Alabama announces two roster changes

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama football program announced the change of two roster numbers on Monday.

Freshman wide receiver John Metchie, who made his first career reception against Duke on Saturday, has gone from No. 3 to No. 8.

Freshman defensive back Jordan Battle switched from No. 6 to No. 9.

The changes are effective immediately, as Alabama began preparing for Saturday's home opener at Bryant-Denny Stadium against New Mexico State (3 p.m., SEC Network).

The move was due to both players being used on special-teams units and a team can't have two players with the same number on the field at the same time.

Defensive back Daniel Wright also wears No. 3, while freshman linebacker Christian Harris, who already has enough on his plate after taking over a starting role, won't be used on special teams.

DeVonta Smith also wears No. 6 for the Crimson Tide.

Another number duplication to keep an eye out for is No. 10, which both sophomore linebacker Ale Kaho and redshirt sophomore quarterback Mac Jones wear. Kaho was also used as fullback in short-yardage situations against Duke.

"He’s a good athlete," Nick Saban said. "Most of the time, we’ve had some big guys that had enough experience that they could go in there and do something like that and it was a good fit for them. You’d rather not do it, in all honesty, if you have enough tight end-types and fullback-types on your team. We didn’t have that, so we thought Kaho was a good role for him and he actually did a good job in the few plays that he played doing it."