The closer the SEC Championship game gets, the better idea we get of both Georgia and Alabama’s situation on the injury front.
Yesterday, it was reported that Alabama starting running back Jase McClellan was expected to be out, and now it has been ruled that McClellan has officially been ruled out for Tide, first reported by Austin Hannon from BamaCentral.
During the 2023 season, McClellan has rushed for 803 yards, six touchdowns and is averaging 4.8 yards per carry.
Alabama’s next-best rusher statistically is Roydell Williams who has 497 yards, four touchdowns and is averaging 5.3 yards per carry.
A tough loss for the Crimson Tide as they approached their biggest game of the season against a well-rounded Georgia defense.
Coming into this game, perhaps the biggest task for the Bulldogs’ defense is going to be containing quarterback Jalen Milroe’s scrambling ability, and how he can add to the run game.
However, with McClellan’s injury, one would have to think it does alleviate some of the pressure on Georgia’s defense if the Tide’s top rusher is not available for the championship matchup.
Adopted in 1868, Section 3 of the 14th Amendment was designed to prohibit former members of the Confederacy from holding public office, specifically by barring any person that had “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the United States government.
Since 1887, Section 3 has been used just once, in 1919 to bar Victor Berger from assuming office after he openly opposed the United States’ involvement in World War I.
Legal experts have been divided on whether Trump’s involvement with the Jan. 6 Capitol riot could constitute a violation of Section 3, though the U.S.
Supreme Court will likely issue a final ruling on the matter within a matter of months, if not weeks.
U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a staunch Trump ally, called the ruling “unprecedented.”
“Democrats love to give us lectures about ‘our democracy,’ but they have spent years trying to disqualify the most popular politician in America from getting reelected,” Tuberville said in a social media post on Wednesday.
“This unprecedented court ruling by a bare majority of democrat-appointed activist politicians in robes is an outrage to real democracy and goes far beyond the text of the constitution or any other law.
I have no doubt this will be overturned on appeal and this attack on democracy will fail.”
Rep. Barry Moore, who represents Alabama Second Congressional District – though is now running for Alabama’s First Congressional District against his Republican colleague Rep. Jerry Carl – called the decision “election interference.”
His House colleague Gary Palmer, who represents Alabama’s Sixth Congressional District, said the ruling sets a “dangerous precedent.”
“This ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court shows flagrant disregard for the Constitution and places the opinions of judges over the will of the people,” Palmer said.
“Voters deserve the ability to elect their president, not partisan judges.
Removing President Trump from the ballot sets a dangerous precedent where the Constitution becomes a meaningless document weaponized by the left against their political enemies.”
Other Republican House representatives from Alabama, including Reps.
Robert Aderholt of District 4 and Dale Strong of District 5, condemned the ruling as well, as did Alabama Lt. Gov.
Will Ainsworth, who joined Moore in suggesting the ruling was election interference.
“Colorado is already trying to steal and rig next year’s presidential election,” Ainsworth said in a social media post.
“The national media and the country’s most liberal states know President Trump will beat Joe Biden handily, which is what they fear most.”
Every Alabama Republican member of Congress has endorsed Trump for president, as have many Republican state lawmakers.
Trump’s double digit lead in most Republican primary polls has only grown since first announcing his 2024 run, and as of Dec.
20, stands at 61.6%, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – the next-highest polling Republican candidate – polling at just 12.5%, according to the poll aggregator 538.
In the general election, several recent polls have shown Trump to lead Biden by three to four points, and in others, poll equally with the current president.
