Alabama RB Kenyan Drake is moving around formations this spring. (AP photo)
Alabama is short on receivers.
Amari Cooper, Christion Jones and DeAndrew White are gone and returner Cam Sims is now out after tearing his ACL during an eventful weekend in Tuscaloosa that included former UGA defensive tackle Jonathan Taylor's dismissal and former St. Pius star Geno Smith's second DUI arrest.
So former Hillgrove star Kenyan Drake is getting looks at receiver, which would help offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin to put both Drake and RB Derrick Henry on the field at the same time.
"Derrick Henry and him both are pretty dynamic players for us that are really good playmakers so we're going to explore every way possible that we can get those guys the ball," Alabama coach Nick Saban told AL.com.
Drake, who is coming back from a broken leg that forced him to miss nine games last season, had five catches for 159 yards in 2013, including an 87-yard TD reception in the win over Florida.
"Kenyan's a great receiver out of the backfield. Me in the backfield and him at receiver, you really wouldn't know what's coming or who's getting the ball," Henry told TimesDaily.com.
Drake has rushed for 1,087 yards and scored 20 TDs in 29 career games.
“So far, Kenyan has been very good as a back coming out of the backfield and the matchups that he gets with that and we’ll continue to explore ways to do that,” Saban told the website. “But we might have some personnel groups where we play those two guys together. I think both of those scenarios are the reason you’re seeing what you see.”
