What's For Dinner? Alabama Football Prepares for Thanksgiving Feast

As No. 10 Alabama prepares for its final regular season test of the season as they travel to Jordan-Hare Stadium for the Iron Bowl rivalry game against the Auburn Tigers. The Crimson Tide knows what's at stake as a victory sends the program to Atlanta for an SEC Championship showdown and potentially secures their spot in the College Football Playoff. But before the treacherous weekend road trip the nation slows down and enjoys a holiday filled with family, food and gratitude.

Thanksgiving is different for high level football players, there's often less time to relax, fewer trips home and no Black Friday leftovers to enjoy, making Thursday an appetizer to the rivalry weekend's main course.

"Practice, practice. I haven't had Thanksgiving at home in three or four years now," Alabama left tackle Kadyn Proctor said. "So that's not really something that I'm worried about. Go eat food on Thursday night, but Friday night get right back locked in. So that's what it needs to be."

Despite not going home and the limited window to celebrate, Proctor still has things to enjoy about the holiday.

"Mac and cheese. Mac and cheese is like my favorite food of all time out of anything, steak's probably next, but mac and cheese is definitely the best side for me."

Mac and cheese is a heavily debated Thanksgiving side, but is largely a staple in southern celebrations of the holiday. Proctor wasn't alone in selecting it as a favorite, but other Alabama players offered up a rival for the cheesy goodness.

"Between dressing and mac and cheese. It's hard to pick, so I'm going to have to go both on that one," Alabama defensive tackle Tim Keenan said.

Deontae Lawson also nominated mac and cheese as a top pick, but offered a unique perspective with an underrated choice as its rival for best side on the spread.

"I like mac and cheese, I like mac and cheese, but really I like a good roll on the side," Lawson said. "You know the Hawaiian rolls. I love those rolls, so that's my top two right there."

The Thanksgiving holiday presents a great opportunity to get together with family and celebrate the dishes that've been prepared year in and year out, and recipes that have often been passed down from generation to generation.

"Yeah, I like sweet potato casserole. My grandmother and my mom make the best sweet potato casserole. So hopefully I'll get some of that this weekend," quarterback Ty Simpson said when asked about the holiday.

The Alabama coaching staff seemed a bit preoccupied with the rivalry game ahead and offered less insight to their holiday spread as defensive coordinator Kane Wommack didn't let on that he even knew it was Thanksgiving week and head coach Kalen DeBoer said he liked the traditional meal without selecting anything that stood out above the rest.

"Yeah, I'm pretty traditional when it comes to the Thanksgiving piece, going way back," DeBoer said. "So your normal stuff, Thanksgiving, when you think of it, that's what I'm all about."

Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb skipped the side dishes when asked, and went straight to scoring at the dessert table.

"Probably not a side dish, but I like pecan pie," Grubb said.