on short notice.
And it's perfectly legal in the NCAA's eyes. For now.
"We try to stay on top of the rules," Saban told the site last month. "We have people in our administration who do a good job of letting us know what we can and can't do and we would never do something like that unless we got it approved by the SEC office, which we did, and the NCAA."