SABAN TO RELY ON SEVERAL FRESHMEN

Alabama coach Nick Saban had a strong class in his first full recruiting season with the Crimson Tide. And that was a good thing, because he’ll apparently need to use several of them right away.Saban says that eight to ten freshman could play on Saturday, when No. 24 Alabama plays No. 9 Clemson at the Georgia Dome."With this team we’re just going to have to make that determination as if we were cutting our team,” Saban said. “If we’re going to keep these guys and we’re going to play them this year, then just go ahead and play them. They may make some mistakes early, but I think in the long run it will make us a better team."Receiver Julio Jones could win a starting job, and Don’ta Hightower is expected to contribute at linebacker."This group has been one of the best groups I’ve ever been around in terms of guys having a good head for showing some maturity in how to develop and figuring out that, ‘Hey, there’s some things I need to do to be a college football player,”’ Saban said.